Sacred music concert to stir hearts
CRAIGHALL PARK - Let your spirit soar at a performance of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's composition, Stabat Mater, next month.
The performance will be hosted by St Martin de Porres Catholic Church, Craighall Park.
Pergolesi composed the work in 1736, during the last weeks of his life, having been commissioned to do so by the Confraternita dei Cavalieri di San Luigi di Palazzo.
Originally scored for soprano, alto, violin I and II, viola and basso continuo (cello and organ), this performance will feature contralto Maggie Mendelsohn and soprano Riana Voster, accompanied by Janis Myburg on piano.
The composition comprises twelve movements, and this performance is expected to last 45 minutes.
“Stabat Mater is considered to be one of the most powerful and immediate of extant Mediaeval poems,” said parish priest Father Shaun von Lillienfeld.
“The poem meditates on the suffering of Mary, Jesus Christ’s mother, during the crucifixion of her son.”
The Stabat Mater text itself dates back to the 13th Century.
The performance will be followed by a “Lenten high tea”.
Stabat Mater will take place on 6 April at St Martin de Porres Catholic Church, 35 Lancaster Avenue, Craighall Park, at 3pm.
Details: 011 447 2857; craighall.stmartin@catholicjhb.org.za
