Stabat Mater by Haydn

The Mother's grief for her crucified Son is the theme of the hymn Stabat Mater. Good Friday could not be better captured in music. Haydn's Stabat Mater may be somewhat less well-known today than Pergolesi's famous version, but at the time it was at least as beloved. Moving Easter music.

Haydn's Stabat Mater

Joseph Haydn wrote his Stabat Mater in 1767. The work was most likely performed on Good Friday of that year at the court of his employer Esterhazy. The composer had listened carefully to the work of the same name by his older colleague Pergolesi, but it remains Haydn in every way. His Stabat Mater was soon an international success.

Tragic Symphony

Schubert's Fourth Symphony, called by himself the "Tragic," was not premiered until twenty years after his death. Clearly, Schubert had listened carefully to Haydn. He modeled the introduction after the beginning of Haydn's The Creation. Conductor Jan Willem de Vriend is the right person to make such connections clear.