Search - Herbert Howells, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, London Symphony Chorus :: Howells: Stabat Mater

Bizarre work, beautiful recording

Samer T Ismail | Danbury, CT | 11/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reviewing this recording of Howells' "Stabat Mater"--the only one currently available--is rather difficult. The difficulty lies in the finale of the work, which contains one of the most bizarre endings in all of classical music. If you are familiar with the Stabat Mater text, the oddness of Howells' ending will be immediately apparent. [In fact, I would recommend listening to other Stabat Maters--Dvorak, Poulenc, Pergolesi, Rossini, and even Szymanowski--before listening to this one.]It is clear that Howells was long haunted by the death of his son Michael from polio; that death prompted Howells' most famous work, "Hymnus Paradisi." Echoes of that grief appear to inform this work, written nearly a quarter-century later.Rozhdestvensky's forces do an admirable job with the music; Neill Archer's solo in the final movement is particularly haunting, especially when the final twist, as it were, is revealed.I recommend this highly to any fans of Herbert Howells, and to those who enjoy unusual choral music. If you're just getting started, though, this is not an ideal place to start."

The Pain of Real Loss

Christopher Forbes | Brooklyn,, NY | 03/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Howells was a composer well aquainted with loss. Early in his career his young son died and Howells never really came to terms with this loss. His faith, never very strong to begin with, was totally destroyed by this event and he became another in the sublime English tradition of agnostic writers of hymns and church anthems. However, despite his outward lack of faith, Howell's music is some of the most spiritual produced in England. He is unafraid to grapple with deep emotions, unlike so many other English composers. While he doesn't go "over-the-top" as so many Italian and French composers do, his setting of the Stabat Mater is as deeply personal and tragic as any I've heard.



This work is scored for tenor, chorus and orchestra. It is typical of Howells in that it hangs between modality, tonality and some fairly anguished extensions of tonality. Also, like so many other Howells works, it seems less concerned with memorable melodic figures and more concerned with the building up of tension and release through harmony and through chains of melodic cells. Unlike the composer's church anthems though, this work is of an unrestrained, passionate nature. It may be the inclusion of orchestra, but the chorus often breaks into tragic outbursts of melody that seems almost anti-British in it's emotional directness. Perhaps the text's depiction of the sorrows of a mother watching the cruel execution of her son resonated deeply with the composer. It certainly makes this a personal and profound work. It also goes a long way to explaining the lack of the traditional "triumphant" ending to the Stabat Mater, eluded to by the other reviewer on the site. For Howells, as a man of no faith, the triumphant Christian message at the end of the poem could not summon up equally triumphant music, and the work ends in the most haunting and ambiguous fashion.



This is the only recording I know of this work, but luckily, it is a superb one. Tenor Niell Archer sings the solos with flair and passion and the tone and balance between choir and orchestra are perfect. Chandos also lavished their customary rich sound on the disc, making it a pleasure to listen to again and again.



Chris Forbes"