James MacMillan - Stabat mater

The Guardian 80

The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia/Christophers
(Coro)

Related: Turning a 13th-century hymn into a modern-day elegy for war and loss

James MacMillan’s masterly Stabat mater represents the culmination of a remarkable commissioning project from John Studzinski’s Genesis Foundation. Two years ago, the Sixteen released three new settings of the 13th-century Marian lamentation, each composer mentored by MacMillan. Now comes his own, after its acclaimed premiere last autumn. It’s a devastatingly powerful evocation of Mary’s agony, balancing impassioned choral writing with equally intense, occasionally violent, work for the strings of the Britten Sinfonia. It never flinches from its purpose to bear witness to Mary’s grief and to offer a universal message of consolation to grieving mothers everywhere. Wonderfully sung; profoundly moving.