Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Angelo Comisso: Stabat Mater

6

Angelo Comisso: Stabat Mater

By

View read count
Angelo Comisso: Stabat Mater
Italian composer/pianist Angelo Comisso took on a challenging task when he decided to write contemporary music to one of the most powerful medieval hymns, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, that meditates on the suffering of Mary, Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion, attributed to Franciscan Jacopone da Todi. This hymn has been set to music by many composers, among them Joseph Haydn, Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi and Arvo Part.

But Comisso arrangement of this sorrowful hymn does not attempt to correspond with already canonical, orchestrations of this hymn; instead, he transforms its religious experience into a contemporary setting and modern, chamber jazz. In his words, this composition is "a prayer for Mothers of the World, of every color and every religion." He chose for this project trusted partners for this project— trumpet player Markus Stockhausen and drummer Christian Thomè, the same trio that recorded before two fine albums—Lichtblick (Aktivraum, 2005) and Es war einmal ...instanti infiniti (Aktivraum, 2007)—and added an all-female chamber choir, the Venice based, 14 singers of Coro Femminile Da Camrera Látomás.

Comisso succeeds in creating a deeply reserved and intimate atmosphere throughout the composition's nine parts. The trio retains its confident, communicative and melodic interplay, and interacts with the choir beautifully, leaving enough space for solo vocal parts, instrumental solos and brief, gentle improvisations. This somber and patient atmosphere is so distant from everyday hustle or modern, urban jazz: innocent and sacred in its still relevant, lyrical message, but sober and secular in its imaginative contemporary arrangement; reflective with its powerful past images but immediate in its modern melodic tonal language; celestial in its solo vocal parts but deeply grounded in the trio segments. This inherent duality encourages contemplation on the power of music to enhance deep visions and sensations.

Beautifully conceived and masterfully executed.

Track Listing

Stabat Mater Dolorosa; Cuius Animam Gementem; Quis Est Homo; Vioit Suum Dulcem Natum; Stabat Mater (Memento); Dum Pendebat Filius; Nell'apparir Del Sempiterno Sole; Ein Mater Fons Amobis; Quando Corpus Morietur.

Personnel

Angelo Comisso: piano, electronics; Markus Stockhausen: trumpet, electronics; Christian Thomè: drums; Coro Femminile Da Camrera Látomás: vocals.

Album information

Title: Stabat Mater | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Blue Serge

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante
All In Motion
Dave Redmond
Cat & The Hounds
Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine...

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.