Poulenc, Francis - Stabat Mater - Sept Répons des Ténèbres - Sampson, Carolyn (soprano)

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Cappella Amsterdam
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Reuss, conductor
Carolyn Sampson, soprano

Poulenc's Stabat Mater, which he described as a 'requiem without despair', was written in 1950 following the death of
Christian Bérard, a leading figure of 1940s Paris who designed the sets for Cocteau's films and plays. This masterly work,
dedicated to the Virgin of Rocamadour, gives pride of place to the chorus and clearly shows its line of descent from the
French grands motets of the age of Louis XIV. On completing it, Poulenc wrote to Pierre Bernac: 'It's good, because it's
completely authentic.'
**** (4 star rating)


...the two works performed so beautifully by Estonian musicians share the entirely mysterious problem of wholesale underperformance with almost of all of Poulenc's repertoire. In the aesthetic politics of 20th century music, Poulenc, in the 21st century, seems to suffer the fate of writing music too ravishing for anyone's comfort. It is bewildering why music as beautiful as this seems to be recorded with such relative infrequence-and, at that, seldom as magnificently as this. A wonderful record.

- By Jeff Simon © 2014 The Buffalo News