Stabat Mater

Chamber Choir Ireland and the Irish Chamber Orchestra will perform the Irish premiere of James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater, an intense setting of a medieval hymn for chorus and orchestra, conducted by the composer himself, as part of NEW MUSIC DUBLIN: DEFROSTED Few living composers communicate with the emotional directness of Sir James MacMillan, and performances of his new Stabat Mater have received rave reviews. For MacMillan, 'beauty is at the heart of our Christian faith' and this work, in common with almost all his others, is profoundly shaped by his beliefs. MacMillan’s setting of the 13th-century text depicting Mary weeping by the cross lasts 50 minutes and is cast in four movements. A choral work with deep roots and a universal message, this Irish premiere of the work is a celebration of both tradition and of radical renewal.   "Both sides of MacMillan are to be found here, the devotional and the painter of bold dramatic canvases - the former in the ethereal writing for solo and ensemble voices, the latter in the lacerating blows and feverish anxieties depicted in the string ensemble"