Stabat Mater

Simon-Pierre Bestion has chosen to mirror two Stabat Mater that are more than 150 years apart: "in these two works I can feel the same tonal language, the same expression of sorrow" says the founder of La Tempete... "I have decided to 'augment' Scarlatti's orchestration and 'diminish' Dvorak's, so they can meet on even ground. To the Scarlatti I have added string parts sometimes doubling the vocal lines, colla parte, as was often done at the period: this not only allows the sound to be amplified, but adds an extra timbre to the voice. For the Dvorak, I have transcribed the original piano part into it's minimum orchestral dimension, that is, for strings. This creates a common sound world between the two works - I would even say they have the same kind of lyricism in common, with just the timbres of the piano, organ and theorbo standing out."