Philipp Ortmeier

Stabat Mater

Producing novel sounds that are not frightening but emotionally touching and finding wide acceptance - this is the artistic credo of the 1978 born composer Philipp Ortmeier. It is always important to the native Passauer that his spiritual and secular works, which have received much attention in Germany and abroad, are singable and playable by ambitious lay people. This claim also fulfilled his 2007/08 Stabat Mater for solo soprano, four-part mixed choir and string orchestra. The work, which is based on the famous medieval sequence about the grieving mother of Jesus on the cross, consists of a total of seven orchestral parts. Both the three sections reserved for the solo soprano and the four choral parts are characterized by repetitive structures, striking rhythms and simple melodies, based on traditional, dissonance-enriched major-minor tonality. An impressive yet touching piece of sacred choral music that can be ideally integrated into concert programs and can also be well rehearsed by amateur choirs.