For some months now we have been in touch with Fabio Babiloni, a university professor and neuroscientist at Sapienza University of Rome, who is also a classical composer. His Stabat Mater – Magnificat took third place in an international composition competition on the theme of the Virgin Mary, held at the Vatican in 2025.

Babiloni sets the first stanza of the Stabat Mater and weaves into it the opening words of the Magnificat, the song Mary sings when she meets Elisabeth. We have not come across this combination before, and we find it truly special: the mother standing at the foot of the cross, and the voice of trust we know from a very different moment in her story. His question is how we, as human beings, can overcome the pain of life, such as the death of those we love. At first the Magnificat sounds only human, empty and hopeless. When it returns, it is harmonically enlarged and carries the strength of faith. The piece stays in a minor key but ends in major. Babiloni says he sets this hope to music very modestly.

The work premiered in Naples in May 2025, as part of a concert reflecting on war, migrants and a “disarmed and disarming” peace. A CD recording is planned for 2026. We will publish a page about Babiloni and his composition on our website shortly, and add details about the CD once it is released.

Babiloni also researches how music can help patients with hearing impairments. At our request, he will write an article for our blog about the healing power of music.

For now, we are happy to share a preview, both visual and auditory. The video was recorded live on June 7, 2026, in the church of S. Ponziano in Rome, with the choir Concentus Vocalis di Roma and the youth chamber orchestra “Papillon”, conducted by Roberto Nobilio.