Gustavo Fedel, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951, is a composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. His Stabat Mater is written for strings, organ, and timpani. When we (Dutch, Europeans) listened to it, we were deeply impressed by the orchestration, the timbre, and the rhythms that make his Stabat Mater composition so Argentinean for us. There is both melancholy and a profound warmth and compassion that leave a lasting impression on us.

Meanwhile, we maintain a cordial email correspondence with Fedel. He shared with us that his Stabat Mater premiered in 2007 at the request of the then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis). He wrote: When the Stabat Mater poem came into my hands, it moved me, and in a few days of intense work, I composed the work, and the orchestration came naturally. I have tried to achieve musical ‘austerity’; I feel the drama…stay away from grandiloquence and be faithful to the poem, expressing my own feelings in musical notes. Have I ever felt that I have written this music? I have only been the intermediary.“

Throughout his career, he has composed and arranged for numerous important musical events and he has also performed as a pianist alongside renowned musicians. In 1984, in Madrid, the Argentine composer and bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla encountered his music and encouraged him to dedicate himself to composition. Fedel went on to create “Danza del abismo” for the bandoneonist Daniel Binelli, the suite “The Other City,” a work for ballet and quartet, included on the album “Memoria y Tango” (1991). In Melbourne, Australia, he introduced his work “Él y Yo” with The New Tango Quartet, dedicated to maestro Astor Piazzolla.

Fedel informed us about his mothers serious illness. He expressed that it would mean a lot to both of them if we could share his Stabat Mater on our website allowing the world to experience some of his music. We invite you to listen to a part of Gustavo Fedel’s Stabat Mater featuring soloists Verónica Cánaves (contralto) and Gustavo Fedel (organ/piano), accompanied by the Gustavo Fedel Ensemble and the Ensemble Espacio Coral choir under the direction of Gustavo Fedel. The digital album is available in MP3 format through the free Bandcamp app.

Title: Gustavo Fedel, Stabat Mater, Sonata Cromática, edited 2019