Egon Kracht
About the composer
Egon Kracht, a Dutch musician and composer, was born in 1966. He had double bass lessons with Hans van Meegen and Wilbur Little. Kracht studied from 1986 till 1991 at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. Even before his Conservatory studies, he had regular performances.
In 1994 he founded The Troupe, and with this ensemble he undertook many projects. He composed Broadway will burn! for The Troupe and in 2002 he adapted The Matthew Passion of J.S. Bach. In 2003 The Troupe came out with Joe’s Garage, an instrumental satiric rockopera by Frank Zappa.
In 2010 Egon Kracht recorded Judas Passion. The Judas Passion is based on the Gospel according to Judas which was rediscovered in 2005. Egons music here is inspired by the classical religious music. This Stabat Mater is his third religious work. It premiered on November 23th 2011 in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam.
About the Stabat Mater
Date: | 2011 |
Performers: | Soprano, tenor, contralto, flugelhorn, Hammond organ, violin, cello, doublebass and mixed choir |
Length: | 66.18 minutes |
Particulars: | Actually the name of this work is: Stabat Mater, Stabat Pater. Egon Kracht felt the need to give the father a role in the story, a man who is joining his wife in mourning the death of their child. From the cd-booklet: It is a situation which can often tear a family apart, for quite often the parents cannot share their grief.This is the subject matter that lies at the heart of the Stabat Mater Stabat Pater. |
Textual variations: | Egon adapted the original poem in many places and gave the father a voice. He has used also text material of a secular nature. Upon his request Jaap Toorenaar made a male adaptation of the Stabat Mater Dolorosa (“Stabat Pater Dolorosus”). His wife Noortje Braat wrote some contemplative lyrics in Dutch. Egon also took some lines from novels by the Dutch authors A. F. Th. Van der Heijden and P.F. Thomése. Egon Kracht: This all resulted in a libretto in which Latin and Dutch texts stand side by side. Thus both the mother and the father are given a voice, and the grief of the parents over the loss of a child is put into a secular context. In addition to the father and the mother a third voice is introduced: the good friend of the family, who stands by the parents in a period of mourning. |
Colour bar: |
Information about the recording
CD1: | Stabat Mater Stabat Pater ZZ76113 |
More info: | I received this cd at a special occasion: the performance of Stabat Mater Stabat Pater in April 2014 in The Amstel Church in Amsterdam. At the end of this concert, the appearance of the cd was celebrated. I was impressed by the music. For me it was the second time to hear it, I was present at a performance in Haarlem in 2011. |
Orchestra: | The Troupe: Angelo Verhoeven – flugelhorn, Jacob Klaasse – Hammond organ, Noortje Braat – violin, Diederik van Dijk – cello, Egon Kracht – double bass. |
Soloists: | Elisa Roep, soprano (Mater) |
Code: | 2014 KRA-01 (249) |