Gonzague Monney (Stabat Mater Speciosa)
About the composer
As a young person Gonzague Monney sang in several ensembles. He participated in two summer sessions of the World Youth Choir (South Africa and Namibia in 2007; Hong Kong, China and Macao in 2008). Gonzague Monney graduated at the Fribourg Conservatory in choral conducting and teaching music. He completed his studies with two semesters of orchestral conducting at the Haute École de Musique in Lausanne, and a master’s degree in choral conducting at the Kunstuniversität in Graz (Austria).
Nowadays he is conductor of the Chœur Faller de Lausanne, the Laudate Chor Zürich and the Ensemble Vocal Utopie de Friborg (which he founded in 2000) . He is also the Musical Director of the Associations of Céciliennes St-Henri and Ste-Croix (21 choirs), and regularly exercises the function of USC expert for the passages of choirs before jury. He is also a member of the committee of the Swiss Federation Europa Cantat (FSEC). In 2018, he was a guest conductor of the Swiss Youth Choir .
Composition is an important part of his activities. He composed nearly a hundred pieces for choir, including three brief masses and two cantatas for choir, soloists and orchestra: Stabat Mater Speciosa (premiered in January 2016 in Courtepin) and Psalm 23 (premiered in November 2017 in Zurich). In 2008, his Gegrüsset seist Du, Maria got a jury prize and the audience award of the composition competition Label Suisse in Lausanne.
(based on information from http://www.monney.info/bio.htm)
About the Stabat Mater
| Date: | 2016 |
| Performers: | Mixed choir |
| Length: | 19.00 minutes |
| Particulars: | This composition is a Stabat Mater Speciosa, a counterpart of the Stabat Mater Dolorosa. This poem describes the feelings of Maria after the birth of her child. Monney's Stabat Mater Speciosa composition is titled Cantata pout la Nativité (Cantata for the Nativity). His composition has eight parts. It start with an instrumental prelude. The theme is well-known, is it a Christmas song? Anyhow I love it, this composition. I listened to it many times. |
| Textual variations: | This composition is a Stabat Mater Speciosa. The "Speciosa" is clearly based on the "Analecta"-version of the "Dolorosa", and it is easily seen that the rhyming scheme is not followed as strictly as in the "Dolorosa", especially in the third lines (see stanzas 7 and 8: subditum - diversorio). |
| Colour bar: |
No colourbar as the Stabat Mater text has not been used. |
Information about the recording
| CD: | Stabat Mater Speciosa Gonzague Monney |
| More info: | The Cd is a recording of the performance of October 10th 2016, Church ofMézières in France. Mr. Monney was kind enough to point me to his composition and sent the CD to me.Thank you very much! |
| Orchestra: | Orchestra de la Villede Bulle, prparation by Olivier Murith |
| Choir: | Vocal ensemble Utope and La chanson du lac de Courtepin |
| Conductor: | Gonzague Monney |
| Soloists: | Salomé Zangerl, soprano |
| Code: | MON-01 (2020) |
