Frank Ferko
About the composer
Frank Ferko was born June 18, 1950 in Barberton, Ohio, USA. He studied piano and organ, and holds a doctorate in music composition. For the main part of his career he worked as director of music at various churches. Living in Chicago, he nowadays spends most of his time composing.
About the Stabat Mater
| Date: | 1998 |
| Performers: | Soprano and mixed Choir |
| Length: | 54.37 minutes |
| Particulars: | Like some other modern composers Ferko feels that the Stabat Mater text has a broader meaning and is related to the suffering of all people losing children by war, crimes or accidents. He emphasizes this by inserting some other texts. His Stabat Mater consists of 25 small musical sections. Ferko describes his music himself as: A musical mosaic including such old-fashioned concepts as tonal centres, church modes, major and minor keys, counterpoint and melody. The composer offers the choice of singing the Stabat Mater with or without the interludes. Listen online to Introduction, see the link at the bottom of this page. |
| Textual variations: | The "Vatican"-version of the text is used, but there are 5 interludes of additional texts, in which the soprano figures. |
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Information about the recording
| CD: | Cedille Records CDR 90000 051: Frank Ferko, Stabat Mater |
| More info: | In the CD-insert the composer gives extensive explanations about his work, not only what the poem meant to him, but also about the musical ways he used to express this meaning. Recorded at Mallinckrodt Chapel, Wilmette, Illinois in August 1999. |
| Choir: | His Majestie's Clerkes |
| Conductor: | Anne Heider |
| Soloists: | Nancy Gustafson, soprano |
| Code: | (FER-01 |
