As we draw closer to the Easter period, the musicians of the island are preparing to celebrate the season as they know best. In Paphos, a unique concert dedicated to the Stabat Mater sequence is coming soon, on April 10.

The Stabat Mater sequence is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ’s mother during his crucifixion. The title comes from its first line, Stabat Mater dolorosa, which means “the sorrowful mother was standing” and has been set to music by many Western composers, including Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, whose work is going to be presented in the concert by three musicians.

Only a few weeks before his untimely death, at the age of 26, Pergolesi finished the composition of his most famous piece, the Stabat Mater, commissioned by a religious brotherhood in Naples for the liturgic ceremony for all Fridays in March, to replace Scarlatti’s piece of the same name. He set in music a late medieval poem on the suffering of Maria, Mother of God, whose author is not clearly known but which is representative of the religious poetry of its time.

It became quickly known throughout the world, it was the most printed work of music in the 18th century, and was performed in various contexts and arrangements, exercising a tremendous impact on musical culture and history until our days. Soprano Vasiliki Constantinou, mezzo-soprano Anoki von Arx and pianist Zara Bakhoudarian will take the stage of Markideio Theatre, on Sunday, April 10 at 7pm to bring it to life.

Stabat Mater

Easter concert with Vasiliki Constantinou, Anoki von Arx and Zara Bakhoudarian. April 10. Markideio Theatre, Paphos. 7pm. €8-15. Tel: 7000-2420