DILLON: STABAT MATER DOLOROSA

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
South Bank, London SE1
United Kingdom
08700 606 096
http://www.rfh.org.uk

Ilan Volkov conductor
BBC Singers
London Sinfonietta

“A Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival highlight… beautiful, distant and compelling" **** The Guardian (on the world premiere in November).

One of the most celebrated but least performed composers in the UK, James Dillon has described his music as like ‘stepping into the magic circle'.

In this, the London premiere of his new work for choir, ensemble and electronics, Dillon explores the myth surrounding one of the most important texts in Biblical history, the Stabat Mater Dolorosa. Combining the original Latin text with excerpts from an essay by radical feminist writer Julie Kristeva, John Donne’s A Valediction and even a letter to Picasso from his mother, this contemporary rendering of Mary’s lamentation at the foot of the cross will have a powerful, expressive impact.

Commissioned by BBC Radio 3, hcmf// and Casa da Música Porto.



James Dillon : Stabat Mater Dolorosa