Lent is the season (of about 6 weeks) leading up to Easter. In this season often sacred music concerts get performed in churches or concert halls up and down the country. As it is still chilly and often wet too it is wonderful to attend such an event.
I just attended the Stabat Mater concert by Rossini at the reformed church in Burgdorf. The Stabat Mater is actually a 13th century latin catholic hymn to Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, suffered immensely as she witnessed how her son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross crucified. Many different composer such as Vivaldi, Domenico, Scarlatti, Haydn, Rossini, Dvorak, Verdi and others composed music to this latin text.
It is quite interesting that the Stabat Mater is clearly from a catholic tradition, with a strong emphasis on the mother of Jesus. Reformed theology would rather focus on the son, Jesus Christ and his redeeming work on the cross. However today the Stabat Mater is acknowledged as a cultural heritage that is also fully accepted and enjoyed by a reformed or a secular audience.
