This work was created in two phases: the first was in 2014, where the Stabat Mater originally appeared for two sopranos and organ. The idea came to me while reading this beautiful thirteenth century Latin text. The returning rhymes of these twenty three-line verses and the repetitive rhythm lead me to recite the text in a liturgical style, like an incantation, in a concise form lasting just a few minutes.
In 2015, while I was guest composer at the Auvers-sur-Oise Festival, the director Pascal Escande asked me to write an introduction to the Stabat Mater for the Maîtrise de Paris female voice choir. I then wrote the Hallelujah that opens this score.