Stabat Mater | 03.04.26 (7:00 PM)
Friday 3. April at 19:00 - 20:10
Entrance to the event: from 6:15 PM
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Riga, Rīga
Easter Concert on Good Friday
On Good Friday, the Stabat Mater resounds across the world — a prayer of suffering, sorrow, and transcendent beauty. On April 3, the Church of St. Paul presents the canonical setting of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, performed with organ (Ilona Birģele) and two soloists: soprano Ilze Grevele-Skarainė and mezzo-soprano Diana Bistere.
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century medieval hymn depicting the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, traditionally performed during Holy Week. Among its many musical settings, Pergolesi's stands as one of the most beloved works of the Baroque era — music whose emotional power transcends time, faith, and genre.
In an organ accompaniment, the Stabat Mater gains a rare wholeness and depth. Beneath the vaults of the neo-Gothic Church of St. Paul, this music speaks with particular intimacy, drawing out both its emotional force and the beauty of the space itself.
The programme also features selected works by Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach, illuminating different dimensions of Baroque sacred music.
Thoughtful lighting and visual design accompany the sound with a gentle presence — inviting a fresh encounter with this music and drawing it closer. This is an evening for stillness, reflection, and inward listening.

Musicians are located on the balcony, at the organ
Concert duration: approx. 1 hour 10 minutes
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Riga • Augusta Deglava iela 1, 1009 Rīga, Latvia