--- product_id: 175227646 title: "Stabat Mater" brand: "tiziano scarpa" price: "€ 12.35" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 3 category: "Books" url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/175227646-stabat-mater store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # Stabat Mater **Brand:** tiziano scarpa **Price:** € 12.35 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Stabat Mater by tiziano scarpa - **How much does it cost?** € 12.35 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/175227646-stabat-mater) ## Best For - tiziano scarpa enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted tiziano scarpa brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Review A heady tale of music and foundlings in Vivaldi's Venice (Sunday Telegraph)Disquieting, lyrical and intensely authentic (Michelle Lovric)It always feels as if there's an extra sense available to Tiziano Scarpa, one that fuses perception and emotion. He calls it a scrittura totale, total writing. I just think it's genius. (Michelle Lovric, author of The Book of Human Skin) Book Description In early eighteenth-century Venice an orphan girl discovers life and independence in the music of Vivaldi See all Product description ## Images ![Stabat Mater - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sgSPkTlJL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐ Stabat Mater *by D***S on 10 October 2014* Not a bad book, just maybe not what I expected. It was thought provoking though, so if you feel like reading something a bit more challenging then you might enjoy this book. Just don't expect to feel uplifted. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Interesting but frustrating as style obscures story *by R***E on 23 August 2011* There's a fascinating story behind this tale of which this first person narrative gives only glimpses. It's interesting, but ultimately a little frustrating.Translated by Shaun Whiteside from Scarpa's 2008 Italian original, "Stabat Mater" is set in a Venetian orphanage for girls run by nuns in what would have been around the 1700s. The girls at the "Ospedale" are trained as musicians and singers who play from a hidden gallery in the adjoining church for the patrons of the Instituto della Pietà. However, this is a highly stylised little book, bordering on the almost poetic, narrated from the point of view of one of the orphans, a young violinist named Cecilia who goes on to tell of the impact of the appointment of a new in-house composer, one Don Antonio, or Vivaldi as most of us know him.This is rather the strength and weakness of the book. On the one hand, it's a fascinating story with the young Vivaldi composing classical standards for his young orphans - he introduces himself to the girls with a series of compositions based on the four seasons. Not only that, but the whole thing is set in the fascinating glamour of Venice. Add in the strange and peculiar world of a church-based orphanage for young girls and there are stories, you feel, just bursting to be told. And yet, rather like the audience to the performances, the reader only gets tantalising glimpses of the orphans and the narrative thread in Cecilia's story.Scarpa's Cecilia is a troubled young girl who cannot sleep and appears to have an eating disorder. At night she creeps to a hidden place to write `letters' to her unknown mother even though these are never sent. The narrative consists of these notes to her mother, strange internal dialogues with a `snake-haired woman' representing death and slightly more conventional journal like entries of events as they unfold. However, there is no clear distinction between these and they all roll into one stream of writing. Once Don Antonio arrives we also get snatches of conversation between the him and Cecilia. This short book concludes with some more translated comments from Scarpa on his admiration of Vivaldi.It's all rather esoteric which is frustrating when the story and setting is so intrinsically interesting. There is very little of the feel of Venice, nor of the life of the orphans, let alone the impact of Vivaldi's arrival on the scene. In fact, I found myself re-reading the cover blurb around a third of the way in just to make sense of what was going on. While conceptually it's clear that Cecilia has had a tough life which ought to garner the reader's sympathy, her self-pitying tone becomes depressing to read and she does little to win the reader over.I would guess that if you were skilled enough to read the original Italian, the experience might be more beautiful. That's in no way a negative comment about the quality of the translation, but I wonder if the Italian language lends itself better to the almost poetic quality of her musings. Scarpa has Cecilia noting that words are inferior to music in explaining her feelings and somehow his book rather supported this comment in this instance for me. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Interesting but frustrating as style obscures story *by R***E on 30 August 2011* There's a fascinating story behind this tale of which this first person narrative gives only glimpses. It's interesting, but ultimately a little frustrating.Translated by Shaun Whiteside from Scarpa's 2008 Italian original, "Stabat Mater" is set in a Venetian orphanage for girls run by nuns in what would have been around the 1700s. The girls at the "Ospedale" are trained as musicians and singers who play from a hidden gallery in the adjoining church for the patrons of the Instituto della Pietà. However, this is a highly stylised little book, bordering on the almost poetic, narrated from the point of view of one of the orphans, a young violinist named Cecilia who goes on to tell of the impact of the appointment of a new in-house composer, one Don Antonio, or Vivaldi as most of us know him.This is rather the strength and weakness of the book. On the one hand, it's a fascinating story with the young Vivaldi composing classical standards for his young orphans - he introduces himself to the girls with a series of compositions based on the four seasons. Not only that, but the whole thing is set in the fascinating glamour of Venice. Add in the strange and peculiar world of a church-based orphanage for young girls and there are stories, you feel, just bursting to be told. And yet, rather like the audience to the performances, the reader only gets tantalising glimpses of the orphans and the narrative thread in Cecilia's story.Scarpa's Cecilia is a troubled young girl who cannot sleep and appears to have an eating disorder. At night she creeps to a hidden place to write `letters' to her unknown mother even though these are never sent. The narrative consists of these notes to her mother, strange internal dialogues with a `snake-haired woman' representing death and slightly more conventional journal like entries of events as they unfold. However, there is no clear distinction between these and they all roll into one stream of writing. Once Don Antonio arrives we also get snatches of conversation between the him and Cecilia. This short book concludes with some more translated comments from Scarpa on his admiration of Vivaldi.It's all rather esoteric which is frustrating when the story and setting is so intrinsically interesting. There is very little of the feel of Venice, nor of the life of the orphans, let alone the impact of Vivaldi's arrival on the scene. In fact, I found myself re-reading the cover blurb around a third of the way in just to make sense of what was going on. While conceptually it's clear that Cecilia has had a tough life which ought to garner the reader's sympathy, her self-pitying tone becomes depressing to read and she does little to win the reader over.I would guess that if you were skilled enough to read the original Italian, the experience might be more beautiful. That's in no way a negative comment about the quality of the translation, but I wonder if the Italian language lends itself better to the almost poetic quality of her musings. Scarpa has Cecilia noting that words are inferior to music in explaining her feelings and somehow his book rather supported this comment in this instance for me. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/175227646-stabat-mater](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/175227646-stabat-mater) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*