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Order CD
Order the CD "Stabat Mater":
Our first CD with the Stabat Mater from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was recorded in the summer of 2003.
You may order our CD with the Stabat Mater from Pergolesi directly from us by using the form below. Our price is 10 EUR. excl. shipping costs.
Listen to CD samples:
For your convenience, we are providing you with three CD samples available for download:
"Stabat mater" by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
At their most recent CD production the ensemble worked on the "Stabat mater" from Giov. B. Pergolesi (1710-1736). This important church music was composed shortly before his death (1735). Pergolesi is considered as a representative of the then new musical style in Neapel. Pergolesi was commissioned by a few noblemen from Neapel to compose this work. The "Stabat mater" from Scarlatti acted as a model for this composition. The text of the Stabat Mater represents a kind of religious poetry that flourished in central Italy in the late medieval times. The use of "chiaroscuro" (contrast) provides the composition remarkable aesthetical value, which shows up as a series of impressions.
The piece is orchestrated for (male) soprano and alto with orchestral accompaniment The role of the continuo is taking over by the double bass. The four string players give the music a great transparency. For the solo voices its demands are enormous. Throughout the twelve movements we find a continuous alternating use of either one of the solo voices or both performing in a duet. The complexity of the piece varies between a fugue-like structure and an accompaniment, supporting the solo voices with merely plain chords.
Pergolesi's work was acknowledged far beyond the borders of religious music. Even Johann Sebastian Bach recognized this work by using material in his Psalm 51.