Continue the journey…
Further works to enjoy after listening to Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater
Though the Stabat Mater is by some way his best-known work, Pergolesi was no one-hit wonder. Until a few years ago, there was doubt over the authorship of his similarly exquisite Septem verba a Christo (Seven last words of Christ on the Cross), but recent research suggests it was, indeed, probably his handiwork. Scored for four vocal soloists, there’s a quasioperatic feel to much of the music, while passages of plainchant offer moments of calm contemplation amid the drama. (Akademie für Alte Musik/rené Jacobs Harmonia Mundi HMC902155)
Given that Alessandro Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater was shunted off the scene in Naples to make way for Pergolesi’s more up-to-date version (see p71), it makes sense to compare and contrast the two. Like its fêted replacement, the older composer’s setting is scored for soprano and alto soloists and, while it may not pack quite the same dramatic punch, it is by no means short on poignancy. Much of its appeal, in fact, lies in its restraint. (Emma Kirkby, Daniel Taylor; Theatre of Early Music ATMA ACD22237)
Most composers worth their salt operating in late 17th- and 18thcentury
Logroscino’s operatic flare is much in evidence in his 1761 Stabat Mater
Italy seem to have turned their hand to the Stabat Mater at some point. Try, for instance, the 1761 setting by Nicola Logroscino, toast of the Naples and, latterly, Palermo opera scenes in his day. That operatic flare is in much in evidence in a score that, also for soprano and alto soloists, would appear to owe quite a lot to Pergolesi’s earlier precedent. (Giulia Semenzato, Raffaele Pe; Talenti Vulcanici/ Stefano Demicheli Arcana A455)
For his Stabat Mater, composed for performance in Brescia in 1712, Vivaldi employed just the one (alto) soloist and set only the first ten of the 23 stanzas of the Stabat mater dolorosa text. And in terms of character, while Pergolesi and Logroscino had one eye on the opera house, Vivaldi’s setting is unmistakeably one of solemn sacred devotion. (Andreas Scholl; Ensemble 415/ Banchini Harmonia Mundi HMM931571)
Finally, head to the other end of the century for Boccherini’s Stabat Mater of 1781. As if turning the clock back to Vivaldi, the Lucca-born composer eschews operatic showpiece in a work that is instead reflective, restrained and elegant. (Núria Rial; Orchester Le Phénix Coviello COV91813)