Utwory na płycie:

• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Stabat Mater dolorosa
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Cujus animam gementem
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - O quam tristis et afflicta
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Quae moerebat et dolebat
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Quis est homo, qui non fleret
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Vidit suum dulcem natum
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Eja, Mater, fons amois
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Fac ut ardeat cor meum
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Sancta Mater, istud agas
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Fac, ut portem Christi moetem
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Inflammatus et accensus
• Stabat Mater, P. 77 - Quando corpus morietur
• Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo - Per il mar del pianto mio
• Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo - Pompe inutili
• Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo - Voglio piangere

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi:
Stabat Mater, P. 77

Antonio Caldara:
Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo

The Stabat Mater by the Italian late baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710- 1736) invariably holds the number one position in many western classical music charts. In Pergolesi’s own era, his composition received enormous acclaim and was frequently a source of inspiration for the many tone poets who wanted to follow in his footsteps. Why has this pole position remained inviolable throughout the centuries and why is the Stabat Mater unanimously proclaimed as the ultimate composition of the classical repertoire by a hugely diverse and widely spread audience, year after year?

The fact that so many people are moved by this textbook example of simple, captivating sacred music has intrigued us for years and led us to study this work more closely in an attempt to find out what the ingredients of this special composition are.

Has Pergolesi found the perfect balance between reason and emotion? Is his work the nec plus ultra in terms of musical experience and immersion? Or is the glory and widespread familiarity of the work mainly due to its mainstream exposure via movies and television?

For this version, we brought together two wonderful vocalists who are symbiotic and complementary both in terms of personality and musical interpretation. To emphasise the intimate and personal character of the work we have deliberately chosen a string ensemble with solo instruments, supported by the most traditional line-up of basso continuo in sacred music (organ & theorbo), which was given all possible improvisational freedom. This resulted in a ‘new’, fresh interpretation of this well-known piece of music, while we searched for the primal emotions of this beautiful poem about Mary and the melody it inspired.

You can hear Mary and Mary Magdalene cry, sob and gasp for breath, weighed down by this intense sorrow, but sublimely set to music by Pergolesi and Caldara.

---

Recorded at Kapel Hof Bladelin, Brugge, Belgium from April 18 until 21, 2019.