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Stabat Mater (Pergolesi)

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Stabat Mater
by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Autograph from the third movement
CatalogueP. 77
TextStabat Mater
LanguageLatin
Composed1736 (1736)
Movements12
Vocalsoprano and alto soloists
Instrumental

Stabat Mater (P.77)[1] is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater sequence, composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi in 1736.[2] Composed in the final weeks of Pergolesi's life,[3] it is scored for soprano and alto soloists, violin I and II, viola and basso continuo.

The autograph manuscript of the work is preserved in the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino.

Background

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Many pieces which were said to have been composed by Pergolesi have been misattributed; the Stabat Mater is definitely by Pergolesi, as a manuscript in his handwriting has been preserved.[4] The work was composed for a Neapolitan confraternity, the Cavalieri della Vergine dei Dolori di San Luigi al Palazzo,[5] which had also commissioned a Stabat Mater from Alessandro Scarlatti.[6] Pergolesi composed it during his final illness from tuberculosis in a Franciscan monastery in Pozzuoli, along with a Salve Regina setting,[2][3] and finished it shortly before he died.

Reception

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The Stabat Mater is one of Pergolesi's most celebrated sacred works, achieving great popularity after the composer's death.[7][8] Jean-Jacques Rousseau showed appreciation for the work, praising the opening movement as "the most perfect and touching duet to come from the pen of any composer".[9] Many composers adapted the work, including Giovanni Paisiello, who extended the orchestral accompaniment,[10] and Joseph Eybler, who added a choir to replace some of the duets. Bach's Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden is a parody cantata based on Pergolesi's composition.

The work was not without its detractors. Padre Martini criticised its light, operatic style in 1774, and believed it was too similar to Pergolesi's comic opera La serva padrona to adequately deliver the pathos of the text.[11]

Structure

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The work is divided into twelve movements, each named after the incipit of the text. Much of the music is based on Pergolesi's earlier setting of the Dies irae sequence.[4]

  1. "Stabat Mater Dolorosa", Grave, F minor, common time; duet
  2. "Cujus animam gementem", Andante amoroso, C minor, 3/8; soprano aria
  3. "O quam tristis et afflicta", Larghetto, G minor, common time; duet
  4. "Quae moerebat et dolebat", Allegro, E-flat major, 2/4; alto aria
  5. "Quis est homo", Largo, C minor, common time; duet
    —"Pro peccatis suae gentis", Allegro, C minor, 6/8
  6. "Vidit suum dulcem natum", Tempo giusto, F minor, common time; soprano aria
  7. "Eja mater fons amoris", Andantino, C minor, 3/8; alto aria
  8. "Fac ut ardeat cor meum", Allegro, G minor, cut common time; duet
  9. "Sancta mater, istud agas", Tempo giusto, E-flat major, common time; duet
  10. "Fac ut portem Christi mortem", Largo, G minor, common time; alto aria
  11. "Inflammatus et accensus", Allegro ma non troppo, B-flat major, common time; duet
  12. "Quando corpus morietur", Largo assai, F minor, common time; duet
    —"Amen..." Presto assai, F minor, cut common time

Recordings

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Release Year Soloists Conductor Orchestra Label Catalog Number
1949 (excerpts recorded 1939) Hans Schneider

Hans Frank, Erich Kuchar

Victor Gomboz History 205207
1947 Joan Taylor

Kathleen Ferrier

Roy Henderson The Boyd Need Orchestra Decca AK1517 - AK1521
1951 Anna Maria Augenstein

Hetty Plümacher

Hans Grischkat Ton-Studio Orchestra of Stuttgart Nixa 530
1955 Teresa Stich-Randall

Elisabeth Höngen

Mario Rossi Vienna State Opera Orchestra Bach Guild 549
1956 Friederike Sailer

Hanne Münch

Günter Kehr Mainzer Kammerorchester Vox 9960
1958 Margot Guilleaume

Jeanne Deroubaiz

Matthieu Lange Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Archiv 14098
1965 Judith Raskin

Maureen Lehane

Franco Caracciolo Orchestra Rossini di Napoli Decca 6153
1966 Evelyn Lear

Christa Ludwig

Lorin Maazel Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Phillips 3590
1990 (live 1968 performance) Gundula Janowitz

Maureen Forrester

Claudio Abbado Berlin Philharmonic Myto 905.25
1969 Margaret Tynes

Anita Turner-Butler

Massimo Bruni Prague Chamber Orchestra Supraphon 1112 0620
1972 Luciana Ticinelli-Fattori

Maria Minetto

Edwin Loehrer Società Cameristica di Lugano Erato 55046
1973 Mirella Freni

Teresa Berganza

Ettore Gracis Solisti Dell'Orchestra "Scarlatti" Napoli Archiv 2533 114
1973 Ingeborg Müller-Ney

Tuula Nienstedt

Heidelberger Kammerorchester Sastruphon SM 007047
1979 Margaret Marshall

Alfreda Hodgson

Günter Kehr Mainzer Kammerorchester Candide 31118
1979 Klaus Brettschneider, Stefan Frangoulis

Christian Siferlinger, Michael Stumpf

Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden English Baroque Ensemble Philips 6501 011
1979 Ileana Cotrubas

Lucia Valentini-Terrani

Claudio Scimone I Solisti Veneti Erato 71179
1980 Felicity Palmer

Alfreda Hodgson

George Guest Argo Chamber Orchestra Argo 591023
1981 Magda Kalmar

Julia Hamari

Lamberto Gardelli Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Hungaroton 12201-2
1983 Sebastian Hennig

René Jacobs

René Jacobs Concerto Vocale Harmonia Mundi 1119
1985 Margaret Marshall

Lucia Valentini-Terrani

Claudio Abbado London Symphony Orchestra Deutsche Grammophon 415103
1987 Mieke van der Sluis

Gérard Lesne

René Clemencic Clemencic Consort Accord 200062
1987 Véronique Dietschy

Alain Zaepffel

Paul Colleaux Ensemble Stradivaria Adda 581016
1988 Gillian Fisher

Michael Chance

Robert King The King's Consort Hyperion 66294
1989 Emma Kirkby

James Bowman

Christopher Hogwood Academy of Ancient Music Decca 425 692-2
1990 Krisztina Laki

Julia Hamari

Agostino Orizio Orchestra da Camera del Festival Internazionale di Brescia e Bergamo Fonè 90 F 03
1991 Mária Zádori

Derek Lee Ragin

Pál Németh Capella Savaria harmonia mundi 3903011
2000 (recorded 1993) Cecilia Gasdia

Delores Ziegler

Claudio Scimone I Solisti Veneti Warner 8573-81276
1993 June Anderson

Cecilia Bartoli

Charles Dutoit Montreal Sinfonietta Decca 436209
1993 Dennis Naseband

Jochen Kowalski

Hartmut Haenchen Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra Berlin Classics 115112
1994 Dorothea Röschmann

Catherine Robbin

Bernard Labadie Les Violons du Roy Sono Luminus 90196
1995 Arthur Stefanowics

Brigitte Fournier

Andrzej Mysinski Concerto Avenna Elysium 705
1995 Anna Gonda

Julia Faulkner

Michael Halász Camerata Budapest Naxos 8550766
1995 Regina Klepper

Martina Borst

Bamberg String Quartet Capriccio Records 10517
1996 Katia Ricciarelli

Manuela Custer

Giorgio Croci I Filarmonici Tactus 711602
1998 Evelyn Lear

Christa Ludwig

Lorin Maazel Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Philips 462054
1999 Barbara Bonney

Andreas Scholl

Christophe Rousset Les Talens Lyriques Decca 466134
2000 Véronique Gens

Gérard Lesne

Gérard Lesne Seminario Musicale Virgin Classics 45291
2004 Pino De Vittorio

Patrizia Bovi

Olivier Schneebeli Le Poème Harmonique Alpha Productions 9
2004 Roberta Invernizzi, soprano

Sonia Prina, contralto

Ottavio Dantone Accademia Bizantina Paragon per Amadeus AM 180-2
2006 Michael Chance

Jörg Waschinski

Helmut Müller-Brühl Cologne Chamber Orchestra Naxos 8557447
2006 Bettina Rubertone

Chiarastella Onorati

Flavio Emilio Scogna Benedetto Marcello Chamber Orchestra Tactus 711603
2006 Dorothea Röschmann

David Daniels

Fabio Biondi Europa Galante Emi Classics 63340
2008 Mikael Bellini

Susanne Rydén

Stockholm Baroque Orchestra Proprius-audiosource 2040
2009 Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz

Nathalie Stutzmann

Roy Goodman Hanover Band RCA 61215
2009 Katia Ricciarelli

Lucia Valentini-Terrani

Claudio Abbado Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Euroarts 2072378
2009 Barbara Hendricks

Ulrika Tenstam

Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble Arte Verum 7
2009 Lawrence Zazzo

Angharad Gruffydd Jones

Timothy Brown Cambridge Ensemble Brilliant Classics 93952
2010 Anna Prohaska

Bernarda Fink

Bernhard Forck Academy for Ancient Music Berlin Harmonie Mundi 902072
2010 Rachel Harnisch

Sara Mingado

Claudio Abbado Orchestra Mozart Archiv 477 8077
2011 Anna Netrebko

Marianna Pizzolato

Antonio Pappano Santa Cecilia Academy Rome Orchestra Deutsche Grammophon 001544402
2012 Valer Sabadus

Terry Wey

Michael Hofstetter Neumeyer Consort Oehms 831
2013 Philippe Jaroussky

Julia Lezhneva

Diego Fasolis I Barocchisti Erato 19147
2014 Jonah Schenkel

Alex Potter

Alphons von Aarburg Barockorchester Capriccio Tudor Records 7166
2015 Evelyn Tubb

Terry Barber

Predrag Gosta New Trinity Baroque Edition Lilac 151108
2016 Sara Mingardo

Silvia Frigato

Federico Ferri Accademia degli Astrusi Concerto 2097
2017 Tim Mead

Lucy Crowe

David Bates La Nuova Musica Harmonia Mundi 907589
2019 Magali Léger

Paulin Bündgen

Jean-Marc Andrieu Les Passions Liga 327912
2019 Mariella Devia

Francesca Provvisionato

Daniele Callegari Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana Fonè 130
2020 Sandrine Piau

Christopher Lowrey

Christophe Rousset Les Talens Lyriques Alpha Productions 449
2021 Samuel Mariño

Filippo Mineccia

Marie Van Rhijn Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal Château de Versailles Spectacles 033

References

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  1. ^ Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, 1710-1736 : a thematic catalogue of the Opera Omnia, with an appendix listing omitted compositions. Marvin E. Paymer (New York : Pendragon Press, 1977).
  2. ^ a b Sadie, Julie Ann (1998). Companion to Baroque Music. University of California Press. p. 75. ISBN 9780520214149.
  3. ^ a b Randel, Don M. (1996). The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. p. 681. ISBN 9780674372993.
  4. ^ a b Andriessen, Louis; Schönberger, E. (2006). The Apollonian Clockwork: On Stravinsky. Amsterdam University Press. p. 66. ISBN 9789053568569.
  5. ^ Van Boer, Bertil H. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Music of the Classical Period. Scarecrow Press. p. 435. ISBN 9780810873865.
  6. ^ "Giovanni Battista Pergolesi". Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  7. ^ Will, Richard (2004). "Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and the Politics of Feminine Virtue" (PDF). The Musical Quarterly. 87 (3): 570–614. doi:10.1093/musqtl/gdh021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  8. ^ Steinberg, Michael (2006). Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 115. ISBN 9780198029212.
  9. ^ Brook, Barry S. (1983). Pergolesi: research, publication and performance. The present state of studies on Pergolesi and his times. November 18–19, 1983, Jesi, Italy. ISBN 9780918728791.
  10. ^ "Giovanni Paisiello". Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  11. ^ Heighes, Simon. "Giovanni Battista Pergolesi". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2013.

Further reading

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