Pergolèse & Vivaldi: Stabat Mater pour deux castrats

Featuring

Samuel Mariño
Filippo Mineccia
Marie van Rhijn
Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Antonio Vivaldi

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Interpretation

The Stabat Mater works on this album are performed by a male soprano and a male alto, reflecting historical performance practices where women were often excluded from singing in religious services.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in June 2020 at the Royal Chapel of the Palace of Versailles, a historic venue that hosted the King's daily mass with music composed by figures like Lully and Couperin.

Composition History

Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, a very popular work in France, was likely conceived for specific voice types: a castrato voice and a male alto voice.

Historical Context

The instrumental forces used for this recording are similar to those found in Italian churches in the first half of the 18th century, as evidenced by historical payroll lists from churches like San Petronio in Bologna.

Performer Biography

Samuel Mariño, a soprano, founded Ensemble Teseo in 2019 to bring forgotten Baroque works and techniques to mainstream opera and concert stages.

Composer Biography

Both composers, Pergolesi and Vivaldi, shared a common experience of suffering from lung diseases, which may have given a tangible reality to phrases about drawing one's last breath in their music.

Recording & Production

The pitch for this recording was chosen as a compromise at 415 Hz, balancing the very low pitch of Naples (around 392 Hz) and the higher pitch of Venice (around 440 Hz) during the Baroque era.