Pergolesi / Scarlatti, A.: Stabat Mater

Featuring

Susanne Rydén
Mikael Bellini
Rebaroque
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Alessandro Scarlatti

Did you know?

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Cultural Impact

Pergolesi's Stabat Mater became incredibly popular after his death, leading to many posthumous misattributions of works to him and even an adaptation by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Composer Biography

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, the other composer on this album, died at only 26 years old, likely from tuberculosis, and spent his final days in a monastery.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Hölö Church in Sweden over several days in January and April 2007.

Composer Biography

Alessandro Scarlatti, one of the composers on this album, was at the center of a large musical family, with many of his siblings and children, including Domenico Scarlatti, also being professional musicians.

Historical Context

The city of Naples, where these works were composed, was a turbulent place, suffering from earthquakes, epidemics, and political unrest due to being governed first by Spain and then by Vienna.

Compositional Technique

Pergolesi's Stabat Mater is characterized by a simpler musical style compared to Scarlatti's, with less counterpoint and slower harmonic changes.

Composition History

Both Stabat Mater settings on this album, by Alessandro Scarlatti and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, are believed to have been commissioned by the same religious order in Naples.