Pergolesi's Stabat Mater was commissioned by the Fraternity of the Virgin of Seven Sorrows to replace an earlier work by Alessandro Scarlatti.
Composer Biography
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, a composer born in 1710, showed exceptional talent for the violin, which became the focus of his studies with leading Neapolitan masters.
Compositional Technique
The cantata Orfeo, featured on this recording, is structured simply with two airs, each preceded by a recitative with continuo bass, and manages to embody two characters with only one voice.
Critical Reception
Despite his short career, Pergolesi's music was so popular that many forgers created over 500 works under his name by the early 20th century, even though he only composed about thirty.
Cultural Impact
Pergolesi's opera buffa, Serva Padrona, became a model for the genre across Europe and was cited as an example of Italian genius during the 'Querelle des Bouffons' in Paris in 1752.
Composer Biography
Pergolesi died at the young age of 26 from tuberculosis, shortly after composing his Stabat Mater, which contributed to the legend surrounding him.
Critical Reception
Pergolesi's Stabat Mater was widely acclaimed across Europe by 1740, with Johann Sebastian Bach even adapting it in his Psalm 51.
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