Classical Music

PERGOLESI: Stabat Mater / Orfeo

Classical Music

Pergolesi, G.B.: Stabat Mater / Salve Regina

Jochen Kowalski Sings Arias

Pergolesi: Stabat Mater - Marian Music from Naples

Classical Music

MUSICA SACRA: PERGOLESI'S STAB

The four cantatas by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi recorded here were published in Naples c. 1736. A short while later, perhaps 1738, a new edition of the cantatas was published. The fact that the two publications following in short succession testifies to the singular interest the chamber works of this very young composer from Jesi, who had died in 1736, aroused in Italian and European musical circles. For all, mention need only be made of the testimony of Charles de Brosses, who, in 1739, judged the fourth cantata of the collection as “the best of the Italian cantatas”.

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi brought the theatre into churches, and religious seriousness into theatres. He is also the first musician who was never dropped from the repertory, either in theatres or in churches. Before him, only contemporary music was played and sung. His Stabat Mater and La serva padrona never stopped being performed, admired and applauded. The characters were now men and women made of flesh and blood, not stock characters, types and stilted heroes, and had the same feelings and intentions as the men and women who frequented the theatre. Pergolesi’s modernity still surprises.

PRJCT Amsterdam and its artistic director Maarten Engeltjes present two of the greatest vocal works of the baroque era: Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus. While Vivaldi’s virtuosic piece contemplates the helplessness of people when God does not support their efforts, Pergolesi’s portrait of the weeping Mary at the Cross embodies what the “nameless” parents of a deceased child go through. In the Stabat Mater, Engeltjes’s counter-tenor blends together seamlessly and soothingly with Shira Patchornik’s soprano voice, resulting in an interpretation that is both profound and deeply relatable.

PRJCT Amsterdam is a young, innovative baroque ensemble centred around counter-tenor Maarten Engeltjes, and founded in 2017. Engeltjes is one of the most sought-after counter-tenors of today, working with several of the most esteemed early music groups and conductors. After having won multiple major baroque competitions, soprano Shira Patchornik is quickly establishing herself as an important singer on the opera and concert stage. All artists make their Pentatone debut.

No one has described Pergolesi’s vocal works more splendidly and with more understanding than the philosopher and pedagogue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of the Dictionnaire de musique that was extremely widespread in the 19th century, when he wrote: "Here everything contributes to deepening the effect of the text: the harmony serves only to shape it more forcefully, the accompaniment embellishes it without distorting it. In a word, the whole work of art simultaneously communicates one melody to the ear and only one idea to the mind.“ This CD offers 3 Masterpieces recorded by the long time Duo Regina Klepper and Martina Borst, accompanied by the Bamberg String Quartet.

Pergolesi, G.B.: Stabat Mater / Orfeo

Il Prigionier Superbo was first staged on August 28, 1733. The chronicles report that the intermezzos of La Serva Padrona were so successful they overshadowed Il Prigioniero, in spite of its obvious merits. Pergolesi’s adhesion to the stylistic standards and the formal customs of his time is total and his respect for the taste of the audience entirely focused on belcanto is never in discussion. (Bongiovanni)

14 distinct titles introduce this exciting new series uniting the finest Alpha and ZZT Baroque recordings. Discover - or rediscover - universally known works as well as world premiere recordings of rarities. Newly conducted artist interviews allow for fresh perspectives on their recordings. All releases, digipak in format with trilingual booklets, feature photographs by great (Magnum Cooperative) contemporary artists adorning the covers and a strong 'queen of colors' scheme, bringing to mind gods, kings, warriors, the devil, life, violence and death... Themes omnipresent in Baroque art!