Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista: Stabat mater

In Naples, late in the year 1734, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi obtained a commission from a brotherhood of noblemen to write a new setting of the “Stabat mater” text in order to replace the work of Alessandro Scarlatti, who had passed away in 1725. This work, too, was to be limited to two vocal parts, which reflects the intimate character of this devotional work. Just a few years after its creation, Pergolesi’s “Stabat mater” setting became known throughout the entire musical world, regardless of all religious boundaries. No other musical work was printed and copied more often in the 18th century than the “Stabat mater.” The present edition is based on the autograph, which contains corrections and deletions. It seems to have been hastily transcribed from sketches intended for the copyist’s use. The publisher thus faced a particularly challenging task here.