During his short life, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was a prolific composer. A noted writer of early opera, among his most famous works are Il prigioniero superbo and La serva padrona. But it was his Stabat Mater that would assure his place in music history, commissioned by the Confraternità dei Cavalieri di San Luigi di Palazzo for a Good Friday dedication to the Virgin Mary. The work remains one of the most popular sacred pieces of all time, and is still performed and recorded today. To celebrate the third centenary of Pergolesi’s birth (2010), MVSICA PERDVTA combed through many original 18th-century manuscripts and scores kept in the library of the Sacro Convento in Assisi, uncovering hitherto unpublished editions featuring three cantatas by the composer: Nel chiuso centro (L’Orfeo), Luce degli occhi miei and La Maddalena al sepolcro. The music of the latter is reminiscent of the Stabat Mater and could even be considered a worthy sequel to the great work. This theory refutes the idea that the final details on the Stabat Mater were completed the day Pergolesi died.
Works:
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Pergolesi: Concerto armonici No. 6 in E-flat major
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Pergolesi: L'addio, Op. 2 No. 2
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Pergolesi: La Maddalena al sepolcro, Op. posth
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Pergolesi: Luce degli occhi miei - chamber cantata
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Pergolesi: Orfeo
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Pergolesi: Orfeo (Cantata)
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Pergolesi: Sinfonia a 3 in F Major
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Pergolesi: Sinfonia in F major