

Vivaldi had played in 1711 in the Santa Maria della Pace in Brescia, and this led to a commission to write a Stabat mater to be performed during the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin in March of the next year. But as we know that Vivaldi composed most of his sacred music for the Ospedale della Pietà, shouldn't it be performed by a female singer? Probably not, because it is very likely this work was not composed for one of the girls of the Ospedale. In the era of the historical performance practice many male altos have performed it and there are many recordings available. Of all the vocal works of Vivaldi, his Stabat mater is one of the most famous. Even so, from a programmatic point of view this disc is rather unsatisfying, and in addition it has nothing to offer which isn't already available on disc. The only connection one can think of is with Bach: his setting of Psalm 51 is based on Pergolesi's famous Stabat mater.

But what about Pergolesi's Salve Regina? The text has nothing to do with Holy Week, of course. So was the Stabat mater, which is recorded here in the famous version of Antonio Vivaldi. What is the connection between Bach, Vivaldi and Pergolesi? The penitential Psalm 50 (51), which is set by Bach on a German text, was traditionally sung during Holy Week. The programme on this disc looks a bit odd. Richard Campbell a, Sarah MacMahonbc, cello Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden (BWV 1083) a Īdrian Butterfield bc, Christine Moran a, Cristina Zacharias, violin ĭouglas McNabney bc, David Miller a, viola Rec: Feb 2005, Montréal, Grand Séminaire bc Feb 2006, Montréal, Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours a
