It was in a monastery near Naples that Pergolesi, consumed by phthisis at the age of 26, composed the last notes of his masterpiece on his deathbed.
A sacred work constantly crossed by the opera genre – a secular genre par excellence – this motet describes the Virgin’s suffering before her crucified son, and conveys extreme emotion: this is not the swan song of an artist at death’s door, but a sincere and hopeful song of humanism, the music poignant, even heart-rending, and the text also conveying a message of compassion and empathy towards all those who suffer.
The Stabat Mater was a success from the moment it was created. It was admired by Johann Sebastian Bach who borrowed certain themes for his Psalm 51 “Tilge, Höchster”, but also by Bellini who said that this Stabat is a “divine poem of pain, deep and emotional”.
