Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Despite his tragically short life, Pergolesi left an impressive oeuvre, including the intermezzo La serva padrona, one of the great examples of the Italian comic opera in the 18th century. A successful opera composer, Pergolesi was also a highly esteemed composer of church music, exemplified by his remarkable Stabat Mater.
Following musical studies in his native town, Pergolesi was sent to Naples in the early 1720s. He continued his studies at the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesu Cristo, where he also performed as a violinist and made his debut as a composer. In 1731, Pergolesi received his first commission to compose an opera, which means that he had probably left the conservatory around that time. By early 1732, Pergolesi had composed two operas, which met with minimal success. That year, he became maestro di cappella to Prince Ferdinando Colona Stigliano, a prominent Neapolitan nobleman. Pergolesi's opera Lo frate 'nnamorato was performed, greeted with immense enthusiasm.
In 1733, Pergolesi was commissioned to write an opera for the celebration of the birthday of the Empress of Austria. Performed in 1733, this opera, Il prigionier superbo, contained a two-act intermezzo, La serva padrona, which eventually gained extraordinary popularity as a separate work. When Carlos de Bourbon entered Naples in 1734, re-establishing, with the support of Spanish troops, the Kingdom of Naples, Pergolesi was asked to write a mass. He composed his Mass in F, which was performed in Rome, eliciting considerable interest. Pergolesi was now maestro di cappella to another Neapolitan nobleman, Duke Maddaloni.
The success of his Mass brought Pergolesi another commission: an opera, L'Olimpiade, for the 1735 Carnival season in Rome. The opera was a failure; fortunately, Pergolesi's last stage effort, Il flaminio, a comedy, was successfully produced in Naples. In 1736, Pergolesi, suffering from tuberculosis, moved to the Franciscan monastery in Pozzuoli. During his final year, he composed the Stabat Mater, which contemporaries lauded as a successful introduction of the new galant style into the traditional domain of church music.
Pergolesi's Stabat Mater was first published in London in 1749, eventually becoming the most frequently printed musical composition in the 18th century. La serva padrona, based on a story about a witty servant girl who plots to marry her elderly master, enjoyed great success in Europe following Pergolesi's death. In 1752, a performance of this work in Paris sparked the famous Querelle des Bouffons (Quarrel of the Comedians), the dispute between the supporters of Italian opera and the patriotic traditionalists, who favored French opera. During this dispute, La serva padrona was upheld as representative of the Italian operatic genius. 18th century critics, as well as ordinary listeners, admired the opera's brilliant characterization and masterful plot development. Admired in the 18th century, this concise stage work, which possesses a timeless charm, has been appreciated by generations of listeners.
© Zoran Minderovic /TiVo
Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Pergolesi (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi)
Classical - Released by Idyllium on 11 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater Dolorosa in F Minor (Digitally Remastered)
Collegium Pro Arte, Kurt Redel
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 28 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 23 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
Classical - Released by Autoeditados on 16 Jun 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stabat Mater (Live)
Classical - Released by Rosaio Milano on 16 Jul 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater, P. 77
Ensemble l'Alauda de Genève, Antoinette Matthey de l'Etang, Hansia Gmür
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 2 Nov 1972
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi & Vivaldi: Stabat Mater
Warsaw Soloists Concerto Avenna
Classical - Released by Elysium Recordings, Inc. on 30 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four Reasons
Classical - Released by Smilax Records on 15 Feb 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: La Serva Padrona
Carlo Maria Giulini, Rossana carteri, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Opera - Released by Urania on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italian Baroque Sacred Music
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Giovanni Battista Bononcini
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 12 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Baroque Easter
Johann Sebastian Bach, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Georg Friedrich Händel
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 2 Apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hommage a Bidu Sayao: The Unrivaled Lyric-Soprano in Rare Live Radio Performances, Vol. 2
Opera - Released by Cembal d'amour CD 145 on 1 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 30 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater in F Minor, P.77
Homerus Baroque Ensemble, Richard Williams Beeman
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by RC Record Classic Label on 9 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Il geloso schernito
Opera - Released by Urania on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Pergolesi (Remastered)
Miscellaneous - Released by Classic Records Ltd. on 27 Apr 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera - La Serva Padrona
Orchestra Philarmonic The Milan
Opera - Released by Open Records on 16 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo