Pergolesi's incomparable setting of the Stabat Mater rose to great fame immediately following the composer's untimely death at the age of 26. Known for its beautiful arias and duets for soprano and alto, the writer and composer Jean-Jacques Rousseau praised the opening movement as "the most perfect and touching duet to come from the pen of any composer." The uniquely captivating music of Pergolesi's setting attracted Johann Sebastian Bach about a decade later, inspiring him to compose an arrangement of the instrumental parts that included a very elaborate part for the violas. After all, Bach was a fine violist himself, and he must have yearned for the opportunity to contribute to Pergolesi's beautiful music in a way that would flatter its composer.

EPSG:4326

The Harmonic Labyrinth

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Saint Mark's Episcopal Church

Davis Community Church

St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco

Requiem Æternam: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater & Mozart's Requiem

Mozarteum Foundation

Pergolesi’s sacred masterpiece, the Stabat Mater, is filled with gorgeous, spine-tingling music that explores the nature of grief, hope and healing. These emotions also course through Barber’s sublime Adagio for Strings and Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers, a high-spirited tribute to Beethoven. CSO Piccolo Jennifer Gunn solos as the mercurial protagonist in Thea Musgrave’s Piccolo Play.

Piccolo Play & Adagio for Strings

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Countless composers have set the medieval sequence Stabat Mater dolorosa to music, from Josquin Desprez and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina to Krzystof Penderecki and Arvo Pärt. But perhaps the most famous version dates from the 1730s. At the age of just 26, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi died in the spa town of Pozzuoli near Naples after a failed attempt to overcome tuberculosis. He spent the last months of his life there in a monastery, working feverishly on his Stabat Mater . By then, he had enjoyed a meteoric career as a composer, with his operas in particular being popular with audiences both at home and abroad. After his early death, however, it was the Stabat Mater that immortalized his name to this day, becoming the most copied work of the time shortly after his last breath. A version with choral additions by his contemporary Benjamin Cooke will be performed in Knechtsteden.

Knechtseden Early Music Festival

Kloster Knechtsteden

The period instruments of the AHE and two brilliant singers in a ravishing program of familiar and neglected gems, including Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.

Jewels of the sacred Baroque repertoire with Celeste Lazarenko, soprano and Helen Sherman, mezzo soprano.

Heavenly Sopranos

Berry Uniting Church

Bowral Memorial Hall

Wesley Music Centre

Riverside Theatres

City Recital Hall

The Art House Theatre Wyong

Join us for a series of timeless works that spotlight singular voices within the collective music-making experience. Revisit memories and create new ones together with LACO and guest artists John Holiday and Amanda Forsythe.  

Traditions

Alex Theatre

University of California, Los Angeles

WHAT ENDURES ACROSS TIME AND SPACE? Join us for a series of timeless works that spotlight singular voices within the collective music-making experience. Revisit memories and create new ones together with LACO and guest artists John Holiday and Amanda Forsythe.  

Traditions: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater

Curated by Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, this Baroque chamber presentation spotlights members of the Orchestra as they take center stage in this concerto-heavy program featuring the violin, oboe, flute, and harpsichord. You will also hear Joseph Haydn’s delightful first string quartet, Op. 1, No. 1.

Baroque Chamber Music

The Huntington

Did you know the author of the Declaration of Independence was a passionate music lover? The Four Nations Ensemble’s program explores the musical world of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, culminating in a performance of Pergolesi’s masterful Stabat Mater, a revered Jefferson favorite.

“We know that Jefferson was a passionate music lover and violinist.  He amassed a library that became the backbone of the Library of Congress’ music collection and his taste, though terribly conservative, included the masterworks of the early 18th century, including chamber music of Handel, Vivaldi and Corelli as well as Pergolesi’s influential Stabat Mater for two voices and strings.  But America did not follow Jefferson’s conservative tastes and concert programs from Boston to Charleston presented music fresh from the pens of Pleyel, Haydn, and John Frederick Peter, America’s first professional composer.  Four Nations’ program presents the musical tastes from Moravians to Merchants.”

Giovanni Pergolesi

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 21, 2026

Four Nations Ensemble · Chamber Music Detroit

Past events

Feb 27 - Mar 2, 2026

The Harmonic Labyrinth · American Bach Soloists

Jan 29, 2026

Requiem Æternam: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater & Mozart's Requiem · Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

About

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