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During his short life of 26 years, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi produced two works that have ensured his name lives on as one of the great Baroque composers: the comic opera La serva padrona (The Maid as Mistress) and the Stabat Mater recorded on this CD. He wrote much more music – sadly the bulk of this is lost and after his death the heavy demand for his music lead to publishers passing off works by lesser composers as being by Pergolesi. Recent study has suggested that of the 150 works published in his name, only about one in five is a genuine Pergolesi. The Stabat Mater was composed in the last two months of his life, in 1736 at the Franciscan monastery near Pozzuoli. Initially the work attracted criticism as it cast conventional religious musical styles aside, and, to many listeners, it sounded more like operatic music set to a religious text. It is possible to detect the world of opera in some of the numbers, but the critics were being unfair. The predominating minor key gives the work a serious character befitting the text. What Pergolesi achieved was to tie music and text together in an emotional bond that is both very effective and touching.The work was published with many examples of the tampering that afflicted much of Pergolesi’s music. For example, oboes were added to the score. This recording is of the original version.

15 CD + CD ROM.

A stunning 15 CD collection of some of the greatest sacred music ever written.

From the great Lamentations of Byrd, Tallis and Palestrina, the listener is taken on a remarkable spiritual journey through Bach’s great St Matthew Passion, Purcell’s moving and bleak funeral music for Queen Mary, and Handel radiant Messiah.

Pergolesi’s masterful setting of the Stabat Mater and Telemann’s Passions-Oratorium are also to be found here, along with Haydn’s Stabat Mater and his dark and intense masterpiece Die sieben letzen Worte, or The Seven Last Words of our Saviour from the Cross.

Finally, Allegri’s hauntingly beautiful Miserere opens this collection – a work that was copied from memory after one hearing by the child Mozart. Prior to that moment the work had only been heard in the Vatican.

Superb value with a CD-ROM containing a full tracklist, sung texts and translations and booklet notes.

First rate performances from leading choirs including Kings College and Clare College, Cambridge, and the Stuttgart Chamber Chorus.

All recordings are recent.

Domenico Scarlatti, the sixth child of the celebrated composer Alessandro Scarlatti, was a prolific keyboard composer, and is best known today for his 555 sonatas for keyboard. Domenico was employed by various members of European royalty and nobility in Italy, Spain and Portugal throughout his career. His style was unusual and innovative, but very few of his works were published during his lifetime.

The disc combines several of Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas with Neapolitan songs by various composers of the era, exploring the influences of these songs on Scarlatti's sonatas. Scarlatti's style is notable for its improvisatory nature as well as its incorporation of elements of Spanish and Portuguese folk music (the composer having spent time in Lisbon, Seville and Madrid), and among the Neapolitan songs featured on the disc is the immensely popular Lo guarracino, a fast-talking and high-spirited number that narrates the story of a fish, and the lilting La Nova Gelosia. Two extracts from operas -- 'So' li sorbe e le nespole amare' from Leonardo Vinci's Lo cecato fauzo and 'Chi disse ca la femmena' from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Lo frate 'nnamorato -- are also present, both of which feature a light-hearted portrayal of women. Out of the many versions of the song Quanno nascette ninno, the one by the Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare was chosen for this disc, thanks to its fascinating minor modulation.

Acclaimed harpsichordist Francesco Cera is considered one of Italy's foremost interpreters of early music. He has toured all over the world and his recordings include interpretations of 17th-century keyboard sonatas, French suites and harpsichord concertos by J.S. Bach. Italian soprano Letizia Calandro's repertoire includes Neapolitan songs alongside the more traditional oeuvres of the Classical and Baroque periods. Having studied at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, she won the Spoleto Award and has performed the lead role in operas by composers as diverse as Monteverdi, Mozart and Verdi.

New recording, recorded September 2009, Chisea di S. Anatolia, Colle di Tora, Rieti, Italy.

An original concept: harpsichord sonatas by Scarlatti, alternated by Neapolitan songs.

Domenico Scarlatti, a child of his time, was strongly influenced by the music of his home town Naples, where he heard opera buffa in Neapolitan dialect, tarantellas and ofcourse the characteristic Neapolitan songs. In this recording harpsichord sonatas are alternated by Neapolitan songs by contemporary composers, such as de Liguori, Pergolesi, Vinci and other anonymous composers.

Beautifully sung by soprano Letizia Calandra, and played on the harpsichord by the eminent Francesco Cera.

Harpsichord by Roberto Livi, Pesaro 1995, after Italian anonymous, Naples c.1650 (now housed in the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague). Guitar by Anna Radice, Bologna, after Italian anonymous, early 17th century.

Extensive liner notes included in English and Italian. Sung texts available on the Brilliant Classics website.

Religion has long been the inspiration behind many works of art, and after the Passions – which narrate the story of the Crucifixion as recorded in the Gospels – the Stabat Mater dolorosa stands as the second most important genre connected to Easter. Based on a poem used as a sequence and hymn in the Roman liturgy, it reflects on the suffering of Mary during Jesus's execution.

This release is dedicated to some of the most famous settings of the Stabat mater, revealing the genre's varying treatment by composers over the centuries. From Palestrina's effective use of polyphony to Pergolesi's unusually sparse instrumental accompaniment and lack of chorus, we move forward in time to contributions by Vivaldi and Haydn, the latter of whom employs daring harmonies in order to heighten the text's depictions of pain and anguish. Dvorák is next to follow, with Boccherini's stirring chamber setting rounding off the compilation; though probably conceived in response to the death of his children, the former composer's work features music that is largely secular and symphonic in design, thus comparable to the structure of a Romantic oratorio.

These compositions rank among some of the most famous and affecting music ever composed. The compilation makes for a fascinating journey through the history of sacred choral composition, detailing many an inspiring performance along the way; a fantastic addition to Brilliant Classics' comprehensive library of choral music.

Other information:

- Composers who wrote a Stabat Mater are: Palestrina,Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Boccherini, Haydn, Dvorak. Each work gained considerable popularity, the Pergolesi Stabat Mater even became one of the most famous and iconic sacred works of all time.

- Performances by leading choirs and soloists: the Clare College Choir Cambridge/Timothy Brown, Stuttgart Chamber Choir/Frieder Bernius, Czech Philharmonic/Smetacek and others.

- A splendid collection of sacred works, a valuable addition to the Brilliant Classics Choral Classics series.

- Sung texts available on www.brilliantclassics.com.