Stabat Mater

Here is one of the great surprises in Baroque choral music: a composer we think of almost entirely as a keyboard genius turns out to be equally formidable with voices. Written in Rome while Scarlatti led the Cappella Giulia at St Peter's Basilica, this setting of the medieval Latin poem meditating on the Virgin Mary's grief at the foot of the Cross draws ten voices and a basso continuo through a journey that moves from aching sorrow to moments of fierce drama. The work closes not with quiet resignation but with a dance-like Amen, a gesture that carries a startling lift of energy after all that has come before.

What to listen for

Rather than splitting into two separate choirs, Scarlatti weaves all ten voices together in continuously shifting counterpoint, so the texture feels like a single living organism breathing and contracting. Notice how the brooding, winding lines of the opening give way to the driving, striding scales of the choral section asking who could not weep, and then to the almost tortured hesitations of the following solo passage, each movement recolouring grief from a different angle.

Recommended recording

The recording by Concerto Italiano under Rinaldo Alessandrini has been praised for its clarity, rhythmic incision, and the supple ensemble blend it draws from the ten solo voices.

Suggestions are AI-generated. Always verify before purchasing.