Gennari Rinaldo

The legendary Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was born 300 years ago, in 1710. To mark the anniversary, Naïve re-issues three renowned recordings to feature his choral music, in a specially-priced box set, headed by the Gramophone award-winning version of his Stabat Mater by Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano, considered one of the best ever recorded.

Pergolesi's legendary Stabat Mater for solo soprano and alto acquired its mystique early on: not only does it boast striking melodies and harmonies, but the composer finished it just days before dying of tuberculosis at age 26. That irresistibly mythic circumstance, combined with the sacred nature of the text, led to an air of reverence that has surrounded the work for two centuries. It's this reverence that Rinaldo Alessandrini means to strip away, showing us the very theatrical style in which Pergolesi actually wrote. Using only six period string instruments rather than the customary small orchestra, Alessandrini directs a remarkable performance: the very quick or very slow tempos, sudden accents, and dynamic extremes are often surprising but always credible.