The Stabat Mater was one of the most popular genres in church music. Beginning with Josquin Desprez in 1480 and still going strong today (one of the last famous compositions is by Arvo Pärt in 1985), about 600 composers have tried their hand at this genre (see the Ultimate Stabat Mater website). One of the most famous is by Alessandro Scarlatti, the father of Domenico Scarlatti of keyboard sonata fame, who was primarily known for his vocal and choral music: his oratorios, cantatas and operas.
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was born in Palermo, Sicily. Nicknamed "the Italian Orpheus" by his contemporaries, he divided his career between Naples and Rome, where he received his musical training; a significant part of his work was composed for the papal city. He is often considered the founder of the Neapolitan school, although he was only its most illustrious representative: his contribution, his originality and his influence were essential and lasting, both in Italy and in Europe. He composed more than 600 cantatas, 150 oratorios and 115 operas.
Scarlatti's music is an important link between the early baroque Italian vocal styles of the 17th century, with their centers in Florence, Venice and Rome, and the classical school of the 18th century. Scarlatti's style, however, is more than a transitional element in Western music; like most of his Neapolitan colleagues, he shows an almost modern understanding of the psychology of modulation, and also frequently makes use of the ever-changing phrase lengths so typical of the Neapolitan school.
Scarlatti composed six hundred chamber cantatas for solo voice. These represent the most intellectual type of chamber music of their time. The Stabat Mater was commissioned by the Franciscans, the Knights of the Virgin of Sorrows of the Church of San Luigi in Naples, who annually honored the Virgin by dedicating a Stabat Mater to her during Lent. The order was very poor, which may explain the small number of artists for whom the score was written. Many years later, probably in 1734, the same order commissioned Pergolesi to write a new Stabat Mater.
The Stabat Mater consists of eighteen sections that can be divided into four parts, each of which begins and ends with a duet. A late composition of Scarlatti's, it impresses with its extraordinary musical richness, variety of forms, chromatic freedom and flexibility of expression. This makes it one of his most popular religious works today.
Listen to: Collegium Marianum