Chopin University Press - G.B. Pergolesi: Stabat Mater, P. Łukaszewski: Luctus Mariae (2022)

The 13th-century sequence of Stabat Mater, describing the suffering of the Mother standing under the Cross, has been a constant inspiration for poets, painters and composers for centuries. Among her works, a composition by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi occupies a special place. Written for the local community, it quickly became the most published work in the 18th century and the most popular Stabat Mater of the last three centuries. “He was adored for the extraordinary beauty of the melody, communicative message, beautiful and subtle devotion to the music of affectus tristitiae. Pergolesi captured the stanzas of Stabat Mater in the form of a cantata - a cycle of solo duets and arias, in a two-movement da chiesa type. The church style is emphasized by the occasional use of counterpoint, but an expression close to the secular cantata and opera dominates here (which was the subject of criticism, especially among German and French theorists of that time; it was also an argument in the famous querelle des Bouffons) ”(Piotr Maculewicz). In 2010, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Pergolesi's birth, Paweł Łukaszewski composed Luctus Mariae (Mary's Lamentation) - a work directly referring to the famous cantata of the baroque master. The piece was composed for a contemporary Latin poem with an analogous structure and a similar message, written by prof. Jerzy Wojtczak-Szyszkowski. Łukaszewski, retaining the similarities in terms of structure (13 parts, division into arias and duets), cast and affective side, uses modern means of expression appropriate to his style, extended tonality and vocal texture demanding for singers. This recording is a phonographic premiere of the work. The album was released in a hardcover album with an extensive, nearly 60-page booklet, which includes the program description, performers' bios and lyrics in Latin, Polish (the Polish translation of Stabat Mater by Seweryna Duchińska) and English are a curiosity.