As far as the influence of the general public is concerned, classical music, in a sense, began with the death of Pergolesi. This composer was little known during his lifetime, but that quickly changed thanks to the still popular "Stabat Mater". Many in the 18th century must have thought that with this painful music, Pergolesi mourned his own death instead of that of Christ. The premature demise of
… this young but so promising composer at least resulted in a true cult, which was unprecedented for that time. The "Stabat Mater" therefore set a trend, which has resulted in many clones. Even old Bach had to believe, because his arrangement of Psalm 51 is based on the same music. But also the "Stabat Mater" by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) is in many ways a late echo of Pergolesi's archetypal version. Boccherini wrote his "Stabat Mater" in 1781. In 1800 he turned this version for soprano and strings into a version for two sopranos and one tenor. Boccherini is best known for his chamber music. He wrote more than 150 string quintets, about a hundred quartets and almost 50 trios. That his lesser-known vocal music is also worthwhile, is evident from a CD by the King's Consort conducted by Robert King, on which Luigi Boccherini's "Stabat Mater" is combined with Emanuele d'Astorga's "Stabat Mater" (1680). -1757). The soloists on this CD are soprano Susan Gritton, soprano Sarah Fox, mezzo-soprano Susan Bickley, tenor Paul Agnew and bass Peter Harvey. (HJmore
