Pergolesi: Stabat Mater & Laudate Pueri

Performer: Valer Barna-Sabadus (countertenor) sings soprano Terry Way (countertenor) sings alto Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 - 1736) is a too infrequently performed and appreciated composer. For those who know his works realize that his Stabat Mater was his achingly lovely swan song, a work that probably was written with two male singers in mind as was the tradition of the times. There is something otherworldly about countertenors who can sing in the range of women yet command the attributes that make their approach to music different (not better, but different). If the right pairing of soloists can be found then this little masterpiece of vocal literature becomes sublime. Today there are many recordings of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (1736), usually paired with his fine Salve Regina and on those recordings the roles are assumed by a soprano and an alto/mezzo soprano. This recording is refreshingly different. This recording is conducted by Michael Hofstetter who keeps the period instrumental and choral forces of the Neumeyer Consort and the Ensemble Barock Vokal, Mainz in tight but lyrical control. The true difference in this recording is the presence of a genuine male soprano and alto: not a lot of male singers soar into the higher ranges convincingly without belting. While the vocalists are billed as countertenors on the album, the Romanian-born Valer Barna-Sabadus is a true soprano (listen for his soaring and florid lines in the `Cujus animan'). As one critic familiar with Barna-Sabadus' gifts explains, `It's not that he delivers operatic power; plenty of countertenors can do that. It's the lightness and balance -- even a certain soberness -- that fit the work to its intended church ambiance. He can certainly execute the blooming operatic style, which he deploys to perfectly good effect in the choral psalm "Laudate Pueri Dominum," which rounds out the album; it's that he doesn't feel it's appropriate to this particular work.' High praise indeed, but simply listen to excerpts on the MP3 selections and hear for yourself. Barna-Sabadus' duets with male alto Terry Wey are gracefully restrained and deeply spiritual. There may be other recordings of the Stabat Mater with greater sentiment, and arguably greater emotional impact, but for sheer vocal beauty and for original use of the male high voice this one is hard to top. And by adding the sublime Laudate pueri Dominum (1732) this immaculately recorded CD, recorded in an auditorium at the music school of the University of Mainz by the Oehms' engineering is crystal clear and beautifully attuned to the music.