Domenico Scarlatti : Stabat Mater - Messe de Madrid

CD Domenico Scarlatti : Stabat Mater - Messe de Madrid Ensemble Jacques Moderne

The sixth son of Alessandro, Domenico Scarlatti (Naples, 1685 - Madrid, 1757) soon displayed a remarkable musical talent: at only fifteen years of age he was appointed organist and composer of the regal court and he also held the post of "chamber harpsichordist" – a sign that in Naples he had already developed an affection for the keyboard that was to make his posthumous fame.
The Stabat Mater is certainly the most well known and ambitious of his vocal works and it stands out for many reasons. Its considerable dimension, its powerful dramatic sweep, its stylistic unity despite the great variety of tone-colour makes it one of the most important sacred works of the Italian Settecento.
The Missa quatuor vocum is also known as the "Madrid Mass" because it was copied in 1754 for the Spanish Royal Chapel. This writing endows the mass with an impersonal and detached tone, which contrasts with the style of the Stabat Mater.
The Te Deum style is essentially homophonic and the two choirs are given equal treatment, reflecting the polychoral writing of the great masters of the past. Another difference with the Stabat Mater is its use of a simpler harmonic language.