The French violinist and composer Jean?Baptiste Cartier once said: ‘If God wanted tospeak to man through music, he would do sothrough the works of Haydn; if he wished tolisten to music himself, he would choose theworks of Boccherini.’ Often considered thefinest Italian composer of the Classical era,Luigi Boccherini was not party to theViennese school of music which was invogue at the time, and therefore hiscompositions retain that unmistakableItalian flair, but with modest and subtlebrilliance.His Stabat Mater – written in 1781 andscored for small forces of just soprano andstrings – exudes elegance and beauty. Whilebearing the influence of the Stabat Mater ofPergolesi from 45 years earlier, Boccherini’scomposition often delves into the realms ofthe operatic, thanks to arias such as thepassionate and dramatic ‘Quis est homo’and the agile ‘Cujus animam gementem’.The Stabat Mater is sung by Italian sopranoBarbara Vignudelli, international performerand prizewinner, widely acclaimed for herinterpretations of both sacred music andopera. She is joined by the musicians of theOrchestra da Camera ‘Benedetto Marcello’,which is directed by Flavio Emilio Scogna.

Barbara Vignudelli soprano

Orchestra da Camera ‘Benedetto Marcello’

Flavio Emilio Scogna conductor