Music / “Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater”, Canberra Sinfonia. At Wesley Uniting Church, May 27. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

CONSIDERED the greatest “Stabat Mater” ever, Pergolesi’s version was even arranged by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Dying at only 26, the Italian baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi wrote his “Stabat Mater” as a hymn to Christ’s mother Mary. Pergolesi used a 13th-century Christian text that portrays Mary’s suffering during Christ’s execution as she stands before him on the crucifix.

The performers at the Wesley Uniting Church were Greta Claringbould, soprano; Tobias Cole, counter tenor and the Canberra Sinfonia under concertmaster John Ma.

They opened with an overture by Gorg Muffat, a “Passacaglia”. This short dance work for harpsichord, played by Ariana Odermatt and strings, created a lively beginning. Unfortunately, not all the strings were in tune, but it was a strong effort overall.

With a delicate opening, the “Stabat Mater” gently slid across a plaintive melody shortly before the singers’ anguished voices enter. With Claringbould and Cole joining the Sinfonia, the sound took on a more even and mellow tone. This music almost weeps, such is its effective accompaniment to the sorrow-filled sounds of the singers. It has strength, too. Several short movements pack a punch with lively and danceable tunes.

A mistake saw one section begin to start out of place. After a couple of false starts, they found the right section. It was an upbeat, lively tune where Cole’s voice created a strong and driving lead.

The 12 short movements are all connected through the quality writing and the overall gorgeous sound of the composition. It is truly a work of magnificence. That’s why it has lasted hundreds of years. As each section follows another, its intensity grew until the final movement, the “Quando corpus morietur”, with all its amens, created a bright finish.

This is a work that listeners can lose themselves in. Some of the movements are so fresh and lively and these are perfectly counterbalanced against the slow, sad themes and songs. The writing is so good, every section could be a standalone work.

A tighter performance from the strings would have brought out the true beauty of this over 300-year-old piece.