Rating: 4/5
Review:
Good but not great music
I like this disc of music recently attributed to Pergolesi, and it is very good to have more of Pergolesi's music available in excellent performances like this. I can't quite share the rapturous enthusiasm of some other reviewers, though; for me, this is good rather than great music.
Here, Pergolesi has set the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross for a range of largely solo voices. They are skilful emotional settings and show what a loss Pergolesi's early death was but they don't quite engage me with the power of his Stabat Mater and Salve Regina. It's hard to put my finger on why, but the amazing dissonances of Stabat Mater aren't used much here, for example, and it just doesn't grab me by the throat in quite the same way. That said, there's plenty of very enjoyable music here, there are moments of true pathos and it's still very good music.
René Jacobs and his ensemble are, as one would expect, excellent. The four soloists are very good and Jacobs brings really fine performances from them and the instrumentalists, shaping the music to give it genuine emotion without ever spilling over into sentimentality. It's very finely judged, and beautifully recorded by Harmonia Mundi.
Plenty of others don't share my slight reservations about the music, and they just represent a personal feeling, so don't let me put you off. This is a good disc which is beautifully performed and recorded, and very nicely presented. I can still recommend it - just not quite as warmly as some of Pergolesi's other music.
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