PERGOLESI
STABAT MATER
Maarten Engeltjes, counter tenor | Rosemary Joshua, soprano | P.F. Thomése, speaking voice
The first major project of Maarten Engeltjes with his baroque orchestra PRJCT Amsterdam
Stabat Mater, was performed for the first time on 27 September 2017 in the St. Jan Basilica in Laren. The theme of this first project was fate, death, in particular the death of a child – in particular the loss of a child as experienced by the parents.
The program started with two pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Nulla in mundo pax and Nisi dominus (with the moving ‘Cum dederit’ about fate, doom and destiny). After that P.F. Thomése read passages from his book Shadow Child (2003) about the death of his new-born daughter. This served as an introduction to Pergolesi’s well-known and much appreciated Stabat Mater (1736) in which Mary laments her son Jesus at the foot of the cross: The heartbroken Mother | Was weeping at the cross | While her Son hung there.
With this combination of eighteenth-century music and modern literature, the timelessness of the theme became tangible. This also contributed to making baroque music more accessible to an audience that may be more familiar with text and literature than with early music.
Concerts
Stabat Mater has been performed six times: four times in the Netherlands (Laren, Tilburg, Amsterdam, Haarlem) and twice in France (Paris and Lyon). All concerts have earned a lot of praise.
PRJCT Amsterdam
PRJCT Amsterdam is a young baroque ensemble around countertenor Maarten Engeltjes, founded in 2017. The ensemble is formed by a solid core of outstanding, recently graduated baroque musicians with their own musical vision.
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Performers:
Maarten Engeltjes, counter tenor
Rosemary Joshua, soprano
P.F. Thomése, speaking voice
PRJCT Amsterdam, baroque orchestra
Josef Žák, violin and lead