A tribute to both Pergolesi and Bach
Bach’s Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden is more unusual than it seems. For this composition he transcribed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and arranged it for the words of Psalm 51. The result is a fascinating praise to a composer who flared up like a falling star in the musical firmament: Pergolesi died of tuberculosis at the age of 26. But that did nothing to lessen his influence. On his deathbed, amongst the Franciscan monks of Pozzuoli, he also wrote a subdued Salve Regina in addition to the Stabat Mater. B’Rock is paying tribute to both Pergolesi and Bach in the company of the soprano Lenneke Ruiten and alto Wiebke Lehmkuhl. The darkness is dispelled by the energetic radiance of Vivaldi’s string concerto RV 119 and the jubilant trumpet and soprano parts in Bach’s cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen.