In October 2023, I wrote about Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari (1677–1754) on this website. His Stabat Mater for four soloists, mixed choir, strings and continuo — first published in 1744 — was listed on our Missing CDs page, among 575 compositions that have never been recorded or released. Thanks to the dedication of Wim Looyestijn, who transcribed a handwritten manuscript copy into modern digital notation, we were able to share an MP3 and the sheet music for the first part. I ended that post with a hope: perhaps someone will be inspired to perform this work.

The answer came from Rome.

Giorgio Bottiglioni, director of the Italian baroque ensemble Furiosi Affetti from Rome, recently contacted me. Through our website, he discovered Clari’s Stabat Mater and his ensemble will perform it in Viterbo in September 2026, during their annual festival dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. It could not be a more fitting occasion.

And there is more: 2027 will mark the 350th anniversary of Clari’s birth — an extra reason to give this long-neglected composer the attention he deserves.

If a recording is made, it will find its place here on stabatmater.info and on our YouTube channel. Clari will finally get his own page.

This is exactly why this website exists.