Usually, when I talk with people about Stabat Mater and my CD collection, I often hear them say: oh Pergolesi! Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater is undoubtedly not only the best known but also the most performed and most recorded one. On the Pergolesi page you will find a collection of many recordings and adaptations. This work seems to have inspired many composers to imitate, paraphrase and adapt (see Brunetti, de Nardis and Paisiello). The musical setting of Psalm 51 Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden by the great Johann Sebastian is another example. There are also films that used parts of Pergolesi’s Stabat in the sountrack such as THX 1138 (by George Lukas, 1971), Jésus de Montréal (by Denys Arcand, 1989), Smilla’s Sense of Snow, (Billy August, 1997), Amadeus (Miloš Forman, 1984) and Mirror (by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975).
Some time ago I was surprised by a completely different version of Pergolesi’s Stabat. It was performed in Muziekgebouw aan het IJ in Amsterdam on September 28th in 2019. Pergolesi’s Stabat for not just two female singers but also for three dancers! What a shame I could not visit the performance; it was sold out completely!  Choreographer Peter Leung added a new layer in the composition: contemporary dance! Happily I managed to contact Peter Leung and he was kind enough to send me the complete video of the performance. I was surprised and impressed. I am happy Peter allowed me to show a part of the video on my site. I chose part IX Sancta Mater istud agas (stanza 11 until 15). Look at this dancing Stabat with: singers Tania Lorenzo (soprano) and Rosina Fabius (mezzo-soprano) alongside dancers Frederik Kaijser, Erika Poletto and Sophie Vergères and musicians from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Michael Gieler.