Francesco Pietro Paschale Cafaro (as he was baptized) was born in San Pietro in Galatina, Italy on February 1st, 1708 and died in Naples on October 27th, 1787. He had lived in Naples after his eighteenth year. After studying law for some years he decided, when he was already 25, to devote himself to music at the Santa Maria della Piéta dei Turchini. He was employed here for the largest part of his life, from 1771 as Primo Maestro. Beside that he was the personal teacher of Princes, later Queen Maria Carolina. Cafaro composed mainly church music and made use of the old models (Stylus Ecclesiasticus) as well as the operatic style that originated in Naples. Cafaro's Stabat Mater, subtitled "Sequenza a quattro voci e a due in canone con violini, viola e continuo" was very popular in his time. Proof of this is that a year after his death it was written, though not with great foresight: "What he composed will always be admired by subsequent generations and especially the Stabat Mater will always be renowned".
| Date | 1785 |
| Performers | Soprano, mezzo-soprano, mixed choir, strings and continuo |
| Length | 24.29 minutes |
| Particulars | The composition is divided into 11 parts, breaking repeatedly through the structure of the poem. The subtitle of the piece points to the fact that Cafaro makes frequent use of fugues. Though Cafaro is seen as one of the composers influenced by Pergolesi, the addition of a chorus results in heightening the dramatic contrasts. |
| Textual variations | The "Vatican"-text is used, but with the following
change: - Stanza 18, line 1: not "Flammis ne urar succensus" but "Flammis ne orci succendar". This is strange, as this line does not rhyme with the second line of the stanza (defensus). |
| CD | Sarx SX 017-2: Pasquale Cafaro, Stabat Mater |
| About this CD | The CD is dedicated to the music of Cafaro, a composer almost
completely forgotten, but worth listening to. The CD-insert describes his life in detail. Recorded at the Palazzo Pignano, Milan, January 1996 I bought this CD in a record shop in the Netherlands, 1998 |
| Orchestra | Il Viaggio Musicale |
| Choir | Ars Cantica |
| Conductor | Giovanni Acciai |
| Soloists | Paola Busci, soprano Maria Luisa Sanchez Carbone, mezzo-soprano |
| Other works | Salve Regina Christus factus est |
| Added | 1998 (CAF 01) |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl