Luigi Boccherini: Stabat Mater AND CHAMBER WORKS FOR STRINGS

Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini (1743-1805)
with Sarasa
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Elizabeth Blumenstock and Christina Day Martinson, violins
Jenny Stirling, viola
Phoebe Carrai and Timothy Merton, violoncellos

• Stabat mater, G. 532a (Prima versione, 1781)
• String Quartet in G major, Opus 52 No. 3, G. 234  (1795)  
• String Quintet in F minor, Opus 42, No. 1, G. 348 (1789)  

Luigi Boccherini famously championed his instrument, the violoncello, in his lifetime, composing over 120 cello quintets alone. Sarasa has had the fantastic opportunity to record one of his most moving and intimate works, his Stabat mater for soprano and cello quintet with the magnificent soprano, Dominique Labelle. The result is passionate music-making that evokes power, depth and pathos. In the Quartet, Op. 52, No. 3, a colourful tapestry of contrasting events frames moments of bucolic excitement and lyric interlude, while the expertly structured Quintet, Op. 42, No. 1 directly quotes the Stabat Mater in its themes.

"As a worthy document of Boccherini’s chamber style, this CD is of value for its all-embracing charm, but the more urgent appeal will be to fans of the iridescent voice of Dominique [sic] Labelle.” — Early Music America

“The performances of the Sarasa Ensemble, composed of some of the best American soloists of historical performance, are absolutely fabulous, squeezing all the juice that the score contains.”
–– Simón Andueza, Revista RITMO

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