Septem Verba a Christo in Cruce Moriente Prolata

Septem Verba a Christo in Cruce Moriente Prolata

The history of the oratorio Septem verba a Christo in cruce moriente prolata is as shrouded in mystery as its probable creator. The title of the work and the assertion of Pergolesi's authorship have haunted musicological circles for a century or so, initially on the sole basis of an incomplete manuscript catalogued in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek since 1882 and regarded there as genuine. The recent discovery of two more manuscripts in the abbeys of Kremsmunster and Aldersbach by musicologist Reinhard Fehling settled the issue of authenticity once and for all and Pergolesi's lost masterpiece was given its concert premiere at the Beaune Festival in July 2012 and recorded shortly after by the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin led by René Jacobs. Featured soloists include soprano Sophie Karthauser, counter-tenor Christophe Dumaux, tenor Julian Behr and bass-baritone Konstantin Wolff.