Haydn
's
Stabat mater
of 1767 was his first major public choral work as kapellmeister at Esterhaza palace. The composer brought together various styles, from Baroque counterpoint to opera seria to the newer melodicism in its composition, and he obviously thought highly of the work; at the end of his life, he worked with his student
Sigismund Neukomm
on a revision that added wind parts. This was one of the last creative acts in
's career, and this 2023 release by
Rene Jacobs
and the
Kammerorchester Basel
would be worth hearing just for the chance to hear this version. Beyond this,
Jacobs
, unlike some other conductors who specialize in Baroque music, is a strong
conductor. He catches the ambitions of the work with punchy treatments of the brass and winds, and his vocal soloists are strong. The forces are appropriate to what
, who is known to have conducted this work in Vienna with a group of 60, would have used, and there is an X factor here related to the sense conveyed of a young composer really coming into his own. The sound from the Paul Sacher Saal at Basel's Don Bosco cultural center is quite good, suggesting a church ambiance with greater clarity, but the relatively small string section is a bit overpowered. This recording made classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023. ~ James Manheim