Rossini’s Stabat Mater has had some birth difficulties: the work had been commissioned by a Spanish aristocrat in 1832 but the following year, the composer had only finished half, and a sickness prevented him from pursuing. Still wishing to satisfy his sponsor—and his wallet, probably—, Rossini asked his friend and colleague Giovanni Tadolini to compose for him the remaining numbers, and in 1833 was resounding in Spain the world creation of the Stabat Mater by Rossini, who didn’t hesitate to sign the complete partition without mentioning Tadolini’s name. Such a prankster! In 1841, the work was bought out by a Parisian publisher who wasn’t aware of the deception, Rossini was even more offended that he kept all rights for himself, and after many money exactions that don’t necessarily give a good image of him, Rossini completed the partition himself, and it was given in its complete and 100% Rossini form in 1842. The public and the critics were divided: some observers, somewhat Germanic, thought that this religious music sounded a lot like an opera. This new recording of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, with a nice array of Italian-like soloists, will delight the enthusiasts. © SM/Qobuz