Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater (1736) is the most renowned sacred work by the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and one of the most moving pieces of Baroque church music. Written in the final year of the composer’s life, it combines profound grief with an exceptionally lyrical and deeply human musical expression.
The work is based on the medieval Latin hymn Stabat Mater dolorosa, depicting the Virgin Mary standing by the cross of her crucified son, Jesus. Pergolesi’s music alternates between meditative and dramatic sections, highlighting pain, compassion, and hope. The duets and arias are intimate and transparent in texture, giving the work a deeply personal and timeless impact on both performers and listeners.
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Soloists
Marion Melnik, soprano
A lyrical soprano with a bright timbre, whose repertoire ranges from opera and lieder to musicals and classical crossover. She graduated from the Opera Department of the Sibelius Academy in 2008 and has furthered her studies in international masterclasses.
She has appeared as a soloist with the Finnish National Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festival, and the Estonian National Opera. A prizewinner at several competitions (2nd prize in Lappeenranta, 2006; Klassik Mania in Vienna). Since 2018 she has lived and worked in Estonia, where she leads the classical singing studio Canto (founded in 2023).
Anna-Liisa Pillak, mezzo-soprano
Anna-Liisa Pillak graduated from the Georg Ots Music School (class of Ljudmilla Dambrovska) and continued her studies at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, completing her Master’s degree in 2007 under Annika Ollinkari. She has also pursued further training in Italy and Germany.
She made her debut at the Estonian National Opera in 2006 as Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. Her roles include Cenerentola (Rossini), Rinaldo (Handel), Maddalena (Rigoletto, Verdi), Nicklausse (Les contes d’Hoffmann, Offenbach), Olga and Larina (Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky), among others.
Since 2002 she has been active in chamber music and has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras. In 2012 a concert-performance Diiva, written and directed by Paavo Piik, was created for her and has been performed dozens of times in Estonia, Finland, Russia, and Brazil. In the 2025/2026 season she will appear as the Mistress in M. Kõlar’s opera Libahunt at Vanemuine Theatre and as Flosshilde in Wagner’s Das Rheingold at the Saaremaa Opera Days.
Maris Tammsalu, organ
Maris Tammsalu is an Estonian organist who completed her Bachelor’s (1999) and Master’s (2003) degrees at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under professors Hugo Lepnurm, Toomas Trass, and Andres Uibo. She has furthered her studies at the Gothenburg Organ Academy and in baroque organ masterclasses in Trondheim.
She performs as a soloist and chamber musician in Estonia and abroad and works as an organist at St. John’s Church and the Swedish St. Michael’s Church in Tallinn, as well as in Paldiski.
Swedish St. Michael's Church • Rüütli 9, 10130 Tallinn, Harju maakond, Estonia
