Sammartini had a long and active musical career, working as maestro di cappella or organist in as many as ten different churches, yet surprisingly few of his sacred compositions survive. The sacred cantatas Maria Addolorata and Il pianto di San Pietro feature three soloists and were first performed in the church of San Fedele in Milan in 1751. Much like the cantata Il pianto degli Angeli della Pace (Naxos 8.557432), vocal texture is largely dominated by a typically Italianate melodiousness and virtuosity, while the orchestral writing is full of daring harmonies, sparkling themes, and a refined and inexhaustible wealth of ideas.