Lyrics
1
Stabat Mater dolorosa
Iuxta crucem lacrimosa,
Dum pendebat Filius
2
Cuius animam gementem Contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius.
3
O quam tristis et afflicta Fuit illa benedicta
Mater unigeniti!
4
Quae moerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater, dum videbat
Nati poenas incliti!
5
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si videret
In tanto supplicio?
6
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum Filio?
7
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Iesum in tormentis,
Et flagellis subditum;
8
Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo desolatum
Dum emisit spiritum.
9
Eia Mater, fons amoris,
Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
10
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum deum,
Ut sibi complaceam.
11
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide!
12
Tui nati vulnerati
Tam dignati pro me pati,
Poenas mecum divide!
13
Fac me vere tecum flere,
Crucifixo condolere,
Donec ego vixero!
14
Iuxta crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociare
In planctu desidero.
15
Virgo virginum praeclara,
Mihi iam non sis amara:
Fac me tecum plangere.
16
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
Passionis fac consortem
Et plagas recolere!
17
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
Fac me cruce inebriari,
Ob amorem filii!
18
Inflammatus et accensus
Per Te, Virgo, sim defensus
In die iudicii!
19
Fac me cruce custodiri
Morte Christi praemuniri,
Confoveri gratia!
20
Quando corpus morietur,
Fac, ut animae donetur
Paradisi Gloria!
Amen!
Program note.
The greatest challenge of the Stabat Mater text is to figure out how to set twenty stanzas of “pain and suffering” without making it all sound too depressing. So, before I began composing, I looked at a number of scores and recordings of Stabat Mater by various composers: DesPrez, Palestrina, Pergolesi, Boccherini, Vivaldi, Haydn, Dvorak, Rossini, Poulenc, Szymanowski, Penderecki, et al. It was fascinating to see what each composer did with regard to text setting: the variety of musical textures from movement to movement, different approaches to the use of fast or “allegro” music to offset the mood of the text, solo versus choral sections, etc. Each composer took a very personal and creative approach to the task. It was a fascinating study! After weeks of listening and scrutinizing, I decided to divide the twenty-stanza text into six sections. It is my hope that the end result is formally coherent and emotionally affecting.
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