The sorrowful mother | 1. The sorrowful mother

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possibly by Jacopone da Todi (1230 - 1306)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Stabat Mater dolorosa

Language: Latin

Our translations: DUT ENG FRE

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. Quæ mœrebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater cum videbat
Nati pœnas 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 suæ 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,
pœnas 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 præclara,
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,
et cruore Filii.
 
18. Flammis ne urar succensus
per te Virgo, sim defensus
in die judicii.
 
19. Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per Matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae.
 
20. Quando corpus morietur,
fac ut animæ donetur
Paradisi gloria. Amen

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• L. Boccherini • L. Boccherini • C. Loewe • J. Novák • F. Schubert • A. Vivaldi • B. Wegener-Koopman • G. Pergolesi • G. Pergolesi

C. Loewe sets stanzas 15-16
J. Novák sets stanzas 1-6, 9-10
B. Wegener-Koopman sets stanzas 1-2
A. Vivaldi sets stanzas 1-10
F. Schubert sets stanzas 1-4
L. Boccherini sets stanzas 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
L. Boccherini sets stanzas 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
L. Netzel sets stanzas 11-12
G. Pergolesi sets stanzas 1-5, 8-11, 16 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
G. Pergolesi sets stanza 20 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information

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Note: There are several versions of this text. Please visit the highly detailed Stabat Mater Website for more information about over 200 Stabat Mater settings and the many textual variants.

Text Authorship:

possibly by Jacopone da Todi (1230 - 1306) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Luigi Boccherini (1743 - 1805), "Stabat Mater", op. 61, G. 532a, published 1781, stanzas 1,2,4,5,7,9,12,15,16,17,20 [ soprano, string quintet ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Luigi Boccherini (1743 - 1805), "Stabat Mater", G. 532b, published 1800, stanzas 1,2,4,5,7,9,12,15,16,17,20 [ soprano, alto, tenor, string quintet ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Viktor Kioulaphides (b. 1961), "Stabat mater" [ soprano, alto, instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Stabat mater dolorosa", S. 3 no. 12 (1866), from oratorio Christus, no. 12 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Virgo", 1843, stanzas 15-16 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Laura Constance Netzel (1839 - 1927), "Kyrko-aria", subtitle: "Sancta mater istud agas", published 1884, stanzas 11-12 [ voice and organ ], Lundqvist, Stockholm [sung text not yet checked]
by Jan Novák (1921 - 1984), "Stabat Mater", stanzas 1-6,9-10, from Cantica latina, no. 24 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Stabat mater", D 175, published 1888, stanzas 1-4 [ SATB chorus, organ, and orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741), "Stabat mater dolorosa", RV. 621, stanzas 1-10 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Bertha Frensel Wegener-Koopman (1874 - 1953), "Stabat Mater", published 1909, stanzas 1-2, from Vier Lieder, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 - 1736), "Stabat mater"

Set in a modified version by Marc-Antoine Charpentier.

Go to the text. [ view differences ] FRE

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Guido (Pieter Theodoor Jozef) Gezelle (1830 - 1899) , "Onder 't kruis met mededogen" ; composed by Raf Belmans.
Also set in Latin, adapted by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Franz Liszt.
Also set in Polish (Polski), a translation by Czesław Jankowski (1857 - 1929) , "Stała Matka bolejąca" ; composed by Karol Maciej Szymanowski.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Lau Kanen) , "Stabat mater"
GER German (Deutsch) (Karl Eitner) , "Stabat mater dolorosa"

Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 60
Word count: 236

The sorrowful mother

Language: English after the Latin

    1. The sorrowful mother
Stood weeping next to the cross
Upon which her son was hanging.

    2. Whose anguished soul, 
Grief stricken and sorrowful,
Had been pierced by a sword.

    3. O what sadness and suffering
For she who was blessed to be
Mother of the only-begotten One.

    4. Who grieved and lamented,
The pious mother, as she saw
The torments of her Son.

    5. Is there a person who would not weep,
Upon seeing the Mother of Christ
In such great distress?

    6. Who would not feel sorrow,
When contemplating Christ’s Mother
Suffering so with her Son?

    7. For the sins of his people
She saw Jesus being tormented
And subjected to flogging.

    8. She witnessed her sweet child
Dying in desolation
As His spirit left Him.

    9. Ah, Mother, wellspring of love,
Allow me to feel the power of your grief
So that I might mourn with you.

    10. Make my heart burn
With love for Christ, the Lord,
So that I might please Him.

    11. Holy Mother, do this,
Impart the wounds of the crucifixion
Powerfully onto my heart.

    12. Those of your wounded child,
Who stooped to suffer so much for me,
That I might share His pain.

    13. Let me sincerely weep with you,
In sympathy for the crucified,
For as long as I will live.

    14. To stand next to the cross with you,
And to share together with you
In weeping, is my desire.

    15. Virgin, chosen above all virgins,
Do not turn your bitterness toward me:
Allow me to weep with you.

    16. May I bear Christ’s death,
The consequence of his Passion,
And forever remember his wounds.

    17. May I suffer the wounds,
May I be intoxicated by the cross,
And the blood of your Son.

    18. Lest I be burned with fire,
Virgin, may you come to my defense
On the day of judgment.

    19.  Christ, when it is my time to depart,
Grant that, through your Mother,
I might come to the palm of victory.

    20. When my body has died,
Let my soul be granted 
The glory of Paradise. Amen.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2022 by Michael P Rosewall, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in Latin possibly by Jacopone da Todi (1230 - 1306)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2022-08-05
Line count: 60
Word count: 352