Stabat Mater
The opening words of two companion hymns, one of which (Stabat Mater Dolorosa) is in liturgical use, while the other (Stabat Mater Speciosa) is not. They celebrate the emotions of Our Lady at the Cross and at the Manger -- Calvary and Bethlehem -- respectively.
Stabat mater dolorosa
The hymn was well known to all classes by the end of the fourteenth century. The Stabat Mater Dolorosa is thought to originate from Franciscan sources in the 13th century. The monk Jacopone da Todi (ca. 1228-1306), Pope Innocentius III (ca. 1160-1216), and the saint Bonaventura (died 1274) are named as the most probable poet, but also the Popes Gregorius and John XII and Bernhard of Clairveaux (died 1135) are mentioned. Of these ascriptions, the only probable ones are those to Innocent III and Jacopone.
Stabat mater speciosa
This is a counterpart version of the poem, which describes the joy of Maria after the birth of Jesus. It is clearly based on one of the "Dolorosa"-versions, but the rhyming is certainly not as good. Nevertheless, the "Speciosa" dates back from the fifteenth century and has also been put to music, for instance by Liszt and Diepenbrock. It was first published in an edition of the Italian poems of Jacopone published at Brescia in 1495 (but Jacopone isn't thought to be the author) but the Speciosa fell into almost complete oblivion until A.F. Ozanam transcribed it from a fifteenth-century manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale for his "Poètes Franciscains en Italie au Treizième siècle", Paris, 1852.
Musical settings at CPDL
Stabat mater dolorosa
Stabat mater speciosa
Text and translations
Stabat Mater dolorosa
Latin text
1. Stabat Mater dolorosa 2. Cuius animam gementem 3. O quam tristis et afflicta 4. Quae moerebat et dolebat, 5. Quis est homo qui non fleret, 6. Quis non posset contristari, 7. Pro peccatis suae gentis 8. Vidit suum dulcem natum 9. Eia Mater, fons amoris 10. Fac, ut ardeat cor meum 11. Sancta Mater, istud agas, |
12. Tui nati vulnerati, 13. Fac me tecum, pie, flere, 14. Iuxta crucem tecum stare, 15. Virgo virginum praeclara, 16. Fac, ut portem Christi mortem 17. Fac me plagis vulnerari, 18. Flammis ne urar succensus 19. Christe, cum sit hinc exire, 20. Quando corpus morietur, Alternative version of stanza 1919. Fac me cruce custodiri |
Stabat Mater speciosa
Latin text
(8a, 8b and 13b have no counterpart in the "Dolorosa")
1. Stabat Mater speciosa 2. Cuius animam gaudentem 3. O quam laeta et beata 4. Quae gaudebat et ridebat, 5. Quis est, qui non gauderet, 6. Quis non posset collaetari, 7. Pro peccatis suae gentis 8. Vidit suum dulcem natum 8a. Nati Christus in praesepe 8b. Stabat senex cum puella 9. Eia Mater, fons amoris 10. Fac, ut ardeat cor meum |
11. Sancta Mater, istud agas, 13. Fac me tecum congaudere 13a. In me sistat ardor tui 14. Hunc ardorem fac communem, 15. Virgo virginum praeclara, 16. Fac, ut portem pulchrum fortem 17. Fac me tecum satiari, 18. Inflammatus et accensus 19. Fac me nato custodiri 20. Quando corpus morietur, |
External links
The Catholic Encyclopedia
The Stabat Mater, a musical journey through the ages