Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
VOCES8 performs Palestrina's setting of the 'Stabat Mater' at the VOCES8 Centre in London. 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of Palestrina's birth.
NOTES
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s 'Stabat Mater' (c.1589–90) stands among the most profound works of the late Renaissance. The text, a 13th-century poem traditionally attributed to Jacopone da Todi, meditates on Mary’s sorrow at the foot of the Cross and became one of the most cherished devotional hymns of the Catholic Church.
Almost certainly one of Palestrina’s final compositions, the 'Stabat Mater' reveals both his mastery of the pure, syllabic style admired by the Council of Trent and his awareness of the new harmonic and text-centred idioms that were reshaping European music. Written for double choir, it adopts the rich antiphonal textures associated with the Venetian school, suggesting that the ageing Roman master was keen to show he remained abreast of the latest trends.
From the moment it was presented to the Papal Choir, the work was recognised as a masterpiece. Like Allegri’s 'Miserere', it was guarded as their exclusive possession, sung only once a year on Palm Sunday in the Sistine Chapel and withheld from publication until the 19th century. Its legacy, however, has been far-reaching: with its clarity, restraint, and deep expressive power, Palestrina’s 'Stabat Mater' became a touchstone of sacred polyphony and a model for generations of composers to come.
TEXT & TRANSLATION
Stabat Mater dolorósa
iuxta Crucem lacrimósa,
dum pendébat Fílius.
-----
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Cuius ánimam geméntem,
contristátam et doléntem,
pertransívit gládius.
-----
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword had passed.
O quam tristis et afflícta
fuit illa benedícta
Mater Unigéniti!
-----
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blessed,
of the sole-begotten One!
Quæ mærébat et dolébat,
pia Mater, dum vidébat
nati pœnas íncliti.
-----
Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si vidéret
in tanto supplício?
-----
Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
Quis non posset contristári,
Christi Matrem contemplári
doléntem cum Fílio?
-----
Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother’s pain untold?
Pro peccátis suæ gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagéllis súbditum.
-----
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
she beheld her tender Child,
till His spirit forth He sent.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
moriéntem desolátum,
dum emísit spíritum.
-----
For the sins of His own nation,
saw Him hang in desolation,
till His spirit forth He sent.
Eia Mater, fons amóris,
me sentíre vim dolóris
fac, ut tecum lúgeam.
-----
O thou Mother! fount of love,
touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord.
Fac ut árdeat cor meum
in amándo Christum Deum,
ut sibi compláceam.
-----
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifíxi fige plagas
cordi meo válide.
-----
Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
Tui nati vulneráti,
tam dignáti pro me pati,
pœnas mecum dívide.
-----
Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifíxo condolére,
donec ego víxero.
-----
Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live.
Iuxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociáre
in planctu desídero.
-----
By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgo vírginum præclára,
mihi iam non sis amára,
fac me tecum plángere.
-----
Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine.
Fac ut portem Christi mortem,
passiónis fac consórtem,
et plagas recólere.
-----
Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.
Fac me plagis vulnerári,
fac me Cruce inebriári,
et cruóre Fílii.
-----
Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away.
Flammis ne urar succénsus,
per te, Virgo, sim defénsus
in die iudícii.
-----
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.
Christe, cum sit hinc exíre,
da per Matrem me veníre
ad palmam victóriæ.
-----
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
be Thy Mother my defence,
be Thy Cross my victory.
Quando corpus moriétur,
fac ut ánima donétur
paradísi glória.
-----
While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
safe in Paradise with Thee.
VOCES8 performs Palestrina's setting of the 'Stabat Mater' at the VOCES8 Centre in London. 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of Palestrina's birth.
NOTES
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s 'Stabat Mater' (c.1589–90) stands among the most profound works of the late Renaissance. The text, a 13th-century poem traditionally attributed to Jacopone da Todi, meditates on Mary’s sorrow at the foot of the Cross and became one of the most cherished devotional hymns of the Catholic Church.
Almost certainly one of Palestrina’s final compositions, the 'Stabat Mater' reveals both his mastery of the pure, syllabic style admired by the Council of Trent and his awareness of the new harmonic and text-centred idioms that were reshaping European music. Written for double choir, it adopts the rich antiphonal textures associated with the Venetian school, suggesting that the ageing Roman master was keen to show he remained abreast of the latest trends.
From the moment it was presented to the Papal Choir, the work was recognised as a masterpiece. Like Allegri’s 'Miserere', it was guarded as their exclusive possession, sung only once a year on Palm Sunday in the Sistine Chapel and withheld from publication until the 19th century. Its legacy, however, has been far-reaching: with its clarity, restraint, and deep expressive power, Palestrina’s 'Stabat Mater' became a touchstone of sacred polyphony and a model for generations of composers to come.
TEXT & TRANSLATION
Stabat Mater dolorósa
iuxta Crucem lacrimósa,
dum pendébat Fílius.
-----
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Cuius ánimam geméntem,
contristátam et doléntem,
pertransívit gládius.
-----
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword had passed.
O quam tristis et afflícta
fuit illa benedícta
Mater Unigéniti!
-----
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blessed,
of the sole-begotten One!
Quæ mærébat et dolébat,
pia Mater, dum vidébat
nati pœnas íncliti.
-----
Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si vidéret
in tanto supplício?
-----
Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
Quis non posset contristári,
Christi Matrem contemplári
doléntem cum Fílio?
-----
Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother’s pain untold?
Pro peccátis suæ gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagéllis súbditum.
-----
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
she beheld her tender Child,
till His spirit forth He sent.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
moriéntem desolátum,
dum emísit spíritum.
-----
For the sins of His own nation,
saw Him hang in desolation,
till His spirit forth He sent.
Eia Mater, fons amóris,
me sentíre vim dolóris
fac, ut tecum lúgeam.
-----
O thou Mother! fount of love,
touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord.
Fac ut árdeat cor meum
in amándo Christum Deum,
ut sibi compláceam.
-----
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifíxi fige plagas
cordi meo válide.
-----
Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
Tui nati vulneráti,
tam dignáti pro me pati,
pœnas mecum dívide.
-----
Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifíxo condolére,
donec ego víxero.
-----
Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live.
Iuxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociáre
in planctu desídero.
-----
By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgo vírginum præclára,
mihi iam non sis amára,
fac me tecum plángere.
-----
Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine.
Fac ut portem Christi mortem,
passiónis fac consórtem,
et plagas recólere.
-----
Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.
Fac me plagis vulnerári,
fac me Cruce inebriári,
et cruóre Fílii.
-----
Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away.
Flammis ne urar succénsus,
per te, Virgo, sim defénsus
in die iudícii.
-----
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.
Christe, cum sit hinc exíre,
da per Matrem me veníre
ad palmam victóriæ.
-----
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
be Thy Mother my defence,
be Thy Cross my victory.
Quando corpus moriétur,
fac ut ánima donétur
paradísi glória.
-----
While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
safe in Paradise with Thee.
