Like Mary, some parents’ lives consist of overwhelming joy and immense sorrow. No joy compares to creating life, and no pain compares to seeing that life taken too soon. In Magnificat (2010), we met the Virgin Mary in joy and wonder as she received the news that she would become the mother of the Son of God. In Stabat Mater (2020), we meet her in deepest sorrow, witnessing the crucifixion of her Son.
A notable addition to the 13th-century Latin hymn text is the movement “What are Children to the Lord?” featuring a poignant poem written by a child hospitalized with cancer and her nurse, Jessica McFarland. It took me several years to track down Jessica, who was humbled and amazed by the request to include the poem in this work.
This movement, along with Euan Tait's "A Mother’s Prayer", enriches the traditional Latin hymn with modern thematic depth, weaving together reflection, sorrow, and hope. I dedicate the work to parents who have lost their own child.
The vocal score, which includes accompaniment for organ, can be used for performing the original version of Stabat Mater with chamber orchestra, available on hire from Boosey & Hawkes.
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Music: Kim André Arnesen
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Words: Latin 13th-century, Euan Tait, Jessica McFarland, and anon.
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Commissioner: Thomas Berg-Juul, Haderslev Cathedral Girls' Choir, Denmark
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Voices: SATB or SSAA chorus, solo mezzo-soprano
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Instrumentation: Chamber orchestra (or organ)
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Duration: 48 minutes
SCORING
Solo mezzo-soprano
SATB or SSAA choir
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets
Timpani
Percussion (1 player)
Organ
Strings: 5-4-3-3-1 (recommended minimum)
Or with organ accompaniment only as included in the vocal score.
TEXT
1. Stabat Mater dolorosa
Stabat mater dolorosa
juxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.
Cuius animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta,
Mater Unigeniti!
Quae maerebat et dolebat,
et tremebat cum videbat
nati poenas incliti.
2. Quis est homo
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.
3. A Mother's Prayer
My child, if I could comfort you
as I hover useless above your pain and confusion:
I read and know the storm in your spirit,
yet you will not let me meet you there.
Oh child, I am useless, my soul
a broken glass,
spilled yet full with the love I have for you.
Oh my child, answer me.
Let me comfort you.
And no answer.
My child, I carried you,
yet still your ’no’ sounds loud at the gates
of these terrible days, and you will not let me in.
I feel that you guard yourself, you watch, so angrily.
My child, I pray to you.
Your hurt prays back, until you answer me.
4. Eja Mater
Eja Mater, fons amoris
me sentire vim doloris fac,
ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum
ut sibi complaceam.
5. Sancta Mater
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.
Tui Nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
poenas mecum divide.
Fac me vere tecum flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.
Juxta Crucem tecum stare,
te libenter sociare
in planctu desidero.
6. Virgo virginum
Virgo virginum praeclara,
mihi iam non sis amara,
fac me tecum plangere.
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
Cruce hac inebriari,
ob amorem Filii.
7. Inflamattus et accensus
Inflammatus et accensus,
per te, Virgo, sim defensus
in die iudicii.
Fac me cruce custodiri,
morte Christi praemoniri,
confoveri gratia.
8. What are Children to the Lord?
What are children to the lord?
They are angels sent from heaven and earth.
They are like precious stones.
But when one of those children dies.
You wonder and wonder why,
for children are so innocent they don’t deserve to die.
But then we are reminded that children are angels
sent from above
and they are down here for a little while
to teach us how to love.
And act like little children
and be pleasant in God’s eyes.
And when they are gone the memories live in us.
And for us, we try to do the same until the day we die.
9. Quando corpus morietur
Quando corpus morietur,
fac, ut animae donetur
paradisi gloria. Amen.
