Credits:

Maris Janson and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Description:

Stabat Mater (Our Lady of Sorrows) is a 13th century Catholic chant that expresses the sorrow of the Virgin Mary as she stood by Christ during his crucifixion. The lyrics are attributed to Jacopone da Todi. Whatever the reason, the grief of a mother for the loss of her beloved son is universal, and many artists have written works inspired by these lyrics. Dvok’s “Stabat Mater” is known for its deep reflection of his own personal grief, and in 1876, devastated by the death of his newborn daughter, Josepha, only a few months after her birth, he began sketching the piece, which he completed the following year in August 1877. The following year, in August 1877, his young daughter Rena died of a cigarette accident, and his three-year-old son Otakar also died of smallpox. As if to overcome his grief, Dvok wrote this work in November 1877, and its premiere at