Stabat Mater Text

Throughout this fall, while singing the Stabat Mater, my main focus has been to sing the notes and rhythms accurately. When we added the words, they were just another thing to learn and overcome, I did not really associate them with any meaning, I totally forgot that these words were conveying a message until recently. Interested in what exactly I had been singing these past few months, I read the poem at the beginning of our music. Obviously, I knew that this piece was about death in some way, but I didn't realize the story behind it until I read the poem. It describes the unique point of view of Mary watching her son Jesus suffer on the cross, an image that touched me as it is so personal and sad. Now that I know what exactly this piece is about, it takes on a whole different feeling. I can hear the crying of Mary in the first movement and the resolution of the speaker in the final movement-all these feelings conveyed by the music. I'm hoping that once we finish learning this piece, we will have time to use the text to help with our expression and musicianship, so that we can convey this poem's message to the best of our abilities.