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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Contemporary “Stabat Mater” (SATB) • by Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965)

Jeff Ostrowski · February 28, 2018

EOPLE JUST LIKE YOU participate in the Sacred Music Symposium for multifarious reasons, but one item often overlooked is the seminar I teach on vocal recordings, like the one below. I walk the participants through a process which has helped our volunteer choir very much.

Click on the link below (#90206) to download the PDF score:

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice and PDF score await you at #90206.

PEAKING “Stabat Mater Dolorosa,” the creation of the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal has necessitated making hundreds of comparison charts, helping us choose the best text for each hymn. I was able to convince the committee to let me post a sample chart, but only on the condition that all original translations were omitted—so this chart only contains about half:

    * *  PDF • Sample chart (incomplete) comparing translations

Look what Monsignor Ronald Knox does in verse 12:

12. Love exceeding hangs there bleeding,
My cause pleading, my love needing—
Bid him share his cross with me.

Look what Denis Florence MacCarthy does in verse 12:

12. Ever leading where thy bleeding
Son is pleading for my needing,
Let me in His wounds take part.

Look what Monsignor Hugh Henry does in verse 12:

12. Who, from bending Heav’n descending,
Came amending earth’s offending—
All His pains with me divide.

Now examine the original verse 12 to see why they did what they did:

1. Stabat Mater dolorósa
Juxta Crucem lacrimósa,
Dum pendébat Fílius.

2. Cujus ánimam geméntem,
Contristátam et doléntem
Pertransívit gládius.

3. O quam tristis et afflícta
Fuit illa benedícta
Mater unigéniti!

4. Quae maerébat et dolébat,
Pia Mater, dum vidébat
Nati poenas íncliti.

5. Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si vidéret
In tanto supplício?

6. Quis non posset contristári,
Christi Matrem contemplári
Doléntem cum Fílio?

7. Pro peccátis suae gentis,
Vidit Jesum in torméntis,
Et flagéllis súbditum.

8. Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriéndo desolátum,
Dum emísit spíritum.

9. Eja Mater, fons amóris
Me sentíre vim dolóris
Fac, ut tecum lúgeam.

10. Fac ut árdeat cor meum
In amándo Christum Deum,
Ut sibi compláceam.

11. Sancta Mater, istud agas,
Crucifíxi fige plagas
Cordi meo válide.

12. Tui nati vulneráti,
Tam dignáti pro me pati,
Poenas mecum dívide.

13. Fac me tecum pie flere,
Crucifíxo condolére,
Donec ego víxero.

14. Juxta Crucem tecum stare,
Et me tibi sociáre
In planctu desídero.

15. Virgo vírginum praeclára,
Mihi jam non sis amára:
Fac me tecum plángere.

16. Fac ut portem Christi mortem
Passiónis fac consórtem,
Et plagas recólere.

17. Fac me plagis vulnerári,
Fac me cruce inebriári,
Et cruóre Fílii.

18. Flammis ne urar succénsus,
Per te, Vírgo, sim defénsus
In die judícii.

19. Christe, cum sit hinc exíre,
Da per Matrem me veníre
Ad palmam victóriae.

20. Quando corpus moriétur,
Fac ut ánimae donétur
Paradísi glória.

But that’s nothing compared to what Bernard of Cluny routinely did—such as this.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Monsignor Ronald Knox Traditional Mass, STABAT MATER DOLOROSA Last Updated: February 29, 2024

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Eb Organ Postlude”
    Gustav Adolf Merkel (d. 1885) was a German organist, teacher, and composer. Although a Lutheran himself, he held the appointment at the (Roman Catholic) Cathedral of Dresden from 1864 until his death. You can download his Organ Postlude in E-Flat, which I like very much. He has an interesting way of marking the pedal notes. What do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (Palm Sunday, 2026)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Palm Sunday—a.k.a. “Dominica in palmis de Passione Domini”—which is 29 March 2026. Please feel free to download it as a PDF file if such a thing interests you. The OFFERTORY (Impropérium exspectávit cor meum) is quite moving. Even though the COMMUNION ANTIPHON is relatively simple, the Fauxbourdon makes it sound outstanding.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Easter • Would You Sing This Hymn?
    He who examines Laudes Dei: a hymnal for Catholic congregations (St. Louis, 1894) will discover this pairing of a hymn for Easter. For the record, this isn’t the only Catholic hymn book to marry that text and melody; e.g. Saint Mark’s Hymnal for Use in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States (Peoria, 1910) does the same thing. Sometimes an unexpected pairing—chosen with sensitivity—can be superb, forcing singers to experience the text in a ‘fresh’ and wonderful way. On the other hand, we sometimes encounter something I’ve called “PERNICIOUS HYMN PAIRINGS.” If you find the subject in intriguing, feel free to peruse an article I published in May of 2023. As always, my email inbox is open if you have a bone to pick with my take.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026
    How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)
    I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”
    For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“As liturgical art, church music is obliged to conform to ecclesiastical law. But to construct artificial polarities here, between legalistic order and a dynamic church music, demanded by the alleged needs of the day, would be to forsake the foundation of a music rooted in liturgical experience. What is in fact the pastoral value of the shoddy, the profane, the third-rate?”

— Dr. Robert Skeris (1996)

Recent Posts

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  • Music List • (Palm Sunday, 2026)
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  • “Priest Saying Mass” • Medieval Illumination

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