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The Medieval Church · 13th century; authorship disputed
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Attributed to Jacopone da Todi · c. 1230–1306
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What it is
Twenty stanzas at the foot of the cross, asking to be allowed to stand with the mother and share her grief.
Why it lasted
One of the most set-to-music texts in Western history, from Palestrina and Pergolesi to the present day.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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