The Stabat Mater by the Czech composer Antonín Dvorák is a beautiful and moving sacred oratorio to the text of a medieval devotional poem depicting the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross. It is also a timeless, universally valid testimony of human sorrow and hope, composed between 1876 and 1877 – a period of great personal tragedy during which Dvořák’s three young children all died. The oratorio is deeply influenced by Czech folk music and imbued with the composer’s sincere religious faith.

Like all his large-scale religious compositions, it was intended for concert performance. After successful performances in Prague in 1880 and London in 1883, Dvořák himself was invited to conduct the work in the Royal Albert Hall in 1884 with a large orchestra and a chorus of more than 800. This event played a crucial role in his international breakthrough as a composer.