The Stabat Mater has for centuries been a particular source of inspiration: the delicately depicted emotions of the Virgin Mary next to hear dying son – a mother present at the suffering of her child – are timeless. Many composers have drawn inspiration from it for intense and gripping music.

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Antonín Dvořák’s version is most certainly the most moving: the work is so touching that even the performers are often moved to tears. Unfortunately, behind the intense score lies a great, personal drama. Upon the death of his youngest daughter in 1875, Dvořák dealt with his loss by starting to work on his Stabat Mater.

A year later, the family again suffered an inexorable and terrible tragedy: in just a few months, his daughter Ruzena and son Otakar died. Dvořák and his wife were left dejected and childless, and the composer once again threw himself fully into working on his Stabat Mater. His only way to survive this terrible drama was to write a timeless work that gives room not only for grief, but also looks with hope for healing.