Eja Mater

This part of the Stabat Mater is a prayer to the Mother of Christ, but this stand-alone movement is also a prayer for comfort to all parents who have lost their own child. As the Mother is called ‘fountain of love’ (fons amoris), the piece also expresses love from parents to their own children. Special attention should be made to the intentional subtle shifts of focus during the piece. This means bringing out the cello solo from the beginning until rehearsal mark A, as well as the solo between C and E. At letter B, the choir should have the main focus in the soundscape, and at letters E and G there should be more of a duet feeling with even balance between voices and cello. However, the nuances should be subtle enough to still have a good balance between the choir and cello throughout.