This is the second of two hymns to the Mother of God at the foot of the Cross which was NOT included in the Byzantine Catholic Hymnal (2007). It is much more widely sung than So boundless is her sorrow.
The grieving mother
This setting of Stradal’na Mati is from the publications of Father William Levkulic. The English translation is by Father Alexis Mihalik and Cantor Jerry Jumba.
Discussion
Although this hymn is popular, it does not seem to have a long textual history. Father Stefan Papp print both music and three verses on page 116 of his collection Duchovňi Pisňi (1969).
The image of of the weeping mother at the Cross of her Son is very common in Byzantine liturgical hymns, and the text and melody here generally work.
There is one weak spot:
O my son, I raised you / long before these enemies.
It sould like something is missing: long before these enemies... what? Which enemies? (They are not otherwise mentioned.) My own proposal would be something along the lines of:
O my son, I raised you / and have always loved you.
This at least would transition naturally in to the second half of the verse. What do you think?
Thoughts or suggestions:
Please leave a comment on this blog entry: Songs of the Passion of Christ.