The Stabat Mater is, at its origin, a medieval poem sung by the Mother of God before her crucified son. That is why the Stabat Mater is still recited or sung today on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (September 15). Dvořák's Stabat Mater was premiered in Prague in 1880, and its creation is closely linked to his personal fate. Within a short period, three of his children died.