Some possible authors include: St. Bonaventure, Pope Innocent III, and Jacopone da Todi, a Franciscan friar.
It has both a regular meter – frequently trochaic – and an intricate rhyme scheme, both of which are qualities that most academics date back to the 12th century.
This acquisition produced the first printed edition in 1771 in London, in "La Musica Che Si canta annualmente nelle Funzioni della Settimana Santa nella Capella Pontificia".
Stabat Mater is a motet for unaccompanied double chorus, and consists of 20 sections in accordance with the 20 verses of text.
The tempo winds down to Piu Lento at the beginning of verse 20, before slowing down to Largo for the final 9 bars.