Scored for soprano, alto and baritone soloists, SATB choir and orchestra, it sets Jozef Janowski's Polish translation of the Marian hymn in six movements.

[4] Upon the death of his niece, Alusia Bartoszewiczówna, in January 1925, the composer spent time consoling his sister, subsequently choosing to set the Stabat mater text, reflecting as it does the "grieving mother.

Soprano, alto, and baritone soloists; SATB choir; and orchestra consisting of 2 flutes, 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets in A, two bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, bass drum, triangle, suspended cymbal, tam-tam, tubular bells, harp, organ (ad lib), and strings consisting of 8 first violins, 8 second violins, 6 violas, 6 cellos, and 4 contrabasses.

Though the 13th-century text is already inherently dramatic, this translation is especially raw; Kornel Michałowski suggests that the composer's attraction to it resulted from its "unusually primitive, almost 'folk-like' simplicity and naivety".

[8] Early-music devices used in the score indicating this study include: parallel movement between voices; modal pitch organization; and strongly patterned rhythms such as ostinati.