Our everlasting search and exploration into Stabat Mater topics resulted in a very precious and personally contact: Olena Prokopovych, born in Ukraine but now living in the US for many years. Olena wrote us about her involvement with Stabat Mater. She would love to contribute and collaborate on projects of mutual interest. Well, she did contribute! With her translation in Ukrainian, the 27th language on our site.

Olena is an associate professor of Political Science and Political Science Program Director at the Nazareth College in Rochester (NY). She sent us her direct and literally Ukrainian translation of the Stabat Mater (Analecta-version). She provided a translation of a translation (into English), for the purposes of ‘verification’ or ‘assessment’ of Ukrainian translation by those who do not know Ukrainian. This translation is VERY literal and is most useful for the purposes of understanding each and every word of the Latin text.

Olena was kind enough to point our attention to another Ukrainian translation, by Anatoliy Olikh. He is described as a journalist, historian and translator. It seems that he does a lot of work with Polish and liturgical texts. In Olena’s opinion this translation is wonderful! It is poetic, yet quite close to the original text. It also keeps the poetic rhyming scheme and meter! It has an AAB CCB rhyming form and the 8-8-7 syllable lines in each stanza! It seems to follow the Analecta version with the exception of Stanza 19.

Last week we had a video call with Olena to get better acquainted. She told us about Ukrainian friends, now living in the Netherlands as refugees for the war. While talking the idea arose to organise a benefit concert with a Stabat Mater sung in the Ukrainian language by Ukrainian singers. We are working on it and I hope we will find support to realise this idea!

Read the Ukrainian translation. Thanks Olena!