Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

100 Septuagesima Sunday
The Tract leads us from the hospital to the churchyard of S. Lorenzo,
and prays De profUndis both for and with those who are resting there.
It is a call coming from the depths of a soul which feels itself immeasurably
separated from God; it is a cry to the Lord. For the soul of the departed
can no longer help itself, and the help of others is also limited
since they also must pray De profiindis. This plea therefore voices our
human impotence and our great need of help. The repetition of the
"Lord, Lord" is stylistic peculiarity of all petitions, and indicates the
deep-felt need of divine assistance. Do Thou not observe my iniquities,
O Lord! Mark them not for the Day of Wrath; pronounce not a judgement,
signed and sealed, upon my sins. Behold how sin is common to
all mortal flesh, that no one is clean, and no one can redeem himself!
Be Thou my Redeemer! For with Thee is propitiation, and the law which
Thou hast made is the promise of a Redeemer: the sacrifices ordained
by the Law foretell the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world.
And by Thy own word I know that Thou wiliest not the death of the
sinner. In this way de we pray with the poor souls. 1
OFFERTORY (Ps. 91:2)
1. Bonum est confiteri Domino, 1. It is good to give praise to the
2. et psallere nomini tuo, Altissime. Lord, 2. and to sing to thy name, O
Most High.
Mother Church is fond of calling the Mass a sacrifice of praise. If
we sing this text today at the Offertory procession, our sacrifice should
be made glorious through our joyous surrender of self. For this very
reason did St. Lawrence rejoice, that he could be sacrificed for Christ.
This joy in giving must never be wanting, not even now when the
alleluia is silenced.
The parallel between the two sentences is evident enough. Psallere
corresponds to confiteri, and Altissime to Domino. But in the second
phrase there is an obvious intensifying, for psallere means not only "to
praise," but connotes also a playing upon the harp, and Altissime is an
elucidation of the preceding Domino. More clearly than the words does
the music tell us this.
Bonum is a short but charming prelude to the whole selection. ConfitSri
succeeds not only in stressing the accent, but also in bringing the
leading idea of the Offertory well to the fore—evidence again of the
manner in which the musical structure of the chants is guided by the
word-accent and the content of the text. A slight accent should be
given the third c. The second phrase is considerably brighter. It no
M. Faulhaber, Die Vesperpsalmen der Sonn-und Feiertage, p. 120 f.