Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

112 Ash Wednesday
onum tuarum respice nos, Domine. tender mercies. Ps. Save me, 0 God,
Ps. Salvum me fac Deus: quoniam for the waters have come in * even
intraverunt aquae * usque ad ani- unto my soul,
mam meam.
It is a serious time, this season upon which we are now entering.
But in this very first antiphon the Church aims at giving us a consoling
thought, one which is to sink deeply into our consciousness. The high
range of the notes and the resounding tristrophas give animated voice
to the words expressing God's mildness and mercy. Be our guilt ever so
great, depressing, or shameful, though the floodwaters of sin penetrate
our very soul, the benignity of God and His mercy are greater still. The
miserationum tu-(arum) occurs also on the second Sunday of Lent with
the same notation. Nos Domine is an amplification of -drum.
Of the chants which may be sung during the distribution of the
ashes, we shall here discuss only the last two.
ANTIPHON Juxta vestibulum
(Joel 2: 17; Esther 13: 17)
1. Juxta vestibulum et altare plo- 1. Between the porch and the altar
rabunt sacerdotes et levitae min- the priests, the Lord's ministers,
istri Domini, et dicent: 2. Parce, shall weep, and shall say: 2. Spare,
Domine, parce populo tuo: 3. et ne O Lord, spare thy people; 3. and
dissipes ora clamantium ad te, shut not the mouths of them that
Domine. sing to thee, 0 Lord.
Plordbunt—"They shall weep"—is the word which characterizes
the spirit of this chant. The first half of the first phrase rests on /, and
goes beyond it only to lay stress on the word-accent. The e-f preceding
plordbunt, demanded by the rules, serves to combine these two parts of
the melody. Special emphasis is then put on the dominant a in the following
group of notes, as well as in the second and third phrases, with
the result that the melody is heavy, depressed. A leaden weight seems to
burden the singer. Parce Domine is an urgent entreaty. We are still Thy
people, despite the fact that we have sinned. Shut not the mouths that
praise Thee, and close not Thy heart against our pleading. Have mercy,
O Lord!
RESPONSORY Emendemus (Esther 13; Joel 2)
1. Emendemus in melius, quae 1. Let us amend and do better
ignoranter peccavimus: 2. ne subito those things in which we have
praeoccupati die mortis, quaera- sinned through ignorance: 2. lest