Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

Maundy Thursday 163
to set the following word in greater relief: salvdti—"we are saved."
Liberdti repeats the motive of resurrectio, to which (glo)-ridri and autem
are also related. With evident love the composer tarries on sumus, just
as he gave nostri and nostra above melodic prominence.
The psalm-verse with its somewhat harsh b following upon the exclusive
use of 6 b in the antiphon is a cry for mercy, for enlightenment
and blessing, so that the mysteries of the cross, its sufferings and its love
may be revealed to us.
At the end of days the cross will appear in the clouds of heaven.
To those who courageously took up their cross and followed the Crucified,
to those who, sacrificing their all furthered the interests of the
Crucified, this cross will be a boon. Then, indeed, will the cross and the
Crucified in the fullest sense be their salvation, their life, their resurrection;
then will the petition of the psalm-verse become a jubilant song of
thanksgiving. Thou hast had mercy upon us. Now Thy glorious countenance
shines upon us and, overcome with joy, we gaze into the depths
of Thy redeeming love.
Musica s., 45, 49 ff.
Today the Gloria in excelsis Deo is solemnly intoned by the organ
and sung to the accompaniment of the church bells. Today is the birthday
of the Eucharistic Christ.
GRADUAL (Philipp. 2: 8-9)
1. Christus fadus est pro nobis 1. Christ became obedient for us
obediens usque ad mortem, 2. mor- unto death, 2. even the death of the
tern autem crucis. jtf. 1. Propter quod cross. $. 1. Wherefore God also hath
et Deus exaltavit ilium, 2. et dedit exalted him, 2. and given him a
illi nomen, quod est super omne name which is above every name,
nomen.
The corpus of the Gradual moves predominantly in a lower pitch
about the fundamental note / and descends below it to d and c, thus
giving a also a certain importance. All this would point to the plagal
form of the F (sixth) mode.
The verse has an entirely different character. It strives upward to
the dominant of the fifth mode, sounds it, and even goes a fifth above it.
This fits excellently to the text. In the corpus there is mention of the
lowliness of Christ, in the verse of His glorification.
Whether or not this be an original composition is difficult to say.
The fact that Codex 339 of St. Gall's has only the initial notes of the
florid melismas over ilium and nomen, thus presupposing the existence
of the piece, bears no weight. The corresponding passages in the Gradual