Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

Good Friday 171
These complaints of the dying Saviour apply to us also. What shall
we answer Him? In our helplessness the Church directs us to reply with
an act of homage to the "holy God," to the "strong God," to the "immortal
God," coupled with cries for mercy. Originally, no doubt, Agios
o theos was addressed to the Holy Trinity; today, however, it is applied
to Christ Crucified. On the cross He became as sin, and immolates Himself
between two thieves for the sins of the world; we, nevertheless, laud
Him as the "Holy God." On the cross He is an object of misery, weak
forsaken by all, yet we praise Him as the "strong One." On the cross His
discolored countenance already bears the marks of the agony of death,
still we celebrate Him as the "immortal One," and with full voice appeal
to Him: "Have mercy upon us."
This last invocation attains a powerful climax with g a b\? and ab c
up to the prolonged and accented c over eleison. This illustrates beautifully
how the high point of a melody is carefully prepared and then
suddenly broken off. Besides c, the notes b and a in this phrase are prolonged,
just as in the preceding appeals / and a received special accents.
In all probability this melody with the text found its origin in the Orient.
The lamentations of the Saviour will not be silenced, but become
more tender, more heartfelt, more sad. His strength seems to be diminishing
gradually. Let us analyze only a few verses.
l.Ego propter te fiagellavi Aegyp- 1. For thy sake I scourged Egypt
turn cum primogenitis suis: et tu with its firstborn: and thou didst
me flagellatum tradidisti. 3. Ego ante scourge me and deliver me up. 3. /
te aperui mare: et tu aperuisti opened the sea before thee: and thou
lancea latus meum. 5. Ego te pavi with a spear hast opened my side,
manna per desertum: et tu me ce- 5. / fed thee with manna in the
cjidisti alapis et flagellis. 9. Ego te desert: and thou hast beaten me with
exaltavi magna virtute: et tu me buffets and scourges. 9. / have exsuspendisti
in patibulo crucis. alted thee with great strength: and
thou hast hanged me on the gibbet
of the cross.
Between the individul verses the choir sings Popule meus.
The melody could scarcely be more simple. It moves within the range
of a fifth and recites in both parts of the phrase on the third. Only the beginning
and the close of each half bring some variety. It is a kind of
psalmody having intonation, a flexa with more lengthy verses (Aegypto),
middle cadence with two accents and a preparation; then a second intonation
and closing cadence with two accents and a preparation. But
in the final verse over the dactylic word before the last accent an e is