Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

Holy Saturday 177
We heard this song on the Ember Saturday of Lent. How devout
and joyful it sounded today when at the solemn administration of
Baptism individuals of all nations experienced the plentitude of divine
mercy, when they formed an alliance with the God who is eternally
faithful.
After the priest has received Holy Communion, renewed jubilation
sweeps through the house of God. Alleluia resounds again in a melody
which in its simplicity, its brevity, and its harmony has all the characteristics
of a true folksong.
In the Magnificat that follows, the Blessed Virgin assumes the role
of chanter and praises the Lord who has wrought such great marvels
upon us, who has thrust the mighty from their seats and exalted the
lowly, who has filled the hungry with good things and in His mercy has
adopted us as His own children. The full effect of this pleasing, powerful,
and gripping song can only be realized by actual participation in the
services on Holy Saturday morning.
ANTIPHON Vespere Autem
Vespere autem sabbati, quae lu- In the evening of the Sabbath:
cescit in prima sabbati, venit Maria which dawns in the first day of the
Magdalene, et altera Maria, videre week, came Mary Magdalen, and
sepulcrum, alleluia. the other Mary, to the sepulchre:
alleluia.
With lucescit joy overruns the almost typical limits of the melody.
For the dismissal of the community, the deacon does^not employ
the usual formula; his heart is too full. He must continue with a twofold
alleluia the Easter jubilation which he intoned in the Exsultet. Go, he
tells us, and bring gladness into a world languishing for want of joy;
carry into it a spirit of goodness and purity, and revivify it with consolation
and strength.
Our answer is a spirited Deo grdtias, alleluia, alleluia. For we realize
what we are taking away with us, and how rich we have become through
Christ and His liturgy. We know that the Church, her divine claims substantiated
by the miracle of the Resurrection, has resisted all the attacks
of violence and pretended learning and come forth victorious. We believe
in the power of truth, in the might of grace; and filled with the spirit
of the primitive Church, filled with the courage and strength of the
martyrs, we cry: Deo grdtias, alleluia, alleluia.