Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

The Ascension of Our Lord 213
throned upon the ark, was borne to Mount Sion amid the acclaim of His
people and the sound of trumpets. At that time the Lord was invisible.
Today He ascends to heaven before the eyes of His disciples: videntibus
Mis, according to the words of the fifth antiphon at Vespers. Alleluiaverse
and Offertory give prominence to the significant word Ascendit.
As a parallelism to them we may mention the Alleluia-verse and the
Offertory of the feast of the Assumption, where Assumpta est ("she
was taken up") stands first. He, our Lord and Saviour, ascended on high
by His own power, accompanied by much rejoicing. This joy is above all
in His own soul, which, only a few short weeks ago, was sorrowful unto
death upon this very Mount of Olives. Joyous shouts of angels likewise
surround Him; some angels are escorting Him and others are awaiting
Him in heaven. Then there is also the ineffable joy of the saints whom
He is leading to their reward.
Perhaps its seems strange that the word Dominus appears as an independent
melodic phrase. On the third Sunday of Advent the heartfelt
et veni and on Pentecost et creabuntur, both complete thoughts, occupy
this place. But here, too, the word Dominus is to be especially stressed.
For Christ has shown Himself the Lord over life and death, over nature,
grace, and glory; He is the living Ark of the Covenant, which bears in
its heart the law of redemptive love and the manna of eternal life, and
is now entirely immersed in the radiant light of glory.
SECOND ALLELUIA VERSE (Ps. 67: 18, 19)
1. Dominus in Sina in sancto, 1. The Lord is in Sinai, in the
ascendens in altum, 2. captivam holy place, ascending on high, 2.
duxit captivitatem. he hath led captwity captive.
This song also presupposes a victory over the foes of God's people;
several of the enemy are being led along in the triumphal procession as
captives. In this victory the Lord has revealed Himself in His majesty
as on Mount Sinai, when He gave Moses the Decalogue. Still more gloriously
and majestically Christ today mounts above all that is earthly
and makes His entry into the heavenly court. By a happy coincidence, the
most significant neum of this piece stands above the word ascendens. St.
Paul comments on this psalm-verse: "Now that He ascended, what is it,
but because He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended above all the heavens,
that He might fill all things" (Ephes. 4: 7-10). Now He leads captives
captive. Sin, death, and hell, which formerly made man their captive,
have become His booty. But also those who had previously been confined
to limbo as in captivity today enjoy the privilege of entering into blissful