Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost 351
descending f d c a at the end of meant comes as an answer; it then bends
upward to c c d to prepare for the low beginning of the third phrase,
which is an exact repetition of the first. Formerly the two following
verses of Psalm 129 (Fiant aures tuae and Si iniquitdtes) were also sung
with this Offertory; between each pair were interpolated the words De
profundis clamdvi at te, Domine, which also brought the whole to a close.
These verses only tended to increase the earnestness of the composition.
With the Gospel as a background (the healing of the woman troubled
with an issue of blood and the awakening of the daughter of Jairus) our
cry ascends to the Lord. In a life filled with sickness, disease, lamentation
for the dead, our yearning for perfect redemption and absolute
freedom from all species of misery is most intense. This longing comes to
the fore in spite of all the self-denial and willing submission we may have.
It will accompany our every good deed. I am still wandering in the
depths; my life is spent in a desert where tears and sorrows are my lot.
But some day I shall be quiet and happy, and like the healed woman
and the child of Capharnaum brought back to life, I shall thank the
Saviour, and I shall live on with all the others who have arisen.
COMMUNION (Mark 11: 24)
1. Amen dico vobis: quidquid 1. Amen I say to you: Whatsoorantes
petitis, credite quia ac- ever you ask when you pray, becipietis,
et fiet vobis. lieve that you shall receive, and it
shall be done to you.
In the two half-phrases which constitute this song, the first part in
both instances extends above the range of the second part. Each inception,
if we disregard the introductory formula, is on the dominant:
quidquid, credite, et; this gives the piece an added feeling of assurance.
The endings show a descending line: vobis = a, petitis = g, accipietis=f
vobis=ed. It is to be noted that the accented syllables are always higher
than the succeeding syllables, and generally carry several notes. Amen
is a striking exception. The form d a 6b, over its second syllable, is in
all other cases on the accented syllable, for example, Suscepimus, Gaudedmus,
Praeceptor. The same might easily have been done here. Perhaps
the Greek pronunciation of Amen, which accents the second syllable,
influenced the present arrangement. But more important than this detail
is the bold continuation the melody makes with its leap of a fourth.
August majesty marks the beginning of this chant. Here He speaks
who rules over all things, who has in His hand life and death, time and
eternity, who needs but will and things are made, who can grant all
that is asked of Him. Here is the answer He makes to our petitions in