Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

26 Second Sunday of Advent
of the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost with its semitones and minor
thirds. These supply the small stones in the material necessary for the
construction of an aesthetic of intervals in plain song. 1 In accordance
with the rules for the adaptation of phrases, the beginning of et salutdre
(gc) is preceded by the low-pitched d e d. From et salutdre on, with its
introductory fourth and the fourth that follows it, the singer feels impelled
to present his petition in an especially pleading manner. To this
the pressus over tuum contributes considerably, and especially the development
over da, which is to be sung with a marked crescendo. In case
breath should not suffice, but only in that case, a brief pause may be
made after the low /, after which the ascent from the prolonged g should
be made slowly and prayerfully.
COMMUNION (Bar. 5: 5; 4: 36)
1. Jerusalem surge, et sta in 1. Arise, O Jerusalem, and
excelso: 2. et vide jucunditatem, stand on high: 2. and behold the joy
quae veniet tibi a Deo tuo. that cometh to thee from thy God.
Subdued joy, the quiet happiness of Advent, inspires this melody.
It knows that the hopes of the soul are not in vain, that its expectation
will surely be fulfilled. It has not that bright ring which is characteristic
of the second mode for example in the second antiphon of Lauds at
Christmas, which sings of the virgin motherhood of Our Lady; gdudia
matris habens cum virginitdtis honore. But neither has it the seriousness
of the Offertory of the first Advent Sunday, which never dared to rise
above g. Here we have not that solemn jubilation with which the Gradual-verse
for Epiphany sings its Surge et illumindre; nevertheless, surge
of this Communion also penetrates deeply into the heart. Here we have
a major third. It is a cry harking back to the spirit of today's Introit.
Solemnly it continues—in accordance with the ancient annotated manuscripts,
which give almost each note the broad form—"stand on high";
rise above your environment; despise what is earthly, as the Postcommunion
puts it; view all things in their proper proportions. One thing
alone can fill your heart with bliss—the salvation which comes to you
from your God.
The Holy Communion which we receive lifts us to the heights of
the other world, where eternal happiness awaits us in the possession and
contemplation of God (Kath. Kirchenzeitung, Salzburg, 1927, 441J.
The serious explanation offered by Oberhammer (Im Lichte des
Christkinds, p. 28J hardly corresponds to the spirit of the melody. Ac-
N. Sch. 247 ff.