Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ 417
dextris. The motive over regina is abbreviated over in vestitu, and developed
over drcumdata. The ornate deaurdto might depict for us a heavy
gold brocade. The melody here attains its greatest range. Like the first
phrase, the second closes on the dominant c which, as a matter of fact,
plays an important role throughout the melody. The third phrase repeats
the formula b 1 c a g c 1 and continues it immediately. The tonic e
of the third mode, to which this melody is ascribed, appears only as a
final note. The lowest note of the third phrase then is e, of the second /,
and of the first g.
This is one of the sublimest Offertories in plain chant, characterized,
as it were, by the festive splendor of an Eastern sun.
* * * *
THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
JESUS CHRIST
(August 6)
In the Occident this feast can be traced to the seventh century
while in the Orient it was celebrated on various days since the eighth
century. The present date was assigned to it by Callixtus III in 1458 in
the victory that St. John Capistran and George Hunyadi won over the
Turks at Belgrade (Keller, Heortologie, p. 81).
INTROIT (Ps. 76: 19)
1. Illuxerunt coruscationes tuae 1. Thy lightnings enlightened the
orbi terrae; 2. commota est et con- world: 2. the earth shook and
tremuit terra. Ps. (88, 2) Quam di- trembled. Ps. (88, 2) How lovely
lecta tabernacula tua, Domine vir- are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts. *
Mum. * Concupiscit, et deficit My soul longeth and fainteth for
anima mea in atria Domini. the courts of the Lord.
For the older feasts it was a general rule that when the antiphon
was taken from the Psalter, the verse was taken from the same psalm.
Later feasts, as that of today, seemingly ignore this rule.
The flood of light which enveloped our Lord on Tabor, or rather,
which emanating from His divinity had transfigured His human nature,
in all likelihood occasioned the choice of the first psalm-verse. The
effect of this unusual but happy spectacle caused St. Peter to exclaim:
"Lord, it is good for us to be here... Let us make here three tabernacles."
The second psalm-verse again calls this happiness to mind. As a matter
of fact, God does occasionally impart to us His illuminations and con-