Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

468 All Saints Day
To whom are these words addressed? In accordance with St. Paul's
mind, we may suppose Sancti to refer to all those who belong to the
Church, through which they have been sanctified and called to personal
holiness. Those speaking are the saints in heaven, just as the angel in
the Apocalypse calls out with a loud voice: "Fear the Lord, and give
Him honor." Today they look down lovingly upon us, filled with the
desire that one day we also may be united with them. They indicate
the way, admonishing us: Fear God, seek God! This fear of God must
be such that it awakens the longing after God, the desire for Him, and
Him alone, in our souls. The saints were true seekers of God. In all
things and everywhere they looked for Him and found Him. The florid
melody reminds us that in all the events of life, in all misfortunes and disillusionments,
whatever their magnitude and number, the eyes and the
hearts of the saints remained fixed on God. Others may have pursued
pleasures and honors and wealth, but (autem) they sought God. In Him,
where alone true joys are to be found, were their hearts firmly established.
But at the same time they tell us how God rewarded them for all
their sufferings, labors, and privations. In the contemplation of God
they feel no further need, for no good is wanting to them. They confirm
this statement by their own experience. For they possess God, the
highest good, and in Him they have all that the human heart can desire;
and because God is eternal and immutable, their happiness can never
diminish, can never be lost, or undergo change.
"This song echoes the admonition which the saints so often heard
while following the Lord upon earth in the pilgrim's vesture of this sinful
humanity. The gentle, humble song is wafted to them as from afar,
from a distant past; not as a woeful sigh and a suppliant petition; but as
a glorified remembrance, a greeting from remote well-known lands
where once they lived, struggled, and conquered" (C. O., 50, 149).
ALLELUIA VERSE (Matt. 11: 28)
1. Venite ad me, omnes qui la- 1. Come to me, all you that labor
boratis, et onerati estis: 2. et ego and are burdened: 2. and I will rereficiam
vos. fresh you.
This Alleluia again is a prelude to the subsequent Gospel and its
beatitudes. Its splendor, its solemnity, and its triumphant joy is spread
over the melody like the light of a glorious dawn. It is one of the most
valued chants in the Graduale, one which grips the singer spontaneously.
Indeed, there is mention of those who are afflicted and heavily
burdened. But the Saviour invites them to Himself; and according to
the interpretation of the composer of the plainsong melody, He has