Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

54 Christmas Day—Third Mass
hest. Hence, this Alleluia-verse now cries: adordte—"adore ye the Lord,"
whereas the preceding Gradual had cried: jubildtel
When we hear the mighty words in the Gospel: "And the Word was
made Flesh," we bend our knees before the Babe of Bethlehem. The
descent of the melody over venite to low a, the prolongation of the dominant
/—within a passage of florid melismas, a recitation on a single note
always produces a solemn effect—truly seem like an eloquent expression
of our prayerful adoration.
We have here a typical melody of the archaic form, a favorite for
the Christmas season; thus it appears on the feasts of St. Stephen, of
St. John, and on Epiphany; likewise on the feasts of St. John the Baptist
and SS. Peter and Paul.
Four phrases may be distinguished in the verse. The first and third
have practically the same intonation: Dies = quia hodie; then follows a
recitation on the tonic: sanctificdtus illuxit = descendit lux; then the same
florid cadence: nobis = magna. The second phrase begins with a sort of
intonation contrasting with that of the others, then a recitation on the
dominant /, and a sinple cadence. The fourth phrase is extremely short.
It has no intonation of any kind, but a recitation on the dominant like
the second phrase (this recitation is longer on the feast of St. John the
Evangelist and on Epiphany), and finally a closing cadence. The psalmodic
construction of the whole is quite evident.
Both the text and melody probably come from old Byzantium. In
some of the ancient manuscripts either a Latin or a Greek text accompanies
the melody; in one of the Vatican Library (No. 298, f. Ill), both
a Latin and a Greek text accompany it.
The great Light, the Light of Light, God of God, true Light of true
Light, has come down to us. It transfigures the present day, makes it a
holy day indeed. There is nothing blinding, nothing to repel the eye, in
this fullness of light; enraptured we contemplate the divine Child, the
while we adore Him as the sol invictus, the truly unconquerable Sun.
OFFERTORY (Ps. 88: 12, 15)
1. Tui sunt caeli, et tua est terra: 1. Thine are the heavens, and
2. orbem terrarum, et plenitudinem thine is the earth: 2. the world and
ejus tu fundasti: 3. justitia et judi- the fullness thereof thou hast
cium praeparatio sedis tuae. founded: 3. justice and judgement
are the preparation of thy throne.
The divine dignity of the Babe of Bethlehem is the first thought,
in fact one might say, the thought, occupying the mind of the Church
today. In opposition to the Arians it was necessary to stress the fact that