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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Here's a lovely version of this Introit, sung by "the Schola of the Hofburgkapelle Vienna (1984)," and below that is the full chant score:




JoguesChant gives this translation of the Introit; the text is from Psalm 66:1-3:
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, alleluia; sing a psalm to his name, alleluia; praise him with magnificence, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Say to God: "How awesome are your deeds, O Lord! In the greatness of your power, your enemies will be convicted of lying to you".
But the King James version has this:
1Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
 2Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
 3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

So I'm not quite sure where the "lying to you" aspect comes in; I don't find that in any translation, including the Douay-Rheims.

Here's the collect for the day:

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Because of course the Gospel reading for today is one of the best of all stories:  the road to Emmaus (from Luke 24:13-35):

That very day, the first day of the week, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him." Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Interestingly, the Collects for Easter Week are used again on the second and third Sundays during Easter.  Hatchett's Commentary says this about today's collect, the one used on Wednesday of Easter Week:
This is a revised version of the collect for the Monday in Easter Week of the 1928 Boo, composed by the Rev. Dr. John W. Suter, Sr. It is associated with the story of our Lord's appearance to the disciples at Emmaus after the resurrection, when He made Himself known "in the breaking of bread" (Lk. 24:35). The original form of the result clause read: "That we may behold thee in all they works." This collect is also appointed for the third Sunday of Easter.

I would imagine that the reason for this duplication is similar to the reasoning that determines what happens during Holy Week: there are really important aspects of the Gospel story that are told twice so that people who miss them during Easter Week, because they are working, will still be able to hear them. The Gospel reading for today is the same as the reading for Wednesday of Easter Week.

I was going to post "Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus" here - until I realized that there are two of these! I'd only ever seen the first one below, which I think is so terrific; that's from 1601. But there's a 1606 version (the second one below), too, it seems.



If I can find out the reason for these two different versions - was one done for a church and the other for a private client, for instance? - I'll come back and edit this post with that information.

Well, I am going to seriously cheat now, because it's not the same text at all - this one comes from the better-known Psalm 100 - but here's Cristobal Morales' Jubilate Deo; the words are below:


Iubilate Deo omnis terra.
Servite Domino in lætitia.
Introite in conspectus eius in exsultatione.
Scitote, quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus:
ipse fecit nos et non ipsi nos;
populus eius et oves pascuæ eius,
introite portas eius in confessione,
atria eius in hymnis: confitemini illi.

And here's one of my all-time favorites of that Psalm 100, and in English, too, by William Walton. A little bit of outer space, I always thought. (I got to sing one of the trio parts at a service one time; much fun.)


O BE joyful in the LORD, all ye lands: * serve the LORD with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
Be ye sure that the LORD he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; * we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; * be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
For the LORD is gracious, his mercy is everlasting; * and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

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