-
HELPINGYOURDEACON,PREIST,ORCANTORLEARNTHEEASTERPROCLAMATION•EXSULTET
EGENDHASITthatMozartwould gladly have tradedall his works if he
couldclaim to have written thefirst line of theExsultet.Even
Wikipedia states,
“Herethe languageofthe liturgyrisestoheightstowhichit ishardto
findaparallelinChristianliterature.”But singing this can be
intimidating!Sixpagesofendlessnotesandwords?As singing
theExsultetis the rightfulroleoftheDeacon,itmayalsobesungby a
priest or a cantor.What if yourdeacon, priest, or cantor is not
aprofessional musician? Here is
anopportunityformusicdirectorstoworkcloselywiththem.Meanwhile,let’sbreakitdownand“de-mystify”someofthisastobetterproclaimthemystery.
TOBEGIN•APRACTICEVIDEOsungbyFr.JonathanGaspar•Youcanseethewordsandmusicinthisvideo:
•• *YouTube•Fr.JonathanGaspar“Exsultet”o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVwuc_CNswY
SUNGONLYONCEAYEARattheEasterVigil,theEasterProclamation(Exsultet)isfoundintheRomanMissal.Itcanalsobedownloadedhere:http://www.icelweb.org/musicfolder/openpdf.php?file=ExsultetLong.pdfAdditionally,attheendofthisdocumentisacopywithsomecasualnotesIwroteinthemargins(withnon-technicalterms).Theyarereferredoftentointhefollowing:EXULT,LETTHEMEXULTThe
first page, which evokes great rejoicing, consists of three
“verses” or
“psalmtones”(labeledinmynotes)thatareexactlyidenticalinform.Learnthe
first twoand a half lines, and you have now learned nearly the
entire firstpage!Furthermore, thecharacteristic leapofa
fifth,uniquetothissection,evokesthe joyful fanfare of the
trumpet—“…let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud
ourmightyKing’striumph!”
-
INVOCATIONOFGOD’SBLESSINGNext(inparenthesis,whichisskippedifsungbyacantor—N.B.therubricsonPg.1)the
deacon or priest invokes themercy of God so that hemayworthily
proclaim“thiscandle’sperfectpraises.”ThisparallelstheOrate,FratreswhichpraysthatoureffortswillbeworthyandpleasingtoGod.Labeledinmynotesas“V1A”and“V2A”itusesthesamemelodicelementsofthepreviousthree“verses.”THENATUREOFAPREFACEHaveyoueversungthePreface?Haveyouhearditsung?Thentherestwillsoundveryfamiliar!ThenextsectionistakenverbatimfromthePrefaceDialogue.Itservesto
introduce themain body of the proclamation, the “Praeconium Proper”
whichtakes on the nature of a Preface. In fact it even begins“It is
truly right
andjust…”Again,theparallelstotheLiturgyoftheEucharistareunmistakableandpointtoheightenedsolemnity.Assuch,thissectionusesthesamemelodicformulaasaPreface.ThisPrefacetonecontinuesthroughouttherestofthechant.Jumpingofffrom“A”,therecitingtoneison“C”.There
isanaccenton“B”,which is
frequentlyusedasanalternaterecitingtone.ThissetsupthecharacteristiccadenceofthePrefacetone.Therefore,itmaybehelpfulforfornon-musicianstothinkof“A”asalandingspot—thechant’sstrongest
gravitationalpull, alongwith “C”and
“B”asadditionalpointsofgravity.(Seemynotesonpage2.)I’ve marked what
appear to be three “verses” or phrases. Quite remarkably, thethird
“verse”/phrase (page 3) describes Christ’s sacrifice as the
Passover
Feast—connectingtheOldCovenantwiththeNew:“ThesethenarethefeastsofPassover,inwhich
is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb, whose Blood anoints the
doorposts ofbelievers.”THISISTHENIGHTHalfwaydownpage three,
I’vemarkedwhat I like to call the “LitanyofThis istheNight.”This is
the nightis referenced no fewer thanseventimes, often
heightenedwithmelismaticphrases.Thisemphasisiswarranted,asthissectionconveyssomeofthemostextraordinaryimplicationsoftheExsultet.Again,theOldCovenantisconnectedwiththeNew,fromliberatingIsrael’schildrenfromslaveryinEgypt,topresentday:“Thisisthenightthatevennow,throughouttheworld,
sets Christian believers apart…from the gloom of sin, leading them
tograce…..”In this light of the present day, be especiallymindful,
that for Elect
andCandidatesoftheChurch,thisindeedisthenightofgreatimportanceintheirlives!PerhapsthemostremarkableaspectoftheExsultetfollowsshortly:“Ourbirthwouldhavebeennogain,hadwenotbeenredeemed.”ThisleadstoadramaticadmissionofGod’smercythroughChrist’sredeemingpowerwiththisastoundingassertion:OtrulynecessarysinofAdam,destroyedcompletelyby
theDeathofChrist!Ohappyfaultthatearnedsogreat,sogloriousaRedeemer!
-
ACCEPTTHISCANDLEAs a bookend to the invocation to worthily “sing
this candle’s perfect praises,”theExsultet concludes with prayers
that God may“accept this candle, a solemnoffering…thisgift
fromyourmostHolyChurch.”In conclusion, there is a prayer
forperseverance for the candle, that it may serve to“overcome the
darkness of thisnight”and that“this flame be found still burning by
the Morning Star: The oneMorningStarthatneversets…”
SOME FINALRECOMMENDATIONS:Mostevery line isagem.Butwhile trying
toconcentrateonthenotes,makesureyouallowtheboundlessblessingsofthistexttosupersedeallthatyoucommunicatetothefaithful.Here’show:•Patience.Revel
in the textanddonotworryaboutmistakes.Make themandmoverightpast
them.Eventhebestofsingerswillmakeplentyoferrorsonthisholiestofnights.•Sing
ita few times for themusicdirectorwho should listen
invariouspartsof
thechurchforpacinganddiction.Dictionwillbemuchmoreimportantthansingingeachnote
perfectly. If you feel yourpacing is too slow,
yourdictionover-enunciated, it isprobablyjustright!•Take the long
view: The Easter Vigil comes around every year. You may
haveopportunity to sing thisagain in the future. Itwill
getbetterandmore
comfortableeachtime.Moreimportantly,thetextwilltakeholdholdofyourheartfortherestofyourlife!Itisanhonortosingthis.Anyonewhodoeswillbeindeliblychangedinspirit.Forthosewholisten,allowitsbreathlessbeautytostealyourheart!
SoliDeoGloria
IfanyonehasquestionsormightevenliketomeettosingthroughtheExsultet,[email protected].
RichardJ.ClarkDirectorofMusic&OrganistArchdioceseofBostonCathedraloftheHolyCross
-
ExsultetTips1.23.19.docxExsultet with notes
RJCExsultet_RJC_Notes_1Page 1
Exsultet_RJC_Notes_2Page 1
Exsultet_RJC_Notes_3Page 1
Exsultet_RJC_Notes_4Page 1
Exsultet_RJC_Notes_5Page 1
Exsultet_RJC_Notes_6Page 1
/ColorImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict >
/JPEG2000ColorImageDict > /AntiAliasGrayImages false
/CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 300
/GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true
/GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300
/GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2
/GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true
/GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true
/GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict >
/GrayImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict >
/JPEG2000GrayImageDict > /AntiAliasMonoImages false
/CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200
/MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true
/MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200
/MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode
/MonoImageDict > /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None
] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false
/PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000
0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true
/PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ]
/PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier ()
/PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped
/False
/CreateJDFFile false /Description > /Namespace [ (Adobe)
(Common) (1.0) ] /OtherNamespaces [ > /FormElements false
/GenerateStructure false /IncludeBookmarks false /IncludeHyperlinks
false /IncludeInteractive false /IncludeLayers false
/IncludeProfiles false /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings
/Namespace [ (Adobe) (CreativeSuite) (2.0) ]
/PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK /PreserveEditing
true /UntaggedCMYKHandling /LeaveUntagged /UntaggedRGBHandling
/UseDocumentProfile /UseDocumentBleed false >> ]>>
setdistillerparams> setpagedevice
