Dic nobis Maria…
Mariam!…Rabboni!
Χριστός ἀνέστη! – Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
Christus surréxit! - Surréxit vere, allelúja
Christ is risen!” - “He is risen indeed, Alleluia!”
A very happy and blessed Easter to all! Oh what joy is overflowing in this time: Haec dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur in ea, alleluia! (This is the day which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it, Alleluia!)
I’ve got plenty of Easter chants and polyphony for the coming week, but I should like to begin with one of my favourites, and one that we only get to enjoy this week of the Octave: the Victimae Paschali laudes…, also known as the Paschal Sequence. Like every other sequence, it is prescribed to be chanted before the Gospel, on each day of the Octave of Easter. I love this sequence. Indeed, I have often hoped to get married within the Easter Octave that I might have this sequence at my nuptials.
As poetry, it is simply magnificent. The first two stanzas dwell on paradoxes: lamb and sheep, death and life. But then comes my fovourite part, the part that makes this so special for me and gives me pause every time I hear it: Dic nobis Maria, quid vidisti in via? The Mary in question is that most faithful of disciples, the penitent Magdalen, who was first to see the Risen Christ at the tomb this very morning as he spoke her name: Mariam! I have a deep love of the Magdalen (I look at her image on my wall as I type this), and her testimony to the Apostles fails not to move my heart. The chant singles her out, as it goes back and forth in a sort of dialogue. Tell us of Mary, tell us what thou saw! Thus, after the demand, the rest of the poem springs from her lips: And what did she see? The risen Christ! Angels! Shroud! Clothes! Christ, my hope! The poem concludes with the affirmation of the Lord’s Resurrection, based on the testimony of the Magdalen. Oh blest are we to share in her joy, that we might shout her very words to the Apostles: I have seen the Lord, and these things he said to me!
I have included three versions below. The first is the original chant of the sequence. The second is a setting by Tomas Luis de Victoria. This setting really emphasises th dialogue nature of the disciples and Mary Magdalen, as it repeats the question in between verses, and assigns the question to the full choir, but the responses to just the females. Thirdly, I’ve added an English version for those that want a little vernacular flavour:
Let Christians offer sacrificial
praises to the passover victim.
The lamb has redeemed the sheep:
The Innocent Christ has reconciled
the sinners to the Father.
Death and life contended
in a spectacular battle:
the dead leader of life
reigns alive.
Tell us, Mary, what did
you see on the way?
"I saw the tomb of the living Christ
and the glory of his rising,
The angelic witnesses, the
shroud, and the clothes."
"Christ my hope is arisen;
he will go before you into Galilee."
We know Christ is truly risen from the dead!
On us, you conqueror, King, have mercy!
Amen. Alleluia.
Victimae paschali laudes
immolent Christiani.
Agnus redemit oves:
Christus innocens Patri
reconciliavit peccatores.
Mors et vita duello
conflixere mirando:
dux vitae mortuus,
regnat vivus.
Dic nobis Maria,
quid vidisti in via?
Sepulcrum Christi viventis,
et gloriam vidi resurgentis
Angelicos testes,
sudarium, et vestes.
Surrexit Christus spes mea:
praecedet suos vos in Galilaeam.
Scimus Christum surrexisse
a mortuis vere:
tu nobis, victor Rex, miserere.
Amen. Alleluia.
Furthermore, much like the giant Lent playlist that serves as a compendium, I am working on a giant Easter one. I must say I tend to favour Lenten music over Easter (must be the melancholy), but alas I am building something substantial here. It is still a work in progress; check it out: Spotify
Happy Listening!
Sancta Maria Magdalena, ora pro nobis!
Sancta Caecilia, ora pro nobis!