Neumz, Amsterdam Centrum (2026)

Neumz is the largest recording project ever undertaken: the complete Gregorian Chant, in a long term collaboration with the community of Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fidélité of Jouques, in French Provence.

31/05/2026

The Most Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons, one true God, is the liturgical solemnity that the Universal Church celebrates today. The Trinity designates the truth that in the unity of the Divinity, there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are different from one another.

The feast to honor the Holy Trinity is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. No special day or Office was assigned for the Most Holy Trinity in the early Church. However, the prayers and the Preface of the Trinity already appeared in the Sacramentary of Pope St. Gregory the Great. In the eighth century, the writings of the erudite Monk Alcuin attest that, filled with the spirit of the Sacred Liturgy, he thought that the time had come to write a votive Mass in honor of the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Also, it seems to be that he was prompted to do so by a desire of the illustrious apostle of Germania, St. Boniface. However, this Mass, merely votive, was nothing more than an aid to private piety, and there was nothing to suggest that it would one day lead to the institution of a feast.

Stephen, the bishop of Liège, solemnly instituted the feast of the Most Holy Trinity in his church in 920 and had a complete Office composed in honor of the mystery. Little by little, devotion to the Mass of the Most Holy Trinity spread, and we see that it was accepted in Germany by the Council of Seligenstadt in 1022. The feast was established quite early in the same century in Cluny. There is written evidence from 1091 in the liturgical books of this illustrious monastery, where it is mentioned as having been instituted for quite some time. Pope Alexander II (1061-73), refused a request for a special feast with the argument that the Holy Trinity was honored daily with the Gloria Patri and that such a feast was not customary in the Roman Church; but, he did not forbid the celebration where it already existed. Pope John XXII (1316-34) ordered the feast for the whole Church for the first Sunday after Pentecost, since it was after the first great Pentecost that the doctrine of the Trinity was proclaimed to the world, the feast conveniently follows that of Pentecost.

To celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, we have chosen at Neumz the alleluia chant Benedictus es Domine. The text of the alleluia of this solemnity is taken from the Book of Daniel 3:52, and, specifically, from the “Song of the Three Young Men”, canticum Trium Puerorum, is the beginning. It should be emphasized that this alleluia is sung on the Saturday of Pentecost, the eve of the Holy Trinity, right after the reading that contains the previous verses, as a kind of Lectio cm cantico: "The flames rose forty-nine cubits above the furnace, and spread out, burning the Chaldeans that it caught around the furnace. But the angel of the Lord went down into the furnace with Azariah and his companions, drove the fiery flames out of the furnace, and made the inside of the furnace as though a dew-laden breeze were blowing through it. The fire in no way touched them or caused them pain or harm. Then these three in the furnace with one voice sang, glorifying and blessing God: ‘Blessed are you…’" (Book of David 3:47-51).

The text of our alleluia is the exaltation of the three young men to the God of all the lineage of Adam, Noah, and Abraham for having filled the souls of their fathers with the hope and joy of the Messiah: Benedictus es, Domine, Deus patrum nostrorum, et laudabilis in saecula. The translation from Latin means: “Blessed art thou, O Lord, God of our fathers, and worthy of praise; and thy name is glorified forever” (Book of Daniel 3:57). It also places before our eyes or in our voice the thought of the Resurrection and martyrdom. Perhaps the fire of the Holy Spirit was present in the heart of the composer and these three young men prefigure the action of the Holy Trinity. With them, the Church sings of the Three Persons of the Trinity and their beneficial action, day after day, in each of its members. We also consider the Trinity in the destiny of our parents, in the destiny of the generations, and the ways of men. The Most Holy Trinity has shown himself admirable.

As for the melody, it is composed in mode VIII, it is not a copy. It is an original composition, which also appears in the Mass of the Christmas vigil, alleluia Crastina die. It is a joyful melody, of great exterior joy, but without exuberance, full of immense reverence, adoration, and solemnity. We are fully before the majesty of mode VIII, with some touches of mode VII when the Re appears.
The jubilus masterfully condenses the essence of this sublime piece. If we could see celestial beings singing it, we would understand better what is the key to singing these chants: with an immense reverent attitude in the melodic descents and continuous gestures of adoration in the ascents. One can perceive a subdivision in the jubilus, into five parts, an initial motif that is gradually amplified: the first incise, Sol La Si Sol, then the clivis La-Sol marks the second motive (and the others as well) where the appearance of the Do stands out, Sol La Do Si Sol, this second motive is amplified with the distropha on the Sol and the repetition of the clivis La-Sol, and in the last incise the climax appears with the very beautiful leap of a fifth according to the Graduale Novum version (Si-Re in the Vaticana), Sol-Re, of overflowing joy, followed by a very fervent descent from the Do to the Sol full of immense reverence. In the final motive that closes the jubilus, the melody gradually becomes peaceful: the motive that appears in the second incise is utilized again, this time the pes subbipunctis, Sol-Do-Si-Sol, becomes subtripunctis, Sol-Do-Si-La-Sol, and the presus major ends by placing the melodic movement with great serenity and delicacy on the Sol. As we said, it is a jubilus full of adoration, reverence, fervor, and devotion. All of it is materialized by the repetition of the clivis La-Sol, the pes subpunctis of four, five and even six notes, and a certain presence of the semitonal interval of Do-Si, which is much more present in the verse as we will see, and it denotes the loving tenderness that is given off by the prayerful one and his closeness to God.
The verse begins with a beautiful outburst of fervor; Benedictus es, Blessed are you. Tristropha, three Sol-Sol-Sol, in the song of three young people, on the day in which we celebrate the Holy Trinity, this Trinitarian presence could not be more evident. The prayerful one sings giving free rein to a fervent thanksgiving to the Lord: The melody of this incise manifests great fervor in the heights of the mode (the Graduale Novum restores the Si in this passage, Sol-Si Si Do-Si), and after that, it descends to bow or almost genuflect in the Sol, the clivis La-Sol, which characterizes this piece, reappears, passing by. In the following incise, Domine, Deus, Lord, God, there is another burst of fervor, the prayerful cantor once again sets his gaze full of adoration and gratitude on the heights and again resounds the leap of a fifth Sol-Re. The word Deus is covered with the semitonal interval, Do-Si, which envelops it with a tender touch of loving tenderness as we have already indicated. The melody of patrum nostrorum, of our fathers, continues to sound like an echo of gratitude, devotion, and infinite love. The similarity with the beginning of the first incise is considerable: Sol Si Do-Si La-Sol, with the two clivis characteristic of this alleluia. In the posttonic syllable of nostrorum, there is a melodic ascent that reaches the Re, an irrepressible enthusiasm for praising God in the prayerful one, with another sublime semitonal cadence of Do-Si.

The second phrase uses again the motif of Benedictus es, another echo in the piece, et laudabilis in saecula, and praiseworthy forever. In laudabilis for the third time sounds the turn Do-Si (La) La-Sol. The incise closes with the bow or genuflection in the Sol. In in saecula, forever, the umpteenth echo of the piece reappears, the tristropha in the Sol, and a similar start to Benedictus (if one considers the Graduale Novum version). The composer unites both words musically and textually (blessed are you eternally), the beginning and the end, it is like an endless praise. The soul has time to gather its desires for eternal praise before making them blossom in the luminous alleluiatic jubilus.

Listen to the Alleluia at: https://app.neumz.com/listen/missa-benedictus-es-domine-8-126601/31-05-2026

Image: ©Sankt-Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek 359 - Cantatorium f. 139

29/05/2026

🎶 Neumz is joining the Solesmes Gregorian Chant Session once again this year — and we'd love for you to be part of it!

Dream of studying Gregorian chant at its very source? This July 6–11, 2026, the Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes opens its doors for the SGS (Solesmes Gregorian Session) — the place where the restoration of Gregorian chant was born, a thousand years of history alive in every stone.

Live the rhythm of ora et labora alongside the Benedictine community: immerse yourself in chant, liturgy, and sacred music in an atmosphere unlike anywhere else.

✨ New this year: an English-language level is offered for English-speaking participants!

Come and deepen your understanding of one of the Church's most treasured musical traditions — with Neumz by your side. 🙏

📩 Info & registration: [email protected]

24/05/2026

Today we commemorate the Solemnity of Pentecost, the day that the promise of Christ to the apostles that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to guide them in their evangelizing mission was fulfilled. Therefore, it could be said that it is the feast of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost comes from the Greek meaning "fiftieth" (pentecoste). The reason is that Pentecost is the fiftieth day (in Greek, pentecoste hemera) after Easter Sunday (in the Christian calendar). The Holy Spirit is manifested in different ways in the New Testament. Pentecost is a real event as stated in the passage of the Acts of the Apostles which narrates the scene of Pentecost and contains two symbols of the Holy Spirit and his activity, the wind and the fire:
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4). The Solemnity of Pentecost is, therefore, one of the most important in the calendar of the Church. It contains a richness of profound meaning. It also celebrates the universal reign of the Holy Spirit, of whom love is the spiritual fruitfulness of the Church of Christ.

We have chosen at Neumz the communion chant Factus est repente to commemorate this important solemnity, which, like the Introit Spiritus Domini, admirably narrates the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The text is taken from fragments of verses 2, 4, and 11, in chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles: Factus est repente de caelo sonus advenientis spiritus vehementis, ubi erant sedentes; et repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto, loquentes magnalia Dei, Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind, where they were sitting, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking of the wonderful works of God. The composer has carefully chosen the words of this passage, focusing not on the miracle of eloquence in other languages, but on the fact that filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles, who were sitting, rose up and began to speak of the greatness of God. All thanks to this celestial commotion. This story and what happened is well put in the mouth of the Church at the moment of Communion. The reception of the Eucharist in a certain way renews the miracle. The Love of God takes hold of us like the Apostles and, filled with the Spirit, we too feel in our interior an uncontrollable ardor to sing and to proclaim the wonders of the Lord. We resemble Mary, our Mother, and her Magnificat: quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, “for the Mighty One has done great things for me” (Luke 1:49). Thus, as on the day of Pentecost, but this time without wind and noise, the Holy Spirit invades the soul, which also, in the silence of thanksgiving, begins to chant the wonders of God.

As for the melody, it is composed in mode VII. It develops around the fifth of the two modal poles Sol-Re, expresses clarity and joy, and sings in the heights of the angelic mode. It is a very lively recitative, even dramatic. All the sensitive reactions provoked by the miracle are present. This communion chant has a very clear musical structure, marked by the two phrases separated by the full-bar: one is Factus est repente which corresponds to the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and the other et repleti sunt which shows the effects of this arrival on the Apostles, both phrases accompanied by alleluias. At first sight, we observe that the two parts are clearly distinguished by the chant. In fact, the alleluias that conclude them have the same melody. The two phrases have a fast, agile beginning, which rises to the dominant, develops around it, and then begins a soft cadence towards the fundamental, with a much more serene and peaceful melodic climate, which stands out for its counterposition with the beginning. The two phrases are like this: the melody, very lively, highlights all the sensitive reactions produced by the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, "suddenly"; "a loud sound", the suddenness and violence of the impetuous breath that follows. To highlight all these episodes the melody takes advantage of the perfect fifth, Sol-Re, proper to mode VII, both to rise suddenly and to descend suddenly or in a soft cadence in the Sol. With these movements of enthusiasm and strong ardor, the melody manages to transmit and incorporate the assembly of faithful that is celebrating today, in that same outpouring of the "spirit" that the apostles experienced on the day of Pentecost. And this, as is proper to Gregorian chant, is not done in a purely emotional way, but in a truly sacramental way. This is when Gregorian chant reaches its greatest richness in the liturgy.
As we have already noted, the beginning of the piece is lively and agile. Factus est repente de caelo sonus, Suddenly there came a sound from heaven: several successive direct leaps, from the fundamental to the dominant, convey the impression of surprise and emotion, as well as translating the violent wind. In the melodic summit of the piece, Fa-Mi-Fa-Re, in de caelo sonus, the astonishment and admiration in front of the irruption of this celestial sound is chanted. The porrectus flexus of the accent of sonus vibrates agilely but with force, a vibration that extends to the following incise, advenientis spiritus vehementis, as of a mighty wind. Indeed, the melodic movement will revolve around the Re, embellished with the Mi and Do, the wind levitates in the heights of the mode, and blows strongly: note the pes quadratus, Do-Mi, of the accent of Spiritus or the quilismatic movement of vehementis (by the way, the only one in the piece), La-Si-Do Do-Re. The melody settles on the Do to close the incise and from there, in the following incise, ubi erant sedentes; where they were sitting, it begins a staggered descent, a figure of the same descent of the Spirit where the disciples were seated. The melody becomes somewhat more ornate, slower, and more paused to translate the almost motionless attitude of the apostles. This mood is transmitted to the alleluia that concludes this first phrase: peaceful, full of paschal joy that shines with a beautiful melodic arc Sol-Do-Sol.
In the second phrase, et repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto, and all were filled with the Holy Spirit, the melody restarts again with impetus, toward the dominant, with the enthusiasm of the prayerful one to chant the action of the Holy Spirit. It is worth noting the magnificent scandicus with the first articulated note, Do-Re-Mi, of the accent of repleto: the melody is filled with the strength of the breath of the prayerful soul. The melody moves again with lightness and vivacity, as in the beginning, in the heights of the mode, spiritus and Spiritu present a very similar melodic turn: one clearly identifies the spiritus vehementis of the first phrase, Do-Mi Re Do, with the explicit presence of the Holy Spirit in the text, Mi Re Do, but in the second phrase there is a greater majesty. The incise closes with a cadenza on the high Mi, of character of much suspense. In loquentes magnalia Dei, speaking of the wonderful works of God, the presence of the Holy Spirit enters the deepest part of creation: the hearts of the disciples and, from them, little by little, fills all things. All this is expressed in the magnificent fifth Re-Sol, which is the foundation of this incise. After a beautiful turn around the dominant in loquentes, the melody begins a peaceful descent towards the fundamental, it widens in magnalia, and contemplates the wonders of God. The inner state of the disciples prevails, this passage is more a manifestation of how the interior of the soul is, full of serenity, peace, and joy: the low Fa appears for the first and only time, the semitonal interval Si-Do is insisted upon, denoting that closeness with God, of the soul that is filled with the Spirit and chants with loving tenderness the wonders of its Creator.
As for the two final alleluias, the first takes again the enthusiasm and vivacity of the start of the two phrases of this piece (in fact the Graduale Novum indicates a leap of a fourth, Sol-Do, much more joyful than the leap of a third of the Vaticana). The second one already echoed in the piece, is more interior, peaceful, and serene, but full of Easter joy. And thus closes another jewel of the Gregorian repertoire that so magnificently expresses the immensity of the prodigy that the Church celebrates today.

Image: ©Einsiedeln, Stiftbibliothek 121 f. 257

Listen to the Communio • Factus est repente • at: https://app.neumz.com/listen/missa-factus-est-repente-de-caelo-sonus-7/24-05-2026

17/05/2026

Today we celebrate the seventh and last Sunday of the Easter Season. Last Thursday we lived the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus, which is like the development of the Easter event, its fullness, that will still "mature" even more with the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost. Christ has ascended amidst acclamations, but he remains with us until the end of time. On this Sunday we continue to hear the resounding echo of the joy that Christ has ascended amidst acclamations, but that he remains with us until the end of time.
This joy grows even more with the words of the text of the communion antiphon Pater cm essem cm eis that we have chosen in Neumz. The text is taken from the prayer in the Gospel of John in which Jesus addresses his Father after the Last Supper. Jesus pronounced these words after having fed his disciples with his Body: Pater, cm essem cm eis, ego servábam eos, quos dedísti mihi; nunc autem ad te vénio: non rogo ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo. In John 17:12-13, and 15 Jesus says, “‘Father, While I was with them, I have guarded those whom you have given to me, And now I am coming to you. I am not praying that you would take them out of the world, but that you would preserve them from evil.’” In this way, Jesus speaks to us, but this time from heaven. It is a masterful textual synthesis that condenses the essence of these three verses that make up the great prayer for unity, also called the priestly prayer or blessing. The prayerful one imagines the Lord arriving close to the Father, with his glorious humanity, and pointing out to him his disciples whom he sees below, with his eyes fixed on him ... "I have watched over them; you watch over them now." Indeed, Jesus asks him to watch over his own, for he is going to leave them. While he was with them, he preserved them from error, from the worldly spirit, from every kind of evil. Where he is going, he cannot take them with him; it is too soon, and they must remain on earth. Therefore, he entrusts them to the Father. Not only to the eleven who are there with Him but to the whole Church represented by the eleven, so that throughout the centuries it may live and grow amid the world to sanctify it.
As for the melody, it is composed in the intimacy of mode IV. It is simple and contemplative, but also with a touch of joy. Pater, cm essem cm eis, Father, while I was with them, this communion chant begins with an intimate intonation, which certainly reflects the relationship between the Father and the Son (Re-Sol-Fa, for the initial torculus in the restored version of the Graduale Novum). The proximity of the semitonal interval, Mi-Mi-Fa, amplified by the salicus of the posttonic syllable contributes to this. After that, a beautiful melodic impulse immediately emerges in essem and the melody rises steadily toward the dominant, the La. In eis, the composer masterfully embellishes the accent of the word with a cut on the La and a magnificent climacus that touches the melodic summit, the Do, and descends joyously to the Sol, joy that is prolonged on the posttonic syllable in a beautiful turn around the La. In ego servábam eos, quos dedísti mihi, I have guarded those whom you have given to me, the word ego from the La, is highlighted by a torculus on the last syllable, Sol-La-Sol, conferring it a very pronounced shape. This melodic development on the ornamented Sol, adorned by the La and Fa, is like the action of the Lord who watches over us, eos. In fact, in the relative phrase that follows, the melody descends to the low range of the mode, around the Mi, and even touches the low Do in the cadenza: he watched over them, even in the most intimate part of his being. The composer has traced a peaceful melodic descent, from the Sol of eos to the Do in mihi, they and I, to musically depict with masterfulness this passage: Christ on high descending because of us and for us. The alleluia that closes this first phrase is all reverence and adoration, with a fervent double salicus movement around the Mi and the reverential torculus of the accent.
The second phrase: nunc autem ad te vénio, but now I come to you, begins with the initial intonation (see the Graduale Novum version) and amplifies it with another identical salicus, Mi-Mi-Fa. The word Pater, becomes present again, with force, in this nunc autem, there is no doubt about it, anticipating te, to you, Father, underlined with a majestic pes quadratus, Sol-La, that elevates us with Jesus, towards the heights of the mode, the praying person raises his gaze, surpasses the La, fixes it on the Father: it is brief, but the ineffable joy of Christ who meets his Father is manifested in a melodic movement of living joy, ardent and enthusiastic, how admirable this ascent of the melody towards the high Do of venio, culminating in the porrectus of the accented syllable, Do-Si-Do. The Do reappears with force. How could it not? In the accent of venio, Do-Si-Do, we accompany with our voices the Lord in his return to the Father. The semitonal interval resounds, this time, in the heights, denoting the closeness, the intimacy of Jesus with the Eternal Father. After that, with great reverence, the melody rests in the Sol of the cadence of the second phrase.
But it is only a brief parenthesis, for in the third phrase Christ immediately returns with his own, with those who put forth the effort and work on Earth, and the same feeling of compassion passes through his voice: non rogo ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo, I am not praying that you would take them out of the world, but that you would preserve them from evil. The Lord makes himself present, another compositional wink, the melody of non rogo is identical to that of ego. From the posttonic syllable of ego, the melodic movement raises the Lord's plea, which is also ours, to the B-flat, which appears here for the first time. The double semitonal interval, Mi-Fa, and La-B-flat confer even more strength to this plea that rises to the Father in tollas, whose accent is brilliantly highlighted with a pes quadratus. In the new happening of the pronoun eos, the composer chooses the same melody, Sol-La Sol, but on this occasion, the pes quadratus of the accent shines evenly with the pes quadratus of the supplication in tollas. The incise closes with a beautiful reverence around the Mi in de mundo. In sed ut serves eos a malo, we witness the umpteenth compositional wink of this piece, for this incise is a sort of variant of the previous one. The pes quadratus appears, La-B-flat in the accent of serves, eos with almost identical melody, this time with an elongated torculus, giving a little more prominence to the pronoun than in the previous occurrences, and in a malo, it is accompanied by a simplified turn of the cadence of de mundo, with reverential fervor. Everything in the liturgy is threaded together, nothing is the result of chance. This fervor is prolonged in the penultimate alleluia, which resounds in the most intimate part of the prayerful one: a melodic descent full of veneration, in the double clivis, Fa-Re Mi-Re, before the melody settles on the low Do, for the melody to rest. The final alleluia takes up the same melody as the one that closed the first phrase, clearly structuring the piece, but also intimately concluding, as is appropriate to mode IV, this prayer of our Lord to the Eternal Father with great unction, reverence, and adoration.

Listen to the Communion • Pater cm essem at https://app.neumz.com/listen/missa-pater-cum-essem-4-0e52d83d-3ee7-490d-a092-092c72defa9d/17-05-2026

Image: ©Einsiedeln, Stiftbibliothek 121 f. 252

14/05/2026

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, the Thursday of the sixth week of Easter. It marks forty days after the resurrection according to the report given by St. Luke in his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Forty days as the People of God walked in their Exodus from the desert to the Promised Land. So, Jesus fulfills his Paschal Exodus in forty days of appearances and teachings until he goes to the Father. The Ascension is one of the unique moments of the paschal mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It expresses above all the dimension of exaltation and glorification of the human nature of Jesus as a counterpoint to the humiliation that he suffered in his passion, death, and burial.

The Ascension can give the impression of a departure, then, for those who are not sensitive to the Spirit, a page has been turned and they will begin to think of Jesus in the past: what He "said", what He "did".

However, this moment of Ascension is a turning point: yes, it is the end of an entirely external relationship with Jesus, but, above all, it is the inauguration of a completely new relationship of Faith. To ascend is not to leave, but to contemplate all things from above, in their totality and, in that sense, to be able to embrace them, as one who ascends, sees everything, embraces everything, penetrates everything, and is in everything. That is why there is no contradiction between the Ascension of the Lord and his statement: "I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). This is how Matthew's Gospel ends.

has chosen the entrance chant Viri Galilaei to celebrate this solemnity. This Introit announces the great solemnity of the Ascension with great brilliance and a melody that is among the most beautiful in the repertoire. The text is taken from the Acts of the Apostles 1:11. It consists of the words of the angels (of the two men dressed in white garments) to the Apostles on the Mount of Olives, Jesus has ascended into heaven; Jesus must one day descend: Viri Galilǽi, quid admirámini aspiciéntes in cælum? allelúia: Quemádmodum vidístis eum ascendéntem in cælum, ita véniet, allelúia, allelúia, allelúia. Men of Galilee, why gaze and wonder at the heavens? Alleluia. This whom you saw ascending into the heaven will return as you saw him go, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. It is worth pointing out the significant modifications made to the original text: statis has become admiramini, euntem has become ascendentem, and the place of ita (sic in the original) veniet has been modified. This chant presents a beautiful image to us: the Apostles looking up to heaven with great admiration and surprise. It is a symbol of the Church. Admiramini confers a masterful touch of contemplation and admiration of the Ascension. But above all the syntactic shift of ita veniet, situated at the end, is given a magnificent emphasis. Since Christ ascended into heaven, the Church has not ceased to look up to heaven in ardent expectation until He returns (ita veniet). Jesus has left, but he will return. The intention of the composer, explicitly underlined by the form of the melody of this passage, is to highlight the second coming of Christ at the end of time, and in the same way to direct the gaze of Christ's disciples toward that definitive coming of the Messiah which the Church awaits with all its love.

As for the melody, it is composed in mode VII, the angelic mode as the ancients called it, and indeed it is the angels who speak in this Introit. And they speak to the "men of Galilee". All the richness of mode VII is displayed in this Introit: thanks to the musical journey that this mode can make and the agility with which it can move from the low range to the high range, this piece describes a dynamism of ascent and descent that makes the reality that is being sung very graphic. It is a very joyful and enthusiastic piece. The melodic movement is light, fluid, and animated by a firm musical impulse. The piece is composed of three melodic phrases: the first corresponds to the interpellation of the angels; the second to their promise; and the third to the three alleluias that conclude this chant of immense joy.

The intonation is typical of mode VII: the angels' question comes suddenly, unexpectedly, directly, and vividly, a bit like placed on a scene. Viri Galilǽi, men of Galilee, the melody rises from the fundamental, the Sol, and reaches the dominant, the Re, in a first cadence in the high range that guides the initial impulse towards what is to follow. It is a very expressive, light, sonorous ascent: the two punctum de viri contribute to the lightness of the piece from the beginning. In Galilǽi, it is all impetus towards its climax, the accent of the word, the Re embellished with a beautiful Mi. If Galilee was originally the land of the apostles, where they met the Lord, now, after Easter, Galilee becomes the place of the encounter with the Risen One, as He Himself indicates, and where they will see Him ascend, according to the Gospel of Matthew and Luke. It is this Galilee that receives the ascending musical construction that is so marked and that settles at the dominant, on the heights of the mode, where the apostles are fixed and contemplating. And from there the angels address them a question that refers to the astonishment with which they continue to contemplate heaven: quid admiramini, why gaze in wonder? The melody seems to describe the attitude of the apostles, immobile, looking carefully, their eyes fixed on the heights, where the Lord has disappeared, stupefied. The melodic line extends on the Re, and then extends on the Do, with a masterful unisonic development on the posttonic syllable.

This pause of the apostles gazing at the sky contrasts with what follows. Indeed, in aspicientes in caelum, gaze in wonder at the heaven, the melody takes on a more agile movement and even descends in a magnificent leap of a fifth, marking, even more, this gaze on the heights. In addition, the melody takes on a new and firmer upward impulse, musically closing the question, what are you looking up to heaven (in caelum?), and leaving suspended, like the cadence of the incise, the gaze of the apostles, with their heads raised as painters and sculptors usually depict them.

A serene and low alleluia concludes the first phrase with a rested and marked cadential formula around the fundamental, thus giving the first phrase a great solemnity in its intonation and cadence.

After the question is the affirmation, the promise in the second phrase, Quemádmodum vidístis eum ascendéntem in cælum, ita véniet, as you have seen him ascending into heaven, so shall he come. Like the first phrase, this second phrase is symmetrical in its intonation and final cadence. Around the Do, with some embellishments on the Re, the melodic movement develops with lightness and simplicity up to in caelum. In quemádmodum, the authority of the angelic affirmation is marked, a beautiful turn, Sol-Do Do-Re, of insistence, makes the accent of the word shine. With agility, describing the contemplation of the ascension with a kind of recitative, vidístis eum ascendentem, the melody arrives at the intermediate cadence in in caelum, in which, at length, we are reminded of the in caelum of the first phrase. However, on this occasion, it serves more as a punctuation in the phrasing, this passage is highlighted by joining it to the preceding phrase, certainly, but the text and melody are suspended in the Si to announce the promise: ita veniet, will return. With these two words, the angels solemnly announce the promise of their return, a glorious return. Each syllable of ita resounds luminously and to this is added the tristropha of the accent of veniet which brings with it the echo of the tristropha of admiramini with the admiration, stupefaction, and amazement in the apostles of the first sentence. The second phrase concludes in the Sol, descending from the heights of the mode to come closer to us, another compositional genius. In fact, the Ascension and the Last Advent are sublimely united in this piece: we already know who is coming and how He is coming, the only uncertainty is the moment of the coming. And this fills the worshipper with immense joy as he sings with all his being up to three times alleluia. But we must not forget the vitality of the mystery of the Ascension: it is a continuous ascending and descending of the Lord. As a matter of fact, the Ascension reveals to the apostles another reality of Christ: the Lord was always moving between them and the Father, just as he had told them. And he will continue to do so, as Saint Bernard said when he spoke of the Lord's "intermediate advent", between the first and the last: it is his daily coming and going in that perpetual movement of God, a movement that gives life to the whole of Creation.

And it is in this swaying between heaven and earth, between the Re and the Sol, that the three alleluias that conclude this jewel of the Gregorian repertoire move. The first alleluia realizes the ascension and presence of Christ in heaven, it is dazzling, an explosion of fervor, a cry of thanksgiving: the Fa is reached, the melodic summit of the piece, in a double reverence of the porrectus flexus of the accent, Fa-Re-Fa-Mi. The second alleluia is intimate, and recollected: it descends to the fundamental and moves around that degree. The prayerful one becomes aware of the mysterious Presence of the Risen One here below, of his constant return. And finally, the third Alleluia somehow restores the balance between the first and the second, concluding with a synthesis of the two movements in one: with the Ascension of Christ, heaven, and earth are united, as are in Him both His humanity, which is now with the Father, and His divinity, which continues to be present among us every day, until the end of the world. The piece ends with a cadential torculus, Sol-La-Sol, which in a certain way responds to the same cadential torculus as the end of the first phrase.

Listen to the Introit • Viri Galilaei at: https://app.neumz.com/listen/missa-viri-galilaei-7-9cf1948d-bac3-459f-ab80-cd6b8ebf00b0/15-05-2026

Image: ©Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek lit. 6 f. 48v

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