Comments of pieces by Dom Baron

Introit: Gaudens gaudebo

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, and with the robe of justice He hath covered me, as a bride adorned with her jewels" (Is. 61:10).

This Introit translates the Blessed Virgin Mary's interior joy, the thrill that traversed her soul at the first instant of her life, when by the ineffable beauty of God that was revealed to her, she gave herself to Him with all her heart; a joy that she will later exteriorize by singing the Magnificat: Et exsultavit spiritus meus. The plenitude of grace encompasses her like a mantle: vestimentum salutis, the garment of salvation with which she will cover all those who will accept shelter beneath it.

The melody is patterned on the Introit Vocem jucunditatis of the 5th Sunday after Easter, following a classical schema of the 3rd mode, beginning on the tonic Mi and developing in the higher range around Ti-Do. The melody reaches its apogee on the second phrase, vestimentum salutis; after a phrase expressing joy, it amplifies to climax on the torculus at the summit, before concluding on a classical cadence of the 8th mode.

Gradual: Benedicta es

"Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honour of our people" (Jud. 13:23, 15:10).

These words of benediction and glory are taken from the story of Judith; Virgo Maria in this circumstance has taken the place of Filia. Judith, a very beautiful, rich, and mortified widow, of whom no one could speak any evil and who with unsurpassed courage goes into the very tent of Holofernes to cut off his head and save her people, is the most expressive figure of the Immaculate Conception crushing Satan's head.

Encompassing in the same praise the divine predestination of Our Lady and her Immaculate Conception, which is its first actualisation, the Church sings the praise that was sung to Judith and which the Angel Gabriel brought to her on the day of the Annunciation as the praise of God Himself: "Blessed art thou amongst women."

The melody comprises a solemn, stately introductory phrase. Then, rather brusquely, on a Domino, it rises to the dominant, amplifies, and the movement becomes lively, imparting a joy at once solemn and enthusiastic to these words of exaltation.

Alleluia: Tota pulchra es

"Thou art all fair, O Mary, and the original stain was never in thee" (Canticle 4:7).

Who is singing? It is perhaps God the Father, who salutes the marvelous work of His hands, His chosen daughter above all. It might be the Word, who sings the beauty of the one predestined to be His mother. It could be the Holy Ghost, who compliments His spouse. It is perhaps the Church who, continuing the praise of the Gradual, is enraptured over the splendor of the Immaculata.

Offertory: Ave, Maria

The first phrase of the melody rises like a gracious salutation. Gratia plena is the key phrase. "It was good to emphasize the principal object of the mystery," says Dom Pothier, author of the melodic adaptation, giving to this phrase, the Scriptural source of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, a very beautiful development. On benedicta tu, without transition there is a bursting of praise. The attack on the dominant and the uplift that draws the movement to Mi convey to this phrase the ardent enthusiasm of the beginning. The ardor slowly relaxes on the word mulieribus to conclude the salutation with the profound joy of the outset.

Communion: Gloriosa dicta sunt de te

"Glorious things are told of thee, O Mary, for He who is mighty hath done great things to thee."

The first part is a praise of Jerusalem after the victory of the angel over the army of Sennacherib. The second part is an extract from the Magnificat. It was only necessary to change the word mihi to tibi, and with these words the Church offers a praise of great delicacy, applying to Our Lady the same words that God inspired in her to reveal to the world the ineffable grandeur of the graces she had received.

The original of the melody is the Communion Dico autem vobis of the Mass Sapientiam for several martyrs. We find a beautiful affirmation, joyous and firm. Fittingly prolonged over Gloriosa, the melody rises to an enthusiastic accent on dicta sunt. The cadence on Maria is gracious and full of veneration. Likewise for quia fecit tibi, with a nuance of mystery on the decrescendo. A beautiful expression of grandeur and authority penetrates the last phrase: qui potens est.