Sunday, March 22, 2015

Lent 5: Saepe expugnaverunt ("Greatly have they afflicted me")

Sung by a group called Sequentia, this seems to be a version of the Tract for the Fifth Sunday in Lent.



Remember that the Tract replaces the Alleluia during Lent, and that the text consists either of a complete Psalm or of the greatest part of a Psalm.

Here's the chant score; the singing on the video above is much more elaborate - if not actually improvised upon - but the tune does seem to me to be there:


I've written briefly about this tract before; the text in English is from Psalm 129, verses 1-4:
1  “Greatly[a] have they afflicted me from my youth”—
    let Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut the cords of the wicked.

I noted in the previous post that Psalm 129 is one of the "Songs of Ascents."    Also that Verse 4 is translated "The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners" in the Douay-Rheims version of this Psalm - but that the King James translates it this way:  "The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked," as do most other versions.  (The Good News Bible -  and some others  - translate it this way:  "But the Lord, the righteous one, has freed me from slavery," )  So I'm not quite sure what's going on there; clearly there are some disputes about the Hebrew.

It's a beautiful recording, though, and I'm really happy to have found it. 

ChristusRex.org provides the full complement of propers for today, here sung by the Sao Paulo Benedictines;  note that the Communio again depends on the Gospel for the day.
Hebdomada quinta quadragesimæ  Dominica
Introitus: Ps. 42, 1.2.3 Iudica me, Deus (3m09.1s - 1293 kb) chant score
Graduale: Ps. 142, 9.10. V. Ps. 17, 48.49 Eripe me, Domine (3m49.9s - 1572 kb) chant score
Tractus: Ps. 128, 1-4 Sæpe expugnaverunt (1m50.9s - 759 kb) chant score
Offertorium: Ps. 118, 7.10.17.25 Confitebor tibi, Domine (1m41.8s - 697 kb) chant score
Communio:
                 quando legitur Evangelium de Lazaro:
                 Io. 11, 33.35.43.44.39 Videns Dominus (3m43.2s - 1526 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de muliere adultera:
                 Io. 8, 10.11 Nemo te condemnavit (2m35.9s - 1213 kb)

                 quando legitur aliud Evangelium:
                 Io. 12, 26 Qui mihi ministrat(49.0s - 382 kb)

Here are posts on Chantblog about the other propers:



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