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:
“Greatly[a] have they afflicted me from my youth”—
    let Israel now say—
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
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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