Perhaps the single most beautiful piece of chant in the Catholic Church’s treasury is the Exsultet. It is so beautiful that the great Mozart himself once said that he would have gladly traded all his own works for the honour of having written the first line of the Exsultet. The chant is named after its first word, which translates to “rejoice.” The text of the Exsultet is too long for me to include in the body of this post; however, you can find an English translation below in the footnotes.
It’s just so brilliant of a chant. If you ever look at the pre-1955 Easter Vigil, the rubrics actually have a fair amount of actions being performed to the candle while singing it and even presume that these actions are being performed in the context of the chant. Breathtakingly beautiful.
It’s just so brilliant of a chant. If you ever look at the pre-1955 Easter Vigil, the rubrics actually have a fair amount of actions being performed to the candle while singing it and even presume that these actions are being performed in the context of the chant. Breathtakingly beautiful.
I had to sing it a couple of times in the 70's, but in English.