Chants for Blessing of Waters & Baptismal Acclamation at Easter Vigil
  • WJA
    Posts: 237
    Does anyone have simple chant settings for the antiphons/responsories/acclamations/whatever are the Blessing of the Waters and after the baptism at Easter Vigil?

    The text for the Blessing of the Waters antiphon is "Spring of water, bless the Lord. Give him glory and praise for ever."

    I'm not sure what the text for the baptismal acclamation is.

    I can make something up, but wanted to avoid reinventing the wheel.
  • Here's something I edited for our local Easter Vigil observance. [PDF]

    Chant, Mode VII

    We will use this antiphon for both the Blessing of Water and Sprinkling Rite.

    Antiphon: "Springs of water, bless the Lord. Give him glory and praise for ever."
    Verses: Daniel 3: 57, 61, 84–85, 88bc, 89–90.

    Sources: Sacramentary, Graduale Simplex, New American Bible.
  • WJA
    Posts: 237
    Excellent! Thank you!

    Question: is there ever enough time to sing the antiphon with psalm verses? It appeared to me from my review of the Missal that there wouldn't be much time.

    If anyone has a baptismal acclamation setting, I'd love to see that, too.

    I love this forum.
  • You're welcome. :¬)

    For the Blessing of Waters, there will likely only be time for a repetition of the antiphon (if that is even desirable). The verses are intended for the Sprinkling Rite, and its duration dictates how many verses are to be sung between repetition of the antiphon.

    According to the appendix in RitualSong, the baptismal acclamation is:
    "You have put on Christ, in him you have been baptized. Alleluia." (Source: ICEL, 1977.)
  • This isn't -quite- what you're looking for, but you might like it....

    Here is an English setting of the Byzantine chant, "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleulia." It's an unornamented version of the tone 1 melody that I know, but is somehow harmonized for SATB. I have no idea what the harmonization sounds like; I'd play it through melody only, then melody plus a constant D in the bass, and only then see if the harmony does it justice.
  • Richard R.
    Posts: 774
    Another option.
    Thanked by 2Earl_Grey afries52
  • WJA
    Posts: 237
    Thank you all! I really, really love this forum!

    Aristotle, if I understand you correctly, your setting (with the psalm verses) could be used in lieu of the Vidi Aquam in the sprinkling rite, no?
  • WJA: That's the intention. This option is licit only in the Ordinary Form.

    The Vidi Aquam is preferred by the liturgy, but here it may be a couple of years before we sing it in any language.