Omnes gentes plaudite manibus: jubilate Deo in voce exsultationis.
Click here to listen to an audio of the chant.
Sung by Br. Jacob Berns, OSB, of St. John’s Abbey.
“All peoples, clap your hands, jubilate to God with a voice of exultation.” (Ps 47(46):2)
This is one of my favorite introits in the entire Gregorian repertoire. The reason is the first syllable: omnes gentes, all peoples. When you sing omnes carefully and as expressive as the medieval neumes want it to be sung, you can imagine someone looking around from East to West, along the horizon, astonished and overwhelmed by the magnificence of the world that is in front of his or her eyes. All of that is addressed by God, all of that, nothing less.
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