Populus Sion, ecce Dominus veniet ad salvandas gentes: et auditam faciet Dominus gloriam vocis suae, in laetitia cordis vestri.
“People of Zion, behold, the Lord will come to save the nations. And the Lord will make the glory of his voice heard in the joy of your heart.” (cf. Is 30)
Click here to listen to an audio of the chant, sung by Liborius Lumma, Innsbruck (Austria).
Some Gregorian chants are like overboiling pots. Whenever you think that the vehemence has been stopped and you put the pot back on the hotplate, it immediately boils over again.
That is what happens in the dynamics of Populus Sion: The first two words are the first boilover, then Dominus veniet, then auditam faciet—what a nice melodic play: The words “he will make himself heard” get the highest note—, and then again at gloriam vocis suae, where we reach the highest note again.
God’s epiphany is definitely really, really great.
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