Certainly the exultation of the great Vigil feels very different from the concentrated thoughtfulness of Good Friday and the Holy Thursday ritual actions. But what music can unify the three days of the Triduum in a way that feels natural to the community? One can achieve a very different feeling each day of the Triduum feast by using a particular song in different ways.
If your community sang “Jesus, Remember Me” quietly for Holy Thursday and Good Friday, use it again (four or five iterations at most) with all the instruments you can muster—brass, strings, whatever—for a joyful reminder that Jesus is in his kingdom already. A few verses of “I Danced in the Morning (Lord of the Dance)” could be sung thoughtfully for Thursday and Friday, and befit the completion of the three days with added instrumentation and a more upbeat tempo. After a sober approach to “What Wondrous Love,” sing it again emphasizing the final verse—“And when from death, I’m free, I’ll sing on!” “Ubi Caritas” can suit both the footwashing of Holy Thursday and be a thoughtful reminder as a Communion song for the Vigil and Easter Sunday.
During the year, look for songs and hymns that can be multivalent, i.e., expressing a variety of emotional and theological truth by using different instrumentation, different vocal approached, different tempi. Such diversity can unify the Triduum in a way that assembly members can feel, even if they can’t articulate it.
Happy Easter!
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from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
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