Tomorrow we celebrate the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. To celebrate this Sunday, we have chosen to sing the Alleluia. The text of this Alleluia is taken from Psalm 107, verse 2, which expresses King David's gratitude to God at the moment of his triumph. His heart has been strengthened by the struggle, the trials to which he has been subjected, and so he has acquired an absolute, total trust in the Lord: He has given him invaluable help at every moment, hence after the victory he prepares to praise the Creator, who has been his strength, and is now his glory.

In these last Sundays of Ordinary Time, the Church also makes this piece a song of gratitude: her members have gone through various trials throughout the year, their hearts have been strengthened by the Lord, and now they have the strength, the energy to praise the glorious Christ with their whole being, and their sung offering ascends through him to the Heavenly Father: "My heart is prepared, O my God, my heart is prepared; I will sing to thee, I will sing psalms to thee with my whole soul".

As for the melody, this is a typical composition of the third mode, which is used two other times in the course of the liturgical year (on the Fourth Sunday of Advent and the Alleluia Adducentur of the Common of Virgins). The third mode is that of the alliance between externalised joy and the deep intimacy of relationship with God. We find these two ideas in the broad and very light melismas of this Alleluia. The piece begins on the fundamental E, and arrives, at the end of the intonation, at the B natural, the dominant. The joy is evident from the beginning, with a light, crescendo movement until it reaches the D, the melodic summit of the piece, and settles on the B. Then, the last syllable of the word alleluia makes this joy grow even more with two melodic chylismatic melodic turns which are repeated, the second being more intense than the first with that beautiful descent to the fundamental. These two motifs draw out the different nuances of this joy: they are broad and powerful in their ascent, then relaxed and softer in their descent. They form two beautiful curves, fiery and graceful at the same time. The last clause of the jubilus is limited to the fourth, E-A, and ends in a more contemplative, more reflective mood.

The first phrase of the verse manifests that externalised joy and the deep intimacy of the relationship with God that we mentioned earlier. We have the same text repeated, Paratum cor meum, my heart is prepared, with the same melodic movement: a slow, serene, steady and consistent ascent. The first starts from the low register to reach B flat in an ascent that is recreated in this movement, note by note. The second ascent starts from the F to reach the C, with a similar construction, but in a higher register and which, instead of using the B flat, uses the natural, in such a way that, between the two repetitions, the whole range of mode 3 is covered. Here the expression of this joy is more ardent, the melody is carried away. Both ascents give "paratum" (prepared, attentive) a firmness of conviction and a consolidated attitude: the heart is prepared, it is ready to sing to the glory of God. In this verse it is very important to play with the B flat which does not appear in the jubilus, as they always give a nuance of delicacy and contrast to the other B naturals. Note how in the second "paratum" it breaks with the previous B flat, making it natural: with this the expression takes on a stridency that gives it a very sonorous force of expression, even more so because immediately afterwards it returns, in the same word, to the B flat.

The second phrase begins with a lighter and more agile rhythm: I will sing and intone psalms to you, my glory (cantabo et psallam tibi gloriam meam). In fact already here the verse begins with the mood of "jubilus" which characterises any alleluia and which will continue until the end of the piece. The text lends itself to this: I will sing and chant psalms. This jubilus is so long that it runs through the entire musical scale with melodic movements that rise to the treble, and then descend, towards the end, to the low A. The melody first moves around the treble and then to the bass, initially back and forth from C to G, with a magnificent touch on the B flat that amplifies the joy, celebrating the contemplation of that glory. In contrast, in the second part and the finale, in mea, it moves between the G and the fundamental E, with some embellishment on the high A and with a very pronounced descent to the low A, to approach the end of the piece by returning to the typical cadenza of the graduals of modes 1 and 4, so full of joy.