The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated throughout the Church on August 15th. This feast commemorates both Mary's happy departure from this life and the assumption of her body into heaven. This is the dogma of the Assumption of the Mother of Godfter. After her earthly life, she was raised up body and soul into the heavenly glory. This dogma of faith was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. The Catholic Church has celebrated this feast in honour of Mary in the East since the sixth century and in Rome since the seventh century. There is great uncertainty as to the origin of this feast. It probably took place during the anniversary of the dedication of a church, rather than the actual date of the anniversary of the death of Mary. The hypothesis is that it originated at the time of the Council of Ephesus, or that St. Damasus introduced it in Rome. In Rome the only and oldest feast of Our Lady was on January 1st, the octave of the birth of Christ. 

The mystery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven invites us to pause from the hectic life that we live, to reflect on the meaning of our existence here on earth, and on our ultimate goal: Eternal Life, together with the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Angels and Saints in Heaven. 

To celebrate this solemnity, we have chosen in Neumz the entrance chant Signum magnum. The text from the Book of Revelation 12:1 presents Mary as "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Can there be a more sublime image of the Queen of Heaven shining with the radiance of the stars? Mary is the first creature to enter corporally into the glorification of Christ. Let us remember that the chants of the proper of this solemnity, with the exception of the gradual Audi filia, were composed from pieces of the ancient repertoire, on the occasion of the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption. In the case of the introit Signum magnum, the melody was borrowed from the introit In virtute tua and Probasti Domine from the common introit of Martyrs outside the Easter Season.

As for the melody, although it is composed in mode VII, Sol-Re, it seems to be developed rather in the fourth Sol-Do, thus adopting the colour of mode VIII. The result is that instead of conferring to the piece a real character of joy and enthusiastic admiration, it has a character above all of seriousness and depth, of solemn affirmation, characteristic of mode VIII. Therefore, the overall character and atmosphere of this melodic adaptation lends itself admirably to the solemnity of the text and of the occasion. Deep and profound in the lower range of its modal scale, the mode of Sol easily becomes joyous, enthusiastic, and even triumphant in the upper range.

The piece begins in the low range, with a simple melodic fluctuation around the fundamental, but also with a sonorous interplay with the La that gives it depth and an additional wideness that evokes the idea of a processional march. It is the solid base on which the sonority of the introit is founded and will rise: signum magnum, a great prodigy. In the following incise, the latent force that animates the incipit is immediately affirmed in the vibrant recitative on the Do of apparuit, amplified by the tristropha of the accent and crowned at the same time with the rise to the Mi where it blossoms. These successive intervals of direct thirds, La-Do and Do-Mi, give the phrase an indisputable impetus and vigour. The tristropha on the Do, and above all the abrupt descent of the fourth, Do-Sol, in in caelo, settle the melody on the fundamental and bring it back to the low register, enveloping it in a majestic amplitude: it appeared in the sky. This first phrase is about a magnificent display of sobriety, a solemn affirmation, a sort of melodic condensation that the rest of the piece will only elaborate on.

In the second musical phrase, just as the text explains and describes the vision that has just been sung, that great prodigy, the melody essentially repeats the previous melodic scheme. In mulier amicta sole, a woman clothed with the sun, the prayerful singer makes this description shine with immense joy and deep fervour. This is shown with a beautiful melodic turn, Sol-La-Do-Si-Do, to that woman, Mary, the Queen of Heaven. We contemplate her brilliance, the recitative in Do leads us, guides our gaze to the origin of this radiance, the sun, sole, magnificently clothed with a melodic turn that makes the Re resound again before settling on the La, with a magnificent leap of a fourth, before descending to the Sol in the intermediate cadence. In the next incise, the gaze turns to the feet and the moon. The eyes are raised on et luna, and the moon, with the same start as in the previous incise, Sol-La-So-Si-Do, but now, the melody full of admiration sings enthusiastically in pedibus eius, underlining the accent of the word with a masterful salicus that reaches the Re, and even the high Mi. After the contemplation, all is reverence in a devout descent of thirds, Mi-Do-La, before leaving the melodic movement suspended on the Do.

Continuing with the same joyful and festive mood, the last phrase exalts the head, the coronation of the Queen of Heaven. In the accent of capite, the head, the triumphalism of the torculus Do-Mi-Re resounds again as in apparuit, amplified also by a tristropha on the Do. 

In eius, the melody returns to the Sol to trace a melodic arc of great beauty, very harmonious, descending even to the low Fa: the glorification of our Mother is highlighted, her head, and no one else wears this crown. In the last incise, the majestic melodic ascent of stellarum lifts us up following Mary's Ascension.  It is a glorification, an ineffable coronation, it takes place in Heaven. In fact, the melody of in caelo and duodecim resumes identically to unite melodically and semantically both words. This introit ends as it began, singing with total enthusiasm and reverent fervour the triumph of Mary, the Queen of Heaven.