Introduction:

The deacon prepares the bread and wine at the side chapel and carries them in procession to the main altar. During the procession the choir sings the Anthem of the Mysteries (in Syriac, (in Syriac, ōn īt ā d’r ā zē), "Here is our Lord's precious body and blood.” The anthem varies according to Sundays and feast days. The one included in this CD is for weekdays. This anthem is significant for several reasons. From a theological perspective, it stands out at this part of the liturgy because the text refers to the bread and wine as body and blood of Jesus, much before the Eucharistic prayer (anaphora) and the Invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiclesis) thereafter. The anthem represents an Eastern and pre-"transubstantiation” approach in the history of Eucharistic theology. Poetically, this is an example of a single-strophe hymn that has two incipits. These incipits help the worshippers to sing the same song text with two different focuses. The choir sings the anthem with the first incipit, and the congregation repeats it with the second incipit. In the CD, the anthem is performed in a solo-group format, presenting two different vocal interpretations of the same melody.

The Anthem end with “thrice holy.” This is the third time the “thrice holy” appears, after "Our Father” and Trisgion. It will appear again three times, twice in the anaphora and once in the communion rite. The last two verses of the anthem reiterate the spiritual bond between the earthly and the heavenly choirs saying, "Let us all join with the heavenly choir and sing/ God is holy, holy, holy for ever.” Musically, the ascending of the earthly choir and the descending of the heavenly choir are expressed through a corresponding melodic motion as shown below.

Music expample. The last two verses of the Anthem of the Mysteries