“May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming, and may they lead you into Jerusalem”.
Mode VII recites on RE, with a Home Tone of SOL. A “clue” that the chant is in Mode VII, is that the DO clef always appears on the 2nd line down from the top, so the RE, and any pitches above that, fit on the staff. Mode VII pieces often have a bright, expansive sense to them because the modal range encompasses pitches that sound like a portion of a modern major scale. (SOL, LA, TI, DO, RE ). In paradisum begins with this gentle upward movement from SOL to RE. This movement up to RE appears again on et perducant te (and may they lead you).
Listen to this uplifting chant, followed by recitation of Psalm 114 in Mode VII. You’ll notice how the Psalm Tone goes above and below the Reciting Tone at the mediant cadence, and then returns to the RE at the ending – a wonderful example of the sense of “ascending” that can come with Mode VII!
