Easter Vigil 2026: Equisite Exsultet in Melbourne
The singing of the Exsultet, or Easter Proclamation, is one of the most beautiful moments in the Church's year. It's history and usage is explained here: https://www.ampleforthabbey.org.uk/news/exsultet. The current English version was arranged by the three-man music committee of ICEL (Dr. Geoffrey Cox of Melbourne, James O'Donnell then of London and Fr Anthony Ruff of Collegeville, Minnesota) as part of the process to produce the most recent English translation of the Roman Missal (around the 2010 period).
Many of us have a view on what small tweaks we may have made here and there, but there is no doubt that the revised English text (whomever was resposible for that) and the musical arrangement by these three experts is a combined work of exquisite beauty, a gift for which we should all feel greatly blessed.
The longer form (see https://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Missal/Text/Exsultet-Longer.pdf) is very … well, long. It is not especially difficult to sing, once the few patterns have been learnt and memorised. But its proclamation only happens one a year, and as it is first and foremost to be proclaimed by a deacon, is very often sung by a different lamb to the ... sorry, person every year. Some will be more blessed with a good singing voice than others, some will have better musical formation in seminary, etc etc. But even for those blessed with a decent voice and good singing formation, it is still a sizeable challenge for someone who is not a singer trained to a professional standard to sustain this piece for its full duration, especially in the dim candle-lit environment of the Easter Vigil. None is ever perfect. Going by university grading, anything that exceeds 85% is high distinction. Very few meet that standard.
My perusal of this year’s offerings from places I tend to keep at least one eye on has turned up this exceptional proclamation from St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. Looks like a deacon, despite the order of service (see page 30 here https://melbournecatholic.org/uploads/documents/Easter-Triduum-2026-Mass-Booklet.pdf) crediting a Fr Jaycee Napoles (and an internet search confirms it was not this priest singing). So unfortunately I am unable to give a name to this excellent deacon (pictured here, I believe) who sang the Exsultet with such distinction! High distinction in fact ... even university medal territory!
And credit to Geoffrey Cox. Apart from his excellent work with the ICEL music committee, he was a long-serving Director of Music at St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne, maintaining an admirably high standard of singing (across a wide repertoire of Gregorian chant, renaissance polyphony etc), and if memory serves, also had charge of the musical formation of the seminarians in that Archdiocese. So it is fitting that we have this tradition continuing. More might be said in the fullness of time about the overall state and quality of the music programme at St Patrick's Melbourne, since his departure, but for now just enjoy the below:
