In 2024 Giorgio Griffa was invited to illustrate a new Exultet roll, bringing his contemporary sensibility to an ancient tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, one that runs deep especially in southern Italy. In his hands, the 86x20-inch length of bandera canvas printed with the full Italian text and melody of the Easter liturgy became an “exultation” of lines and marks, where shades of pink, red, blue, green, violet, and gold seem to “rejoice” along the margins of the chant.
In the words of Don Giacomo Cardinali—philologist, paleographer, and Assistant Scriptor at the Vatican Apostolic Library—Griffa’s Exultet «shines with fresh, delicate colors seemingly steeped in dew. It resembles the impression left by the refractions of a prism struck by light. Sprightly patches of color soaked in moisture dance with the bright, delicate vitality of early spring buds. An Easter light that is far from thunderous, but tender and full of promise, festive yet gentle.»
Light itself seems to be the source of such a felicitous encounter. A light that overcomes the darkness of the night and the shadow of death on Easter Eve. A light that refreshes the magical alchemy of the water-based pigments typical of the Italian fresco tradition, which Giorgio Griffa embraced from the very start of his personal artistic path. Here that choice is further heightened by the interaction of the paints with the characteristic weave of the bandera canvas, a fabric Griffa cherishes for its extraordinary capacity to absorb and reflect the light, transparency, and luminosity of water-based acrylics.
A Brief Historical Note
The Exultet is the liturgical chant of the Easter proclamation, traditionally sung by the deacon before the lighted Paschal candle during the Easter Vigil. A key part of the Roman Missal (Missale Romanum), the chant resounds every year during the Easter Vigil mass celebrated by the Pope in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The text of the prayer likely took shape in a Roman or Italo-Gallic milieu around the fifth century. The melody is largely syllabic but enriched by extensive melismas. It belongs to the Gregorian repertoire, though significant local variants exist, especially in southern Italy, where the tradition of the Exultet roll originated.
The earliest rolls date to around the tenth century and come almost exclusively from Benevento, Montecassino, Gaeta, Capua, Bari, Salerno, and other cities in the modern-day Italian regions of Campania and Apulia. They were typically made of parchment, as in the magnificent eleventh-century Cassinese Barberini Roll. Exceptionally, a richly illuminated section of that roll was displayed during the presentation of Giorgio Griffa’s Exultet on March 21st, 2024 in the monumental Sistine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Library.
Traditionally, the rolls featured the Latin text of the Exultet, the neumatic notation of the chant, and a sequence of miniatures usually painted upside down relative to the script. As the deacon sung the chant, he would unroll the scroll over the edge of the pulpit, for which the images appeared right-side up to the congregation, who could thus follow and be inspired by the visual commentary unfolding before them. The scenes depicted episodes and themes found in the text, as well as allegories, symbols, virtues, and sometimes portraits of popes and sovereigns.
The special status of the Exultet roll in the Roman Catholic liturgy in southern Italy comes from its ritual function, material form, musical tradition, and visual culture. The roll is inherently performative, an object meant to be moved, unrolled, and displayed, conceived for a liturgical function in motion. It carries symbolic and theological value, showing wisdom descending solemnly from above in the form of pictures. It also interacts with the church architecture, transforming the pulpit into a kind of liturgical stage. Finally, it brings together at least three traditions: medieval Beneventan script, miniatures in Byzantine style, and the Roman text and rite. It is, in short, a singular artefact in which chant, image, gesture, architecture, and ritual come together in wondrous harmony.
(g.c.)