Lord, what is man?
Lord, what is man?
part of…
Candlelight Concerts in Bruton Parish Church
October 7th, 8 PM | Freewill offering is accepted
Brady Collins, Soprano
Rebecca Davy, Harpsichord and Organ
LA RESURREZIONE & MESSIAH
While in Rome, George Frideric Händel (1685-1759) was subject to papal restrictions that governed the musical life of the city. Opera was banned, and thus, Händel was frequently commissioned to write sacred works. Among these sacred works was La Resurrezione. The work received its premiere at Marquis Ruspoli’s palace. The first performance in 1708 was extravagant. While the oratorio was not dramatically staged, it was presented with florid and velvet backdrops, at least a 50 piece orchestra, and no expense spared when it came to the printed programs. Margherita Durastanti was the first to sing the role of Mary Magdalene, but the pope objected to a woman on stage, so she was replaced with a castrati for the remainder of the first run. Mary sings the “Hò un non sò che nel cor” as a brave and vulnerable rebuke of fear following Jesus’s death.
Hò un non sò che nel cor
che in vece di dolor,
gioia mi chiede.
Mà il core, uso a temer,
le voci del piacer
o non intende ancor,
o inganno del pensier forse le crede.
I have something in my heart
that instead of pain,
asks me to rejoice.
But my heart, always suspicious,
of voices of flattery,
cannot yet comprehend
or else believe itself, the victim of deception.
In “Se impassible immortale” Mary affirms God’s victory over sin and death in His Risen son Jesus.
Se impassible immortale
Sei risorto, Sole amato,
Deh fa ancor ch’ogni mortale
teco sorga dal peccato
As Thou, invincible, immortal
art risen, beloved Sun,
Let every mortal being
rise with thee, freed from sin.
Some forty years later in his career, Händel would pen his greatest masterpiece alongside librettist Charles Jennens. That work was Messiah. With almost every last word taken directly from scripture, Händel and Jennens told the magnificent story of Jesus’s birth, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and the subsequent spreading of the Gospel. Premiered first with a Dublin audience in 1742, the responses were emotional. Händel would later conduct this work at London’s Foundling Hospital in 1749 as an annual charity event up until the 1770’s to raise money for orphaned children, which were also welcome in the audience. Messiah is the most frequently performed work of Händel’s, and as such, there are several versions of accepted performance scores. In the Dublin version, “How beautiful are the feet” is a soprano solo, while other versions include a mezzo and soprano duet. The text for this aria comes from the book of Romans in which the apostle Paul brings the good news of the gospel to the Romans. Before encountering the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul wished death upon practicing Christians. His profound spiritual reawakening in Christ allows Paul new and eternal life in Him.
How beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things. ROMANS 10:15
HARMONIA SACRA
Henry Purcell (1659-1695), prolific British vocal composer, collaborated with Irish poet Nahum Tate on a number of works including Dido and Aeneas and songs and anthems included in his Harmonia Sacra. “The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation” appears in Volume 2. The Blessed Mother Mary has just discovered her child Jesus to be missing at age 12 when he stays behind in the temple at Jerusalem. Purcell and Nahum illustrate the inner monologue of a mother in distress both musically and textually. Mary continually prays to the angels and calls out to Gabriel, all to no seeming avail. She receives, “no vision from above.” She comes to remember that her son is not like others, and resolves to “trust the God.”
Tell, tell me, some pitying angel,
Tell, quickly, quickly say
Where, where does my soul’s sweet darling stay?
In Tiger’s, or more cruel, cruel Herod’s way
O! O rather, let his little footsteps press unregarded through the wilderness
Where milder savages resort
The desert’s safer than a tyrant’s court
Why? Why fairest object of my love…
Why dost thou from my longing eyes remove?
Was it a waking dream that did foretell thy wondrous birth
No vision, no, no, no vision from above
Where’s Gabriel now?
Where’s Gabriel now that visited my cell?
I call, I call, I call, I call, I call…
Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel, he comes not
Where’s Gabriel now that visited my cell?
I call, I call, I call,
Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel,
He comes not. Flatt’ring hopes farewell.
Me Judah’s daughter once caressed
called me of mother’s the most blessed.
Now, fatal change, now fatal change
of mothers, most distressed.
How shall my soul its motions guide?
How shall I stem the various tide?
Whilst faith and doubt my lab’ring thoughts divide?
For whilst of thy dear, dear sight beguiled
I trust the God, but oh, I fear the child.
In “An Evening Hymn,” appearing in Volume 1 of Harmonia Sacra, Purcell enlists a repeating ground-bass figure that propels the music forward as the melody floats above in surprising rhythmic patterns. The lilting “hallelujah”s evoke a true sense of peace and rest at the piece’s conclusion. The prayerful text was written by a Dr. William Fuller, who was the Bishop of London at the time.
Now that the sun hath veil’d his light,
and bid the world goodnight;
to the soft bed my body I dispose,
but where, where shall my soul repose?
Dear God, even in thy arms and can there be
any so sweet security!
Then to thy rest, O my soul!
and singing, praise the mercy that prolongs thy days.
Hallelujah.
Finally, in “Lord, what is man,” a part of Harmonia Sacra, Vol. 2, Purcell makes dramatic use of another one of Dr. William Fuller’s texts. This text is a passionate ponderance of how God’s only son became man, and then, a reflection upon man’s redemption in Christ. The florid and melismatic “hallelujah”s evoke the emotional surrender of hope for an eternity with Christ Himself.
Lord, what is man? Lost man,
that thou shouldst be so mindful of him?
That the son of God forsook his glory, His abode.
To become a poor, tormented man!
The Deity was shrunk into a span,
And that for me, O wondrous love for me.
Reveal, reveal, ye glorious spirits when you knew the way
the Son of God took to renew lost man,
Your vacant places to supply;
Blest spirits tell, tell which,
which did excel, which was more prevalent,
your joy or your astonishment.
That man should be assumed into the Deity,
That for a worm, God should die.
Oh! oh! For a quill drawn from your wing
To write the praises of eternal love,
Oh! oh! For a voice like yours, to sing
That anthem here that once you sung above.
Hallelujah.
AMERICAN & APPALACHIAN HYMNODY
In 1868, Joseph P. Webster, midwestern composer, and Sanford Fillmore Bennett, author and physician, penned their immortal hymn, “Sweet By and By.” According to Bennett’s autobiography, after a spark of inspiration, the pair composed the entire hymn in the span of thirty minutes: Bennett jotting down the lyrics in ten minutes time and Webster figuring the main melody on violin within the remainder. The hymn has since been a Gospel staple, often performed at Jazz funerals, and has remained within the canon of Appalachian hymnody. The words of the hymn refer to the afterlife God has looked after for us.
There’s a land that is fairer than day
and by faith we can see it afar.
For the Father waits over the way
to prepare us a dwelling place there.
We shall sing on that beautiful shore
the melodious songs of the Blest,
and our spirits shall sorrow no more.
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.
To our bountiful Father above,
we shall offer a tribute of praise
for the glorious gift of His love
and the blessings that hallow our days.
In the sweet by and by,
we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
“But, as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
Charismatic pastor and academic of the 19th century, Robert Lowry, composed a number of well-known hymns throughout his service. Among them was, “How Can I Keep From Singing?” Considering that the church was the epicenter of community and culture for the masses, it is no wonder that Lowry was made famous by his compositions. Most of Lowry’s hymns made it across the pond to other continents by way of missionary work and wide publication. In 1880, Lowry made a visit to London to participate in a meeting honoring the man who founded the Sunday School Movement, Robert Raikes. At the conclusion of the meeting, the chairman noted Lowry’s presence. As Lowry came forth to be recognized, the crowd erupted in applause and cheering for minutes on end. All present offered tribute to the man who was, to them, a household name, due to the hymns of praise for the Heavenly Father, which he offered them.
My life flows on in endless song,
Above Earth’s lamentation.
I hear the reel of far-off hymn that hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear the music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night, He giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm,
while to that rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and Earth,
How can I keep from singing?
I lift mine eyes, the cloud grows thin.
I see the blue above it.
And day by day this pathway smoothes,
since first I learned to love it.
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
a fountain ever springing.
All things are mine since I am His,
How can I keep from singing?
On an afternoon in the Swedish countryside in 1885, following a church service, Carl Boberg, witnessed a mighty thunderstorm roll through the hills later revealing a glorious rainbow. That evening, the Swedish poet Boberg, returned home to compose his poem, “O Store Gud,” which would later live on as the inimitable hymn, “How Great Thou Art.” It was not until the 1920s that British missionaries heard a Russian version of the song in Poland. The work received its first English translation by the missionary Stuart K. Hines. However, the work did not reach the United States until the late 1950s. It was widely popularized by evangelical pastor Billy Graham and has since been adapted, recorded, and performed by artists like Loretta Lynn and Elvis Presley.
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
the power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze.
And when I think that God, His son not sparing,
sent Him to die, I scare can take it in,
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
and there proclaim, “My God, how great thou art.”
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
In 1857, a music teacher, later to become a physician, by the name of William S. Pitts, was making a stagecoach journey through Iowa to visit his future wife. While he was waiting for the stagecoach horses to be changed, he came upon an empty lot where he envisioned would make an idyllic setting for a small church. Upon returning home, Pitts immediately penned the song, “Church in the Wildwood,” famously saying, “only then was I at peace with myself.” In 1862, Pitts moved to Iowa with his wife to be near her parents. Much to his surprise, he found a church being erected in the very spot he had written about. Pitts even found the church being painted brown, as it had been described in his song. Pitts prepared the local singing school he had been hired to instruct to sing “Church in the Wildwood” for its dedication. Today, the church still holds weekly Sunday worship. At every service’s conclusion, the congregation sings the hymn.
There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood.
No lovelier spot in the dale
No place is so dear to my childhood
as the little brown church in the vale.
How sweet on a dear Sabbath morning
to list to the clear ringing bell.
Its tones so sweetly are calling---
Oh, come to the church in the vale.
From the church in the valley by the wildwood,
when day fades away into night
I would fain from this spot of my childhood
wing my way to the mansions of light.
Oh, come to the church in the wildwood.
Oh, come to the church in the vale.
No place is so dear to my childhood
as the little brown church in the vale.