We're taking an extra week to read 1 and 2 Kings in our Bible in 90 Days (BIND) groups due to the distraction of Rita. But as I was reviewing those books and looking ahead to 1 and 2 Chronicles, it occured to me that my most beloved oratorios, Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn and Messiah by G.F. Handel were going to cause me distraction as well.
As I was reading the stories of Elijah in Kings and Chronicles I heard the music and lyrics of Elijah the Oratorio running through my head:
As I was reading the stories of Elijah in Kings and Chronicles I heard the music and lyrics of Elijah the Oratorio running through my head:
"If with all your heart ye truly seek Me,
Ye shall ever surely find Me.
Thus saith our God.
Oh, if I knew where I might find Him
I would even come before his presence..."
That is maybe the most magnificent aria in all of the sacred classical canon. Not to mention the highly dramatic chorus when the priest of Baal are killed:
" We'll take all the prophets of Baal
And let not one of them escape us.
Take them down to Kishon's brook
And there slay them with the sword."
I've sung this oratorio several times over the years and have it virtually memorized. Still when I went to search for my recording of it, it was no where to be found. So I ordered it up on Amazon. I wish I could find a live performance of it sometime soon.
It will be a while before BIND gets to Isaiah. But when we do, I'll have the same problem with Messiah-distraction. Probably more, because I've sung it more often. It's very difficult to concentrate on the Biblical text when it has such powerful reminders of the musical setting that I love. The oratorio texts skip around scripture in order to tell their stories. So I'll have to really focus to read the entire scripture as those soaring melodies swirl around in my head.
It will be a while before BIND gets to Isaiah. But when we do, I'll have the same problem with Messiah-distraction. Probably more, because I've sung it more often. It's very difficult to concentrate on the Biblical text when it has such powerful reminders of the musical setting that I love. The oratorio texts skip around scripture in order to tell their stories. So I'll have to really focus to read the entire scripture as those soaring melodies swirl around in my head.
7 comments:
And then there's "Jeremiah was a bullfrog . . . "
Don't even go there! One of my friends has that tune on her cellphone and once you hear it, it's with you all day.
Just bringing it up has that effect . . . thanks . . .
I share the problem, having sung most of the big oratorios several times. The good side of that is singing some of this stuff in other languages (Bach cantatas in particular) has helped my grasp of the language - my Italian was formed by Puccini and verdi as well - the bad news is that the language in the prophetic oratorios is so different from NRSV...
I'm not very musically incline (I used to tell people my Mother will not even let me sing in church); but I so agree with you that music can lead your mind astray. Not to harp back on the Rita thing, but I kept hearing the hymn "Emmaual, God is with us..." over and over in my head last week. It kept me going; not that it distracted me from the impending storm, but it rang louder than the possible doom. A comfort for sure.
I know what you mean about hearing a hymn during the Rita scare. I kept thinking of Eternal Father, Strong to Save.
"Who bids the mighty ocean deep, its own appointed limits keep. Hear us as we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea."
worship - in all it's variety - adds to our understanding of God and His word. A few distractions is only good when they are of this kind :)
Post a Comment