The Standard Oratorios: Their Stories, Their Music, And Their ComposersUpton, George P. (George Putnam)
Religion
The Standard Oratorios: Their Stories, Their Music, And Their Composers
Upton, George P. (George Putnam)
Oratorio
The second part opens with the aria, "On mighty Pens," describing in a
majestic manner the flight of the eagle, and then blithely passes to the
gayety of the lark, the tenderness of the cooing doves, and the
plaintiveness of the nightingale, in which the singing of the birds is
imitated as closely as the resources of music will allow. A beautiful
terzetto describes with inimitable grace the gently sloping hills covered
with their verdure, the leaping of the fountain into the light, and the
flights of birds, and a bass solo in sonorous manner takes up the
swimming fish, closing with "the upheaval of Leviathan from the deep,"
who disports himself among the double-basses. This leads to a powerful
chorus, "The Lord is great." The next number describes the creation of
various animals; and perhaps nothing that art contains can vie with it in
varied and vivid description. It begins with the lion, whose deep roar is
heard among the wind-instruments. The alertness of the "flexible tiger"
is shown in rapid flights by the strings. A presto ingeniously represents
the quick movements of the stag. The horse is accompanied by music which
prances and neighs. A quiet pastoral movement, in strong contrast with
the preceding abrupt transitions, pictures the cattle seeking their food
"on fields and meadows green." A flutter of sounds describes the swarms
of insects in the air, and from this we pass to a long, undulating thread
of harmony, representing "the sinuous trace" of the worm. This
masterpiece of imitative music is contained in a single recitative. A
powerful and dignified aria, sung by Raphael ("Now Heaven in fullest
Glory shone"), introduces the creation of man, which is completed in an
exquisitely beautiful aria ("In Native Worth ") by Uriel, the second part
of which is full of tender beauty in its description of the creation of
Eve, and closes with a picture of the happiness of the newly created
pair. A brief recitative ("And God saw everything that He had made")
leads to the chorus, "Achieved is the glorious Work,"--a fugue of great
power, superbly accompanied. It is interrupted by a trio ("On Thee each
living Soul awaits"), but soon returns with still greater power and
grandeur, closing with a Gloria and Hallelujah of magnificent
proportions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account