Wake, O Wake!
Nov. 27th, 2011 03:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ancientandmodernWake, O wake! with tidings thrilling
The watchmen all the air are filling,
Arise, Jerusalem, arise!
Midnight strikes! no more delaying,
'The hour has come!' we hear them saying.
Where are ye all, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes in sight,
Raise high your torches bright!
Alleluia!
The wedding song
Swells loud and strong:
Go forth and join the festal throng.
Sion hears the watchmen shouting,
Her heart leaps up with joy undoubting,
She stands and waits with eager eyes;
See her Friend from heaven descending,
Adorned with truth and grace unending!
Her light burns clear, her star doth rise.
Now come, thou precious Crown,
Lord Jesu, God's own Son!
Hosanna!
Let us prepare
To follow there,
Where in thy supper we may share.
Every soul in thee rejoices;
From men and from angelic voices
Be glory given to thee alone!
Now the gates of pearl receive us,
Thy presence never more shall leave us,
We stand with Angels round thy throne.
Earth cannot give below
The bliss thou dost bestow.
Alleluia!
Grant us to raise,
To length of days
The triumph-chorus of thy praise.
Wake up! Advent begins with a bang. After all that shilly-shallying about at the end fo the Church year, twenty-something Sundays after Trinity, and with the days drawing in, it is understandable if we have become a bit sleepy. Personally, I have spent the last five days in bed with the flu. I will not be singing this evening, which is sad - so I thought I'd share one of the things I won't be singing.
There is a lot of waking up in the Bible. The watchman, patrolling the city wall, ever vigilant. Wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you, says Paul. Here, whatever time it got dark, morning is coming more quickly than think.
Here, the specific reference is to the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew's gospel - though no mention is made of the foolish ones. The bridegroom is coming, and the whole city is coming out to welcome him. Nicolai knew what he was doing. This is a vivid picture: the city's night lit up by the torchlit procession, the solemnity and joy of the wedding party.
The potentially awkward transition from the individual (as the bridesmaid who should be ready) to the Church as a whole (as the bride) is glossed over. The Church is transformed by Christ's love, and everyone is invited to the wedding feast.
The music, of course, is wonderful. Nicolai wrote the melody; Bach harmonised it; the result is a beautiful, stately piece that is a joy to sing no matter which part you're covering. I don't think I can say more than that - except that Bach's chorale prelude is also gorgeous, and I particularly like the arrangement that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra play below, with the waking notes of the horn breaking through the busy, sleepy world of the strings.
Alleluia!
With the alternative text, beginning 'Sleepers wake! a voice is calling'
An organist's improvisation:
And the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Proms:
The watchmen all the air are filling,
Arise, Jerusalem, arise!
Midnight strikes! no more delaying,
'The hour has come!' we hear them saying.
Where are ye all, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes in sight,
Raise high your torches bright!
Alleluia!
The wedding song
Swells loud and strong:
Go forth and join the festal throng.
Sion hears the watchmen shouting,
Her heart leaps up with joy undoubting,
She stands and waits with eager eyes;
See her Friend from heaven descending,
Adorned with truth and grace unending!
Her light burns clear, her star doth rise.
Now come, thou precious Crown,
Lord Jesu, God's own Son!
Hosanna!
Let us prepare
To follow there,
Where in thy supper we may share.
Every soul in thee rejoices;
From men and from angelic voices
Be glory given to thee alone!
Now the gates of pearl receive us,
Thy presence never more shall leave us,
We stand with Angels round thy throne.
Earth cannot give below
The bliss thou dost bestow.
Alleluia!
Grant us to raise,
To length of days
The triumph-chorus of thy praise.
Wake up! Advent begins with a bang. After all that shilly-shallying about at the end fo the Church year, twenty-something Sundays after Trinity, and with the days drawing in, it is understandable if we have become a bit sleepy. Personally, I have spent the last five days in bed with the flu. I will not be singing this evening, which is sad - so I thought I'd share one of the things I won't be singing.
There is a lot of waking up in the Bible. The watchman, patrolling the city wall, ever vigilant. Wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you, says Paul. Here, whatever time it got dark, morning is coming more quickly than think.
Here, the specific reference is to the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew's gospel - though no mention is made of the foolish ones. The bridegroom is coming, and the whole city is coming out to welcome him. Nicolai knew what he was doing. This is a vivid picture: the city's night lit up by the torchlit procession, the solemnity and joy of the wedding party.
The potentially awkward transition from the individual (as the bridesmaid who should be ready) to the Church as a whole (as the bride) is glossed over. The Church is transformed by Christ's love, and everyone is invited to the wedding feast.
The music, of course, is wonderful. Nicolai wrote the melody; Bach harmonised it; the result is a beautiful, stately piece that is a joy to sing no matter which part you're covering. I don't think I can say more than that - except that Bach's chorale prelude is also gorgeous, and I particularly like the arrangement that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra play below, with the waking notes of the horn breaking through the busy, sleepy world of the strings.
Alleluia!
With the alternative text, beginning 'Sleepers wake! a voice is calling'
An organist's improvisation:
And the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Proms: