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Sunday, 17 December 2023

This Is the Record of John



 



This Is the Record of John

"This is the record of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, and said plainly, 'I am not the Christ.' And they asked him, What art thou then? Art thou Elias?  And he said, 'I am not.'  Art thou the prophet?  And he answered, 'No.' Then said they unto him, What art thou? that we may give an answer unto them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? And he said, "I am the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord."


Composed by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). Arranged by David Domet. Text: Saint John 1:19-23. Renaissance treasure. Advent. Octavo. Published by CanticaNOVA Publications (C5.7110).

Item Number: C5.7110

The original verse anthem, telling the story of Saint John the Baptist, was written by Orlando Gibbons in (1583-1625) for countertenor alternating with full SAATB chorus. David Domet has arranged this for 2-part mixed choir (occasionally 3-pt), bass soloist, violin and organ, making it much more practical for the church choir. The arrangement is faithful to the music of the original, and retains the distinctive alternation between soloist and chorus that defines a verse anthem. The text dialogue comes from the Gospel of John [Jn 1:19-23]. The story is told by the soloist, with the chorus echoing some of the dialogue for emphasis. Ideal for the second or third Sunday of Advent, the anthem is also useful for the Solemnity of the Nativity 


3 comments:

Evangeline said...

I love this, thank you for sharing it. It is embarrassing to admit I do not know many of these great hymns. I see them shared and I feel frankly, like a real huckleberry for not being more familiar with them. I wish there was a musical catalogue of great Christian music and hymns so I could be better educated on this type of sublime music. This was wonderful, the lyrics being just as you wrote here. We don't often hear a song about St. John.
I could not see a way to hear your arrangement, but I tried.

Dad29 said...

Didn't R Vaughan Williams write something utilizing that text? Requires bass soloist, chorus, orchestra....??

Susan2 said...

Gaudete Vox! This is a favorite. Thanks.
Susanna