“Sarah’s Burden”

My friend John snapped a few dozen images at rehearsal last night, including this one of the very earliest songs written, “Sarah’s Burden.” Her household’s maids deliver a shrill rebuke in the song previous to this one (Tobit 3:7-9). The demon lurks, unseen to the characters. In considering suicide, Sarah’s response is adapted from Tobit 3:11-15:

I am the demon who has killed them all, they say,
But there is no joy in my innocence.
My heart is weighed down by these seven senseless deaths:
bridegrooms strangled in my marriage bed.

But suicide is not the path for me to seek.
My father would remain to bear the shame,
To shoulder burdens I would rather cast aside.
I would rather, God, you take my life.

Blest are you, my God of mercy, forever honored is your holy name.
May all your works forever bless and praise you.
Lord, refuse me not!

There is no man for me upon this earth to wed,
No married joy than I can ever claim.
I beg, O Lord, for you to take my wretched life;
Deliver me from all this shame.

(Instrumental)

But if it please you, Lord, to spare your servant’s life,
Then look with favor upon my plight.
Cast off the darkness that envelops all my hope:
These demons and these insults put to flight.

Blest are you, my God of mercy, forever honored is your holy name.
May all your works forever bless and praise you.
Lord, refuse me not!

 Tobit 3:16-17 suggests Tobit was praying (3:2-6) at the same time. So his final refrain is repeated simultaneously with Sarah’s, from opposite ends of the performing area.

And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
And now, O Lord, to you I turn my face and raise my eyes.
Lord, refuse me not!

 

“Go In Peace”

After Sarah’s sorrow is lifted by Tobiah, her father, understandably, wants to keep son-in-law #8 close at hand. The young man must eventually take his leave and return to Nineveh. I wrote an extended setting of Tobit 10:7bff, and placed it in four voices: the newlyweds and her parents. A small part:

TOBIAH: Please let me go, lest my parents lose hope.

RAGUEL: Stay, my son, remain with us here. Stay, my son.

TOBIAH: Let me return to my father and mother, they might not believe they will ever see me again.

RAGUEL: I can send word to your father, messengers with all the good news.

TOBIAH: No, I beg you: give us leave to depart. Give your blessing.

Sarah is given nothing to say in this part of the book, but having four parts was important to present, I thought. Most of this four-minute song is very simple–each character has their own two-chord sequence to which to sing. For Tobiah and Sarah their parts float between G-minor and C. For Raguel between F and B-flat. For Edna, between E-flat and A-flat. Toward the end, the parts start to overlap, the tempo of the harmonizations quicken, and it ends on a final A-flat major chord. The scene needed special work to keep clear who is speaking/singing to whom.

 

Asmodeus: The Blur of Evil

There was discussion on how to depict the demon afflicting Sarah. We didn’t determine an actual casting role for certain until we were well into rehearsals. From Tobit 3:17:

So Raphael was sent to heal … to give Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, as a wife to Tobiah, the son of Tobit, and to rid her of the wicked demon Asmodeus.

My friend John captured this blurred image of Asmodeus, who appears lurking around Sarah. Hopefully the audience gets the drift that the demon is invisible to the characters. The image is serendipitous, in that if we could show the demon as a blur of action, that would be closer to my ideal. Perhaps in the film version. As it is, the blend of blood red and black, the inhuman beak, and the hand that deals death: this image may be imperfect in focus, but it depicts the nature of evil all too well.

 

“Be Brave, My Daughter”

Another image from Sunday night’s rehearsal. Tobit 7:17 presented an opportunity and a challenge to set to music. The opportunity is to draw out a relationship between two important characters. From the biblical text, we know of Sarah’s devotion to her father. Dad has also been railroaded by his houseguest into marriage number 8. Raguel simply instructs his wife to get a bedroom ready and there is a single line of dialogue for Mom:

Take courage, my daughter! May the Lord of heaven grant you joy in place of your grief! Courage, my daughter!

How can you make a song out of that? The challenge is not to compose a Taize ostinato, but something a bit more substantial. A good Jewish (or liturgist’s) family would turn to the psalms, naturally, for more inspiration. The solution is to be found in Psalm 143, verses 7-9:

Hasten to answer me, LORD;
for my spirit fails me.
Do not hide your face from me,
lest I become like those descending to the pit.

In the morning let me hear of your mercy,
for in you I trust.
Show me the path I should walk,
for I entrust my life to you.

Rescue me, LORD, from my foes,
for I seek refuge in you.

I’m pleased with the solution to put these verses on Sarah’s lips. Speaking of which, I would like to call out the fine work of the two women in the image above. Renae, playing Edna, has been a fine cantor in our parish for twenty years plus. Her singing is so rich and clear. It’s too bad she’s only in one long scene and is singing a mere five songs. I gave Edna a lengthy solo in the finale, and I’m sure glad Renae will be rendering that verse. Danielle is just a delight to work with. Her soprano is clear and steady with a real power behind it. Though she’s been ill the past week, she’s a real sport at rehearsals. She gets about a ten-minute chunk in Act 1, plus the whole last half of the production. Other characters have been able to come late or leave early. Singing the role of Sarah pretty much denies that opportunity.

 

“I can see you, son, the light of my eyes”

Another image from rehearsal:

From late in the second act: Tobiah comes home with a cure for his father. The song sets Tobit 11:9-15. For the final refrain, three singers conclude:

Tobit:
I can see my son, the light of my eyes.
Blessed be God, O blessed be God,
 and blessed be all God’s holy angels.

Anna:
Praise God all throughout the ages, Alleluia!

Tobiah:
Praise the holy name of God, Alleluia!

My eight-year-old nephew inquired, “Is this classical music?”

 

Marriage Prayer

An image from rehearsal, ”Marriage Prayer.”

TOBIAH:
Blessed are you, God of our ancestors,
blessed forever is your holy name.
Let the heavens praise you, and all your creation for evermore.

SARAH:
The Lord our God told Adam it is not good to be alone; a partner I will make for you.

TOBIAH:
So Eve was made from Adam’s side to be his help and support.
And as it was for them, so it is for us tonight.

(Adapted from Tobit 8:4-9a)

We made it through the whole production for the first time last night. Two hours and twenty minutes which includes one song redo and a two-minute intermission instead of the planned ten.

 

“Seven dead husbands, two this past week”

My artistic director thinks a dead husband in Sarah’s bed will help things along. Read it from Tobit 3:7-9:

On that very day, at Ecbatana in Media, it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah also had to listen to reproaches from one of her father’s maids. For she had been given in marriage to seven husbands, but the wicked demon Asmodeus kept killing them off before they could have intercourse with her, as is prescribed for wives. The maid said to her: “You are the one who kills your husbands! Look! You have already been given in marriage to seven husbands, but you do not bear the name of a single one of them. Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead? Go, join them! May we never see son or daughter of yours!”

We found our “dead husband” after Mass tonight. When I noticed the young woman playing Asmodeus walk by, I pointed her out to husband #7. She’s a nice person, definitely playing a role out of character. But she laughed at the newest cast member, and pointed at him, saying, “Ah keel you.”

All in good fun.

After my daughter read the servants’ insults in last Fall’s reading session, I thought this short passage needed its own song. Not just to give a few supporting cast members a small plum, but to keep the story moving along in music:

Blankets and bed sheets can’t hide the whiff,
can’t hide the husband: here is the stiff!

 

Eleven More Rehearsals To Go

My friend Tim Read did an excellent job with the poster, don’t you think?

Hard to believe we have only eleven rehearsals left. Am I getting nervous? Not really. We ran most of Act I and the first three songs of Act II tonight in a marathon session. Spirits are high. Hijinx are spirited. Now that we’re nearly done with blocking, I have some edits of instrumental parts to accomplish–mostly extra measures to keep the production rolling during the action.

Sunday we have a press event, but we also hope to put together the rest of Act II.

 

Tobiah’s Fish

Meet Tobiah’s fish.

When the young man went down to wash his feet in the Tigris River, a large fish leaped out of the water and tried to swallow his foot. He shouted in alarm. But the angel said to the young man, “Grab the fish and hold on to it!” He seized the fish and hauled it up on dry land. The angel then told him: “Slit the fish open and take out its gall, heart, and liver, and keep them with you; but throw away the other entrails. Its gall, heart, and liver are useful for medicine.” After Tobiah had slit the fish open, he put aside the gall, heart, and liver. Then he roasted and ate part of the fish; the rest he salted and kept for the journey. (Tobit 6:3-6)

Twenty-seven days till showtime. Things are pulling together. I’ll have the brilliant poster up here and on Facebook tomorrow.

Last week we began to piece together the minimal dialogue and some songs. Tonight we ran the finale in place. Tomorrow we start putting together a significant chunk of Act One. Fun, fun, fun.

 

Rehearsals, Week One

It’s been tremendous fun (and a little stressful) to cast my musical, Tobit: The Path of Virtue. We’ve finished the first full week of rehearsals, and I’ve had a chance to hear the singers learn and sing just about every song. That has been enormously gratifying. I can see that outside of liturgical music it would be easy to get a composer’s big head about this stuff. I’ve had to swallow a comment or two, and let the singers sing and the director direct. In liturgical music, the expectation is that the composer will sing the piece the smallest sliver of the time. It will be good for me to bring that same expectation to this musical–to allow the people interpreting the songs the freedom to get into the character and present it from their own soul.

It’s a learning experience for me, as I’ve never played a musical before. A few singers are working out a bit of timidity as they get comfortable with the music. After practice the other night, I asked David, my musical director, if one guy was going to be okay. He said it was just nerves and not being familiar with the songs–he was the last lead we cast. He was going to be fine, David said. So I’m not going to worry about it. I have enough to do to learn my own songs, and play them competently.

I feel very grateful for the cast. We have some fantastic singers. All of our supporting cast, with maybe only one exception, is good enough to take a lead part. I’m amazed that for Tobiah, Sarah, and Raphael, we seem to have the perfect people in those roles. Perfect. And the parents are also very well cast, very suitable for the people taking those parts.

I’ve started keeping a brief journal in the pages of my score. I want to write down and remember the experience of it as it happens. It might have some spiritual value, but I also want to learn from my mistakes. One song doesn’t have a piano part written yet–oops.

For the curious, here’s the rundown of the production:

ACT ONE 

1. “Overture” by the band
2. “Introduction/The Path of Virtue” by Anna and Tobit
3. “My Father Tells Me” by Tobiah and neighbors
4. “Mourning and Lamentation” by Tobit, Anna, and neighbors
5. “Sparrows, Doctors, and a Goat” by Tobit, Anna, and Tobiah
6. “Prayer for Deliverance” by Tobit
7. “Sarah’s Theme” by the band
8. “Sarah, Sarah, Look at You” by the servants
9. “Sarah’s Burden” by Sarah with Tobit at the end
10. “The Angel Is Sent” by the band
11. “Keep To The Path” by Tobit
12. “Do You Know the Way to Media” by Tobiah, Raphael, and Tobit
13. “A Good Angel Will Go With Him” by Tobit and Anna

ACT TWO

1. “The Journey” by the band
2. “She Was Set Apart For You” by Raphael and Tobiah
3. “Peace To This House” by Raphael, Tobiah, and Raguel                       
4. “Today and Ever After” by Raguel
5. “The Wedding” by the band
6. “Be Brave, My Daughter” by Sarah and Edna
7. “Raphael Binds The Demon” by the band
8. “Marriage Prayer” by Tobiah and Sarah
9. “Dig a Hole/Parents’ Praise” by Raguel, Edna, and servants
10. “The Lord Give Heaven’s Blessing” by Gabael
11. “Go In Peace” by Tobiah, Raguel, Edna, and Sarah
12. “I Wonder What Has Happened” by Tobit and Anna
13. “I Can See You” by Anna, Tobiah, and Tobit
14. “Bless God, Tell and Sing” by Raphael
15. “Praise Canticle” by the cast

I’m pleased with some decisions, such as the one to chop up Tobit’s narrative at the beginning of the book and place it with three voices in two songs. And where the text of the Scriptures was rather terse, such as in “Mourning and Lamentations” to supplement Tobit 2:4-8 with material from Psalm 14 or in “The Lord Give Heaven’s Blessing” to use Tobit 9:6 with Psalm 128.

A specific example is with the text of “Be Brave, My Daughter,” which expands Tobit 7:17 with material adapted from Psalm 143:7-9:

Sarah:

Hasten to answer me, O Lord, for my spirit fails me.
Hide not your face from me, lest I become like those who go down into the pit.

Edna:

Be brave, my daughter. May the Lord of heaven grant you joy.
In place of your grief, may the Lord of heaven grant you joy.

Sarah:

At dawn, let me hear of your kindness, for in you I trust.
Show me the way in which I should walk, for to you I lift up my soul

Then while her mother sings the refrain again, Sarah adds:

Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord,
for in you I hope, in you I hope, in you I hope.

November 12-13 weekend. Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 2pm

 

Litany for Wednesday

I thought I’d share a piece composed for a parish liturgy last year. It seems appropriate for Wednesday’s observance. I adapted the melody from an alleluia in BFW for the September 14th feast:

Somewhere in my files is Litany I, but I never put it into my music software. And as I scanned this and threw it up on this post, I saw a parallel fifth I’d rather avoid, plus the octave hooking back to the invocation. Oh well. If you want to use it, just change the accompaniment.

 

Two Psalm Settings

Here are two psalm settings that may be of listening interest. My sister requested a recording of the psalm I composed for my brother’s funeral. Her first request was that I get someone to video me playing and singing. That wasn’t going to happen. But I’m happy to provide an audio experience for outside the memorial service back east. The piano/vocal score is here.

Here is Psalm 36, “To The Clouds.”

I have a wedding at which to play next month. The bride requested a setting of the psalm she and her fiance chose.

Here is Psalm 33, “The Goodness of the Lord.”

A few notes on this last one … I wrote the original in 1985 for the wedding of friends. I was away that summer studying liturgy and music, so while I was unable to celebrate in person that July, I enjoyed the assistance of friends in making a fine recording–alas, on cassette tape. You are not hearing that on the link. The old text had the Y-name, and I found the new Grail text was a neat fit. I had to change very little of the music to make it fit.

Going into recording Thursday night, I realized as I sat down at the piano I had never played this piece on the keyboard before. Two rehearsals and two takes later, I think I got on top of the music. There are a lot of things I would do differently in composing this text today. But sometimes I just need to go with it and not overthink the music too much.

Recording credits: Jolie on flute, Katherine on voice. Always great to work with such fine musicians. I realize with gratitude the very golden place God has put me to be in my parish, and in the Church.

 

Psalm 36

I thought I would share the music for the psalm setting I composed last week. My friends Dave and Cathy Moklebust did a super arrangement for organ and handbells. At the funeral I added hammer dulcimer.

Note: the link to the keyboard/vocal score is now fixed.

 

Lenten Gospel Acclamation

I’ve written Lenten Gospel Acclamations over the years. This is the ninth in the series, rendered by some of our parish musicians. What fit the cycle B and C verses pretty well doesn’t fit the “A” set quite as neatly. I like to use the whole text, but alas, not this year. If I composed chant tones, it would be no problem. I may do that when I have a spare moment and post it in my dropbox.

Meanwhile, any favorite settings of this? Something you take time to craft well with your singers and musicians? I tell my music ministries here to continue with full arrangements as they can for the gospel acclamation and the Eucharistic acclamations, even during Lent.

 

O God, Look Upon Our Grief

Another piece of liturgical music for comment:

O God, Look Upon Our Grief

I’m generally not in favor of rewriting old pieces to fit new words. I wanted to work a bit with the new Revised Grail Psalter. So here is a revised musical setting of Psalm 25 that was designed with the Order of Christian Funerals in mind.

The original antiphon in the OCF was given as “Look on my grief and my sorrow; forgive all my sins.” As I recall from twenty years ago, I declined to use that as given. Perhaps mourners reflect on their sinfulness in the face of a loved one’s death, but I considered that grief, not contrition, is the more usual emotion working for the Christian community. I also intended to use the first person plural in the refrain to reflect a literal prayer on the part of the community, but also to reinforce the sense of companionship.

As for the choice of verses, this piece took its first text from the 1963 Grail in the Funeral Psalter (see OCF 347). I chose selected verses from the psalm and I felt that was a sound decision. I knew the original text is one of those alphabetic psalms, where each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Unlike hymns or laments or other psalm categories, there’s not necessarily a clean line of thought from one verse to the next. So I felt more free to cherrypick sentiments a mourning community might express.

Verse one is taken from 25:1-2a, then 5ab. Verse two uses 6-7a, then d to wrap up the thought without a repetition. Verse three uses the complete “stanza” of 17-18.

This piece has never been used liturgically. I wrote it after an OCF workshop I did in northern Illinois, then shelved it. It’s possible my wife has never heard it. I’m not sure this is near the cream of my compositions. There’s a lot of funny stuff in verse 2, and navigating the seven-flat modality may take a bit of thought.

Anyway, have at it.

By the way, GIA has given me generous permission to reprint settings of the Revised Grail Psalter (RGP) as long as I don’t extract a profit from it, either from direct sales or from site advertising.