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The text is the Song of Simeon from Luke 2:29–32:
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles,
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Arvo Pärt’s Nunc dimittis did not grab me right away. At first, I found it almost too still — spare, slow, and hovering at the edge of boredom. But that seems to be part of how the piece works. It does not seize the listener by force. It waits. It asks for patience.
By the end, the music had done something I was not expecting. The quietness accumulated. The long lines, the luminous harmonies, and the text’s sense of release began to feel less like restraint and more like surrender. Simeon’s words — “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace” — are not dramatic in the ordinary sense. They are the sound of someone who has seen enough, received enough, and can finally let go.
I caught shades of Bear McCreary’s Battlestar Galactica writing here, especially “Passacaglia”: music that seems static until the repetition starts to feel like fate gathering in the walls.
I began the piece slightly bored. I ended it in tears. That may be the best description of Pärt’s power here: the music seems almost empty until you realize it has been making room for something.
Well, folks let me tell you, listening the the choral finale of Mahler 2 is inspiring, but singing it… Next level experience. We had the Calgary Youth Orchestra and 3 other choirs join my choir to tackle this monumental piece. Every chorister should have the opportunity to sing in this iconic musical experience.
Original German
Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n
Wirst du, Mein Staub,
Nach kurzer Ruh’!
Unsterblich Leben! Unsterblich Leben
wird der dich rief dir geben!
Wieder aufzublüh’n wirst du gesät!
Der Herr der Ernte geht
und sammelt Garben
uns ein, die starben!
—Friedrich Klopstock
O glaube, mein Herz, o glaube:
Es geht dir nichts verloren!
Dein ist, ja dein, was du gesehnt!
Dein, was du geliebt,
Was du gestritten!
O glaube
Du wardst nicht umsonst geboren!
Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, gelitten!
Was entstanden ist
Das muss vergehen!
Was vergangen, auferstehen!
Hör’ auf zu beben!
Bereite dich zu leben!
O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer!
Dir bin ich entrungen!
O Tod! Du Allbezwinger!
Nun bist du bezwungen!
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen,
In heißem Liebesstreben,
Werd’ ich entschweben
Zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug’ gedrungen!
Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben!
Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n
wirst du, mein Herz, in einem Nu!
Was du geschlagen
zu Gott wird es dich tragen!
—Gustav Mahler
In English
Rise again, yes, rise again,
Will you My dust,
After a brief rest!
Immortal life! Immortal life
Will He who called you, give you.
To bloom again were you sown!
The Lord of the harvest goes
And gathers in, like sheaves,
Us together, who died.
—Friedrich Klopstock
O believe, my heart, O believe:
Nothing to you is lost!
Yours is, yes yours, is what you desired
Yours, what you have loved
What you have fought for!
O believe,
You were not born for nothing!
Have not for nothing, lived, suffered!
What was created
Must perish,
What perished, rise again!
Cease from trembling!
Prepare yourself to live!
O Pain, You piercer of all things,
From you, I have been wrested!
O Death, You conqueror of all things,
Now, are you conquered!
With wings which I have won for myself,
In love’s fierce striving,
I shall soar upwards
To the light which no eye has penetrated!
Die shall I in order to live.
Rise again, yes, rise again,
Will you, my heart, in an instant!
That for which you suffered,
To God shall it carry you!
—Gustav Mahler
The CBC always comes through for me providing this helpful video on things that one just simply needs to know while on the rigorous path to classical musicianship.
The viola/trombone burn is strong with this one. :)
A bit of a different tack today on the Sunday Disservice, but I think you’ll like what you see. One of the selling points of religious belief is the “spiritual-transcendental” angle; being a part of something that is bigger than you and yet speaks to you in a very special way in your heart. The deluded would like you to believe that they have cornered the market on this experience. As usual, the reality-challenged have it wrong.
Benjamin Zander, explores the idea that classical music has this very same quality, to bring us the big picture experience that is in tune with our hearts, but instead of using magic and the Oooga-booga, he uses Chopin.
The TED talk that Zander hosts has nothing to do with the anti-religious preamble I’ve raised, but I’m thinking that Chopin and other classical music, is a great short cut for experiencing an important part of spiritual life without all the frippery associated with dedicated religious belief.
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…