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After
the very short overture (# 1), JOSHUA opens with a chorus of Israelites
(# 2), near the banks of the River Jordan. # After forty years of
wandering "in the desert", they have made it to the borders
of the Land of Canaan. Moses, having been forbidden by God from setting
foot on Canaan soil, had gone up to the top of Mount Nebo, where God
showed him the Promised Land, and then the great leader died. He had
passed on his leadership to Joshua, son of Nun (Deuteronomy 34), who
now has led them to this place, so far without incident. The real
danger was ahead of them. Thus, all the tribes had been assembled
at the banks of (the) Jordan.# The Israelites rejoice at the success
of the journey thusfar ( a celebratory segment of the chorus, (including
those first five notes of "that famous chorus") and then
a new section, introduced by the altos ("In Gilgal and on Jordan's
banks proclaim..."), setting their sights on the town of Gilgal,
the first inhabited area across the river, where the One Lord Jehovah
would be proclaimed, in a land where many gods were still being worshipped.
(The end of this chorus is one of those typical Handelian endings,
of which there will, of course, be more in the oratorio.) But first,
the river must be crossed.
#This moment was not lost on the American slaves, who were looking
toward their own "promised land" of freedom. In their spiritual
"Deep River", it's pretty obvious that the Ohio River, which
separated "slave states" from "free states" was
their Jordan:
"Deep river, my home is over Jordan. Deep river, Lord, I want
to cross over into campground.
Oh, don't you want to go to that Gospel feast? That promised land
where all is peace?
Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground."#
(# 3) Joshua appears, rather full of himself, contrasting his people
and his leadership to those who disobeyed God's will and perished
in the desert. Those people and their leaders could have been here,
too, had they obeyed God.
(# 4) The warrior Caleb (mentioned in Numbers 14:30) flatters Joshua
with flowery praise for his wisdom and the happiness he has brought
to his people ("Oh, first in wisdom, first in power:). Not many
bass arias are so jaunty and upbeat as this one.)
(# 5) Achsah, Caleb's daughter (mentioned in Joshua 15:15) also praises
Joshua, but wistfully recalls the captivity in Egypt, in a lovely
aria with many runs, accompanied by solo violin and cello. (She is
quite young, so she must have heard about the Egyptian captivity era
from her father or the elders.). |
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(#
6): Joshua, who is very good at delegating authority, orders Caleb
to select one good man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a
rock from the Jordan. Joshua obviously expects a miracle reminiscent
of the Red Sea parting.
(# 7): The miracle occurs: Joshua wants future generations to forever
remember what took place. In the remarkable chorus that follows, the
choir and orchestra describe a frightning sight: a wall of water has
formed, stopping the river's flow to the Dead Sea, and provides the
Israelites with a path to the other side. Musically, Handel does this:
with no orchestral accompaniment, the choir sings four bars of chords,
ten chords of exactly the same notes, denoting a stoppage. Then, each
voice part sings a rolling passage, denoting water being rolled back
to its spring up north. For much of the rest of this chorus, some
voices sing those ten-note chords and others, the rolling-the-water-back
runs, and then the theme of "the wondrous passage" through
the gap provided, to the other side. The entire unaccompanied ("a
capella") ten chords are repeated, followed by ten orchestral
chords, and again, the flowing waters. The chorus ends with ten notes,
but this time, no repeated chords: a grand Handelian ending.
This incredible story is told in the Book of Joshua, Chapters 3 and
4. The Ark of the Covenant plays a central role. The priests carrying
the Ark will step into the river, and, at that moment, the waters
will recede. The Ark will be placed on the dry riverbed, and the Israelites
will follow, pass by the Ark, and cross to the other side. Twelve
men, one from each tribe, will take a stone, or rock, which they will
pick up from the now-dry riverbed, carry it on their shoulders, and
bring them to the Promised Land, to be placed in Gilgal.
(There seem to have been twelve other rocks. They were placed, apparently
one on top of another, in the middle of the Jordan. {Josh. 4:9} )
As soon as all 40,000 Israelites had crossed safely, the priests were
instructed to bring the Ark to the campground. When that was done,
the waters returned and overflowed its banks, as usually happens in
the spring-time.
Can this story be believed? Those who believe that the Bible is God's
Word obviously believe this. Others question it, or dismiss it as
a legend. But it is interesting that twice in the 20th Century, the
Jordan flooded and caused a collapse of the marl cliffs at the town
of Adam, 18 miles north of where the Israelites crossed. The river
was blocked, and the riverbed dried up, once for more than 21 hours!
(# 8): In his recitative, followed by a lovely aria, Joshua seems
overwhelmed by God's mercy. His aria (solo), full of runs that portray
gently-flowing waters, possibly a depiction of God's ever-flowing
mercy.
A word here on "recitative". As the word implies, it is
a musical account of what is happening or what is said. It moves the
story of an oratorio along. (An aria is a reflection upon the recitative)
Now, there are two types of recitative: "secco" and "accompagnato".
Numbers 3, 5, and 6 are examples of "secco" ("dry"),
accompanied only by chords from the "continuo", which are
harpsichord and cello. # 8's recitative is "accompagnato":
accompanied throughout by members of the string section. |
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(# 9) We
meet Othniel, who is Caleb's nephew (Josh. 15:17). Someone is with
him, and Othniel, who is a very young man, doesn't quite know what
to make of him. In a recitative (secco), he describes this being as
either a great hero, or an angel. "Are you a friend or foe?",
he asks. Handel took dramatic liberties here: in the Bible (Josh.
5: 13,14) it is Joshua who meets with this being first, and only he.
(#10) It is an angel, and he speaks now to Joshua. (Handel wrote the
part of Othniel for a male alto, and the part of the Angel for a boy
or a pure-voiced soprano, but a tenor has often sung it since Handel's
time.) The Angel orders Joshua to remove his shoes, for he is on holy
ground (again reminiscent of Moses's act at the Burning Bush). Joshua,
humble at last, does what he is told to do (Josh. 5: 14-15) The Angel
delivers a blood-thirsty message: the Lord decrees that Jericho must
be destroyed: the walls and towers must be decimated, all the citizens
and their king must be slain, and their ashes scattered. Nothing must
remain, not even the name, not even the memory. (This recitative is
accompanied, first by majestic strings, then by sets of sixteenth
chords: a graphic musical depiction of total destruction.)
(#11) Joshua obeys. The Angel disappears. Joshua prepares for battle
in a brilliant tenor aria. Its speed paints a picture of urgency.
Dizzying vocal runs abound. Were JOSHUA an opera, the audience would
stop the show with loud applause and cheers at the end of this aria.
(#12) A vigorous chorus now is sung by the Israelites as they prepare
for battle. (Due to subtle language differences, the words here do
not describe the battle: rather, they state what is about to happen:
Jericho will fall and the tyrant will bleed.)
(#13) With all these warlike stirrings in the air, here come an interval
of much-needed relief. Othniel and Achsah are in love, and they meet
in the quiet countryside. (Here is where JOSHUA differs greatly from
JUDAS MACCABAEUS, which rarely, if ever, strays from battle.)
(We are in for a bit of a cultural shock here: the two lovers are
related: first cousins! {Josh. 15: 16,17}, but this was not that uncommon
at the time.)
Anyway, it's a beautiful moment: lovely exchanges between the pair,
and an exquisite solo for the soprano (#14), complete with bird-calls
from orchestral soloists ("Hark, 'tis the linnet and the thrush")
and even she imitates the avian sounds.
(#15) Othniel is most poetic in the expression of his love (Recitativo
secco), and the two lovers sing a duet of idyllic sweetness (#16)
(#17) The spell is broken by the loud blaring of trumpets (possibly
awakening a few dozers in the audience!) Othniel himself shaken from
his amourous haze, reverts to militaristic action. He warns Jericho
that a man in love is a dangerous foe, especially if the winner could
marry Caleb's daughter!
(#18) The choir sings a joyous chorus, wishing good fortune in the
upcoming battle ("May all the host of heaven attend him round"
{who the 'him' is, is not clear: I assume it is Joshua, but we've
been fixed on Othniel for the past fifteen minutes...}) Part One ends
with this chorus.
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