Here are program notes for The Anointed One, a song cycle to be performed Tuesday night, 10/17/17, Madsen Recital Hall, Provo, Utah.
The Anointed
One
Bach’s Passions have been among my favorite works
of art since I was quite young, the only drawback being that they end with the
burial and don’t include anything about the resurrection. I always aspired to write something like them
but have realized over the years that there is little scope in my own situation
for pieces of that scale. In 2015 I
decided to compose a “micropassion”, a stripped down piece using only the
account from the shortest gospel, that included the resurrection account. The passion portion was performed on Good
Friday evening and the resurrection portion on Easter Sunday morning, both in
my home. In 2017 I arranged another
performance, but this time added hymns from the L.D.S. canon and reflective
songs that I have assembled into a cycle. The poems below are preceded by scriptural
texts that accompanied them.
Jesus, the Anointed One
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to
anoint my body to the burying.
(Mark 14:8)
Jesus, the Anointed One
You need not my anointing
Yet how I wish I could touch you
To kiss you and bathe your feet with my tears
As I cannot touch you now
May I anoint you with my life, my love
As I anoint your other brothers and sisters
May I anoint the poor in spirit, the poor in substance, the poor in
body, the poor in time…
With my food, my shelter, my clothing, my touch, my words, my prayers,
my tears,
May the perfume of this anointing ascend to your nostrils as the sweet
savor of primeval offerings.
May I remember the woman, the women who anoint and bathe your feet with
tears.
naked
And they all forsook him, and fled. And there followed him a certain young
man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from
them naked. (Mark
14:50-52)
naked came i hither
and naked i go forth
sin and death, your enemies
strip me
as naked without the covering
of your presence, of your forgiveness
i flee, not knowing where to go
may i be one of those who overcome
may i be clothed in white raiment
as a bride
that I may join you
eternally
tears
“Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.” And
when he thought thereon, he wept. (Mark
14:72)
would that my tears could
signify
my deepest desire
and not betray
my animal fear
would that i could
rest in thy safety
and not wander
far
would that i could
speak my witness
boldly
not regarding the outcome
instead i curse,
fearful,
glimpsing (guiltily) from a safe distance
doubt
And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had
been seen of her, believed not.
(Mark 16:11)
never will i
ignore your witnesses
on earth
when you left
i refused to be comforted
when i heard you had returned
i believed not for joy
how i longed to hear your word
to feel your embrace
but i wouldn’t listen
ineffable
They trembled and were amazed: neither said
they any thing to any man. (Mark 16:8)
i’m trembling with fear
with love
with light
i’m amazed
i cannot speak
when i think on the despair i felt
before i knew you lived
when i realized my life
would never be the same
i couldn’t find words
how can i speak
what can i say
is it really possible
are you really alive
i dare not imagine
an end to my sadness
i dare not imagine
to see your face again
yet trembling and speechless
i look up
filled with hope
that i will see you again
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