What a
beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to
sing an anthem to you, the High God! To announce
your love each daybreak, sing
your faithful presence all through the night, Accompanied by
dulcimer and harp, the
full-bodied music of string.
(Psalm
92:1-3, Message)
We depart from the libretto of
Messiah today, but not far from its message.
In preparing to teach the seminar this fall based on Roger Bullard’s
book, “Messiah: The Gospel According to
Handel’s Oratorio,” I listened to several different performances of the
work. I even listened to some individual
expressions of the orchestral score. Two
instances stood out to me, one of a man playing the pastoral symphony from
Messiah on a quenacho, a small flute-like instrument made of bamboo from Guatemala . Perhaps the most interesting one, however,
featured the same young man playing the musical theme on a piece of PVC pipe he
had altered to be played like a flute.
It actually sounded pretty good.
You see, we all offer praise to God
in our own unique ways. For Handel, it
was communicated in the scores of an oratorio, but for you and me, something
different. Whatever instrument you
choose, give glory to God today.
Prayer: Hear our words, receive our
gifts of praise in whatever form they come this day, Lord. May they be offered from hearts of gratitude
and joy. Amen.
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