Edward Elgar - The Apostles - A Study Guide
PART I
The Calling of the Apostles
Raphael - Christ and the Apostles
One passage in the Gospel of Luke (6:12) describes how Jesus went out “to a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer.” This single reference inspired Elgar to write an extended passage evoking the loneliness of Jesus at prayer, as narrated by a tenor soloist and the Angel Gabriel (soprano).
Tenor:
And it came to pass in those days that Jesus went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
An important new theme is then introduced by the orchestra alone in a section titled “On the Mountain – Night”, this one representing the “Prayer of Christ” (preceded by the central 3-chord “Christ, The Man of Sorrows” theme we first heard in the Prologue):
The Angel Gabriel (soprano):
The voice of thy watchman! The Lord returneth to Zion:
break forth into joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem:
for the Lord hath comforted His people (Is. 52:8-10)
The “Prayer of Christ” theme then returns, concluding with the “Christ’s Loneliness” theme before the Angel sings another Isaiah passage applied to Jesus’ mission in the Gospel of Matthew.
The Angel Gabriel (soprano):
“Behold My servant, Whom I have chosen:
My beloved, in Whom My soul is well pleased:
He shall not strive, no cry aloud:
neither shall anyone hear Hi voice in the streets:
a bruised reed shall He not break,
the dimly burning wick shall He not quench,
and in His name shall the Gentiles hope.”
The voice of Thy Watchman! (Is. 42:1-4 (Mt. 12:19-20))
Ivan Kramskoi, Christ in the Wilderness (1872)
There is a particular painting that we know represents Elgar's sense of Christ's loneliness - it is the 1872 painting "Christ in the Wilderness" by the Russian painter Ivan Kramskoi (below). When he saw this painting during a visit to Anglican Canon Charles Vincent Gorton (who advised him on text selection for The Apostles), Elgar described it as "my ideal picture of the Lonely Christ as I have tried (and tried hard) to realise...." (cited by Jerrold Northop Moore in Edward Elgar - A Creative Life). Leon Botstein writes of this painting, "Christ is real, but he seems to be an everyman, a real human figure whom we can personally identify as both human and divine. He is real and ideal, modern and timeless, particular and general. The viewer of the painting, like the listener and participant in Elgar's music, is elevated by identification, through art, all consonant with a noble idealistic tradition." (Leon Botstein, "Transcending the Enigmas of Biography" in Edward Elgar and his World) Elgar's depiction of Jesus is both intensely personal, but elevated beyond sentimentality by the nobility of his music.
Follow the words above while listening to the video starting at 7:30
Out of this scene of nighttime darkness and isolation comes the sound of the Jewish shofar calling the faithful to the Temple at sunrise. Here we move from the introspective side of Elgar’s music to the grand celebratory public music we all call upon at graduations and ceremonial occasions (such as his Pomp and Circumstance marches). Elgar adds percussion and other instruments of Middle Eastern origin – the Jewish shofar played on most recordings by trumpet), antique cymbals, gongs, tamborines, triangles – to recreate his imagination of the milieu of ancient Israel in which the apostles were called.
The chorus also returns with unison singing that is meant to recall the way psalms might have been chanted in ancient times, only now with the full palette of a modern orchestra.
The face of all the East
is now ablaze with light,
the Dawn reacheth even unto Hebron!
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,
and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High:
To she forth Thy loving kindness in the morning,
and Thy faithfulness ev’ry night,
Upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
For Thou, Lord hast made me glad thro’ Thy work:
I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.
For lo, Thine enemies, O Lord, shall perish;
all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Follow the words above while listening to the video starting at 15:57
This grand sunrise opening leads directly into the calling of the apostles. Hearkening back to the words chosen for the prologue (focused on Christ's primary mission "to preach the gospel to the poor"), Elgar has the chorus emphasize Paul’s words from his first letter to the Corinthians: “He hath chosen the weak to confound the mighty.”
In response to the narrator, the chorus introduces us to the important "Apostles" theme, singing it in unison to the words "The Lord hath chosen them to stand before him to serve him."
Narrator (tenor):
And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; (Luke 6:13) that they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach (Mark 3:14)
Chorus:
The Lord hath chosen them to stand before Him, to serve Him.
He hath chosen the weak to confound the mighty. (I Cor. 1:27)
He will direct their work in Truth.
Behold! God exalteth by His power: who teacheth like Him? (Job 36:22)
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. (Ps 25:9)
He will direct their work in truth (Is. 61:8), for out of Zion shall go forth the law.
We are then introduced to the three male soloists representing the apostles John, Peter, and Judas, and finally to the serene, high baritone voice of the soloist singing the role of Jesus. (Note the return of the three-chord “Man of Sorrows” theme for the words “[he that receiveth you] receiveth me” In response, the chorus brings this majestic movement to a contemplative close after the Angel Gabriel sings the words of Psalm 80:14: “Look down from heaven, O God, and behold and visit this vine.”
John, Peter, Judas, and Apostles Chorus.
We are the servants of the Lord.
Peter.
Thou wilt shew us the path of life; in Thy light shall we see light. (Ps. 26:9)
Let thy work appear unto thy servants. (Ps. 90:16)
John, Peter, Judas, and Apostles Chorus.
In Thy light shall we see the light.
John.
O blessed are they which love Thee, for they shall rejoice in Thy peace and shall be filled with the law.
Judas.
We shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. (Is. 61:6),
John, Peter, and Judas.
For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Is. 2:3)
Chorus and Apostles Chorus.
The Lord hath chosen them; they shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call them the Ministers of our God: (Is. 61:6)
John.
O blessed are they which love Thee.
Peter.
In Thy light shall we see light.
Judas.
God exalteth by His power.
Chorus.
He will direct their work; (Is. 61:8)
they are the servants of the Lord.
John, Peter, Judas and Apostles Chorus.
For out of Zion shall go forth the law. (Is. 2:3)
The Angel and Chorus.
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice
with the voice together shall they sing:
for they shall see eye to eye,
when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
John, Peter, and Judas.
Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Is. 2:4)
Jesus.
Behold, I send you forth.
He that receiveth you, receiveth Me;
and he that receiveth Me,
receiveth Him that sent Me. (Matt. 10:40; John 13:20)
John, Peter, and Judas.
We are the servants of the Lord.
The Angel.
Look down from heaven, O God,
and behold, and visit this vine. (Ps. 80:14)
Chorus.
Amen.
Follow the words above while listening to the video starting at 21:40 to 30:50
Questions for reflection:
What is Elgar saying by emphasizing the “Eastern” beginnings of the story by using ancient Hebrew chant and exotic Middle-eastern instruments such as the shofar, tambourines, gongs and triangles?
What is Elgar trying to tell us about Jesus and the calling of the Apostles by creating such a dramatic contrast between music of loneliness and isolation followed by music of parade-like grandeur and celebration?
What does this contrast tell us about Elgar’s interpretation of Jesus’ relationship to this world and to our private and public lives?