Edward Elgar - The Apostles - A Study Guide
PART I Section III
By the Sea of Galilee
We now come to the major scene of Part I of the oratorio, where the character of Mary Magdalene is at the center. As we noted earlier, it is remarkable that Elgar gives such a prominent place to Mary of Magdala, given that she is not listed as one of “The Twelve” apostles in the New Testament. Nevertheless, Mary Magdalene’s special place in Christian tradition and the likely importance of her leadership role in the early church is established biblically on the basis of her being named by both Mark and John as the first witness to the resurrected Christ.
“The Repentant Magdalene” by James Tissot, a French painter active in Britain in the late 19th C.
“The Repentant Magdalene” by James Tissot, a French painter active in Britain in the late 19th C.
However, Elgar’s interest in Mary is probably related mostly to the portrayal of her in later popular culture as a “woman of the street” who turns her life around to follow Jesus. This tradition is thought to have begun in the 6th Century with Pope Gregory (also the originator of “Gregorian Chant”), who in a sermon conflated Mary of Magdala with Mary of Bethany (John 11) and the unnamed woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair (Luke 7:36). Later tradition also assumed Mary to be the unnamed woman caught in adultery in John 7. Several important paintings (including the one on this page from Elgar’s time) contributed to this tradition, as have novels and movies in our own time.
Elgar sees in Mary an example of how a common person can be transformed from a life of shame and self-abnegation to a life of grace and love. In the introduction to the full score, he is quoted as saying:
Mary Magdalene is the most important type; a sinner who truly repents, not in old age, but in the flower of life; the sinner who in the deepest distress pleads for mercy & does not “fall from her hope in the Lord.”
It is the humility, vulnerability, and despair of this character that draws the Elgar so strongly to her. Her “scene” is broken up into three parts: in the first, Mary observes Jesus calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee from the distant perch of her tower; in the second, Jesus commissions Peter to “build my church”; in the third, Mary encounters Jesus directly in Capernaum.
Mary is assigned several of her own themes:
“Mary Magdalene”
“Anguished prayer”
“Prayer for forgiveness”
Mary Magdalene sin motif:
Mary’s solo ruminations of her past life and observation of Jesus’ saving power are broken up by two scenes of great activity - the first is a “Fantasy” for chorus where the frivolities of her past life are conjured up, and the second is the Storm Scene where Jesus calms the sea. These moments are clearly meant to parallel the storms of her life with the storms at sea.
“Christ calming the storm” by Eugène Delacroix (1853)
Listen to the scene while following the text below:
(start at 38:58 – end at 55:15)
Narrator 1
And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side: and He went up into a mountain to pray; (Matt. 14:22-23) and when the evening was come, He was there alone. (Mark 5:21) And His disciples went over the sea toward Capernaum. (John 6:15-16)
IN THE TOWER OF MAGDALA
Mary Magdalene
O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish, the troubled spirit, crieth unto Thee.
Hear and have mercy; for Thou art merciful: have pity upon me, because I have sinned before Thee.
Hear the voice of the forlorn, and deliver me out of my fear. Help me, desolate woman, which have no helper but Thee: Hear and have pity.
The troubled spirit, the soul in anguish, crieth unto Thee.
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits as the grape-gleanings of the vintage. (Micah 7:1)
Have pity, because I have sinned before Thee.
My tears run down like a river day and night.
Whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy. (Ecclesiastes 2:10)
Fantasy
Chorus
Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments,
Let no flower of the spring pass by us,
Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they be withered.
Mary Magdalene
'Ye that kindle a fire, walk in the flame of your fire, walk among the brands that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of Mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.' (Is. 50:11)
God of Israel, the soul in anguish, the troubled spirit, crieth unto Thee. Hear and have mercy. (Is. 24:8)
The mirth of tabrets ceaseth; the noise of them that rejoice endeth, our dance is turned into mourning. (Lam 5:15)
'This shall ye have of Mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.' (Is. 50:11)
Hear and have mercy, for Thou art merciful.
Storm scene
Mary Magdalene
Is Thy wrath against the sea? (Hab. 3:8)
The voice of Thy thunder is in the heavens! (Ps. 77:18)
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy cataracts. (Ps. 42:7)
I see a ship in the midst of the sea, distressed with waves:
and One cometh unto it, walking on the sea!
And they that are in the ship, toiling in rowing, are troubled and cry out for fear.
The Apostles (in the ship)
It is a spirit!
Jesus
Be of good cheer; it is I, be not afraid.
Peter
Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee upon the waters.
Jesus
Come!
John, Judas and Apostles Chorus
He walketh on the waters.
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon him,
and an horrible dread hath overwhelmed him.
Peter
Lord, save me; I perish!
Mary Magdalene
He stretcheth forth His hand.
Jesus
0 thou of little faith; wherefore didst thou doubt?
Mary Magdalene
The wind ceaseth, and they worship Him.
Apostles Chorus
Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.
Peter, John and Judas
The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm. (Matt. 14:24-30)
Mary Magdalene
Who stilleth the raging of the seas,
Who maketh the storm a calm? (Ps 107:29)
Thy providence, O Father, governeth it: (Ps. 77:19)
for Thou hast made a way in the sea, and a safe path in the waves;
shewing that Thou canst save from all danger.
Thy face, Lord, will I seek. (Ps. 27:8)
Thou hast not forsaken them that seek Thee. (Ps. 9:10)
Thy Face, Lord, will I seek.
My soul followeth hard after Thee: (Ps. 63:8)
Thy right hand upholdeth me.
Thy Face, Lord, will I seek.
Questions to ponder:
Through his choice of text and music for Mary Magdalene, what does he tell us about how he sees her predicament?
In Elgar’s portrayal of Jesus and Mary’s response to him, what is it that draws her to him, and what image of Jesus does Elgar project?
What are the equivalents of the internal and external “storms” in our lives today, both individually and collectively?