Day Nineteen
Today’s guest post by Amy Nemecek invites us into a different way of sitting prayerfully with a piece of music. What is frequently disregarded as an instrumental interlude becomes an opportunity for Scripture meditation and imaginative prayer. There are no reflection questions at the end, as you are invited into prayer as you listen and read.
“He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.”—Isaiah 40:11
Most people associate Handel’s Messiah with the Christmas season, not the season of Lent. And yes, the Pastoral Symphony technically falls within part 1, aka the Christmas portion of the oratorio, as an instrumental interlude to set the scene for the shepherds abiding in the fields of Bethlehem. The title itself—Pastoral Symphony—evokes the image of shepherds watching their flocks by night.
I can’t hear this piece of music without thinking of Isaiah 40:11, which looks ahead to God’s promised Shepherd for his people. The words of that prophecy are the basis for a later aria from Messiah, “He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd,” and the melody of the Pastoral Symphony foreshadows that song. The two pieces are linked through a common time signature and tempo markings and are written in complementary keys,
Handel composed the Pastoral Symphony for strings only. It is tender in its simplicity, but because it lacks the vocal grandeur of the rest of Messiah, listeners often overlook it as mere incidental music. But today I’d like you to try a spiritual practice of listening to it with the ears of your soul. Close your eyes and remove any distractions so that you can listen reflectively.
Pay attention to how the music’s simple A-B-A structure and the textures of the melody follow the movements of Psalm 23. Meditate on the words of “the Shepherd’s Psalm” as you let the music indwell you with thoughts of Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
A (vv. 1-3)
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
The simplicity of the music is enough, sufficient for your soul’s needs. Follow the Good Shepherd through the movement of the notes as he guides you up and down rolling hills. Can you feel the Shepherd’s sure footsteps in the lower registers through the steady hum of the cellos? You arrive in a pleasant meadow to graze—the texture of the music’s line echoes the greenness of the grass. Do you hear the quiet trickle of a stream in the little trills of the violins?
B (vv. 4-5a)
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
The bass line ascends through a key change before the tone of the music dims the melody into a minor mode. The path ahead grows dark as you descend into a valley. The downward movement you hear in the cellos is the bear and the lion prowling in the shadows, and the sheep are afraid. But then the steady harmony of the violas casts a warm light that pushes back the darkness in a confident circle. The Shepherd has built a campfire; he will keep watch through the night, and you are safe. The violins swell, then diminish as the flock settles safely under his protection.
A (vv. 5b-6)
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Once again the cellos provide steady footsteps back to the opening theme in the violins. As the orchestra quietly continues, feel the Shepherd’s healing oil on your head, hear the trills trickling into your hair and soothing the cuts and bruises the world has inflicted on you this week. The music get softer, quieter, to the final, restful resolution and the cutoff.
Feel the memory of the strings’ vibration in the stillness. Remain silent for a few moments, allowing the sound of the Shepherd’s goodness and mercy to press around you and push out the clamor of the world’s noise.
In closing, pray these words drawn from the words of Jesus in John 10:11-15.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd. This world is filled with hired hands who are paid to tend your flock. But hired hands are not you. Hired hands don’t own the sheep, haven’t bought them with their very blood, so they won’t risk their own lives to protect the flock. When they spot a wolf prowling at the edges of the pasture and see your sheep becoming frightened, they abandon us and run away to save themselves. But Jesus . . . you know us. Help us to know you, too, just as Abba Father knows you and you know him. Thank you, dear Shepherd of our souls, that you have laid down your own life for us, your sheep. May we be ever grateful, and as the cups of our lives overflow with your goodness and mercy, use us to draw others into your sheepfold. Amen.