By This past Sunday we sang “The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee”, a choral piece written by Jean Berger. It’s a particularly challenging piece for me as an amateur singer: it’s a capella, so there’s no organ or piano as a security blanket; it concludes quite low in the alto part and my alto range is a little touch and go in my low register; it’s got some funky atonal/clashing notes that come together beautifully but can be difficult to sing (e.g., A G natural would be more harmonious but he’s written a G # which zings it a little); and honestly I haven’t practiced as much as I could have so my confidence was a tad low. Still, I accepted the challenge! After a few rough runs, we somehow pulled it together (with lots of prayers, I’m sure) and it sounded LOVELY.
One of the joys of choral music for me is the team work. Each section must listen to each member within the section AND listen to the other sections so that we are in balance. There is no place for divas or prima donnas in choir. Individual voices should never be heard. We operate as one unit, following our fearless leader (the conductor). Hopefully. When it comes together, it is a beautiful thing.
I get a kick out of diving deep into the piece. This time I did some digging on Mr. Berger. He had an interesting life that should be made into a movie based on what little I read. He was born Arthur Schloßberg in 1909 in Germany. When the Nazis came into power, he changed his name to the very French Jean Berger, traveled extensively before landing in the US, where he taught at at several colleges and universities.
The text is based on Psalm 145 15:16. I’ve posted the verses here in NIV along with the entire Psalm here in KJV (because I like the majesty of the words). It’s fascinating to me to see how the meaning changes and my understanding morphs as I read different translations of the bible. My loose interpretation of these verses is that we should trust God and know that He will meet our needs at the right time.
Wikipedia has a page for the Psalm, lots of nuggets of information to digest! Here’s a lovely recording of the piece for your listening pleasure.
Psalm 145 15:16, New International Version
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
Psalm 145 King James Version
- I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
- Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
- Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
- One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
- I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
- And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
- They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
- The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
- The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
- All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
- They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
- To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
- Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
- The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
- The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
- Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
- The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
- The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
- He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
- The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
- My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.