Grace Prensner

Mr. Daniel James

Theology

11 November, 2011

Explication of Musical Representation of Christ’s Three Offices

            One unfortunate consequence of a purely scientific mindset is that it fails to recognize the value of things that cannot be rationally quantified. Music is a discipline and an art and a language of its own. The ideas behind music are vivid and tangible. But since they are not expressed using the mainstream conventions of verbal or mathematical language, they are often disregarded. It is true. There is no way to logically prove meaning in music. However, the dreams, ideas, emotions, and beliefs behind music were at some point experienced by a real living human being and thus can be understood and recreated using common human experience and emotion. A close analysis of the musical structure, selection of chords and scales, and use of dynamics can aid in better understanding the significance behind of a descriptive work of music.

            The first portion of the song is a musical depiction of a prophet. In the Bible, the life of a Hebrew prophet is characterized by deep remorse for the sins of the people, a steadfast, faithful spirit in the midst of sorrows, and rejection from society. It was his role to reveal to the people the word of the Lord and their desperate failure to measure up to His law. Considering this, the first section of the song is comprised of pure minor keys, with a slow, steady tempo to express the grieved spirit of the prophet and his pure and constant nature. The scale structure resembles that of traditional Hebrew music and the dynamics primarily consist of piano (meaning soft or quiet) and lento (meaning slow) to convey the humble, dejected, secluded life of a prophet. All notes are played singularly as part of broken chords to further emphasize this loneliness. The melody was designed in the form of a round (a musical form involving the same melody being played repeatedly and simultaneously but at different intervals with a layered effect) as a reference to the prominent and repetitive sin cycle of the Hebrew people. In addition, the use of the round mirrors the prophet’s actual act of prophesying since all of the notes are predetermined by the first five measures of music. As a result, the use of dynamics, chord and scale selection, and musical structure all convey aspects of the duty, life, and emotions of a prophet.

            The second portion of the work is designed to convey certain aspects of Christ’s role as priest.  When Christ served as our high priest, he offered up himself as the ultimate sacrifice and suffered both the physical pain of crucifixion and the emotional pain of alienation from God his father. This section of the song is written in minor, diminished, and broken chords to convey Christ’s sorrow for sin and with a very fast fluctuating tempo to express the emotional unrest within Christ’s soul. The melody covers a vast range and sort of flies in lots of directions at once in order to communicate racing thoughts and shooting pain. Similarly, the dynamics are loud and sharp to convey a sense of increased intensity. The second portion of the second section sounds slightly different. It consists of alternating minor and major chords that travel in a flowing motion down the piano. This is meant to represent Christ’s tragic shift from perfection to the agony of bearing the sins of the world, and men’s shift from sin to redemption. On a structural level, the listener should note that there are no repeated sections in this portion of the song. This is represents the singularity of Christ’s work on the cross; he is the only sufficient sacrifice, and he died but once that all men might be saved forever.

            The third and final section of the song is meant to represent the kingly role of Christ. It opens with a short period of fanfare with alternating major thirds and fourths that sound in succession to imitate the sound of bells chiming out the good news. In the rest of the section, the tempo is intentionally slow and steady to imitate the stately, regal gait of a ruler. Similarly, the dynamics are loud and varied to convey the grandeur of a king. The chords consist of mixed major and pure minor chords to communicate the peaceful and solemn nature of a wise and selfless king. (In thee same way that a king should not be overly happy or silly, the music is not especially fast or blatantly major.) There are no broken chords, only full chords to express the richness and full-bodied strength of a powerful ruler. The melody itself contains some of the more sad themes from prior passages in order to indicate the king’s awareness of the past and seriousness of his role. The very end of the song has the same melody that began the song, but its is written I a higher key. This is a reference  to how Christ will rule the world, keeping the same content but changing the nature. Christ will maintain the same earth and he will not forsake his people, but the world will be forever improved, all corruption erased by the word made manifest.