Symphony No. 17 – Metanoia

1. Assurance

“The original word for repent is the Greek word ‘metanoia’ which literally means to ‘change your mind, to change direction’ and has nothing to do with guilt or shame. Harbach’s metanoia was a transformative change of heart leading to a new appreciation of hymns and sacred music.

According to Hunter, and the Greek Orthodox Church, metanoia means to change one’s mind; to expand it in such a way as to have a new perspective on the world or oneself.

Metanoia is the way of change of the mind and heart – it is a change in the intellectual, emotional, and moral state, in the whole inner nature.

The text for Blessed Assurance was written by Fanny Crosby, Frances Jane Crosby, (1820-1915) and the music by Phoebe Knapp.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood

1. To Kindle Every Frozen Heart, to be reminiscent of hymn style, inspired by a poem written by Jonathan Yordy.

The world lay cloaked in hoary frost
The mantle of the doomed.
No hope was there,
For each was lost,
Each soul by sin consumed.

To Kindle Every Frozen Heart begins in despair and ends in triumph and hope, “His life brought hope to all the earth and warmth where there was none.”  Beginning with the brass who introduce the melodies, the piece has changing tonalites and shifting harmonies with unexpected ff sections. Minor tonality prevails throughout most of the piece until the last stanza, when hope and major tonality conquer despair.

III. Alleluia, Victorious!

Usually, we associate the word alleluia with a gentle, mild manner, but the words of Jonathan Yordy suggest that Alleluia is Victorious!

Alleluia. Alleluia.
Christ has shaken hell’s foundation, overtaken death’s dark tower.
Dead awaken Transformation!
Christ has come again in power. Dead awaken!

Alleluia, Victorious! is in a loose overall ABA’ form opening with a timpani flourish, followed by a dramatic fanfare, brass, then woodwinds, strings, and percussion. The second part, B is in three-part form. with comments by the horn and clarinet. IIA returns leading to ff then with a decrescendo to mp.

The middle section, Rise Up, My Love from Song of Solomon 2:10-16 NKJV. The traditional interpretation is that it is an allegory of the love between God and Israel or between Christ and the Church. The dominant interpretation in modern times is that it is nothing more than ancient erotic love poetry.

Rise up, and come away with me.
Rise up, my love, and follow me.
For lo, the winter is past.

Now A returns with strings and woodwinds maintaining harmonic continuity followed by a four-voice fugue beginning with bassoon, then trombone, clarinet, horn, and full orchestra with flute and piccolo rhythmically soaring above the orchestra and ending with dramatic dynamics.