Pixelhome by cjimti

MS14 · Show · Messiah

He Shall Feed His Flock

Slow, wide, warm waves roll in toward the porch to the siciliano, and the house's lights gather there like a flock: first to the alto's rose, then around the soprano's silver, "Come unto Him".

1:28 · with a spoken intro

Drag to orbit · scroll or pinch to zoom · ↑ ↓ to change sequence
Loading…
0:00.0 / 0:00

Messiah

MS01SinfonyIntro1:28The overture: the Grave's heavy dotted pulses roll along the house in deep blue, then the fugue's four voices enter one run at a time, each string part its own light.MS02Comfort YeIntro1:21The tenor's warm white light alone on Porch Front, opening a little wider with each "comfort ye"; then "the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness", and the light finds the road.MS03Ev'ry ValleyIntro1:28The roofline as a landscape of bright hills and dark valleys. The tenor sings, and the porch valley rises behind his voice, the hills sink, the crooked land straightens, until the house is one level light.MS04And the Glory of the LordIntro1:27The first chorus: glory rises white-gold on Porch Front and spreads out run by run, each voice of the choir lighting its own part of the house, until the whole house shines on "hath spoken it".MS05But Who May AbideIntro1:27"I will shake the heavens": the bass's amber makes the house tremble. Then the alto's calm rose light alternates with the refiner's fire, white-hot and fast, sparks thrown off along the roofline.MS06And He Shall PurifyIntro1:22The chorus's running semiquavers race along the roofline as fine bright lines, burning off the dark impurities in sparks, until the whole house shines clean gold.MS07O Thou That TellestIntro1:20The alto's rose light tells good tidings in a gentle lilt; on every "arise, shine" the house brightens another step, and the chorus joins in white-gold.MS08The People That Walked in DarknessIntro1:22Darkness covers the earth: the house sinks to its deepest blue-black, one dim light wanders the roofline feeling its way, and on "a great light" Porch Front opens.MS09For Unto Us a Child Is BornIntro1:20Light running figures for "unto us a Child is born", then the five great names, each a full blaze on its own run, Wonderful on Left round to the Prince of Peace on Right, and the same runs answer every time the names return.MS10PifaIntro1:27The Pastoral Symphony: night fields on Left and Right, small soft lanterns swaying to the siciliano, and a low warm drone glowing on the porch.MS11There Were ShepherdsIntro1:12Shepherds' lanterns in the night fields on the wings; the angel's silver climbs the porch with the strings' rising figures, the glory of the Lord pours over the fields, and the angel says: fear not.MS12Glory to GodIntro1:22A multitude of the heavenly host: silver multiplies across the house, the trumpets sound for the first time from the far porch in bright gold, and peace on earth glows warm on the fields.MS13Rejoice GreatlyIntro1:18The soprano's coloratura as quick silver runs racing along the roofline, the violins throwing gold sparkles, four bursts of silver on "shout", and the house landing in full gold.MS14He Shall Feed His FlockIntro1:28Slow, wide, warm waves roll in toward the porch to the siciliano, and the house's lights gather there like a flock: first to the alto's rose, then around the soprano's silver, "Come unto Him".MS15HallelujahIntro1:26The finale: full-house bursts on every Hallelujah, the unison "For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" as one steady line, the sopranos' King of Kings climbing round the house run by run, and after Handel's grand pause the last chord in full warm gold.MS16IntermissionIntermission5:00The house waits in night blue under a small star over the porch, and warm gold fills it from both wings over five minutes, until the gold meets under the star and Messiah begins again.

About this scene

Slow warm waves roll in toward the porch, and the lights gather there like a flock.

"Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened": the house is dim and warm, and the alto speaks in soft rose-violet from the middle of Porch Front. On "opened" a row of small lights opens across the wings and the porch sides, each one widening from a point like an eye opening; on "unstopped" they ring once. "Then shall the lame man leap as an hart": a light bounds along the house in three leaps, from Left round the porch to Right. "And the tongue of the dumb shall sing": the strings' two forte chords bloom the whole house warm.

Then the siciliano. The house breathes in slow, wide waves of warm rose and amber that roll in from both ends toward Porch Front, one crest every half bar, rocking with the 12/8 lilt. Scattered over Left and Right are the flock, a dozen soft warm-white lights; while the alto sings "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and He shall gather the lambs with His arm", they drift in toward the porch on every long note of the tune, step by step, and by "with His arm" they are gathered on the porch sides. The alto's own light, rose, glows at the middle of Porch Front.

The soprano takes the tune a fourth higher, "Come unto Him, all ye that labour", in silver: her light opens out from the porch farther with each "come", the waves turn silver-gold, and the flock settles on Porch Front around her. "And He will give you rest": the waves smooth out into one even warm light, and the last chord holds, the flock at rest on the porch.

The music is Handel's own: Messiah No. 19, the alto recitative complete, and from No. 20 the alto's first statement from its upbeat to "with His arm" and the soprano's "Come unto Him" from its upbeat to "He will give you rest" and the next downbeat, transcribed from Prout's full score (Novello, 1902) into he_shall_feed_his_flock.musicxml (No. 20 numbered on from No. 19) and timed by scripts/score_excerpt.py, the Larghetto at Prout's quaver 112 and the recitative at crotchet 88. Strings as Handel scored them, with the string chords Prout gives for the recitative and a harpsichord continuo; the alto's line on violas with a clarinet, the soprano's on a flute with an oboe.

For your own show

Short, bright pieces meant to be watched. The FSEQ (v2, zstd, 40 fps) plays in Falcon Player on a house with the same layout; see About for how it is made.

.fseq · 1.1 MB.mp3

Its spoken intro, to schedule before it: .fseq · .mp3