This chorus is being performed for the first time in 2021. He Trusted In God is the first of two choruses in Messiah in which we, the chorus, take on the role of the "bad guys." (The other is Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder.) The tenor soloist and choir, in Numbers 27 and 28, quote Psalm 22:7-8. The tenor, in a short recit., sings verse 7, "All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying..." The chorus then completes the quote, "He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." (The Messiah libretto is a slight variation |
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of this verse, mainly changing from first person (All they that see ME) to third (All they that see HIM). The fact that the original is in the first person means that Jesus himself is doing prophesying! According to Jesus, the crowd will not only mock him, but his father also! A re-enactment of the terrible scene might go something like this: "Hah, hah, hah! Look at him hanging there! He doesn't seem to be able to get himself down, does he? Maybe he should ask God to get him down! (Heh, heh.) After all, he said God would deliver him, didn't he? If that's true, let God deliver him out of all this! (Like THAT will happen!) Hah, hah, hah!" It's difficult to think people could really be this heartless. Somehow we must sing this chorus as if we are those people, despite our personal disinclination with being associated with such cruelty. I think it helps to remember these are Jesus own words about what would, and did, happen. If Jesus said it, so can we! And we need to sing it in the way Jesus described...with cruel, mocking scorn. It might help to realize WE should have been the ones enduring the mockery. In the words of P.P. Bliss, "Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, sealed by pardon with his blood: Hallelujah, what a Savior!"
Audio Practice Files
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Soprano Prominent:
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Alto Prominent:
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Tenor Prominent:
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Bass Prominent:
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Take it to the next level! See if you can sing your part without it played prominently, and at performance speed:
Finale Practice Files
Must have Finale NotePad installed to use the practice files below. NotePad is available for PC or Mac and allows you to see the music as it plays, plus control the speed of the playback. (Notepad is not available for mobile devices at this time.)
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