Nearly Evening

This 3rd Sunday of Easter, I am reminded of a motet (i.e. a sacred composition for voices) by one of my favorite 19th-century German composers, Josef Rheinberger, entitled Abendlied (German for “Evening song”). At first glance, one might not immediately sense that it is a sacred composition, since the text, taken in isolation, does not explicitly make any reference to God, Jesus, or even anything in the vicinity of the spiritual. Of course, if you know your Bible and/or if you are a regular churchgoer, you’d immediately recognize where the words come from. The words are Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, und der Tag hat sich geneiget, i.e. “Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent,” the direct translation of the words as they appear in Martin Luther’s German version of the Bible, which Rheinberger used as his source. In the New American Bible Revised Edition (the translation used in our missals at St. Joe’s), that would be: “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” (Luke 24:29) These are the words that the disciples said to the risen Christ, whom they did not initially recognize, when he gave the impression that he was walking further than their destination along the road to Emmaus.

 

I first encountered Rheinberger’s beautiful composition during my college choir days when I used to attend Jesuit university back home in the Philippines. College choir was where I had the most formative experiences in my journey as a choir director. As it happens, next Sunday, April 26th, that very same college choir will be celebrating its 105th anniversary with a grand homecoming concert featuring alumni of the choir from the many, many years of its existence. And while I’ve never been much of a “community person,” I must admit that I feel just a little bit envious that most of my old choir friends will be there, most likely singing some of our favorite choral pieces to sing from back in the day, while I am unable to travel due to… ahem… immigration-related circumstances. But hey, I am told that when God closes a door, He opens a window, right? I imagine I’ll be waiting with bated breath for what wonderful things might lie behind the proverbial window next week!

 

With my peace,

Carlo Serrano, Music Director