DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 12, 2020)
We have discovered that Jesus accepted his duty to follow God's will, not his own; not out of compulsion, but love; as Florestan takes solace in knowing that he has done his duty in the prayer-like section of his aria, that begins "In des Lebens Frühlingstagen" ( in the springtime of my life) which we identified yesterday. Schiller once said that Beauty is an inclination towards duty. Duty is not something you do just because you have to, but because you want to, you love to. Jesus' love for mankind is expressed in his 4th recitative. The video includes the text.
Before Jesus ascends the Cross though, He must put that love into action on earth. His Apostle Peter is angry, and wants to kill the soldiers who are about to arrest Christ. Jesus tells him: "O let your sword rest in its scabbard! If it were my father's will to save me from the power of my enemies, legions of angels would be ready to rescue me."
There begins a trio with Peter, Jesus, and the Seraph.
Before we hear this, listen to Pizzaro's aria from Fidelio. It is filled with rage and vengeance:
Nr. 7 - Arie mit Chor
PIZARRO
Ha, welch ein Augenblick!
Die Rache werd' ich kühlen,
Dich rufet dein Geschick!
In seinem Herzen wühlen,
O Wonne, grosses Glück!
Schon war ich nah, im Staube,
Dem lauten Spott zum Raube,
Dahingestreckt zu sein.
Nun ist es mir geworden,
Den Mörder selbst zu morden;
In seiner letzten Stunde,
Den Stahl in seiner Wunde,
Ihm noch ins Ohr zu schrein:
Triumph! Der Sieg ist mein!
No. 7 - Aria with Chorus
PIZARRO
Ah, time has come now!
Revenge I'll take on him,
Your fate is calling you!
I shall probe his heart,
Oh joy, oh great delight!
I almost was in the dust,
At the sneering scoffer's mercy,
Knocked miserably down.
But come has now my chance,
To be the, murderer's slayer;
In his final hour,
The steel deep in his wound,
To shout into his ears:
Triumph! Victory is mine!
Peter also expresses rage and the desire for revenge in the opening of the trio. Though he is not an evil man like Pizzaro, Beethoven treats this type of obsession clinically, with similar music. Peter however, is changed throughout the course of the trio. Here is the trio:
Peter sings:
In meinen Adern wuhlen gchtereer Zorn und Wuth, lass meine Rache kühlen, in der Verweg’nen Blut.
My beating heart is angry; with o’erpowering rage it grows. Let vengeance now be sated on impious, cruel foes!
Jesus responds:
Du solist nicht Rache üben! Rache uben! Ich lehrt’ euch blos allein die Menschen alle lieben, dem Feinde gern verzeih’n.
Let vengeance come from Heaven! Did not our Master say: Forgive and love each other; let good for ill repay.
The Seraph tell us, the listeners:
Merk’ auf, o Mensch, und höre: Nur eines Gottes Mund macht solche heil’g Lehre der Nächstenliebe kund.
Take note, O Man,and hear: Only from the Mouth of God comes such a heavenly Doctrine of the Love of one's Neighbor.
Then all three sing:
O menschenkinder, fasset dies heilige Gebot; Liebt jenen, der euch hasset, nur so gefallt ihr Gott.
O children of mankind, hold tight to this Holy Commandment: Love the one that hates you, only then can you love God.
Here is the aria with the text.
More to come.