In 2020, our church choir planned to sing the last piece from the Handel Messiah, Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain, with the Amen on Easter Sunday. The text is from Revelation 5:12-13. While I had heard it many times and loved it, I had never sung the piece.
Then COVID happened. What a killjoy. It literally killed my joy of singing.
In 2023, our church choir will sing Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain with several instrumentalists on Easter Sunday. The trickiest part for me is the melisma in the Amen, especially starting at measure 110 when the four parts interweave. What has been helpful is a video at Chord Perfect. I’ve been studying the bass part, but here are the soprano, alto, and tenor. CyberBass is a similar service.
Then at the end of the service, as we did every year I’ve been a member, except for 2020 and 2021, the choir will finish with the Hallelujah chorus. And once again, members of the congregation who know the piece will come forward and join in. It is a joyous celebration.
Speaking of which…
Every week at 8 pm ET, someone in the choir looks at the community level in Albany County. In 2022, to the best of my recollection, it was green (low) for only one week, just before Easter.
In 2023, it’s been green (low) for THREE weeks, which may be meaningless for all unconcerned about the virus. For those of us who still care, it’s excellent news. I should note that one choir tested positive for COVID this week, so I took my first test this week in a few months. It’s negative, just the seasonal allergies.
By the way, Rensselaer County (Troy) has been in lockstep with Albany County, COVID-wise, since I began tracking the results weekly in late 2021.
So it will be a very happy Easter for this group of singers and the community.
Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain – VOCES8 & Academy of Ancient Music
Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain -| The Tabernacle Choir
(Grammarly wants me to change it to The Slain Lamb)
Hallelujah – with vocal score
Hallelujah – Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
And what the heck
Hallelujah – A Soulful Celebration