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"Let all mortal flesh keep silence"is an introspective hymn verse anthem for unison men’s and women’s voices and organ. The text and melody are familiar and traditional in the modern repertory of Christian hymnody."Let all mortal flesh keep silence"
While the setting of the first verse is conservative and muted in nature, it is characterized by a descending motivic element in the organ accompaniment, symbolic of the Lord’s descent to earth. The second verse introduces a free canon (at the fifth) in the accompaniment, echoing the strains of the hymn tune sung by the voices. In the third verse, in a contrasting key, a gentle fanfare figuration sounds repeatedly against the sung phrases of the melody, building toward a textual portrayal of the expulsion of the powers of darkness, dramatized in the music by a sudden pause, followed by the stanza's conclusion. With the fourth verse, the original key returns, as does a free canon (at the octave) in the organ part. A very brief codetta recalls the fanfare figuration of the third verse.
Although "Let all mortal flesh keep silence" is traditionally a communion hymn, this setting could be equally appropriate as a eucharistic anthem or as an an offertory suitable for the season of Epiphany, with its strong textual reference to the bringing of light and banishing of darkness. While making minimal technical demands on singers and organist, the sonorities and textures of Picardy attempt to capture the elements of the sublime that characterize its extraordinary text.
Copyright © 2004 Ennis Fruhauf
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