One of the wonderful things about Blacknall Church is the diversity of the musical selections we are treated to in worship. Today, an all-male choir performed “O, What a Delight!” from Beethoven’s opera Fidelio. Dave Stuntz, our chief musician, included the following paragraph in the bulletin explaining the selection. I appreciate reading his insights into how the order of worship flows together to create a tapestry of worship through song, Scripture, and Sacrament–truly the strength of the Presbyterian tradition.
Here’s how Dave unpacked the theological implications of Beethoven’s piece:
“…In Fidelio there is a scene (obviously sung–after all, it’s an opera) known as the ‘Prisoner Chorus.’ These men have lived for years in the lowest level of an ancient dungeon-no light, stale and putrid air, cramped and squalid quarters. One day they are released; it’s actually a break-out, but not of their doing – someone gets passed the quards and opens their cells. The men wander into the light, gazing in wonderment at this wide-open place, and filling their lungs with the air of freedom. “O What a Delight” is a metaphor for the intersection of Christ’s resurrection and our lives: We have been released, ushered from a cell into his Kingdom, to experience free, now…This Easter Sunday, walk into the light, get a glimpse of life in the kingdom, and breathe deeply:you have been released, set free, made alive.”
Jeff Gissing 