Here is a new folk hymn with shaped-notes, written this winter for the Western Harmony. A tune about Enoch, it draws on several sources - first, Genesis Chapter 4, which describes how Enoch "walked with God"; second, the Metatron's Cube (Enoch became Metatron, the highest angel, in Jewish mythology), which is a "flower of life" in sacred geometry; in the Sacred Harp, the quote above the song "EXIT" is from Job, "He comes forth like a flower & is cut down", which I use & also echo the first few notes of the fuging section in Exit; & lastly the "round & round" bit in the circular fuging section is also a nod to the circles in Metatron's Cube. Download this demo mp3 here, there's a pdf of the score here.
Here's the lyrics:
METATRON'S CUBE
Mahalaleel lives eight hundred & ninety five winters,
He comes like a flower & is cut down.
Methuselah for one thousand years, dies among sinners,
Arise my soul & leave the ground.
Oh, but Enoch, old & holy Enoch,
Walks with God, & he is not,
For God takes him, takes him round & round.
Up on a little hill, Calvary, three trees bear blossoms,
He comes like a flower & is cut down.
And am I born to die, or can I fly from my tomb?
Arise my soul & leave the ground.
Oh, my Jesus, young & blessed Jesus,
Son of Man, & is cut down,
For God takes him, takes him round & round.
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1 comment:
this is beautiful, james.
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