As a member of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, Advent season is always the time of year in which we prepare for our annual performance of George Frederic Handel's famous piece, Messiah.  If you've never heard at least the "Christmas portions" of Messiah, do yourself a favor and attend a performance (or a sing-along) this season.  It's an amazing way to experience the cadences of the King James Bible, upon which most of Handel's texts were based.

In the context of the Common English Bible's blog tour, I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the famous texts we sing in "King James English," and see how they sound in the more contemporary English of the CEB.  Here are a few of the texts that the chorus sings each year (I may blog several days on this subject):

"And the glory of the Lord"

Messiah libretto: "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.  And all flesh shall see it together.  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

  CEB text: "The LORD's glory will appear, and all humanity will see it together; the LORD's mouth has commanded it." (Isaiah 40:5)

My thoughts: We see, of course, the more inclusive term "humanity," instead of the rather archaic-sounding "flesh."  I find it interesting to see "commanded it," instead of "spoken it."  (I also find the CEB's use of contractions refreshing: "the Lord's glory" and the "Lord's mouth.)

"And He shall purify"

Messiah libretto: "And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." 

CEB text: "He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. They will belong to the LORD, presenting a righteous offering." (Malachi 3:3)

My thoughts: This is one of my favorite choruses in the entire piece.  It's marvelously fun to sing, and it always amazes me how Handel was able to build such a wonderful chorus on such a small text.  The CEB uses Levites, quite appropriately, instead of sons of Levi, but otherwise, the text is pretty similar to the traditional text.  I do like "they will belong to the Lord" a lot.

"For unto us a child is born"

Messiah libretto: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.  And the government shall be upon his shoulder.  And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

CEB text: "A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

My thoughts: This is one of the most beloved choruses in Handel's Messiah, with good reason.  It's really a treat: go, listen to it right now!  (Try this recording on Grooveshark...it's a little slow, but you can hear every note.)  The CEB text doesn't really tread any new ground here, other than using "authority" in place of "the government."  In fact, the CEB sounds downright traditional here.  Which isn't such a bad thing, I guess...

If you ever get a chance to participate in a Messiah sing-along, or if your church is large and prosperous enought to be able to perform the Messiah, I highly recommend the experience.  The text comes alive in through music, in a way that is difficult to achieve merely through reading.