AND THEN SHALL YOUR LIGHT BREAK FORTH, FROM 'ELIJAH'
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra's "And Then Shall Your Light Break Forth," from Elijah.
ABOUT 'AND THEN SHALL YOUR LIGHT BREAK FORTH'
Lyrics: Based on Isaiah 58:8
Music: Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn began plans to write an oratorio on the subject of the Old Testament prophet Elijah in 1837, just after the premiere of his first oratorio, St. Paul. He wrote in 1838, “I imagined Elijah as a prophet such as we could really do with today: strong, zealous . . . and yet borne aloft as if on angels’ wings.”
Mendelssohn put the Elijah project aside until June 1845, when he was commissioned to write “a new oratorio, or other music” for the 1846 Birmingham Musical Festival. It was at this festival that Mendelssohn himself conducted the premiere.
This final chorus from Elijah emphasizes the triumph of the faithful, setting scriptural words drawn from Isaiah and the Psalms of David.
THE TABERNACLE CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA PERFORM 'AND THEN SHALL YOUR LIGHT BREAK FORTH'
LYRICS
And then, then shall your light break forth
As the light of morning breaketh,
And your health shall speedily spring forth also,
And the glory of the Lord
Evermore shall guard you,
Guard and keep you.
Lord our Creator, how excellent
Thy Name is in all the nations.
Thou fillest heav’n with Thy glory.
Amen!