Come Follow Me Music

This week: Ezekiel 34 Und ich will ihnen einen einigen Hirten erwecken, Johann Ludwig Bach Ezekiel 34:23 in God's own words: one shepherd set over them. JS Bach loved this cantata enough to perform it in Leipzig. Listen for: the opening chorus stating that promise. #ComeFollowMe

This week: Ezekiel 33 Vivo ego, dicit Dominus, Alonso Lobo The watchman chapter's heart, Ezekiel 33:11: God swears he wants the wicked to turn and live, not die. Listen for: the urgent lines pressing forward on "turn, and live." #ComeFollowMe

This week: Lamentations 1 Symphony No. 1 Jeremiah, III. Lamentation, Leonard Bernstein Jerusalem's grief, sung in Hebrew, from Lamentations 1 and verses beyond this week's reading. Listen for: the mezzo soprano's long, keening lines over the orchestra. #ComeFollowMe

This week: Jeremiah 31 Vox in Rama, Giaches de Wert Rachel weeping for her children (Jeremiah 31:15, the verse Matthew quotes), in the chapter that promises mourning turned to joy. Listen for: the wailing lines on "Rachel weeping" building to "because they are not." #ComeFollowMe

This week: Lamentations 3 Threni, Igor Stravinsky In the middle of ruin, Lamentations 3 turns: "his compassions fail not." Listen for: that turn in Sensus spei, where the texture opens on "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed." #ComeFollowMe

This week: Lamentations 1 The Lamentations of Jeremiah, Thomas Tallis Jerusalem weeping in the night, sung verse by verse, each lesson ending: Jerusalem, return to the Lord. Listen for: the Hebrew letter names, sung like slow flourishes before each verse. #ComeFollowMe

This week: Jeremiah 17 Sana me Domine, Carlo Gesualdo "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed" (Jeremiah 17:14), set word for word in Latin. Listen for: the voices returning to "sana" (heal), like a prayer that will not let go. #ComeFollowMe