If Christ Had Not Been Raised
$7.50
Voice: Mezzo-soprano (D4-F#5); Time: 3:50; Meter: mixed 3/4, 4/4; Language: English; Dedication: For Susan Gaylord, and dedicated to Calvary Baptist Church, Hopewell, NJ, in its 150th Anniversary Year
[Recording by Susan Gaylord & Philip Orr]
The centrality of the Resurrection to the Christian’s faith is treated by Christopher Idle in three stanzas of “If… but…” dialogues, contrasting despair and joy. These are set in music equally bleak and rapturous by turns, arriving finally at an exultant “Hallelujah!”