Gerald Finzi – In Terra Pax, op. 39; Christmas Scene
for Soprano and Baritone Soli, chorus and organ (1954)
“The Nativity becomes a vision seen by a wanderer on a dark and frosty Christmas Eve in our own familiar landscape”. – Gerald Finzi
In Terra Pax was written in 1954, just two years before Finzi’s death. The piece juxtaposes texts from Robert Bridges’ poem Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913, subtitled Pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Peace and goodwill to all men), set for the baritone soloist, and text from the gospel according to St. Luke (set for the soprano soloist and the chorus).
Finzi’s musical inspiration came primarily from the English countryside and his love of literature – particularly the works of Thomas Hardy which he consistently set with great aplomb. In Terra Pax was composed in 1954 and was almost the last piece that Finzi wrote, although the initial ideas for its composition are reputed to be connected to an event thirty years before this, when one Christmas Eve he had climbed to the church at the top of his beloved Chosen Hill, between Gloucester and Cheltenham. Here he heard the sound of the midnight bells ringing out across the frozen Gloucestershire valleys which made a significant and lasting impression on him, retrospectively providing the idea, particularly for the final celebratory section, of In Terra Pax.
Throughout the work Finzi assigns clearly defined musical roles to both the soloists and the choir. The soprano soloist takes on the role of the Angel whilst the baritone plays the part of the poet. The chorus acts as the narrator delivering the majority of the familiar biblical text. The music is reminiscent of Finzi’s earlier works with a heavy reliance upon the use of unusual but colourful extended chords. The piece reaches a climax in the final section with the choir singing ‘Glory to God in the highest’, expressed through the singing of a ‘pealing bells’ motif.
