Naxos to release Cecilia's recording of "The Construction of Boston."
The CD of Composer in Residence Scott Wheeler's opera will be released during 2008. The libretto, as well as program notes from the April 2007 concert performance, are available now.

"Teeters and his classy cast and players offered the first truly satisfying performance I’ve heard... If I ever forget what a superb programmer he's been over his 39 years of directing Boston Cecilia, remind me of this concert."

-Lloyd Schwartz, The Boston Phoenix, Apr. 5, 2007. Read the review!

Introducing New Music: Recent and Right Now, presenting the music of up-and-coming composers, in collaboration with Scott Wheeler. Annual series debuts in June 2008!

handel's JOSEPH

Joseph and his Brethren: A Sacred Drama (1744)

"With friends like these ...!"
A note on Handel's Joseph by Donald Teeters

Joseph and his Brethren was composed in the summer of 1743 and first produced in the spring of 1744. Its immediate companion and predecessor in performance (by three weeks) was the classical "Opera after the manner of an Oratorio," Semele. Joseph was succeeded by another classically based work, Hercules, itself composed and premiered in the same season as the massive Belshazzar. With the perplexing exception of Joseph, all of these works from Handel's creative prime have long been acknowledged as ranking among the supreme music dramas of the eighteenth century, if not of all time.

From the time of Handel's death, continuing even to the present day, Joseph has been a bit of an artistic pariah. It, alone among Handel's oratorios, was not brought out by Novello in the nineteenth century. Winton Dean, this century's most respected Handelian scholar, who has contributed so much to awakening the world to the riches of this repertoire, begins his chapter on Joseph in his monumental study Handel's Dramatic Oratorios and Masques with this: "Of all the oratorios Deborah and Joseph come nearest to complete failure." With encouragment like that, small wonder that in the nearly forty years since Dean wrote those words few attempts have been made to test his and others' peremptory dismissals of this important work.

The reason for this near-universal rejection of a work which Handel himself held in high regard is usually laid at the door of James Miller's libretto. Mark Risinger deals with that issue in his excellent Note in this program book.

Since when, though, do the literary failings of a libretto stand as invincible and automatic disqualification of a dramatic work's validity? One suspects that not many folks these days would find aesthetic satisfaction in spending an evening poring over the librettos of La Bohème or Carmen. Yet these works continue to thrive. In his critique of Joseph, Dean claims that "the essential requirements for a composer, firm construction, distinct characters, interesting situations, and concrete imagery are wholly to seek" here. But Handel's score, while not necessarily denying that claim, refutes it in the way musical art, Handel's especially, so often does: by revealing in the notes themselves who the characters truly are and why we should be interested in them &mdash what their circumstances and relationships are — and thereby furnishing the means for some kind of resolution even when the words they are given to sing get in the way. I know of no more fully realized character in all of Handel than Simeon, the brother who has been held hostage for a year. The role itself is, in a sense, a secondary one, but there is not a note in it that does not blaze with passion. It was written for Handel's favorite oratorio tenor, John Beard. Knowing and trusting a particular singer and the character's dramatic situation (never mind the words he is obliged to set and the economy he is obliged to practice) Handel never fails.

Asenath is a nonentity in the biblical account, but an oratorio has to have a heroine. Miller provides a daunting array of opportunities, and Handel — writing for Elisabeth Duparc (French born, Italian trained, known by the name of La Francesina) &mdash offered up a delectable array of display pieces requiring not only virtuosity but emotive skills of the highest order.

Joseph actually has fewer airs than Asenath, but again, and as with Simeon, economy and compression become the composer's friend. His prison scene with which the oratorio begins is structurally balanced with a comparable scene and circumstances in which Simeon finds himself near the beginning of Part II; and his character, like Simeon's, is indelibly etched in our memory by the seeming desperation of his circumstances. In Part II, Joseph's pastoral reverie on his childhood in Canaan is a poignant highlight of the entire work. And his duets, with Asenath and, notably, with his brother Benjamin (a duet from which he is forced to withdraw in tears) are important in revealing more details about Joseph's character than the librettist might have intended.

The boy Benjamin is one of Handel's most memorable creations. His plight is a touching one and Handel gives him music of sophisticated innocence. Phanor, the butler, and Pharoah are more in the Handelian stock company tradition, but neither is a cipher; they have music that only needs beautiful singing — stylish and committed — for their characters to spring to life.

As noted above, Joseph and his Brethren has been rarely performed either here or abroad. Thomas Kelly conducted what was almost certainly the American premiere with the Newburyport (Massachusetts) Choral Society in 1972. Oboist Stephen Hammer is the only musician in tonight's performance who participated in that earlier one. In 1990 the Maryland Handel Festival mounted a carefully researched production, prompting a lengthy, appreciative appraisal by Andrew Porter in The New Yorker. (Porter remarks on some discrepancies in chronology between the biblical account and Miller's, one of which has to do with the age of Benjamin, who, though designated the Boy in Miller's libretto, was according to the Bible the father of ten sons at the time: Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.) Last year in England, Robert King led performances with his King's Consort, and their fine recording is now available from Hyperion.

Those of us whose admiration for Handel is almost entirely unqualified will likely find our cup well filled by any exposure to Joseph. Others? Like our friends in the medical community, we hope our ministrations tonight will at least have done no harm.

- Donald Teeters

The Boston Cecilia performed this work at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall in Boston on November 15, 1997.

On the Libretto of Joseph and His Brethren
by Mark P. Risinger

The Reverend James Miller wrote his one and only libretto for Handel in the midst of a career not only as a clergyman but as a playwright and satirist as well. He based his text on the Old Testament story found in Genesis chapters 38-45, but he inserted elements into the story that are not part of the biblical account and left out crucial episodes that create huge gaps of time between Parts of the oratorio. Rather than setting out to create vivid characters and a taut story line, Miller creates a sentimental drama that carries strong political overtones, a libretto which Ruth Smith has described as "a meditation on the qualities required of a political leader." She further notes that he was catering to the public's taste for "tender sentiments choked with tearful emotion." Smith's dazzling study of "Handel's Oratorios and Eighteenth Century Thought" (Cambridge, 1995) has done much to clarify the social and political contexts of librettos such as this one and is now required reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the literary side of Handel's productions.

For an English audience in the time of Miller and Handel, the gaps in the narrative concerning Joseph would have posed little problem, since the overwhelming majority of concertgoers would have possessed an intimate knowledge of the details of the Genesis account, with minimal explanation required. For an audience in the late twentieth century, however, there are at least three distinct problems: first is the lower level of biblical literacy in the population at large; second is the distaste for the kind of poetical conceits and mixed metaphors which appear all too frequently in Miller's verse; and third is a lack of understanding for the political context in which Miller was writing and which gives his story a level of meaning that is lost to modern audiences without some explanation.

Among the liberties that Miller takes with the story is the character of Asenath, who is known in the biblical account only as a name: "Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On." She provides an element of romantic love that would otherwise be missing, but she also provided Miller with the temptation to write some singularly unattractive verse. There are elements that cause confusion, such as the reference to "Jealousy, thou pelican/That prey'st upon thy parent's bleeding heart," an image dating back to biblical times and also appearing in Shakespeare, based on the legend that the pelican fed her young with her own blood. Unfortunately, Miller cannot leave that metaphor alone and immediately adds the image of Cupid "wounding [Love] with her own dart." Furthermore, Asenath is repeatedly saddled with such inelegant lines as "I fear this stranger has trespass'd on my unsuspecting bosom," an image which is better left unexamined. Throughout the text, Miller introduces similar infelicities, leading Winton Dean to describe the whole as "a linguistic monstrosity." The text was undoubtedly something of a challenge to Handel as well, but he rose above it to compose music that nonetheless has the power to move and inspire us.

The other important aspect of the libretto deserving comment is the political context surrounding it. As Smith points out, Miller's libretto "portrays in the character of Joseph a perfect chief minister"--not the king, who would have been analogous to Pharaoh, but an archetypal Prime Minister in contrast to the recently defeated Robert Walpole, whom Miller opposed. Thus, throughout the libretto, Miller writes passages about Joseph which echo other writings of the time about the desired qualities of a head of government, in part to criticize Walpole:

He's Egypt's common Parent, gives her Bread; He's Egypt's only Safety, only Hope; Whilst Egypt's Welfare is his only Care. Blest be the Man of Pow'r unstain'd, Virtue there itself rewarding! Blest be the Man to wealth unchain'd, Treasure for the Publick hoarding!

Oppositionists like Miller had regularly charged Walpole with embezzlement, so lines such as "Nor should Corruption cleave unto these Hands/ Or would I touch what's sacred to the Publick, To save myself and Race from instant ruin" undoubtedly bear a meaning that transcends the literal implications of the story. Consequently, Smith reads the entire libretto of "Joseph" as a description of a good and moral government in contrast to the corruption of the government under Walpole. . While the libretto for Handel's first performance included lines of text that were not set to music, thereby filling in some of the missing pieces to the story, the text for this evening's performance provides summary notes between Parts and, in some cases, between scenes, to explain what has taken place during the intervening period of time.

Mark P. Risinger

Joseph and his Brethren
Libretto

Background to Part I: Genesis (chap. 37) tells of the jealousy that Joseph's brothers had for him because their father Jacob loved him best of all, as evidenced by the "coat of many colors" that Jacob had presented to him. Because of their jealousy, Joseph's brothers were tempted to kill him but instead sold him into slavery, at age 17, to a caravan heading toward Egypt; they deceived their father into thinking that he had been killed by a wild animal. After arriving in Egypt, Joseph entered the service of Potiphar, Pharaoh's captain of the guard, where be eventually became overseer of the household. He was cast into prison as a result of accusations leveled at him by Potiphar's wife, whose failed attempt to seduce him left her bitter and vengeful. He is still held in prison as the oratorio begins.

PART I
OUVERTURE
(Andante - Larghetto - Allegro - Menuet)

SCENE 1
Scene, a prison.
Joseph, reclining in a melancholy posture

Air Joseph
Be firm, my soul! nor faint beneath
Affliction's galling chains!
When crown'd with conscious virtue's wreath,
The shackled captive reigns.
(starting up) But wherefore thus?
Whence Heaven these bitter bonds?
Are these the just rewards of stubborn virtue?
Is this contagious cell the due abode
Of too much innocence? Down, down, proud heart,
Nor blindly question the behest of Heaven!
These chastisements are just; for some wise end
Are all the partial ills allotted man.
Be firm, my soul!...

Background note: While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two other prisoners, both servants of Pharaoh's household. One of these, the chief butler Phanor, promised Joseph that he would work to secure his release once he himself had been restored to his position, but he forgot about Joseph almost immediately after being released. Two years later, Phanor remembered Joseph when Pharaoh was troubled by strange dreams and sought someone to interpret them.

SCENE 2
to Joseph, Phanor, Pharaoh's chief butler
Phanor
Joseph, thy fame has reach'd great Pharaoh's ear;
Who, late in dreams perturb'd, and taught by me
The wondrous power of thy experienc'd art,
Demands thy instant presence to unfold
Their mystic purport.
Joseph
Blest vicissitude!
Jehovah, whom I serve, bears witness to me;
And from the horrors of the pit, once more,
Will deign deliverance to his servant's soul.

Air Joseph
Come, divine inspirer, come,
Make my humble breast thy home,
Draw the curtain from mine eye,
And present place futurity!
Thus, whilst I o'er Pharaoh's dream
Bright interpretation beam.
Pharaoh's self shall temples raise,
And Egypt incense to thy praise.
Come, divine inspirer...

Phanor
Pardon, that I so long forgot thee, Joseph!
My heart upbraids me with ingratitude.
Joseph
Pardon thyself...Ingratitude is a vice,
That bears its scorpions with it ... the dire mildew,
Which makes a desert of the human mind,
And merits more of pity than resentment.
But instant I'll with duteous step attend
My Lord the King, and bow myself before him.
Exit, Joseph
Phanor
Fell monster! base ingratitude, avaunt!
No longer in this I'll give thee harbour.

Air Phanor
Ingratitude's the queen of crimes,
For all the rest are of her train,
Her sure attendants at all times,
The great supporters of her reign.
If one you then ungrateful call,
You crown him monarch of them all.

Background note: In chap. 41, Pharaoh relates his dreams to Joseph, who has been brought up out of the dungeon for the purpose of interpreting them: these are the well-known dreams concerning the seven fat cows who are devoured by seven lean cows, and the seven full ears of corn swallowed up by seven withered ones. None of Pharaoh's magicians have been able to explain these dreams to him.

SCENE 3
A room of state in Pharaoh's palace.
Pharaoh, High Priest of On, Asenath, Joseph, and Chorus of Egyptians
Pharaoh
Thus, stranger, I have laid my troubled thoughts,
The midnight visions of my bed, before thee,
Which all the skill of Egypt can't unfold.
Come then, interpret to the King his dreams.
Joseph
Oh mighty Pharaoh! it is not in me:
Interpretation does belong to Heaven;
And may the Lord Jehovah give the King
A gracious answer!

Chorus of Egyptians
O God of Joseph, gracious shed
Thy spirit on thy servant's head!
That to the King he may reveal
The truths his mystic dreams conceal.
Joseph
Pharaoh, thy dreams are one...The Lord Jehovah
In vision shews what He's about to do.
The seven fat cattle, and full ears of corn,
Denote seven years of plenty; - the like seven
Of meagre kind, and unreplenish'd grain,
Mark the same years of famine to succeed.
Embrace this warning, and with studious search
Look out a man of providence and wisdom,
To garner up in the abundant years
A store for comfort in the days of dearth.
Pharaoh
Divine interpreter! What oracle
Could thus have solv'd my doubts?
- Where can we find
A man like thee, in whom God's spirit dwells?
Be this day ruler o'er my house and people,
And by thy word let all the land be govern'd;
But only in the throne will I be greater.
Joseph
These are thy workings, infinite Jehovah!

Air Asenath (aside)
O lovely youth, with wisdom crown'd,
Where ev'ry charm has place;
What breast so firm was ever found,
As could resist such grace?
Since thou hast stol'n my virgin's heart,
To me in change thy own impart.
O lovely youth ...

Pharaoh (putting his ring on Joseph's finger)
Wear, worthy man, this Royal signet wear,
Pledge of thy boundless dignity and power;
Whilst in our second chariot thou shalt ride,
And heralds cry before thee: "Bow the knee!"
Then henceforth, as the father of the country,
Let Zaphnath-Paaneah be thy name.

Chorus
Joyful sounds, melodious strain!
Health to Egypt is the theme!
Zaphnath rules, and Pharaoh reigns.
Happy nation, bliss supreme!
Exeunt

SCENE 4
Asenath alone
Asenath
Whence this unwonted ardour in my breast?
These new-born sighs? 'Tis true, that he is wise,
Majestic, graceful. Ah! I fear this stranger
Has trespass'd on my unsuspecting bosom.

Air Asenath
I feel a spreading flame within my veins,
Which all my arts will not avail to quench.
With fruitless toil from place to place I range,
No toil, no place gives respite to my pains.
I feel a spreading flames...

To Asenath, Joseph
Joseph
Fair Asenath,
I've ask'd thee of thy father, and the King,
To help allay the anxious toils of grandeur,
And smooth the rugged brow of public care.
Yet, authoris'd by both, I dread my fate,
Till thy own voice has fix'd my destiny.

SCENE 5
To them Pharaoh and Potiphera
Pharaoh
Zaphnath, I grant thy suit - Behold thy bride!
Potiphera
Approach, my Asenath - Behold thy husband!
Joseph
O! canst thou, fair perfection! say,
O canst thou bless me with thy love?
Asenath
My father's will I must obey;
My monarch's pleasure must approve.

Duet Joseph/Asenath
Joseph Celestial virgin!
Asenath Godlike youth!
Joseph Charming maid!
Both
Renown'd for innocence and truth;
Propitious Heaven has thus in thee
Completed my felicity.

Pharaoh
Now, Potiphera, instant to the temple
In joyous pomp! And whilst the rite's perform'd,
Let our loud clarions tell it to the skies.
Exeunt

Grand March during the Procession

SCENE 6
A temple. The High Priest, joining the hands of Joseph and Asenath at the altar, Pharaoh, attendants, and Chorus of Egyptians
High Priest
'Tis done, - the sacred knot is tied,
Which death alone can e'er divide.
Chorus of Egyptians
Immortal pleasures crown this pair,
Who thus by Heaven high-favour'd are;
Joys ever round them wait.
May these below, like those above,
Contend who most and longest love,
And be as blest as great.
Pharaoh
Glorious and happy is thy lot, O Zaphnath!
Join'd to such sweetness, dignity and virtue.

Air Pharaoh
Since the race of time begun,
Since the birthday of the sun,
Ne'er was so much wisdom found
With such matchless beauty crown'd.

Chorus of Egyptians
Swift our numbers, swiftly roll,
Waft the news from pole to pole;
Asenath with Zaphnath's join'd,
Joy and peace to all mankind!

Background to Part II: According to the account in chap. 41, Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh. This means that thirteen years had passed between his being sold into slavery and the period in which he became the ruler referred to as "Zaphnath" throughout the remainder of the oratorio. Furthermore, the seven years of plenty predicted by Joseph have passed and the seven years of famine have begun before Joseph's brothers arrive from Canaan to buy grain. It has now been at least twenty years since they last saw their brother. On their first attempt to buy grain, the ten oldest brothers leave Benjamin, the youngest, with their father; Joseph recognizes his brothers when they come to request provisions, but they do not recognize him. He accuses them of being spies and requires them to leave one brother, Simeon, behind while they go home to bring back Benjamin, in order to prove that they are honest. At the beginning of Part II, Simeon has been imprisoned for over a year and has begun to think that either his brothers have abandoned him, just as they had abandoned Joseph years before, or that there has been a reckoning by Heaven and that the imaginary wild animal, for which they blamed Joseph's "death" to their father, has become real and has taken God's vengeance on them. On their second journey, the one depicted in Part II, the older brothers bring Benjamin with them, despite their father's grave concerns that he will lose Benjamin just as he lost Joseph.

PART II
SCENE 1
Asenath, Phanor, and Chorus of Egyptians

Chorus of Egyptians
Hail, thou youth, by Heaven beloved!
Now thy wondrous wisdom's prov'd.
Zaphnath Egypt's fate foresaw,
And snatch'd her from the famine's jaw.
Phanor
How vast a theme has Egypt for applause!
O Asenath, behold thy mighty Lord
High on his gilded car triumphant ride,
Whilst prostrate multitudes that do him honours,
Obstruct his passage through
the streets of Memphis.
The raptur'd virgins hail him in their lays,
And gazing matrons lift their grateful hands,
Whilst hoary sages rise, and bow the head,
And infants half articulate his name.
Asenath
These honours flow not from the flatterer's lips,
Like those that lavish stream in fortune's lap:
But from sincere benevolence, and love,
And bosoms glowing with a grateful transport.

Air Asenath
Our fruits, whilst yet in blossom, die,
Our harvests in the new-sown seed:
Barren the mournful ridges lie,
Undeck'd the once enamell'd mead.
But Zaphnath's providential care
Retaliates for the niggard soil;
Through him in dearth we plenty share,
Nor heed th'inexorable Nile.

Phanor
He's Egypt's common parent, gives her bread;
He's Egypt's common safety, only hope;
Whilst Egypt's welfare is his only care.

Chorus of Egyptians
Blest be the man by pow'r unstain'd,
Virtue there itself rewarding.
Blest be the man to wealth unchain'd,
Treasure for the public hoarding.
Asenath
Phanor, we mention not his highest glory!
Mark 'midst his grandeur what humility,
The gift of that great God whom he adores.
Yet something seems of late to bear upon him,
And cloud his wonted shine: not all his splendour,
Th'applause of millions, or my studious love,
Can yield him comfort, or assuage his griefs.
Phanor
Perchance he wants to view his native land,
Whose God and laws are the reverse of Egypt's.
Asenath
Phanor, 'tis true, he calls it oft to mind,
And oft in silence sighs, and mourns his absence:
Nor finds he peace, save when his smiling infants,
The pledges of our love, are in his arms:
There will he grasp them - there with ardent look,
He eyes them - while, 'midst his struggling sighs,
Words burst like these -

Air Asenath
Together, lovely innocents, grow up,
Link'd in eternal chains of brother-love!
For you mayn't Envy bear her pois'nous cup,
Nor Hate her unrelenting armour prove.
Together, lovely innocents ...

Asenath
He then is silent, then again exclaims:
"Inhuman Brethren! O unhappy father!
What anguish too much love for me has cost thee!"
Such are his cares, nor have I yet discover'd
The fatal cause; but once more I'll attempt it.
Exuent severally

SCENE 2
Simeon in prison
Simeon
Where are these Brethren...Why this base delay?
To let me languish a whole year in dungeons!
But are not Brethren base?
O Joseph! O Joseph!
That thought is hell...
Remembrance scorches with it!
But was it I alone? - O no! - Then Heaven
Has been at 'compt perchance with my confederates,
Whilst the wild beast,
false tax'd with Joseph's death.
Has met them on the way, and ta'en his vengeance.

Air Simeon
Remorse, confusion, horror, fear,
Ye vultures of the guilty breast!
Now furies! now she feels you here,
Who gnaw her most, when most distressed.
Exit

SCENE 3
Joseph and Phanor
Phanor This Hebrew prisoner -
Joseph Hither bring him, Phanor.
Exit Phanor
The wide circumference of Egypt's regions,
The vast extent between the Nile and Ocean,
Given me to rule, is slavery, not an honour:
Not rest, but travail.
Ye departed hours,
What happier moments have I seen! O Hebron,
What peace enjoy'd amidst thy smiling valleys!
Might I review thee! might I careless tend
Thy fleecy herd! Might I once more embrace
My good old Sire, list to his sacred lessons
Of God's creation, of man's fatal fall,
Of the deep waters cov'ring all the earth.
The race-preserving ark, the heaven-hung bow,
Jehovah's divine promise to our fathers,
The glorious hope of Abraham and his seed...
It cannot be...Tyrant, enslaving greatness!
Who'd languish in thy gilded chains an hour,
That in the court of quietude could dwell?

Air Joseph
The peasant tastes the sweets of life,
Unwounded by its cares;
No courtly craft, no public strife
His humble soul ensnares.
But grandeur's bulky noisy joys
No true contentment give;
Whilst fancy craves possession cloys,
We die thus whilst we live
The peasant tastes...

Joseph
But Simeon comes -
Treacherous, blood-thirsty brother!
Fain wouldst thou had my life! - Cruel! but hold-
I fear, O Heaven! that some disastrous death
Has snatch'd the others from me, and perhaps
Simeon's the only brother left me now.
I'll touch thee not - the image of our father
Sits on thy brow - nor shall thy perfidy
Dissolve the sacred ties of love and nature.
But I will speak such daggers to thy soul!

SCENE 4
Joseph and Simeon
Simeon
I tremble at his presence.
Joseph
Thou impostor!
Com'st thou before me, but to dare my fury?
Where are thy brethren - brother-traitors? Hah!
Did not I say it? did not I foresee it?
Ye serpent-spies! under pretext of famine
Ye came to see the nakedness of Egypt.
One year has run its course - not yet return'd?
Where is their faith - impostor! Thou shalt pay
The forfeit of their guilt.
Simeon
My gracious Lord,
Our testimony's true - By famine driv'n,
We hither fled for succour - we are twelve brethren.
Sons of one father in the land of Canaan.
Ten thou hast seen, and one is not; the youngest
Was to the care of his old father left.
Joseph
The sight of him might dissipate my doubts -
But where's your promise? Why is he not come?
Simeon
Paternal love, my Lord, alone retains him.
What anguish must it give the good old Sire,
To have this only hope torn from his bosom.
The prop and comfort of his falling years?
How would it shake his poor old tott'ring frame.
How wring his bleeding heart!

Joseph (aside)
Peace, nature, peace!
Simeon
Grief for the loss of his beloved Joseph,
Already reigns too cruel in his heart.
No sun or sets or rises on the earth,
That doth not find him, and leave him too in tears.
Joseph (aside)
Great God! sustain my fortitude!
(to Simeon) This Joseph, How died he?
Simeon A wild beast, my Lord, devour'd him.
Joseph Devour'd by a wild beast?
Have, have a care!
Didst thou then see his bleeding arteries?
His mangled limbs? Now, by the life of Pharaoh,
I spy some treachery - There are men on earth
More cruel, Simeon, than the fiercest beast.
Simeon (aside) Dreadful discourse!
Joseph (aside) He trembles!
Simeon Thy suspicion -
Joseph - Is just - Know you not yet I can divine,
And view the dark recesses of the soul?
In vain from me you'd hide the truth, Impostor!
Exit Joseph

Air Simeon
Impostor! Ah! my foul offence,
Wrote in my face.
(O dire disgrace!)
Admits, admits of no defence.
Though treach'rous hearts from mortal sight
May veil a while
Their impious guile,
Heaven sees and brings dark deeds to light.
Ah! my foul offence...
Exit

SCENE 5
Joseph, Asenath
Joseph
Whence, Asenath, this grief that hangs upon thee,
And like a morning mist which hovers o'er
The violet's bed, bedews thy lovely cheeks?
Asenath
Life of my life, and source of all my bliss,
It is but to resemble thee the more.
When Zaphnath sighs, can Asenath be gay?
Can Asenath enjoy, when Zaphnath suffers?

Air Asenath
The silver stream, that all its way
Transparent to the ocean flows,
Mix'd with the turbid surges grows
As ruffled and impure as they.
Thus glided I through life serene;
But now dire griefs thy breast inflame,
My mingling bosom shares the same,
And I, like thee, am wretched seen.
The silver stream...

Asenath
Tell me, O tell me thy heart's malady,
That I may steal it from thee if I can.
Joseph
A slight disorder - public cares -
Enter Phanor
Phanor
My lord,
The long-expected strangers are arriv'd,
And with them comes a youth of matchless beauty.
Joseph (aside) My Benjamin! Thanks Heaven!
(to Phanor) Straight make them enter.
(to Asenath)
My love, retire awhile - Soon thou shalt know
The business of my heart. Permit me only
Some moments more.
Asenath Your will, my Lord, is mine.
Exit

Background note:
At the end of their first visit, Joseph's brothers were unaware that he had given secret orders for the money they had paid for grain to be replaced in each of their sacks. They were perplexed and dismayed on discovering the money later, uncertain of how such a thing could have happened and fearing the wrath of Joseph, should he discover that they had not paid for the provisions. Phanor seeks to reassure them in the opening of this scene.

SCENE 6
Phanor and Joseph's Brethren
Phanor
Fear not, - peace be unto you. 'Twas your God,
That gave you treasure in your sacks. For me,
I had your money, and declare you guiltless.
Think not, that Zaphnath bears so base a soul
As to condemn you wrongfully, - nor one
So cruel to refuse you further succour.
Judah
Thy gracious words revive my drooping spirits;
And flatt'ring hope of being guiltless thought
Glows in my breast, and kindles life anew.

Air Judah
To keep afar from all offence,
And conscious of its innocence,
Is not enough for the defence
Of an unblemished heart.
A slight suspicion oftentimes
Of uncommitted unthought crimes
Its purity with slander limes,
And gives it the delinquent's part.
To keep afar...

Chorus of the Brethren
Thus one, with ev'ry virtue crown'd.
For ev'ry vice may be renown'd.

SCENE 7
To them, Joseph and attendants
Reuben
Once more, O pious Zaphnath, at thy feet
We pay due homage, and implore thy succour.
Judah
Our reverend Sire entreats thee to accept
A humble off'ring of our country's fruits:
Not such as with thy grandeur suits, but what
Our present wretched state has left - O Zaphnath!
Our fields lie desolate, and cover'd o'er
With naught but horror, barrenness, and mire.
Menacing the distress'd inhabitants
With death irreparable, which already
Sits on their pining cheeks. - O pity, pity!
Our good old father sues to thee, for pity
We conjure thee, and for pity
Our youngest brother lowly bows, to kiss
Thy bounteous hand.
Benjamin
This kiss, my gracious Lord,
Comes wash'd with tears. O save my country, save
My dear, dear father! - and may Abraham's God
For ever save my Lord.
Joseph (aside) How his discourse
Melts my soul!
(to Benjamin) Rise! is your father well?
(aside) I had almost said "mine."
(to the brethren) The good old man
Of whom ye spoke, say, is he living still?
Judah My Lord, thy servant lives,
and lives in health.
Joseph And this his youngest son;
Benjamin It is, my Lord.
My name is Benjamin.
Joseph Let me embrace thee. -
And may, my son, that God whom thou invok'st,
Watch o'er, and ever shed his blessings on thee!

Air Benjamin
Thou deign'st to call thy servant "son,"
And O, methinks, my Lord I see,
With an amazing semblance shown,
My father's image stamp'd on thee.
Thee, therefore, I would father call;
But the similitude of face
Is not enough - the soul is all;
O may his soul thy bosom grace.

Joseph (aside)
Sweet innocence! divine simplicity!
Tears, by your leave. -
(to attendants)
Attend, prepare our table. -
Instant; - these men shall eat with me today.
Benjamin
Let not thy mercy linger - grief and famine
Oppress our aged father - aught delay
May fatal prove - we left him desolate.
Joseph (weeping)
I can refrain no longer; joy and anguish
Jointly demand my tears.
Exeunt Joseph, Phanor, and attendants

Reuben
Didst thou observe him, Judah? mark his looks?
Judah
I did. Canst thou interpret them?
Reuben I cannot.
Profound and inaccessible, O Judah,
Are all the inward movements of the great
And never by the countenance are known.
Judah
May great Jehovah turn his heart to pity!

Chorus of the Brethren
O God, who in thy heav'nly hand
Dost hold the hearts of mighty kings,
O take thy Israel, and his land,
Beneath the shadow of thy wings!
Thou know'st our wants before our pray'r.
O let us not confounded be!
Thy tender mercies let us share.
O Lord! we trust alone in thee.

Background note: At the conclusion of his brothers' second visit, in which he sees his younger brother Benjamin, Joseph again gives secret orders that the sacks of grain the brothers take with them should have money placed in them as before: furthermore, he directs his steward to place Joseph's own silver cup into Benjamin's sack, in addition to the money. As soon as the brothers have departed, Joseph sends the steward after them, to bring them back to the city so that he may confront them with their "theft."

PART III
Sinfonia: Allegro

SCENE 1
Asenath, Phanor
Asenath
What say'st thou, Phanor?
Prove these strangers then
Such base ingrates? Bore off the silver cup,
That's sacred to my Lord's peculiar use!
Phanor
They have, - but shall not long enjoy their rapine.
Already they're retaken, and in bonds
Await their doom.
Asenath
Ungrateful, impious men!

Air Phanor
The wanton favours of the great
Are like the scatter'd seed when sown;
A grateful harvest they create,
Whene'er on gen'rous acres thrown.
But if, as O! too oft, they fall,
Where weeds and briers the soil profane,
Or lost, they bear no fruit at all,
Or, bearing, yield a worthless grain.

SCENE 2
To them, Joseph
Asenath
Whence so disturb'd, my Lord? Let not the crime
Of others be inflicted on thyself.
Joseph
My sorrows have a deeper, deadlier root.
Asenath
Why dost thou hide them from me? - O Zaphnath,
This diffidence does wrong to faithful love.
Wherefore that look? those sighs?
Much, much I fear
That Asenath's the source of this disquiet.
Why from her else conceal'd? Dire jealousy,
That baneful viper, rankles in my breast.

Air Asenath
Ah Jealousy, thou pelican,
That prey'st upon thy parent's bleeding heart!
Though born of love, love's greatest bane,
Still cruel! wounding her with her own dart.
Ah Jealousy...

Joseph
O wrong me not! thy Zaphnath never harbour'd
A thought that way - O Asenath.
My dear old father lives! still lives,
But inconsolable and wretched.
Asenath Whence springs his misery?
Joseph From this cruel famine.
No succour left, whilst, for his dire affliction,
I only shed unprofitable tears.
Asenath
But why, my Lord, hast thou not Egypt's store,
The wealth of nations?
Joseph
Pharaoh made me not
Dispenser, only keeper of his treasures;
Nor should corruption cleave unto these hands,
Or would I touch what's sacred to the public,
To save myself and race from instant ruin.
Asenath
Then call them into Egypt! Whence, my Lord,
This criminal delay?
Joseph I fear the King -
Fear Egypt too.
Asenath Such fears are but ungen'rous;
You've all the hearts of Pharaoh and his people.

Air Joseph
The people's favour, and the smiles of pow'r,
Are no more than the sunshine of an hour.
There envy with her snakes assails.
Here cank'ring slander still prevails.
Till love begins to wane
Oblivion then envelopes all.
Our merit's past, and straight our fall
Is stil'd the public gain.

Asenath
Art thou not Zaphnath? Is not Egypt sav'd
All thy own work?
And won't her sons with transport
Give a new life to him, who gave thee life?
I'll to the King, and supplicate,
With laud for bounties past, this farther boon.

Air Asenath
Prophetic raptures swell my breast,
And whisper we shall still be blest -
That this black gloom shall break away,
And leave more heavenly bright the day.

Joseph
They come, - and indignation in their looks.
My bosom beats with an unusual pulse.

SCENE 3
To Joseph, Phanor with Brethren in chains.
Simeon
Whence this vile treatment! these injurious chains?
For what transgression are we shackled thus,
Like thieves and traitors?
Phanor
That's like what you are.
You have stol'n the sacred cup that's set apart,
For my Lord's use.
Why have ye thus rewarded ill for good?
Exit
Simeon
Imposture! fury! - If the sacred vessel
Be found with us, rain vengeance on our heads.
Joseph
Straight we shall see - and then let the delinquent
Alone receive the wages of his guilt.

SCENE 4
To them, Phanor
Phanor At length the cup is found.
Joseph Where?
Phanor Hid, my Lord,
amidst thy gen'rous presents.
Benjamin had it.
Joseph Benjamin!
Benjamin I had it?
Phanor Behold his sack, and in it view the theft.
Benjamin Am I a robber?
Shield me, righteous Heaven!
Joseph Seize him.
Benjamin O Heaven! thou know'st my innocence!
Joseph No more -
Leave him alone to suffer. As for you,
Go, get you up in peace unto your father.
Benjamin
What! without me? Ah, how return in peace!
What can you say? what comfort can you yield
To the distracted parent? O unhappy,
Unhappy Benjamin! thou at thy birth
Gav'st death unto thy mother - and now dying,
Thou likewise tak'st thy tender father's life.

Arioso Benjamin O pity!
Joseph (aside) (Ah! I must not hear.)
Benjamin Not to myself -
Joseph (aside) (Be blind, my eyes.)
Benjamin My sinking father! -
Joseph (aside) (Trait'rous tear!)
Benjamin O pity him!
Joseph (aside) (Be still, ye sighs!)
Benjamin Remember, at the first embrace
You call'd me "son" - O view this face!
I still as much deserve the name;
Thy heart alone is not the same.
Joseph To prison with him!
Simeon
O illustrious Zaphnath,
Give room to pity; thou who rulest kingdoms,
Rule, to thy great glory, thy own spirit:
Or to his father render back this youth,
Or death to us.
Joseph (roughly)
On whom the cup was found, him I retain.
Exit
Simeon What, gone! not hear us!
Reuben Yet methought I saw
Some marks of pity on his face -
Simeon What pity!
The man who flies the wretched,
nor will hear them,
For fear of yielding to their piercing cries,
Has only pity for himself.
Reuben Peace, Simeon!
Remember Dothan's fields, the horrid pit!
And Joseph's cries! - Were not we deaf to them?
Then we'd not hear - and now we are not heard.
What counsel can we take - If we return,
Our father dies with grief; - if here we stay,
With famine: - Death is either way his lot -
And black despair is ours.

Arioso Simeon
O gracious God,
We merit well this scourge; but thou art He,
Whose property is ever to have mercy.

Chorus of Brethren
Eternal Monarch of the sky,
Our cruel crime thou didst descry:
O, with the same all-piercing eye
Our melting penitence observe.
Thou, the beginning and the end!
Creator! father! guardian! friend!
Returning prodigals attend:
And grant us aid we don't deserve.

Judah
But peace, Zaphnath returns.

SCENE 5
To them Joseph
Joseph How! not departed?
Ye insolent! away! - What foolish hope?
Judah
Though fear, my Lord, and anguish
Have nigh lock'd up our lips, yet would I crave
To offer one word more - and, O! my Lord,
Let not thine anger burn against thy servant. -
When drove by dire necessity to wrest
From the reluctant bosom of our father,
(Ah! with what force! but such was thy command!)
His youngest, dearest son, his heart's first joy,
He weeping thus bespake us: Well you know,
This child's the prop and succour of my age.
The only relict of my Rachel's bed.
Joseph, alas! my much lamented Joseph,
In a sad hour went out, and fell a prey,
As oft you told me, to the tyger's rage.
If then you tear this also from my arms,
And mischief shall befall him - my grey hairs
Ye will bring down with sorrow to the grave.
Joseph (aside)
My soul itself now weeps.

Air Simeon
Thou hadst, my Lord,
A father once, perhaps hast now - O feel,
Feel then for us! - As thou didst love thy own.
O pity ours - feel then our anguish, feel!

Simeon
Give, give him up the lad
In whom his life is bound -
O let me suffer,
Whatever punishment is doom'd for him.
He is too young for slavery or stripes;
Labour and years have render'd me more hardy.
Lay all on me, imprisonment, chains, scourges.
All, all I can endure - But to my father
To be a messenger of death I cannot!
Joseph (aside) I can no longer -
(to Phanor) Phanor, bring the youth.
Exit Phanor, and returns with Benjamin
Far off, ye guards and servants, - from my presence
Let ev'ry one go forth. -
(to the brethren)
Know, I am Joseph.
Doth my dear father live? - I am your brother -
Your long-lost brother - I am Joseph.
The Brethren Joseph!
Simeon O Heaven!
Judah/Reuben Joseph!
Simeon (aside) Wretched we!
Joseph Arise,
(Phanor rise them)
And banish fear. - My Benjamin, come hither,
And let me press thee to my yearning bosom. -
Brethren, receive and give a kind embrace. -
(to Benjamin)
Forgive this harmless stratagem. -
(to the Brethren) And ye,
Pardon my groundless jealousy - I fear'd
You now to Benjamin might be perfidious,
As erst to me - But I have prov'd your faith.
Simeon O Joseph!
Just, yet mysterious, are the ways of Heaven.

SCENE THE LAST
To them, Asenath
Asenath
Whilst the Nile and Memphis,
To him and his are destin'd for a country;
Thus Pharaoh has ordain'd - Now, my dear Lord,
Cast sorrow from thy breast.
Joseph And thou, my fair,
Disclaim thy doubts, and no more breathe suspicion.
Asenath
Trust me, O Zaphnath, 'twas the breath of love.
Joseph
Mine too, O Asenath, was still the same.

Duet Asenath/Joseph
What's sweeter than the new-blown rose,
Or breezes from the new-mown close?
What's sweeter than an April morn,
Or May-day's silver fragrant thorn?
What than Arabia's spicy grove?
- O sweeter far the breath of love.

Joseph
With songs of ardent gratitude and praise
Let us approach the high Eternal's throne,
The fountain of all joy, all peace, all honour.

Anthem
Alleluia.
We will rejoice in thy salvation.
And triumph in the name of the Lord our God.
Alleluia!

Afterword: The end of the oratorio broadens out to encompass conjugal as well as brotherly love as themes worthy of praise; furthermore, the geographical scope of the story widens to make it more universal, since Joseph and his brothers were likely to have seen neither a "new-blown rose" nor a "new-mown close" in ancient Egypt. At this point, we are returned to the world of the librettist and the familiarity of an English garden.

The biblical account of this story concludes with the happy reunion of Joseph not only with his brothers, but with his father as well, who is brought back from Canaan to live out the last seventeen years of his life in the company of all his sons and in the comfort of the land which his son Joseph had saved from famine and pestilence.

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Naxos to release Cecilia's recording of "The Construction of Boston." The CD of Composer in Residence Scott Wheeler's opera will be released during 2008. The libretto, as well as program notes from the April 2007 concert performance, are available now.