Some three months had passed since the tragic accident above the power plant. Most of the students and faculty members had forgotten about it. Mid-semester examinations were over, and everyone was gearing up for the final push.
The Christiania College Choir, having just returned from its annual concert tour, was to present its home concert tonight. Already the auditorium was filling up with eager concert-goers, anticipating a splendid evening of sacred music. The choir was riding on the crest of the high praise Eastern critics had lavished on its entire program.
As the curtain rose on the handsomely robed choir, a lone figure on crutches made his way to an inconspicuous corner at the back of the auditorium where he could remain standing without bothering anyone.
The first section of the program consisted of Bach’s sublime Easter cantata, “Christ lag in Todesbanden,” based on Luther’s hymn, accompanied by an excellent small ensemble of string and wind instruments.
The second section was composed of shorter works of a meditative nature, such as Mozart’s “Ave Verum.” The last of these was a work entitled “Verily” in which the words of Jesus from the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of John were set to music:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”1
No information was offered in the program notes about the composer, Susan Dahl.
The music, a striking opening statement followed by two contrasting fugues, both intense and sublime, left the audience spellbound from start to finish, with the message of Jesus still ringing in their ears when the last chord faded away.
At the very first note, however, the young man at the back, leaning forward on his crutches, broke into convulsive sobs which he tried hard to muffle.
“Your surprise, my angel. Your surprise….”
When it was over, Stephan Pearson, tottering on his crutches and trembling all over, stood staring at his feet, his eyes awash in tears.
The audience was still applauding when he pulled himself together, lurched forward towards the door, and fled out into the cold and lonely night.
THE END OF BOOK ONE
Notes:
1 John 12:24 KJV