"Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music" (1697) is an

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

. It was written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day.

Jeremiah Clarke Jeremiah Clarke (c. 1674 – 1 December 1707) was an English baroque composer and organist, best known for his ''Trumpet Voluntary,'' a popular piece often played at wedding ceremonies or commencement ceremonies. Biography The exact date of Cla ...

set the original ode to music, but the score is now lost.

Background

In 1683 the Musical Society of London was formed for the purpose of commissioning and performing annually an ode in honour of

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

, the patron saint of music. Dryden had previously written another ode, " A Song for St. Cecilia's Day", for the 1687 festival. "Alexander's Feast" was written for the 1697 festival.Endicott 2022

Analysis

The main body of the poem describes the feast given by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

at the Persian capital

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

, after his defeat of

Darius Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

in 331 BC. Alexander's bard

Timotheus Timotheus is a masculine given name. It is a latinized version of the Greek name (Timόtheos) meaning "one who honours God", from τιμή "honour" and θεός "god"., . The English version ''Timothy'' (and its variations) is a common name in s ...

sings praises of him. Alexander's emotions are manipulated by the singer's poetry and music. Timotheus glorifies him as a god, puffing up Alexander's pride. He then sings of the pleasures of wine, encouraging Alexander to drink. Seeing Alexander becoming too boisterous, he sings of the sad death of Darius; the king becomes quiet. He then lauds the beauty of

Thaïs Thaïs (; ; ) was a Greek who accompanied Alexander the Great on his military campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for having instigated the burning of Persepolis, the capital city of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, after it was con ...

, Alexander's lover, making the king's heart melt. Finally, he encourages feelings of anger and vengeance, causing Thaïs and Alexander to burn down the Persian palace in revenge for Persia's previous outrages against Greece. The poem then moves ahead in time to describe Saint Cecilia, "inventress of the vocal frame", who is traditionally supposed to have created the first

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and to have instituted Christian sacred music. The poem concludes that while Timotheus "Raised a mortal to the skies, / She drew an angel down".

Music

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

composed a

choral A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

work, also called '' Alexander's Feast'', set to a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton, which was closely based on Dryden's ode. Sir James MacMillan was commissioned to create a new choral work jointly by the Hallé and

Cincinnati Symphony The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall (Cincinnati), Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives Pops orchestra, pops concerts as t ...

orchestras. The work, completed in 2022 and titled "Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia" sets the second, third, and final verses of Dryden's ode.

References

Bibliography

* Endicott, N. J. (2022)
"Alexander's Feast"
''RPO: Representative Poetry Online''. University of Toronto Libraries. Accessed 10 March 2022. * Mambrol, Nasrullah (6 July 2020)
"Analysis of John Dryden’s Alexander’s Feast"
''Literariness: Literary Theory and Criticism''. Accessed 10 March 2022.

External links

* Alexander's Feast (ed. Francis T. Palgrave 1875) * Alexander's Feast (ed. Edward Arnold, 1904) * ''Alexander's Feast: or, The Power of Music: a Song in Honour of St. Cecilia, 1697'' (1904) {{John Dryden 1697 poems 1697 in England Poetry by John Dryden Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great Cultural depictions of Thaïs Historical poems