Fountains of the Deep

Text from KJV, featuring the stories of Noah, Jonah, and Moses

"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."
(Gen 7:11-12 KJV)

Quietly the first drops of rain begin to fall... One, two...  The wind begins to stir, becoming audible.  And in a moment it seems thousands of heavy raindrops fall upon the mountains and hills and plains, as though a veil of water had suddenly descended upon the earth from the heavens.  Fountains of the Deep musically portrays the events of the Bible concerning the great waters in a tumultuous storm of notes thundering from the grand piano and percussion.  Simultaneously, the choir calls out for help while being tossed by the tempestuous seas, swallowed by a great fish, and chased to the edge of the sea by Pharaoh. 

The text in Fountains of the Deep is a mixed narrative that combines scripture with an imagined exclamation at the cataclysmic events of the day.  "Still comes the rain, still comes the rain, never ceasing!" Whether it was one man, thousands, or all of mankind, the Lord has chosen to use the great depths of the sea to do his Will.  This dramatic sonic reenactment brings the listener as close to the action as one would wish to get. 

The following are texts that are either used, paraphrased, or based upon to derive the narrative of Fountains of the Deep:

Noah

"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered."        (Genesis 7:19-20 KJV)

Jonah

"Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep."

"So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not." 

(Jonah 1:4-6)

Moses

10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.        (Exodus 14:10 KJV)
 

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.       (Exodus 14:13 KJV)

Be advised, if you sit in the front row, you may want to bring a raincoat.

Difficulty: Moderate (Choir)/Intermediate/Advanced (Piano)

Original Print Size:

Approx. 4 minutes and 50 seconds in length 

Return