The Great Flood (1967) (Caroline S. Arnold)

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  • (Posted 2014-07-09)  CPDL #32404: 
Part 1 of 4: (PDF)
Part 2 of 4: (PDF)
Part 3 of 4: (PDF)
Part 4 of 4: (PDF)
Editor: Richard DeMattia (submitted 2014-07-09).   Score information: Letter, 54 pages, 41.34 MB   Copyright: CPDL
Edition notes: Four ZIP-compressed PDF files of the 2001 edition as privately printed by the composer.

General Information

Title: The Great Flood (1967)
Composer: Caroline S. Arnold
Lyricist: Caroline S. Arnold

Number of voices: 5vv   Voicing: SATB+Children's chorus
Genre: SacredUnknown

Language: English
Instruments: Mixed ensemble

First published: 2001
Description: A musical play for church production written in 1967. 13 speaking parts, several mute parts, SATB chorus with unison Children's Chorus, piano, organ, quartet of instruments, cymbal, snare drum, triangle.

External websites:

Original text and translations

English.png English text

The God of Abraham Praise
The God of Abr'ham praise;
All praised be His name
Who was and is and is to be
And still the same!
The one eternal God,
Ere aught that now appears;
The First, the Last: beyond all tho't
His time less years!

The whole triumphant host
Give thanks to God on high;
“Hail Father Son, and Holy Ghost!"
They ever cry.
Hail, Abr'ham's God and mine!
I join the heav'nly lays,
All might and majesty are Thine
And endless praise.
Amen.

The Wickedness of Man
Be merry and eat and drink,
It’s not as late as you think.

Wickedness, evil and vice, nice vice.
Corruption and avarice.
Violence, pleasure and gin.

Enough booze to swim in,
and lots of loose women
in imminent danger to sink.

Our problems need never be faced.
Whatever we get we will waste
Whatever we do’ll be always more
cruel, to fuel our lecherous taste.

Lechery, gambling to win, win, win.
Naughtiness, Stealth, Cruelty
Excessive wealth, ugliness.
lust, lust, lust, Excesses, pleasure unjust.

READER:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was very great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man were only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said I will destroy many whom I have created on the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping things and the fowl of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And God said unto Noah: Make thee an Ark of gopher wood.

Make Thee an Ark
Make thee an Ark of gopher wood.
The length of the Ark shall be three hundred cubits and the breadth of the Ark shall be fifty cubits,
The eight of it thirty cubits. Great rooms shalt thou make in the Ark
And pitch it within and without with pitch. A window-shalt thou make in the Ark
and the door of the Ark shalt thou set in the side thereof.

Thus Did Noah
READER:
Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he. And God said unto Noah: Behold I, even I, do bring a flood of water upon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the world shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant, and thou shalt come into the Ark, thou, they sons and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the Ark, to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female. Of fowl after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. For yet seven days and I will cause it to rain upon the earth, full forty days and forty nights. Then will the fountains of the deep well up, and the waters prevail exceedingly upon the face of the earth.

The gathering of the creatures
ANGEL:
Herein hath God set down all the beasts and winged ones and creeping things which are to be saved. Do you call them to come into the Ark which you have built.
NOAH:
Hear, O Creatures, what is the will of God. It pleaseth God that rain shall fall upon the earth for forty days and forty nights to destroy the wickedness thereof. All flesh shall be destroyed, saving only those embarked upon this Ark. Therefore I shall read the names that God hath set down, and do you come two by two, male and female, and go into the Ark.
We call thee to come into the Ark: principally the Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata: The Class Mammalia - with the exception of the Cetaceans, the Sirenians and the Pinnipeds, who can look out for themselves - The Class Aves, the Class Amphibia, and the Class Reptilia.
And of less importance: The Phylum Arthropoda: the Class Arachnoidea, the Class Insecta, which is to say, bugs, and certain Orders of the Classes Gastropoda, Onychonophora, Diplopoda, and Chilopoda.
And of no importance whatsoever, but nevertheless to be included: the Phylum Annelida:
the Classes Oligochaetes and Hirundea, which is to say, worms.
Present yourselves two by two, male and female, except where not applicable.
Wife, give me that scroll,
I'll begin to call the roll.
Apples, vinegar, flour and cheese,
Salt and honey, oil and peas.
What may this be? Not beasts, I know.
There is something amiss, I trow.
WIFE:
Silly fool, that's for shopping day.
Don't stand there dumb, put it away.
NOAH:
But Goodwife dear, where is the one
With all the animals, leaving none.
WIFE: (aside)
I knew he would be sure to ask it!
(to Noah)
Perhaps it fell in the wastebasket.
O come on, Husband, not so hot.
How can I tell you, knowing not.
ANGEL:
Trouble your wit not, no, not one whit
On these two scrolls are the animals writ.
NOAH:
Well then, Wife, we must begin.
We've got to get these creatures in.

Come Into The Ark
Come into the Ark, all the fowl of the air and the beasts of the field,
and ev’ry living thing, that doth go upon the earth,
Come two by two, and be saved on the Ark.
Go up on the Ark and go in to the rooms that the Lord has prepared,
And there ye shall be safe from the fury of the flood, for the rain will come down,
the water will rise to destroy all the earth.

SAURIAN VOICE
We're here, Noah, Dinosaurs, two.
Towering over the Ark and you.
NOAH
Lord Above! What shall I do?
The Ark for one might make a shoe.
I'm sorry, friends, but I surely think
That with but one of you the Ark would sink.
SAURIAN VOICE
Certainly, Noah, you must be agreed
That God means to save our elegant breed.
But for we ourselves we care now no more.
We're old and tired out, and life is a bore.
Though not on the Ark, our fate we can bear
If you'll cherish our eggs with the carefullest care.
NOAH
Fear not, noble beasts, for room we can find
For a couple of eggs of your saurian kind.
NOAH (to Unicorn)
Well, Unicorn, come on. I must not wait.
UNICORN
Sir, I may not. I cannot find my mate.
NOAH
That's right, male and female, that's the rate.
UNICORN
What can I do? He's just a little late.
NOAH
It seems a shame. He's surely sealed his fate.
ANGEL: Know then that God doth send rain to rain upon the earth. And the waters of the deep shall well up, to cover the earth. And every living thing shall perish, saving only those embarked upon this Ark.

The Coming of the Waters
Drop, drop, drip,
rain dropping, rain dripping,
falling, rinsing, drenching
water rising. seething,
heaving swirling, swelling.
dripping, dropping death.

And the Flood was Forty Days
READER: (music under) And the flood was forty days upon the earth and the waters increased and bare up the Ark and it was lifted above the earth. And the waters prevailed and increased greatly and the Ark went on the face of the waters.
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. And all flesh that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle and of every creeping thing that crept upon the earth, and every man, died, and only Noah remained alive, and those that were with him in the Ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Lament
For their wickedness they must die.
God repenteth having made them,
He is grieved, their sins are great.
Not by fire but water cold is corruption cleansed,
The Lord destroys his works to purify.
Mourn we for our neighbors drown’d,
Sing sad songs for they have sinned.
The Lord is great in loving

Interlude

Shanty: On the Dark Swirling Waters
On the dark swirling water we perilous go,
to die or be saved while the wild storm winds blow.
Now the rains rage around us, the waves toss the Ark.
The waters surround us our future is dark.

Thru the dark that engulfs us we row.
Though God’s wrath is drowning the wicked below.
In the night of our terror we pray the Lord to save us now pitiful all here on board.

We row in hope to see the storm's water go. We know utter woe.

HYMN: Melita (Choirs and Congregation)
O God, whose wrath is justly sent
our sure destruction now prevent.
Control the wave our lives to save,
Extend thy arm, prevent our harm
We pray for mercy at Thy hand,
O keep us 'til we safely land.

O Sacred Spirit who dost brood,
upon the chaos dark and rude.
Now bid the angry tumult cease,
and give us light and life and peace.
O hear us when we cry to Thee,
In this our peril on the sea.

READER: And God remembered Noah and everything that was with him in the Ark. And God made a wind to pass over the face of the waters and the waters assuaged. The fountains of the deep were stopped and rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters returned from off the earth and decreased continually. And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day, the Ark touched upon the mountains of Ararat. And in the tenth month, on the first day thereof, were the tops of the mountains seen.

The waters assuage
NOAH:
Go forth, White One, to and fro
Make the water off to flow.
RAVEN:
So starved am I, I 'll gladly go,
To eat no birdseed, never mo'.
DEVIL:
Hello, Raven, why so slow?
You'd like some meat, I happen to know
And I can tell you where to go:
Eat of the dead left by the flow.
Eyes dead open, flesh like snow,
Tender brains that cannot know.
Take your pick, it will not show.
ANGEL:
Raven, thou hast fallen low.
Hence be known as carrion crow.
NOAH:
I fear the fair one may have drowned -
I see water all around.
Pigeon, search out solid ground.
PIGEON:
Alas, Noah, no dry land is found.
GRYPHON:
I'm tired of waiting, sick with the bile.
I'll get away by stealth or guile.
Perhaps fly away, then swim a while -
Both I can do for many a mile --
To find a mountain or dry pile,
Away from this most awful trial.
Help! Save me from a fate most vile!
NOAH:
Go again, Pigeon, look for some token
That the flood has abated and the waters are broken.
PIGEON:
Lo, here is an olive branch broken.
God's peace is thus spoken.
NOAH:
Now doth God above
Send us a sign of love.
Pigeon is not enough -
Henceforth be known as Dove.

HYMN: St. Elizabeth
The waters now are shed,
We are delivered from cruel flood,
from drowning dread.
Thanks be to God above,
He sends us by His dove
a branch of olive for His love.

Praise to our God the Lord,
He sheltered us on board while wretched death
on the earth was poured.
Praise to His mighty hand,
It brought us safe to land,
we in His debt will always stand.

READER:
And Noah removed the covering of the Ark and looked, and behold the face of the ground was dry. And God spake unto Noah, saying: Go forth of the Ark, thou and thy wife, and thy sons and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of fowl and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,
that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply in the earth.

Go Forth of the Ark
Go forth of the Ark, and thy wife and thy sons,
wives with thee,
and ev'ry living thing that did go upon the earth,
and multiply, and people the earth.

Come out of the Ark, all the cattle and fowl,
and the birds of the air, and every creeping thing,
and every winged one, by two ye are free…

We come from the Ark, by two we are free…

to go forth on dry land.
All the darkness has gone, and the waters have fled,
and the flood and the rain and the thunder and fear.

Give thanks to the Lord, and rejoice in life,
O thanks for light life.

NOAH:
Go, Creatures, forth, as God doth command
To multiply soon and replenish the land.
And do you remember God's implication:
The Ark saved us all for our own duplication.

Where are the dinosaur eggs now, my dear?
The time for their hatching must be quite near.
WIFE:
Hatching? Oh, dear, I fear a mistake.
Those big eggs were used up
to make us a cake.
NOAH:
We'll call it a cake-fate. Earth never more
Will know the dread tread of the great dinosaur.
(Enter Gryphon's Mate)
MATE:
Oh, pity me, Noah, don't heartlessly stare.
I can't find my wife, she's no longer there.
NOAH:
Hence, wretched beast, it matters not where.
To live out thy life and die without heir.

(Two Adders approach Noah)
ADDERS:
Consider us, Noah, and our situation.
To do the Lord's bidding
we mean no evasion
But against multiplying
we take up our station:
As ADDERS we cannot do
MULTIPLICATION.
(Enter Angel with a small table made of logs)
ANGEL:
God has seen fit
ali needs to supply
By means of this LOG TABLE,
you'll multiply.
NOAH:
Go out, happy pairs,
bring new life to the earth
Be free, multiply,
and remember God's worth.

READER: And the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground for man's sake, neither will I smite any more every living thing as I have done. And God spoke unto Noah, saying: And I, behold, I, establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you.
Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood, nor shall there be any more a flood of waters to destroy the earth. Lo, I shall set a rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of the covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when the cloud bringeth rain over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will look upon it that I, even I, may remember the everlasting covenant between me and every living thing that is upon the earth.

The Rainbow
In the sky, in the twilight of this gloom,
God's band hath made the rainbow bloom,
A token of love, unbroken His covenant.
No more will flood be our doom, lo the rainbow
The waters shall no more
become a flood to destroy all flesh,
while earth remaineth,
seed time, and harvest time, and cold and heat.
seed time, harvest time, cold and heat,
winter and summer and
Day and night shall not cease.
This is God's peace.

Ein Feste Burg
The Lord God doth protect us yet,
His might has been our saving.
With cruel storms we were be-set,
safe went we thru the raving.

For God was wroth indeed,
with all earth's sins and greed,
He water cold employed,
His creatures He destroyed,
the Ark the flood was braving.

The water shall no more prevail,
all creatures lives to sever.
For now the rainbow will not fail,
to show God's love for ever.
The rainbow now shall be,
a covenant we can see,
the fatal flood is past,
God's peace will always last.
The earth remaineth ever.