Jesus Stood on the Shore. SATB div, SATB Soloists, Organ, 20′. John 21:1–19. Commissioned by The Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Seattle, Washington, Michael Plagerman, Director of Sacred Music, for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Premiered there 28 Feb 2025.
The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle is February 22nd. It celebrates the very chair thought to have been used by Peter in Rome, in Roman Catholicism a revered symbol of the primacy of Peter and the popes descending from him. Indeed, when a pope speaks authoritatively ex cathedra he is speaking symbolically from this actual cathedra, the chair of St. Peter.
Michael Plagerman asked me for a substantial piece for chorus and organ for a concert dedicated to this feast, to be held a week after its appointed date, on February 28th, 2025, at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Seattle, Washington. We first met in 2019; he was the organist in a performance of The Waking Sun by the Cornell University Chamber Singers, led by Stephen Spinelli. Michael requested a work making use of the talents of his professional choir, with an organ part to match. At first to be a 15-minute work, I told him it seemed (to me) a bit longer than that, and Jesus Stood on the Shore ended up being about 20 minutes long.
I’ve been wanting to set a long Scripture prose text (other than psalms, some of which I have set and which are in any case poetry). He said I didn’t need to use the passage most associated with Peter’s authority, where Jesus links the name of Peter with the rock on which Jesus will build his church, since they would have that covered already. So when he asked me if I had a text in mind, I immediately thought of the last chapter of the Gospel of John.
Michael enthusiastically supported this, the post-Resurrection passage covering the bereft Peter and disciples going fishing with no success, Jesus appearing on the shore, his advice to cast the net on the other side of the boat, the huge haul of fish (153, just the kind of head-scratching observation that pops up all over the Gospels), the coal fire, the breakfast, and culminating in the three grief-making “do you love me” questions, the hint at Peter’s death, and finally Christ’s call to “Follow me.”
Musically this one-movement work falls somewhere between an anthem and oratorio, which is a big “between.” It’s certainly a through-composed drama, although the opening is reprised and informs much of the content throughout. If it were purely orchestral it might be called a tone poem. It is definitely a choral work: the brief solos may be (and probably should be) sung from within the choir—they are not “roles.” The tenor soloist does begin as Peter, and the baritone as Jesus, but by the end they join soprano and mezzo as narrators.
With choral divisi and occasional organ double-pedalling, this has its challenges but it is by no means overly virtuosic. My intent was to create a reading of this stunning passage that paid close attention to the many emotions bubbling under the surface, thereby bringing us right into the middle of the story.
John 21:1-19
After these things Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
They answered him, “No.”
And he said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he was naked), and plunged into the sea.
But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.” Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.
Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are you?”—knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
He said to him, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.
And when he had spoken this, he said to him, “Follow me.”