This comical and theatrical piece is about patience, the fourth fruit of the Spirit. In the first two measures, we already get two “Easter eggs”. The opening of the Jeopardy theme song is played in the accompaniment, a tune that has become synonymous with waiting. The second measure halts with a fermata on a C7sus4 chord, trying the patience of listeners who want the suspended note and the chord to be resolved. As the text begins, the famous quote “patience is a virtue” is introduced. Providing encouragement to wait when things take longer than desired and to persevere through trials, listeners are encouraged to “stand by, sit tight, hold on.” A moment of text painting happens here with a whole note on the word “on”. James 1:3 is mentioned as a promise that has been proven: “The testing of your faith produces patience”. After a slow introduction, the piece suddenly finds a new, faster tempo. The subsequent text emphasizes how hard patience is but simultaneously encourages the listeners to try it. Another famous quote is mentioned: “Good things come to those who wait.” Several situations that require patience are listed with infusions of comedy as the piece continues, coupled with encouragement for finding patience in those situations. Spoken text emerges throughout this movement, reinforcing the yelling that comes when we get fed up with waiting. As more and more examples of situations are mentioned in the text, the music builds into an accelerando. This accelerando leads to a virtual crash and burn as the performer summarizes pent up frustrations: “What is taking so long!” The meltdown is calmed as the words from the opening come back, a reminder that patience is a virtue and the testing of your faith produces patience. The piece ends with one final (and comical) “Easter egg”. When it looks as if the piece is going to finish, the accompanist fails to come in immediately with the final four chords. It takes not one but two glances from the performer for the accompanist to leap back into action and complete the piece. Even through teaching the audience about patience, here the performer has a moment of struggling with it too, showing that patience is very difficult. Ben Moore’s art song “I’m Glad I’m Not A Tenor” provided subconscious inspiration for this movement.
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Austin-Sinclair Harris 