“Let the Peace of Christ Rule in Your Hearts” is about peace, the third fruit of the Spirit. The opening, functioning as recitative preceding an aria, is a direct quote of John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you.” This is set as if God Himself is speaking and giving the performer the peace he needs, which he can then pass on to the listeners for the remainder of the song. A key change happens here too, beginning in E Major with a smooth transition to Db Major. For the remainder of the piece, the text uses the first half of Colossians 3:15 as its foundation: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”. The piece calls for both connotations of peace: inner tranquility and calmness as well as world peace. Romans 12:16 and Matthew 5:9 are also mentioned as the text unfolds. The increasing dissonance (depicting division and fighting) that happens in measures 30-37 is resolved by the “peace” of consonance (depicting the peace that comes from being a peacemaker). After a brief reassuring vamp in the final section, the piece ends with one final reinforcement of the feeling of calmness with an audible inhale and exhale.
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Austin-Sinclair Harris 