Jesus Christ the Apple Tree by Elizabeth Poston

Seraphic Fire performs “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” by Elizabeth Poston
Margot Rood & Estelí Gomez, soprani
Patrick Dupré Quigley, conductor

April 20, 2016
Trinity Wall Street, New York, NY

Seraphic Fire's Northeast performances are generously underwritten by an Anonymous Donor; Alicia Celorio, Do Unto Others Trust, Inc.; The Clinton Family Fund, Bruce and Martha Clinton; and the Meredyth Anne Dasburg Foundation.

For more information on Seraphic Fire, visit:

[keithrickard]

That was amazing.

I have never heard this done in perpetual canon before, it was as if the voices were transformed into tolling bells.

[kathleenyatsko]

Few choirs can pull off a capella with this amount of precision. The difficulty of the canon at the end is astounding. Kudos to this choir for their excellence and discipline. You allowed this hymn of praise to soar.

[HeatherHarris-ec]

Absolutely glorious! The voices of Christendom tolling through the centuries!

The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green;
The trees of nature fruitless be,
Compared with Christ the Apple Tree.
His beauty doth all things excel,
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see,
In Jesus Christ the Appletree.
For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought;
I missed of all but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the Appletree.
I'm weary with my former toil -
Here I will sit and rest awhile,
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the Appletree.
With great delight I'll make my stay,
There's none shall fright my soul away;
Among the sons of men I see
There's none like Christ the Appletree.
I'll sit and eat this fruit divine,
It cheers my heart like spirit'al wine;
And now this fruit is sweet to me,
That grows on Christ the Appletree.
This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the Appletree.

[louise]

I heard this in church for the Christmas Carol service in 2019. The singers were placed all around the church. It was honestly like heaven touched earth. I am now having this song as my first song at my wedding to my beloved.

[richardcollumbell]

This must be the most beautiful rendition of this piece of music Ive ever seen.

[bt]

I am an atheist, but me to the heart...and brought me to tears..

[livingwordaloud]

How moving and beautiful it was to see and hear all of the singers as they surrounded the audience!

[dawired]

I literally wept with joy with the beauty of this performance! The canon is exquisite. The voices are etherial throughout. AMAZING!!!!

[cccnieh]

love the woman wiping away tears at 1:10

[norawheeler]

Wow. That woman's voice is nothing short of magical.

[lauriebettshughes]

That voice.... all the voices.... the acoustic... the rubato... bravo.

[paulinekenward]

I have never heard this sung with the canon at the end - just extraordinarily beautiful and so exquisitely performed

[taramcdermott]

This is absolutely, stunningly MAGNIFICENT.

[stipevideo]

This brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely beautiful.

[tabeakalimeris]

Lyrics:
The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit, and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all: but now I see
’Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I’m weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

[DrMikeStrickland]

Beautiful arrangement, beautiful voices. Excellent control, balance and synchrony at the end. This deserves many, many more views than I currently has. Sublime. Truly does justice to the original work.

[WibblyPigNZ]

I've sung this often before, but never the canon at the end, and so evocatively, using the acoustic and "surround sound". It must have been remarkable to be there. I can only remember a similar environment in a performance of Jan Sandstrom's "Es ist ein ros entsprungen".

[stevend]

Wonderful! Every singer and the conductor should be immensely proud. What a wonderful version of a beautiful hymn.

[stevefield]

The performance brought tears of joy and sunshine to me this morning as I listen to it the first time.

[petergugisberg]

A sobering melody ending with a Canon like bells pealing for its audience.