We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Resurrection of Lazarus

by Kerry Livgren

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8.70 USD  or more

     

1.
Movement 1 08:12
CHOIR Sing Holy! Sing Holy! Sing Holy! LAZARUS What, O Lord do You have to do with a man like me? Why, O Lord would You turn Your head for a man like me? Riches and approval I have in the world I know I was content with all that I had in this world I know But You have come and changed it all And nothing is the same since I heard Your call, Your call What O, Lord could I ever be to a man like You? How, My Lord could I be a friend to a man like You? All that I possess has no meaning when I see You Everything I thought was sure is no longer true And You have come to change it all Nothing is the same since I heard Your call Something went wrong, something's amiss Why am I staring into the abyss Yes, I feel it now, the world growing dim I'm held in this grip, we must send for Him Mary send for Jesus, Martha spread the Word We must send for Jesus
2.
Movement 2 15:13
LAZARUS As I wait this feeling lingers, and yet the earth's beneath my feet Now with each breath I take, I thank the Lord for this sweet time O, my friend my life is fading, and yet You are beyond my reach As long as You are near, I know that I have nothing more to fear A darkness is upon me, O, why do You delay I still believe in everything You say, come soon, come soon MARTHA Send for Him, He will come, He is always true Spread the word, let Him know, Jesus will come through MARY I've no doubt, He won't fail, In Him we can trust He'll come soon, straight away, He'll save Lazarus - He must The Teacher's always faithful MARY He knows our every need MARTHA Just send for Him and he will be here LAZARUS He will come, I am sure, there can be no doubt He knows me, I'm His friend, He'll not cast me out LAZARUS and CHOIR We have heard, we have seen, we know what He can do Send the word, let Him know, Jesus will come through The Teacher's always faithful, He knows our every need Just send for Him and he will be here LAZARUS Just send for Him and he will be here, He will come DISCIPLES Rabbi, don’t go, Stay here with us Have You forgotten - they tried to stone You Rabbi, please stay, You chose to delay Now You want to go - they tried to stone You Surely they’ll stone You There’s peril in Jerusalem, danger in Judea Though Your friend lay dying, in Bethany Don’t go there JESUS Lazarus is only sleeping, this illness is not unto death He slumbers now for the Glory of God That the Son of Man shall awaken him And the Son of Man be glorified DISCIPLES Rabbi, don’t go, though Lazarus lay ill Just say the word, and he will recover Rabbi, You said, Lazarus is not dead Now You want to go - surely they’ll stone You There’s peril in Jerusalem, danger in Judea Though Your friend lay dying, in Bethany Don’t go there JESUS Twelve hours in a day, and we walk in the daylight In the light of the world, no one will stumble and fall But if you walk in the night, the light is not in you Though Lazarus dies, I go now to awake him And for your sake I’m glad, that I was not there this day That you might believe, might believe in me DISCIPLES O, Rabbi please, we don’t understand Why must You go? They tried to stone You Rabbi, please stay, You said he’s sleeping Why must we go? Surely they will stone You There’s peril in Jerusalem, danger in Judea Though Your friend lay dying, in Bethany Don’t go there If he’s going to go, we must be with Him If the Master must die, I would be beside Him There’s peril in Jerusalem, danger in Judea If they come to take Him, in Bethany We’ll be with Him LAZARUS My spirit’s leaving me, can it be that You would let me pass away Yet You hear my prayer, my savior lives and I shall see the light of day! My heart is pouring out and the light of my eyes is gone My friends and my companions all know I won’t see the dawn God of Jacob, God of Abraham, I die CHOIR Now your life is through, Sheol beckons you Where was your Redeemer, were you just a dreamer? You are lost, as the darkness covers you He did not return, showing no concern Where is your Redeemer,, you're alone And you're lost, as the darkness swallows you
3.
Movement 3 16:54
NICODEMUS I met Him once, in the darkness of night And all He said, my heart knew was right I am convinced, what He told me was true We must be born anew Deep in that night when I met Him alone That's when I knew, He was our Cornerstone A Teacher from God, but Oh so much more He is the Open Door Oh, Israel Oh Israel What should I do, for I surely believe But my brothers plot, their hearts so deceived How can they miss the signs he has done Why can't they see the Son? JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA I know this too, I've suspected a while He speaks with authority, never with guile We must convince, must try to persuade Why are they so afraid? Oh, Israel Oh Israel JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA Perhaps He'll return, for His friend who's in need NICODEMUS Surely so, with the greatest of speed JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA We must convince, must try to persuade (Both) Til' the Sanhedrin's swayed Oh, Israel Oh Israel Oh, Israel Oh Israel MARY Lord, if You’d been here, You could have kept alive this brother we held dear But now, he is gone, and we will never hear his voice again, Or see the laughter in his eyes, O why? But Lord, even now, I believe that You can change it all somehow I know If You ask, it will be given unto You this day, The Father hears Your voice, so I pray, so I pray MARTHA I still remember clearly, now that day, when You came to us, and dined with us And I was anxious serving You that day, I could not believe, You came to us What kind of day, what kind of man, why in our home that day? You honored us, I wanted to be worthy Lord, of You, worthy of You “Mary won’t you help me to prepare,” she was listening, to Your words Did she realize who we were serving there, that day, on that day MARY Then, Lord, You went away, but I could not forget the words You spoke that day My heart was changed, but as You lingered our brother was slipping away from us, away from us MARY & MARTHA But Lord, even now, we believe that You can change it all somehow, we know If You ask, it will be given unto You this day, The Father hears Your voice, so we pray, so we pray (Lord, even now, change it somehow, You have the power, this is Your hour These things we know) MARTHA You’ve come too late, our brother’s gone, so now we mourn, and we weep MARY We’ve laid him there, In a tomb of stone (Together) Oh Jesus why, did Lazarus die alone? He died alone JESUS and CHOIR Soon, he will arise and he will wake once again to see morning skies, And I, I am the life he who believes in me shall never die, never die PHARISEES We must stop Him, We must shake Him, we can’t quit until we break him Lazarus his friend was dying, now inside the tomb he’s lying We’re the leaders of the nation, we alone can grant salvation We’re the law, the sons of Moses, We’re entrusted with authority If we let Him go we'll lose it, take Him now and we'll defuse it We must save our Place and Nation, we must plan a confrontation now CAIAPHAS Am I not our leader, upholding our tradition We are the Sanhedrin, I have a proposition For If we let him go, he will just continue All of them will follow, just like sheep Now listen to me, He's coming to the city, there's talk He'll raise a dead man Teaching in the Temple, they say He's got a big plan King of all the Jews? He's getting too much power All of them will follow, just like sheep The story ends here, we must win somehow, the story ends here Now here it is Better that this one man, die for all the nation We keep our position, for future generations We will not let Him go, someone must betray Him One who has pretended, to be His sheep The story ends here, to this end we vow, The story ends here, we must take Him now The story ends here
4.
Movement 4 11:23
JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA How could he be anyone else, who has this power to heal? Who else can he be, didn't everyone see, I can't deny what I feel What if we're wrong? God help us all, reject our King, and Israel will fall Down to the dust, never to rise, If our Messiah is right before our eyes NICODEMUS What condemnation, would fall on our nation, If He's the anointed you fear? So why do we fight it, if we're wrong let us right it, Is power the thing we hold dear? And what if we're wrong? Oh, God what a price How could we justify this sacrifice? are we so sure, there must be no doubt God and His ways are long past finding out JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA John was a prophet, not many deny He said the days of the Kingdom were nigh NICODEMUS And He pointed to Jesus, and said He's the one How can we talk of this plot that's begun? JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA What if we're wrong? He makes the blind see NICODEMUS We've waited for this, through all history This is our time, at last it could be (Together) If our Messiah is right before our eyes PHARISEES If He's just another prophet, we must nip it We must stop it Soon all Israel will hear Him, just like John we loathe and fear Him If he wakes him what shall we say, think of something, we’ll make him pay Forge a plan and let’s stick to it, whatever it takes we’ll do it He opens eyes and makes the deaf hear, we don’t need a Messiah here Lazarus four days past dying, there inside the tomb he’s lying Jesus’ coming, are we ready? We must hold the nation steady Look He’s weeping why does he care? What’s he sayingOh nolook there! JESUS Take away the stone, take away the stone Father, I thank You, I know that You hear Me, take away the stone Roll away the stone, roll away the stone Father, I thank You, I know that You’re in Me, roll away the stone That they might believe, O, that they might believe, Father, I thank You, I know You hear me, that they might believe CHOIR (Can he do it, will he do it, this is where it comes down to it, Does He have the Father’s power, could this be the day and hour Can he raise a man dead four days, if he does, fall on your knees, praise God has come to visit us here, no more death, and no more fear) JESUS Lazarus!! JESUS and CHOIR Come forth! Awake you sleeper and arise Your Maker stands before your eyes Come forth! Walk out of darkness into light For all who rise shall know of me, I will set them free Rejoice! Rejoice! The dust has come to life I give you glory for your strife Rejoice! Rejoice! I open wide the door Now enter in and die no more Rejoice! Rejoice! LAZARUS What is this thing I see before me, is it the light of day? What is this voice I heard restore me, here in this tomb where I lay Can it be true, I move, I’m breathing, taking the breath of life Out of the darkness, yes, I’m leaving, can a man be born twice? CHOIR Look at the grave, is something moving, how can this be, what is He proving? Who could imagine such an hour, No man could have such awesome power, God alone, holds the key to life, it’s God alone It’s God alone LAZARUS Is it my Jesus, was He faithful? Has He remembered me? Praise to My God, Messiah, Shiloh, He has remembered me! How could I doubt Him, now I’ll serve Him, Son of God and my friend Nothing to fear for death is over, living will have no end CHOIR Look at the grave, our hearts are waiting, longing for life, anticipating O, Israel, He’s not a dreamer, Son of the Morning, our Redeemer Promised One, holds the key to life, the Promised One Now He has come, He has come
5.
Movement 5 12:17
CHOIR Glory be to God! Glory be to God! Lazarus stands before us, now he lives, who was dead, he lives again! Jesus has the power, now has come the hour God's Kingdom surely is upon us, salvation He has truly shown us Long waited Messiah walks among us, God's Kingdom finally is upon us Jesus, Jesus King Jesus! Jesus, Messiah! JESUS Unbind him, release him, to the world of the living Now for your sake I’m glad, that you have witnessed this day That you might believe, you might believe in me PHARISEES Now He’s done it, who can this be?, Must be his scheme, must be trickery We must act now, tell the High priest, be decisive, til’ it’s all ceased We will need a mole, a traitor, Herod, Pilate, agitator Stir the people, crucify Him! No one left will dare stand by Him CAIAPHAS Lazarus must die, that’s twice, that poor fool must pay the price He believed his precious Jesus, thought that He’s the one who frees us They think He's the one, who frees us LAZARUS I have heard a voice and I know it’s the Voice of Life I have seen a light and I know He’s the light of the world I was content with all that I had in this world I know But now I count it loss, all I have in this world I know For He has come and changed it all And nothing is the same since I heard His call I heard His call CHOIR Sing Holy! Sing Holy! Sing Holy! We have seen a light, and we know that He's the Light of the World We have heard His voice, and we know that it's the voice that brings life We have seen a light, and we know that He's the Light of the World (We have seen a light, seen the Light of the World We have heard His voice, heard a voice that brings life We have seen a light, Light of the World) Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!

about

How do I begin to talk about this piece of Music? My first recollection concerning it was in 1979 as I was writing music for Monolith (the Kansas album.) I had a keyboard set up in my music room, and suddenly this theme and melody just came through my fingers. You might ask me “What's so unusual about that?” Many songs are written like that, but I can tell you that this composition was not a typical Kerry Livgren song. It felt, more than anything I had previously written, as though I were just a “conduit.” It seemed like someone else was composing it. I knew that this piece was not going to be played by Kansas, or any other band for that matter, but I had no idea what to do with it. I just recorded it to a Cassette and put it aside. There it stayed.
When I released my first solo album in 1980, “Seeds of Change,” I listened to the Cassette again, but still did not know how to proceed. Years later, after I got my first 24-track recorder, I recorded a rough version of it. I began to put together some of the orchestration using my keyboard instruments. When I began recording “One of Several Possible Musiks in 1988, this “grand theme” came up again, but it was the same situation as before. It just didn't fit. I knew this music was to be used for a special purpose.
After I had moved from Georgia back to Kansas in 1993, I set up my digital studio (after transferring all my analog tapes) and began working. While listening to them, I came across “the theme.” This is where it gets really weird. Somehow, this two minute piece of music became an epic Symphonic work, in different movements, and with lyrics and multiple vocal melodies. The strange part is – I have almost no memory of having written it. I don't know when I realized the subject matter – the Resurrection of Lazarus, or how I came up with the lyrics and melodies. I have specific memories of composing most of my music and lyrics. I can remember the moment I wrote “Carry On Wayward Son,” “The Wall,” and “Dust in the Wind.” But not this one.
I read somewhere that a “Cantata” was simply an Opera, but without the staging. It is a purely musical performance. I knew then what I was dealing with. I began studying up on Lazarus, and recording the music about 1995. I have been at it ever since. The lyrics, as much as possible, are right out of John Chapter 11. I obviously used my imagination to get inside the mind of Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Thomas, and many others, who surely knew about Jesus and what he accomplished with Lazarus. Jake Livgren was extremely helpful to have around. He sang every one of the “guide” vocals. Sometimes months would go by, even years, without working on The Cantata, but I always came back to it. During the recording process, the Cantata has been through several different formats, from Cassette to various forms of digital recording. Then I had a life-threatening stroke in 2009, which was followed by a nearly miraculous recovery. I have a suspicion that the reason the Lord gave me that experience, was so I would have a deeper understanding of what Lazarus went through, and of his ultimate hope – Jesus, and the restoration of Life.

credits

released August 12, 2021

Composed and Produced by Kerry Livgren

Drums - Phil Ehart
Electric Guitar (Solo) - Phil Keaggy
All other Instruments and Orchestration - Kerry Livgren

Vocals:

Jesus - David Pack
Lazarus - John Elefante
Thomas - Phil Keaggy
Mary - Kim Borchers
Martha - Susan Shewbridge
Nicodemus - Warren Ham
Joseph of Arimathea - Greg X. Volz
Disciple 1 - Allen Asbury
Disciple 2 - Bill Compeau
Disciple 3 - Cal Walker
Caiaphas - Jake Livgren
Pharisee 1 - David Luther
Pharisee 2 - Rich Williams
Pharisee 3 - Steve Walsh
Pharisee 4 - Monty Colvin
Pharisee 5 - Robby Steinhardt
Pharisee 6 - Dave Hope
Pharisee 7 - Matthew Schellenberg

Background Vocals and Choir - Jake Livgren, David Pack,
John Elefante, Kim Borchers, Susan Shewbridge, Bill Compeau, Cal Walker, Matthew Schellenberg, Jessica (Livgren) Matheis,
Kreg Hoover, Stephanie Teagarden, Roxanne Livgren, Britta Livgren, Katy Livgren

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Kerry Livgren Kansas

Kerry Livgren is best known as the Guitarist, Keyboardist, and primary Songwriter for the group "Kansas," He has also released several solo projects.

contact / help

Contact Kerry Livgren

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Kerry Livgren, you may also like: