Sonic War

It’s taken me a while to come to realize just how much music has engulfed my life. Friday is a perfect example – I finished a post-tonal analysis paper while listening to Opeth, I ran quickly to my composition lesson with Dr. Sheppard (his last ever at Miami, he’s retiring at the end of the year), performed in Opera Scenes at the Knolls of Oxford, and finally, auditioned a drummer for Schallkrieg later that night.

I finished the first draft of a piece I’ve been working on. It’s another John Banister Tabb poem, and it had the same impact on me as Evolution did over a year ago. I knew the exact voice I wanted to write for when I read the text.

Insomnia

by John Banister Tabb

E’en this, Lord, thou did bless –
This pain of sleeplessness –
The livelong night,
Urging God’s gentlest angel from thy side,
That anguish only might with thee abide,
Until the light.

Yea, e’en the last and best,
Thy victory and rest,
Came thus to thee;
For t’was while others calmly slept around,
that thou alone in sleeplessness wast found,
To comfort me.

As a major insomniac myself, I felt I was fit to write this. I ended up with a bittersweet song for Soprano and piano that has a bit of a tonal identity crisis. After cycling through multiple keys and feels, it finally ends with a solemn hymn on the last three lines. This piece is deeply personal and deals with the poet’s search for his faith.

In the same vein, I can’t help but relate this text to one that I’ve been working on for a new Schallkrieg song called August. The song has shaped up to be about 15 minutes so far, and it will most likely end at around 20. It details a friend’s loss of faith from an outside perspective. The piece takes an active turn when the narrator decides to get involved (and here I stand, reaching out my hand), and his help is rejected.The lyrics are about 80% complete at the moment…

August

by Schallkrieg

August stands impatiently
forcing an anxious sigh

-Interlude-

Auburn Innocence lined with curls and cradles
Ardent amber eyes regard the day
Luminous and radiant
a glow of comfort, tender and calm

Creation smiles knowingly and turns its attention
strands of sordid breeze deceive the day
consumed with envy, corrupting envy
Winter waits and breathes her name

August stumbles and sorrows stay
The halo in her hands unravels
betrayed and broken, praying her peace
gasping for rapture, finding only stillness

And here I stand
reaching out my hand

I can be your angel of vengeance
Delivering curses of your design
and on August’s shining lips
A reply clear as sunlight
it’s over before it’s begun

A whisper like a caress from your father’s hand
Is all that you fear and despise
Your peace is a fading memory
a diamond tear born of crimson eyes

– Interlude –

Get up. Get up and see the devestation you’ve caused. The summer is choking out its last breath and your home has burned to the ground. Your coming of age has been ruthless and swift, and your trials have just begun. You are the first of autumn’s fallen leaves, I am an infinite sea of snow. As you fell to your knees for him, Let me fall to my own for you. Shed this hollow shell of the beautiful person you used to be and rage like a Godless August Storm.

—————-

I can feed your blackest desires
harvesting hatred in your soul
But on August’s fading lips
a reply as clear as conquest
It’s over before it’s begun

Who do you think you are
A beacon of mercy or a broken heart
Your anguish can’t last forever

– Breakdown –

Here I stand impatiently
forcing an anxious sigh
Innocence tears away from me
Without so much as a mourning cry

Though you retreat I will always Remain
Through you I’m complete yet I’m always the same
Your downward descent paves the path for the weak
Buried with me is the peace that you seek

– Interlude / Solos –

I reject your fantasy
bludgeoning hopes with each passing moment
Faith, a distant memory
My anguish will last forever

The passage of time burns desire to dust
Thouroughly raped, given in to your lust
God is your tame, bleeding slave on the floor
Degraded and comatose, Begging for more

——————–

If there’s anything else I can do to keep from writing a paper, let me know…