90 Day Play - Day 4

In Barnes and Noble, drinking my Earl Grey tea latte (Earl Grey and steamed milk...yumness) and listening to k d lang's Vancouver rendition of "Hallelujah."

While I was writing Kyrie, I decided that I'm going to write a play for every movement in a requiem mass. The plays I've written so far, Kyrie and The Hound, or Libera me, take care of the "Kyrie eleison" (Lord have mercy) and "Libera me" (Liberate me.) I've decided that, whether or not I chose to include it in the title, Transcontinental will be the "Dies Irae" (Day of wrath.) I'm very pleased right now that I've settled on this movement, because I really think it's going to inform the spine of the play and the texture of the story. The following are the words to the first four stanzas in latin and in English (William Josiah Irons):

1
Dies iræ! dies illa - Day of wrath! O day of mourning!

Solvet sæclum in favilla: - See fulfilled the prophets' warning,
Teste David cum Sibylla! - Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

2
Quantus tremor est futurus, - Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth,
Quando iudex est venturus, - when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
Cuncta stricte discussurus! - on whose sentence all dependeth.

3
Tuba, mirum spargens sonum - Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
Per sepulchra regionum, - through earth's sepulchers it ringeth;
Coget omnes ante thronum. - all before the throne it bringeth.

4
Mors stupebit, et natura, - Death is struck, and nature quaking,
Cum resurget creatura, - all creation is awaking,
Iudicanti responsura. - to its Judge an answer making

I love requiems, they have such arresting words. It's too good NOT to put somewhere into the script. In Kyrie, I use four different versions of the "Kyrie" to frame the acts (Subway to Sally) - from metal to cluster chords (Arvo Paert.) The Hound, or Libera me opens with Man singing Faure's "Libera me." I think I'm still in love with inserting these movements into the plays. I'm such an aural person, that I can't help but write in some of the sound design - it absolutely makes the play for me.

I just asked my brother (a very talented musician...he says he writes/plays "Ken Burns Folk" http://www.myspace.com/spencerchesnutmusic) if he'll compose a folk hymn to Irons' 1849 English text, so I think that will be a perfect tool to help me write this if he agrees!

In other news, I'm really stuck on where to take this next. I need to write a scene before I leave here, so wish me luck!

More to come
R