Grantville Gazette. Volume XX (ring of fire)

by Eric Flint

  At that moment the side door opened and the girls-sorry, the young ladies-walked in and arranged themselves on the three rows of the risers that Marla had commissioned. Lady Beth smiled a little as she remembered Marla's adventures in getting the risers built. First there was the problem with the design: she wanted them to be fold up for portable use. It took some work with a carpenter to achieve that. Then she wanted them carpeted on top to muffle footsteps-until she saw the cost of the cheapest carpet available. After that, a good dark stain was fine. Lady Beth still wasn't sure where they were going to store the risers after the concert, but she knew there had to be the odd nook or cranny around a house like this.

  A disturbance sounded behind them, and both Lady Beth and Casey looked over their shoulders. Lord Above, it was Mary Simpson and Princess Kristina coming in the door! Lady Beth stood and moved to greet them, asking herself what they were doing here. A moment's thought told her the answer was pretty obvious. From the footsteps behind her, she knew that Casey was following.

  "I'm sorry," Mary whispered after Lady Beth made her quick curtsey to the princess. "Princess Kristina just heard about the concert a little while ago." Mary gave a small shrug.

  The young princess stared up at Lady Beth. "Frau Haygood, I would really like to hear this concert." Her face had a composure that seemed beyond her years.

  Lady Beth thought for a moment, "Princess, you can have my seat, and two of my teachers will give theirs up for Mrs. Simpson and Lady Ulrike." She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to Casey, who read the message and swiftly moved back to their row to get Staci Matowski out of her seat as well.

  "My thanks to you," the royal daughter replied. Mary Simpson mouthed "Thank you" over the head of the princess.

  Lady Beth became aware of rustling and murmuring behind her. She turned to lead the princess and her companions to their seats and was faced with the sight of the entire audience standing. That took her aback for a moment, until it dawned on her that the princess was a member of the royal family and this was a formal occasion. No one would be seated while she was standing.

  Casey hurried back to Lady Beth's side. "We can't put them in our seats in the back row," she whispered. "We moved three chairs down front and made the front row that much wider. They have seats in the middle, right next to Duchess Sofie and her parents."

  "There was room?" Lady Beth hissed.

  "Barely."

  Lady Beth straightened and turned to the princess. "If you'll come this way, Your Highness." She led the way to the front of the audience, then gestured to the empty seats. Princess Kristina seated herself on the center chair, wiggling a little to set her back against the back of the chair. She looked around with aplomb, feet not quite touching the floor. There was another rustle of movement as the audience resumed their seats.

  Mary Simpson stepped to Lady Beth's side as Lady Ulrike sat to the princess' right. "I owe you one," Mary murmured.

  "Too right you do." They exchanged small smiles as Lady Beth passed some programs over, then Mary took her seat as Lady Beth returned to the rear of the room and joined Casey and Staci standing against the rear wall.

  "I thought you said there were two or three seats left open," Casey muttered.

  "I guess I was wrong." Lady Beth straightened up as the side door opened again and Marla stepped through. "Oops. Here we go."

  ***

  Marla closed the door almost all the way after her girls walked out, leaving it open just a crack to peer through. She waited for them to arrange themselves on the risers, waiting for her moment to walk out. Just as she was about to do so, three people came in the back of the room. A moment later, Lady Beth and Casey were up and talking to them. Marla's jaw dropped as she recognized who the late visitors were. She spun from the doorway.

  "Franz!" Marla hissed. "It's Mary and Princess Kristina! What are they doing here?"

  Franz stepped over and applied an eye to the crack. "Well, at a guess, it appears the princess has come to hear the concert, bringing Frau Mary with her as a companion."

  Marla backed up, wiping her hands on the jacket she was wearing. "Nobody told me they were coming."

  "Mm-hmm." Franz was still looking through the crack. "From the looks of it, no one told Frau Lady Beth either. Some of the teachers are moving chairs down to the front row."

  "That's not fair," Marla muttered.

  Franz turned and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You have performed before her before."

  "But that was different."

  "In what way? You sang, and played your instruments. Remember how Maestro Giacomo described conductors-we are those who play the musicians. There is no difference between using your hands to evoke music from the piano and using them to evoke music from those girls. Now go," he slipped the jacket from her shoulders, "go and make music."

  Marla took a deep breath. Franz was right-there was no difference. It didn't matter who was in the audience; she was ready, the girls were ready, it was time to sing. She turned and gave him a kiss. He touched her nose afterwards and she wiggled it in reply, bringing forth the smile it always did. Bowing, Franz opened the door. She squared her shoulders, and stepped forth.

  ***

  Lady Beth watched as Marla strode out to stand in front of the risers. In the soft light of the great room, wearing the deep red skirt and gleaming white blouse with long black hair falling past her shoulders, the young woman looked very stately as she took a bow in acknowledgment of the applause.

  "She looks just like she knows what she's doing," Lady Beth murmured. She didn't realize she'd said anything out loud until Casey leaned over to her.

  "She does," Casey whispered. "Mom was one of her first teachers, so I've kind of kept up with what she's been doing over the years. She's very good."

  "Yeah, but being good yourself doesn't mean you can teach it. How many mechanics or flat-picking guitarists have you seen that know how to do the work but couldn't put it in words to save themselves?"

  "Ssh. She does. Watch."

  ***

  Marla turned to face her girls. Everyone was in their best dress, faces were scrubbed clean, and most of them were smiling. A few looked nervous, but most were smiling. She looked at them all, gathering their eyes with her own. When they were all focused on her, she touched her chin with her index finger, the signal that she was ready to begin. Smiles disappeared as the girls seemed to lean forward a little, watching her intently. Marla hummed a pitch; they hummed it back. She raised her hands, gave the subtle movements of the right hand that gave them the beat, and began.

  ***

  "Veni, Veni Emmanuel!

  Captivum solve Israel!

  Qui gemit in exsilio,

  Privatus Dei Filio.

  Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel

  Nascetur pro te, Israel."

  "She's not using music," Lady Beth hissed.

  "I told you," Casey whispered back, "she's good."

  "Veni, Veni O Oriens!

  Solare nos adveniens,

  Noctis depelle nebulas,

  Dirasque noctis tenebras.

  Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel

  Nascetur pro te, Israel.

  Veni, Veni, Rex gentium,

  Veni, Redemptor omnium,

  Ut salvas tuos famulos

  Peccati sibi conscios.

  Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel

  Nascetur pro te, Israel."

  Lady Beth joined in the applause. She didn't understand the Latin very well, but she had heard the English words in her mind, and 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' was one of her favorites. What the girls had sung was absolutely beautiful-a unison sound, so pure it was almost perfect, quiet enough that it seemed hushed, loud enough that everyone in the great room could hear it. Chills ran up her spine and the hair on her neck tingled.

  She leaned back over to Casey. "Okay, she knows what she's doing.

  ***

  The rest of the concert held true to the spirit and sound of that first selection. And what impressed Lady Beth
was all were sung without accompaniment, yet the young voices were true.

  'Adeste Fideles' -also in Latin, of course. 'O Come, All Ye Faithful,' to Lady Beth.

  'Joy to the World' in English.

  'Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle' in French. Lady Beth kept singing 'Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabelle,' under her breath until Casey poked an elbow into her ribs.

  'Greensleeves' in English.

  'Los Peces in el Rio' in Spanish. Lady Beth didn't recognize it.

  'Coventry Carol' in English. She sort of knew this one.

  'In Dulci Jubilo' in Latin and German. Lady Beth knew it as 'Good Christian Men, Rejoice.'

  'Tu scendi dalle stelle' in Italian. Another one Lady Beth didn't recognize, but very pretty nonetheless.

  Marla had made short little introductions to each of the subsequent pieces of the concert, repeating some of the information in the printed programs. True to form, she turned and spoke to the audience again. Lady Beth admired how polished her German had become.

  "For the last song on the program, we will sing a song written in the up-time by a German pastor, Johann Gruber. Those of you who heard my recital last year heard this song then. I trust you will enjoy it."

  Marla turned back to the girls. A moment later, her hands were in the air, and they began.

  "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

  Alles schlaft, einsam wacht

  Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar,

  Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar

  Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh'!

  Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh'!

  Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

  Hirten erst kund gemacht

  Durch der Engel Halleluja

  Tont es laut von fern und nah:

  'Christ, der Retter, ist da!'

  'Christ, der Retter, ist da!'

  Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

  Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht

  Lieb' aus deinem gottlichen Mund,

  Da uns schlagt die rettende Stund'.

  Christ, in Deiner Geburt!

  Christ, in Deiner Geburt!"

  Lady Beth had a good vantage point from where she stood in the back of the room. She watched as Marla's expressive hands shaped the music coming from the fifty-plus girls on the risers. She listened to the purity of the voices, to the sound of love expressed, and was brought to the point of tears. It wasn't a bravura performance of what was to her a beloved old carol, but it was one of the most beautiful she had ever heard.

  There was a hush after the song ended. It stretched for a moment, until Marla dropped her hands and stepped to one side. Then the applause erupted. Marla waved to the girls, and they took a bow as the applause continued. Finally, as the applause began to wane, Marla held up a hand and stepped to the center again.

  "Thank you. On behalf of the girls, thank you for your support." She looked back over her shoulder at the girls, then looked back with a mischievous grin on her face as the girls started to giggle.

  "Uh oh." Lady Beth wasn't sure what was coming next, but she was certain that it was going to be something unexpected.

  "As it happens, we have one last song to sing tonight, even though it's not in the program. It's a fun song, so we hope you enjoy it as well."

  Lady Beth sagged back against the wall with visions of the girls singing 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus', or something equally inane. She watched as Marla raised her hands again and launched the girls into song.

  The melody was very familiar. She recognized it in the first measure of the song. But the words-they weren't what she expected. It wasn't until the first phrase was completed that Lady Beth realized what she was hearing. She clapped both hands over her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud until she could gain control of herself. Once she thought she could trust her voice, she dropped her hands and leaned over to Casey, who had a hand up to cover her face as her shoulders shook.

  "Tell me…" Lady Beth had to stop and force down a giggle that was trying to climb out of her throat. "Please tell me that isn't 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' in Latin."

  "I can't…" Casey whispered back, "… because it is."

  "Where… how…"

  "Marla showed me the music. An up-time church music director named Philip Brunelle did it. I don't know where she found it."

  "You knew about this?" Implied was, "and you didn't tell me?"

  "Mm-hmm. She wanted it to be a surprise."

  Lady Beth forced more giggles down. "Oh, it is that."

  The song finished a moment later, amidst the chuckles and guffaws and clapping of the parents and patrons. As she joined the laughter and applause, Lady Beth decided that not only was the concert a success, but so was Marla.

  Monday, January 1, 1635

  The Feast of the Solemnity of Mary

  Master Giacomo Carissimi looked around the great room. In front of him he could see Admiral Simpson and Mary, returned from her adventures. He could see a few other naval uniforms in the room. With Mary and the admiral were Jere and Lady Beth Haygood, Mary's voice and hand for the arts programs in Magdeburg. The two women were looking at the program and chattering away. Giacomo smiled when he noticed that both husbands looked to be a bit bored.

  Giacomo's friend Girolamo Zenti sat to one side. To the other was Master Heinrich Schutz with Amber Higham on his arm and accompanied by his assistant Lucas Amsel.

  He was ready for the Royal and Imperial Opera Hall to be completed. This time next year the concerts would perhaps be held in a proper hall, not just in the biggest room that could be found.

  Conversations washed around him as he thought about that: about the stage where operas -including his own Brutus, completed earlier in the year-and ballets and concerts would be staged, about the organ to be built, about the oh so many details that had to be worked out with Kelly Construction and then monitored. A lot to do… but when it was done, what a pleasure it would be!

  "Master Giacomo!" Girolamo's voice was quite loud.

  He was startled. "Yes?"

  Everyone laughed.

  "See?" Girolamo said. "He was off in paradise, thinking about something undoubtedly to do with music. What was it this time, master, the treatises to be published?"

  "No," Giacomo replied. "If you must know, I was thinking about the new opera hall." His expression was sober, but when everyone laughed he laughed with them.

  At that moment, as if by signal, people all over the room began standing. Within a moment, everyone was standing, including Giacomo and his friends. He watched as the royal family, King Gustav and Princess Kristina, proceeded to the royal seating area, followed by the Stearns family and Don Francisco Nasi. Once the king was seated, everyone sat.

  Giacomo leaned forward a little with anticipation.

  ***

  Franz stepped through the door of the great room and strode to the podium. He already knew the room was filled to the bursting point. Marla had already told him that up-time fire-marshals (whatever they were) would have prevented the performance on the grounds of too many people in the building. There were more people here than for the July concert, more glittering dress, more jewels, more… everything. Some of that was due to Mary Simpson being present in Magdeburg again, spurring her arts league cohorts to achieve her goals. But even more of it was due to the two people present in the royal seats tonight. He came to a stop beside the podium, laid his hand on the music stand and made two bows: one directly to the presence of Princess Kristina and her father, Gustav Adolph II, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe; the other to the audience in general.

  ***

  Marla was so excited she was almost vibrating where she stood next to Master Andrea in the front row of the soprano section. This was it! Tonight! The first performance of Messiah in this universe, this history, this Europe, the first of several performances this week. She was sure that the audience of nobility and influential burghers would accept it. But to her, because of the work of the Zopffs, this was the first step in bringing
all of the up-time music to Europe. Tonight!

  Master Andrea leaned toward her ever so slightly, and whispered from the side of his mouth, "Stop bouncing!"

  ***

  Franz stepped onto the podium and drew his baton from his sleeve. Holding it in both hands, he looked around the performers gathered before him; the orchestra on the floor, and the choir of fifty voices on the risers behind the instruments. His gaze ended on his wife, almost luminescent in her blue gown, and he touched a fingertip to his lips for her. Her smile broadened as he thought he saw her nose wiggle in reply.

  He looked down at the baton held before him in both hands and took a deep breath. When he raised his head again, he found all eyes on him, waiting expectantly. With deliberation he raised his hands. Instruments were lifted to the ready positions. Vocalists focused on him even more intently.

  With a slight lift of the baton, he led them into the wonder of Messiah.

  ***

  Master Heinrich Schutz closed his eyes and let his chin rest on his chest. His statement at the beginning of the Messiah adventure that he had expected to learn from Master Handel had been nothing but the truth. He had studied the music until he almost had the full score-he had copy number two-memorized. He had been present in as many of the rehearsals as he could manage, including two of the full dress rehearsals. But tonight, tonight was when he would put the capstone on his learning, here in the audience as it was performed for the first time. Here where he would feel the feelings of the audience.

  Schutz had learned much of the man Johann Sebastian Bach, had read and heard much of his music. There was no question in his mind that of the two, Bach and Handel, Bach was the superior musician. His music was often exquisite, often powerful, and always so very well done. As a contrapuntalist, in particular, Handel could not be compared to Bach. Yet Schutz in many ways preferred Handel's music-there was a quality to it, a… a joy in most of it that was often lacking in Bach's. And so, tonight, he was to hear the masterwork of Georg Friederich Handel.