The Whole Musical

You can now experience the dress rehearsal of my musical Tobit: The Path of Virtue on YouTube. Sometime later today, I’ll post the timing-starts for the individual songs.

 

Tobiah and Sarah on the Wedding Night

A video segment from dress rehearsal last year. “Raphael Binds the Demon” plus “Marriage Prayer.”

TOBIAH

Blessed are you. God of our ancestors, blessed forever is your holy name.
Let the heavens praise you, and all your creation for evermore.

SARAH

The Lord our God told Adam it is not good to be alone; a partner I will make for you.

TOBIAH

So Eve was made from Adam’s side to be his help and support.
And as it was for them, so it is for us tonight.

SARAH (with TOBIAH)

Blessed are you. God of our ancestors, blessed forever is your holy name.
Let the heavens praise you, and all your creation for evermore.

TOBIAH

I do not take my beloved for lust or for possession: I take her in singleness of heart.

SARAH

This one, O God, at long last, is bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh.

TOBIAH (with SARAH)

Blessed are you. God of our ancestors, blessed forever is your holy name.
Let the heavens praise you, and all your creation for evermore.

So a man must leave his parents

SARAH

and cling to his wife

TOBIAH & SARAH

And so we two become one body.
Send down your mercy on us and allow us to live together to a happy old age, Amen, Amen.

SARAH (with TOBIAH)

Blessed are you. God of our ancestors, blessed forever is your holy name.
Let the heavens praise you, and all your creation for evermore. Amen.

 

Cast and Band

I do miss the frenetic pace of rehearsal and production. I thought I had posted these images, but only on Facebook. Anyway, the cast group image above, the band below.

Meanwhile, the current draft of Ruth: The Path of Loyalty has twenty-three songs and four instrumentals.

 

Raphael

Doesn’t the angel present a dashing figure?

I had lunch with Tobit’s musical director today. I was missing rehearsal and lamenting my first free Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings in two-and-a-half months. So we commiserated over Thai food and talked about family, fishing, and freedom.

 

Good Over Evil: Raphael Binds the Demon

Raphael versus Asmodeus.

Tobiah, mindful of Raphael’s instructions, took the fish’s liver and heart from the bag where he had them, and put them on the embers intended for incense. The odor of the fish repulsed the demon, and it fled to the upper regions of Egypt; Raphael went in pursuit of it and there bound it hand and foot. (Tobit 8:2-3a)

My friend Brandon accompanied the battle with a solo saxophone piece.

 

Some Video Coming

Possibly.

We got a nice video recording of dress rehearsal for Tobit: The Path of Virtue Friday night. In some ways, it was the best performance of the weekend. My wife thought Sunday people seemed a little bit tired. And perhaps it was so; the cast and band were in their seventh run-through in eight days.

I’ve been promised dvd’s for the team. I hope I’ll have an easy time with the original video files and if so, I’ll post select songs here.

The event exceeded expectations. In a nice way, some people mentioned it was better than they thought it would be. We were blessed with an excellent and dedicated cast, band, and crew. Yea, teamwork.

When given a choice between Ruth and Susanna, the cast voted I should attempt the former. I don’t think they all knew about Daniel, chapter 13. Suggestions also for Esther and Judith. On the former of those two, there was the Veggie Tales version. That’s probably on YouTube now, right? But Judith beheading Holofernes: that would be awesome.

I’m still feeling a bit exhausted from it all. Taking a few days off this week to hang with my family. I have a few volumes on Ruth from the parish library. I worked on some edits of Tobit earlier today. Posting will likely be light the next few days. I may drop in something on the GIRM. Or maybe not. Most likely, I’ll be back to daily posting on our two documents by Friday.

 

“Sarah’s Burden”

My friend John snapped a few dozen images at rehearsal last night, including this one of the very earliest songs written, “Sarah’s Burden.” Her household’s maids deliver a shrill rebuke in the song previous to this one (Tobit 3:7-9). The demon lurks, unseen to the characters. In considering suicide, Sarah’s response is adapted from Tobit 3:11-15:

I am the demon who has killed them all, they say,
But there is no joy in my innocence.
My heart is weighed down by these seven senseless deaths:
bridegrooms strangled in my marriage bed.

But suicide is not the path for me to seek.
My father would remain to bear the shame,
To shoulder burdens I would rather cast aside.
I would rather, God, you take my life.

Blest are you, my God of mercy, forever honored is your holy name.
May all your works forever bless and praise you.
Lord, refuse me not!

There is no man for me upon this earth to wed,
No married joy than I can ever claim.
I beg, O Lord, for you to take my wretched life;
Deliver me from all this shame.

(Instrumental)

But if it please you, Lord, to spare your servant’s life,
Then look with favor upon my plight.
Cast off the darkness that envelops all my hope:
These demons and these insults put to flight.

Blest are you, my God of mercy, forever honored is your holy name.
May all your works forever bless and praise you.
Lord, refuse me not!

 Tobit 3:16-17 suggests Tobit was praying (3:2-6) at the same time. So his final refrain is repeated simultaneously with Sarah’s, from opposite ends of the performing area.

And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
And now, O Lord, to you I turn my face and raise my eyes.
Lord, refuse me not!

 

“Go In Peace”

After Sarah’s sorrow is lifted by Tobiah, her father, understandably, wants to keep son-in-law #8 close at hand. The young man must eventually take his leave and return to Nineveh. I wrote an extended setting of Tobit 10:7bff, and placed it in four voices: the newlyweds and her parents. A small part:

TOBIAH: Please let me go, lest my parents lose hope.

RAGUEL: Stay, my son, remain with us here. Stay, my son.

TOBIAH: Let me return to my father and mother, they might not believe they will ever see me again.

RAGUEL: I can send word to your father, messengers with all the good news.

TOBIAH: No, I beg you: give us leave to depart. Give your blessing.

Sarah is given nothing to say in this part of the book, but having four parts was important to present, I thought. Most of this four-minute song is very simple–each character has their own two-chord sequence to which to sing. For Tobiah and Sarah their parts float between G-minor and C. For Raguel between F and B-flat. For Edna, between E-flat and A-flat. Toward the end, the parts start to overlap, the tempo of the harmonizations quicken, and it ends on a final A-flat major chord. The scene needed special work to keep clear who is speaking/singing to whom.

 

Asmodeus: The Blur of Evil

There was discussion on how to depict the demon afflicting Sarah. We didn’t determine an actual casting role for certain until we were well into rehearsals. From Tobit 3:17:

So Raphael was sent to heal … to give Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, as a wife to Tobiah, the son of Tobit, and to rid her of the wicked demon Asmodeus.

My friend John captured this blurred image of Asmodeus, who appears lurking around Sarah. Hopefully the audience gets the drift that the demon is invisible to the characters. The image is serendipitous, in that if we could show the demon as a blur of action, that would be closer to my ideal. Perhaps in the film version. As it is, the blend of blood red and black, the inhuman beak, and the hand that deals death: this image may be imperfect in focus, but it depicts the nature of evil all too well.

 

“Be Brave, My Daughter”

Another image from Sunday night’s rehearsal. Tobit 7:17 presented an opportunity and a challenge to set to music. The opportunity is to draw out a relationship between two important characters. From the biblical text, we know of Sarah’s devotion to her father. Dad has also been railroaded by his houseguest into marriage number 8. Raguel simply instructs his wife to get a bedroom ready and there is a single line of dialogue for Mom:

Take courage, my daughter! May the Lord of heaven grant you joy in place of your grief! Courage, my daughter!

How can you make a song out of that? The challenge is not to compose a Taize ostinato, but something a bit more substantial. A good Jewish (or liturgist’s) family would turn to the psalms, naturally, for more inspiration. The solution is to be found in Psalm 143, verses 7-9:

Hasten to answer me, LORD;
for my spirit fails me.
Do not hide your face from me,
lest I become like those descending to the pit.

In the morning let me hear of your mercy,
for in you I trust.
Show me the path I should walk,
for I entrust my life to you.

Rescue me, LORD, from my foes,
for I seek refuge in you.

I’m pleased with the solution to put these verses on Sarah’s lips. Speaking of which, I would like to call out the fine work of the two women in the image above. Renae, playing Edna, has been a fine cantor in our parish for twenty years plus. Her singing is so rich and clear. It’s too bad she’s only in one long scene and is singing a mere five songs. I gave Edna a lengthy solo in the finale, and I’m sure glad Renae will be rendering that verse. Danielle is just a delight to work with. Her soprano is clear and steady with a real power behind it. Though she’s been ill the past week, she’s a real sport at rehearsals. She gets about a ten-minute chunk in Act 1, plus the whole last half of the production. Other characters have been able to come late or leave early. Singing the role of Sarah pretty much denies that opportunity.

 

“I can see you, son, the light of my eyes”

Another image from rehearsal:

From late in the second act: Tobiah comes home with a cure for his father. The song sets Tobit 11:9-15. For the final refrain, three singers conclude:

Tobit:
I can see my son, the light of my eyes.
Blessed be God, O blessed be God,
 and blessed be all God’s holy angels.

Anna:
Praise God all throughout the ages, Alleluia!

Tobiah:
Praise the holy name of God, Alleluia!

My eight-year-old nephew inquired, “Is this classical music?”

 

Marriage Prayer

An image from rehearsal, ”Marriage Prayer.”

TOBIAH:
Blessed are you, God of our ancestors,
blessed forever is your holy name.
Let the heavens praise you, and all your creation for evermore.

SARAH:
The Lord our God told Adam it is not good to be alone; a partner I will make for you.

TOBIAH:
So Eve was made from Adam’s side to be his help and support.
And as it was for them, so it is for us tonight.

(Adapted from Tobit 8:4-9a)

We made it through the whole production for the first time last night. Two hours and twenty minutes which includes one song redo and a two-minute intermission instead of the planned ten.

 

“Seven dead husbands, two this past week”

My artistic director thinks a dead husband in Sarah’s bed will help things along. Read it from Tobit 3:7-9:

On that very day, at Ecbatana in Media, it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah also had to listen to reproaches from one of her father’s maids. For she had been given in marriage to seven husbands, but the wicked demon Asmodeus kept killing them off before they could have intercourse with her, as is prescribed for wives. The maid said to her: “You are the one who kills your husbands! Look! You have already been given in marriage to seven husbands, but you do not bear the name of a single one of them. Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead? Go, join them! May we never see son or daughter of yours!”

We found our “dead husband” after Mass tonight. When I noticed the young woman playing Asmodeus walk by, I pointed her out to husband #7. She’s a nice person, definitely playing a role out of character. But she laughed at the newest cast member, and pointed at him, saying, “Ah keel you.”

All in good fun.

After my daughter read the servants’ insults in last Fall’s reading session, I thought this short passage needed its own song. Not just to give a few supporting cast members a small plum, but to keep the story moving along in music:

Blankets and bed sheets can’t hide the whiff,
can’t hide the husband: here is the stiff!

 

Eleven More Rehearsals To Go

My friend Tim Read did an excellent job with the poster, don’t you think?

Hard to believe we have only eleven rehearsals left. Am I getting nervous? Not really. We ran most of Act I and the first three songs of Act II tonight in a marathon session. Spirits are high. Hijinx are spirited. Now that we’re nearly done with blocking, I have some edits of instrumental parts to accomplish–mostly extra measures to keep the production rolling during the action.

Sunday we have a press event, but we also hope to put together the rest of Act II.

 

Tobiah’s Fish

Meet Tobiah’s fish.

When the young man went down to wash his feet in the Tigris River, a large fish leaped out of the water and tried to swallow his foot. He shouted in alarm. But the angel said to the young man, “Grab the fish and hold on to it!” He seized the fish and hauled it up on dry land. The angel then told him: “Slit the fish open and take out its gall, heart, and liver, and keep them with you; but throw away the other entrails. Its gall, heart, and liver are useful for medicine.” After Tobiah had slit the fish open, he put aside the gall, heart, and liver. Then he roasted and ate part of the fish; the rest he salted and kept for the journey. (Tobit 6:3-6)

Twenty-seven days till showtime. Things are pulling together. I’ll have the brilliant poster up here and on Facebook tomorrow.

Last week we began to piece together the minimal dialogue and some songs. Tonight we ran the finale in place. Tomorrow we start putting together a significant chunk of Act One. Fun, fun, fun.