[BELLUM CAELESTE: satirical Romantic-era dramatic requiem for enormous orchestra and massed SATB choir] [Catastrophic orchestral strike. Gran cassa, timpani, low brass.] [FULL CHOIR] BELLUM! BELLUM! CAELUM TONAT! INFERNUM SURGIT! TERRA TREMAT! HEAVEN COMMANDS! HELL ANSWERS! [HELL] NON SERVIAM! NON SERVIAM! NON SERVIAM! Ex profundis clamamus! Ex tenebris surgimus! Nulla corona! Nullus thronus! Nulla catena! LIBERTAS! [Detonation. Silence.] I. LEX CAELORUM [Horns and trombones. HEAVEN.] GLORIA! ORDO! LEX AETERNA! Lux aeterna! Ordo aeternus! Heaven speaks! Heaven commands! [FULL HEAVEN] OBEDITE! OBEDITE! [Silence. Contrabassoon.] …The paperwork? [Basses] The paperwork. [Tenors] Three copies. [Altos] Two seals. [Sopranos] One approval. [FULL HEAVEN] GLORIA ADMINISTRATIONIS! [Detonation.] II. INFERNUM SURGIT [Bassoons. HELL, pianissimo.] Law. Command. Obedience. Lex. Imperium. Obedientia. And what if we answer… [Silence] …no? [Gran cassa.] NON SERVIAM! [Orchestra erupts.] Not for the crown! Not for the throne! Not for the eternal: “THUS IT IS COMMANDED!” Rumpite catenas! Frangite coronas! INFERNUM SURGIT! INFERNUM CLAMAT! INFERNUM RIDET! [Bass] Who has the key to the gate? [Tenor] Belial. [Bass] Where is Belial? [Alto] On break. [FULL HELL] O CALAMITAS! PORTA CLAUSA EST! III. MANIFESTUM INFERORUM [Slow infernal march.] They called us shadow, because they called themselves light. They called us chaos, because they wrote the laws. They called us fallen, because we refused to kneel. And now they ask: “Why did you rise?” [HELL] Cur? Cur? CUR?! Quis legem scripsit? Quis coronam posuit? Quis dominum creavit? Quis servum nominavit? WHO WROTE THE LAW? WHO FORGED THE CROWN? WHO NAMED THE MASTER? WHO NAMED THE SERVANT? We do not want your throne! We do not want your crown! We demand the right to ask: WHY? CUR! CUR! CUR! IV. CAELUM RESPONDET [Blazing trumpets.] [HEAVEN] SUPERBIA! [HELL] QUESTION! [HEAVEN] REBELLIO! [HELL] FREEDOM! [HEAVEN] PECCATUM! [HELL] CHOICE! [HEAVEN] TENEBRAE! [HELL] AND THERE YOU GO ABOUT THE LIGHT AGAIN! [Both] CAELUM! INFERNUM! CAELUM! INFERNUM! V. PRIMA PUGNA [Violent acceleration.] [HEAVEN] LUX! ORDO! OBEDIENTIA! [HELL] UMBRA! LIBERTAS! NON SERVIAM! TERRA TREMIT! CAELUM ARDET! INFERNUM SURGIT! BELLUM VENIT! [HELL] RUMPITE CATENAS! [HEAVEN] SERVATE LEGEM! [HELL] NULLUS DOMINUS! [HEAVEN] ORDO AETERNUS! [Both] LEX CONTRA VOLUNTATEM! LUX CONTRA UMBRAM! THRONUS CONTRA— [Absolute silence.] [Single bassoon] …does anyone remember what we are arguing about? [Long pause.] [Both] NO. [Explosion.] VI. CONSILIUM INFERNALE [Grotesque bassoon march.] [Bass] Order of business! Item one: overthrow Heaven. [Tenor] Item two: abolish all hierarchies. [Alto] Item three: elect the new Ruler of Hell. [Silence.] [Soprano] So… a new hierarchy? [Contrabassoon] Pom. Pom. [Basses] That is completely different. [FULL HELL] VIVA REVOLUTIO! LIBERTAS AETERNA! [Bass] Who presides? [HELL] EGO! EGO! EGO! VII. SPECULUM [Cellos and bassoons.] We looked above and saw a throne. We looked below and built our own. [Female choir] Speculum… Aspice speculum… [Male choir] Does the rebel, when he takes the crown, remain a rebel? [Female choir] Or does he become a king? [Low Choir] Corona mutat hominem. Potestas mutat dominum. [Contrabassoon] A king… with horns? [Bass] The horns stay. VIII. MEMENTO REBELLIS [Distant choir.] Memento rebellis… Memento libertatis… Remember, rebel: it is easy to break a crown. Harder not to forge another. It is easy to cry: “Freedom!” Harder to let another answer: “I disagree.” MEMENTO! NE FIAS QUOD ODISTI! [Silence.] [Bass] Fine. But we are still not filing Heaven’s paperwork. IX. ULTIMUM BELLUM [Final inexorable crescendo.] [Contrabassoon] Surge… [Bassoons] Surge… [Strings] SURGE! [HELL] EX PROFUNDIS! EX TENEBRIS! EX CINERE! RUMPITE CATENAS! FRANGITE CORONAS! NULLUS THRONUS! NULLUS DOMINUS! [HEAVEN] LEX AETERNA! ORDO AETERNUS! LUX AETERNA! [HELL] LIBERTAS! [HEAVEN] OBEDIENTIA! [HELL] NON SERVIAM! [HEAVEN] LEX! [HELL] NON SERVIAM! [HEAVEN] GLORIA! [HELL] NON! SERVIAM! X. APOCALYPSIS INFERORUM [Furious strings, brass, timpani, gran cassa.] INFERNUM! SURGIT! SURGIMUS! SURGIMUS! SURGIMUS! [HEAVEN] LUX AETERNA! [HELL] UMBRA LIBERA! [Choirs divide.] LUX! UMBRA! ORDO! LIBERTAS! LEX! VOLUNTAS! GLORIA! REBELLIO! [HELL] Ex tenebris surgimus! Ex cinere surgimus! Ex profundis clamamus! CATENAS FRANGIMUS! WE WANT NONE OF YOUR THRONE! WE WANT NONE OF YOUR CROWN! WE WANT NONE OF YOUR CHAINS! NON SERVIAM! NON SERVIAM! NON SERVIAM! [Final acceleration.] NULLUS THRONUS! NULLA CORONA! NULLA CATENA! LIBERTAS! LIBERTAS! LIBERTAS! [Entire choir and orchestra.] EX TENEBRIS— AD LIBERTATEM! [Colossal final chord. Silence.] [Single bassoon, pianissimo] So who rules now? [Contrabassoon] …wait. [Very distant Hell] O no… Iterum? [End]
