A visual poem about the Civil War inspired by the music of Robert Evett and words of Herman Melville. Fifty years ago, I had the great privilege of singing for the Madison Choir and Madrigal Singers (James Madison H.S., Vienna, VA) under the direction of Robert Shafer. The Madison Choir and Madrigals was one of the most outstanding choral programs in the nation, singing often with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center – once even under the direction of Aaron Copland. One of the Washington DC area composers that Shafer worked with often was Robert Evett, whose pieces the Choir or Madrigals would perform and occasionally premiere.
I remember vividly, in early February 1975, when Mr. Shafer came out to tell our choir that Robert Evett had suddenly passed away. He was only fifty-three years old. Immediately, Shafer had the Madrigals begin work on Evett’s The Mask of Cain, a choral setting of three poems by Herman Melville about the tragedy of the Civil War. As we began learning it, I was struck at the unbelievable beauty of the music and how it perfectly captured the sad poignancy of the words by Melville. The unity and force of the music with those words affected me deeply. Every time we sang it, I could not get the images of the Civil War that I was familiar with out of my head. It was as if I were transported back to that time period, one hundred and ten years earlier, so vivid were my impressions. I immediately thought that someone should do a short film about the Civil War using this music. I did not know a thing about filmmaking and so this urge for decades remained only a vague hope. Fast forward a half century and with the wonders of the digital age we now live in, I could finally make this project a reality.
The Portent
by Herman Melville
Hanging from the beam,
Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,
Shenandoah!
The cut is on the crown
(Lo, John Brown),
And the stabs shall heal no more.
Hidden in the cap
Is the anguish none can draw;
So your future veils its face,
Shenandoah!
But the streaming beard is shown
(Weird John Brown),
The meteor of the war.
Youth is the Time (from On the Slain Collegians)
by Herman Melville
Youth is the time when hearts are large,
And stirring wars
Appeal to the spirit which appeals in turn
To the blade it draws.
If woman incite, and duty show
(Though made the mask of Cain),
Or whether it be Truth’s sacred cause,
Who can aloof remain
That shares youth’s ardor, uncooled by the
snow
Of wisdom or sordid gain?
The liberal arts and nurture sweet
Which give his gentleness to man—
Train him to honor, lend him grace
Through bright examples meet—
That culture which makes never wan
With underminings deep, but holds
The surface still, its fitting place,
And so gives sunniness to the face
And bravery to the heart; what troops
Of generous boys in happiness thus bred—
Saturnians through life’s Tempe led,
Went from the North and came from the
South,
With golden mottoes in the mouth,
To lie down midway on a bloody bed.
Shiloh: A Requiem (April, 1862)
by Herman Melville
Skimming lightly, wheeling still,
The swallows fly low
Over the field in clouded days,
The forest-field of Shiloh—
Over the field where April rain
Solaced the parched ones stretched in pain
Through the pause of night
That followed the Sunday fight
Around the church of Shiloh—
The church so lone, the log-built one,
That echoed to many a parting groan
And natural prayer
Of dying foemen mingled there—
Foemen at morn, but friends at eve—
Fame or country least their care:
(What like a bullet can undeceive!)
But now they lie low,
While over them the swallows skim,
And all is hushed at Shiloh.
source
Thank you David.