ETHERIA: A Musical Plan
Contributed by Jeff Sponsler
Inspired by musical theater publications such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, and Phantom of the Opera, I endeavored to compose a piece of music of a similar nature. As a fan of rock, jazz, and classical music I wanted to pull in all those types of music into this composition. For a musical theater piece, one must have a theme, and I chose mysticism and space travel as the top-level themes. I invented a planet, Etheria, where the story unfolds. The people that live there live their lives working in the field growing their crops but have a belief that there are mystical beings that visit the planet every 1000 years to give a concert/revival. These beings are called the Harmonauts.
The characters in this play are Isolier and Polyxena and there is a narrator, Thalia, who guides the listener through the story. The antagonist in the story is Farbucron and he is the source of drama for the musical. Each character has a melodic theme, and the notes and rhythms help the listener to identify who is singing. The first piece in the musical is, as tradition would dictate, the Overture. Typically, the overture in a musical play will have melodies from the songs and these melodies are introduced and in so doing give the listener the music that will appear in the play as the story is told. The recording of the Overture was recorded on a digital machine and includes synthesized bass and drums, synthesized strings, live guitar, live flute, and live saxophone.
The Overture to Etheria can be heard on youtube.com and you can find this recording by searching for “Overture to Etheria” or with this URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvTZDFLr6Ts. There is a video of Mat Valley Dance students doing an interpretation of the Overture and that can be found at this URL “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nhkMN7FvMM”
Etheria: The Legend
This first song is “The Legend” and is performed by The Narrator. This song introduces the planet and its unique religion. The vocal performance is by Jane Lamar-Spicka of Baltimore, Maryland. Sadly, our friend Jane has journeyed to that great gig in the sky some years ago. She did a very strong rendition of this song and states the key idea of the play that the Harmonauts are soon to visit the planet and that “their return would bring to us a revival” and that the Harmonauts had been to a “distant part of space” and their concert would “fill our lives again.” The Legend introduces the planet, the mystical concepts, and sets the stage for the story. Thalia will appear for most song in the musical to voice an introduction.
Etheria: Deep Space
A spaceship carries the protagonist, Isolier, to the planet Etheria. He is in a state of hibernation, but wakes and initially confused, he comes around and then realizes his mission and that “distant Etheria approaches.” After giving a short geology lesson on the planet, “fumaroles expel ether,” he reports that is descending to a space port. He briefly expresses that there is a female that he has not seen in some time and that “she is here” and this apparently is important to him. But then he returns to the main focus of his existence which is that “the Harmonauts have returned.”
A YouTube search on “Etheria Deep Space” will pull up the song for listening.
Future Articles will discuss the next song in the series.