Act I, Scene 1 (excerpt c): Tor Explains Pike's Accident
Monday, March 28, 2011 at 1:03 AM Headphones or high-output speakers strongly encouraged—especially for this one. :)
For lyric soprano with strings, brass, harp, and celeste.
TOR [Listen to the alto saxophone for the voice of Tor]
0:00 Captain Pike was, as you know, a strong, athletic man—vital, dynamic…
MCCOY
[to be spoken] What happened to him, Commander?
TOR
0:34 It was on a routine inspection of an old Class J Starship—a vessel used for training.
One of the main reactors’ baffle plates gave way, and in the explosion,
1:02 dozens of cadets were killed.
1:20 Some escaped in shuttles, but others were trapped inside the burning wreckage.
MCCOY
1:41 [spoken, quietly aghast] You mean he—
TOR
1:43 Captain Pike went in again and again, braving the flames and noxious fumes,
bringing out any who were still alive.
2:14 But his exposure, repeatedly, to Delta rays…
2:25 [gently] I just wanted to prepare you, before you see him.
2:55 Lights reveal Pike’s room. His body is difficult to see, and his face and limbs are obscured by wire and other prosthetics. Tor adjusts some equipment as lights gradually shift our attention to a large screen above his body. In strong contrast with the tragic aura of his physical surroundings, a radiant and expansive window emerges, and on it we see imagery and other neurological readings on Pike’s brain activity. It pulses rhythmically, with dynamic and complex greys, punctuated by emerging and receding clouds of color, by turns muted, then suddenly bright or glowing. Spock is in awe. Tor’s face remains distraught as she searches the screen for meaning.
Reader Comments (3)
I like this. When are you going to post with the actual lyrics? I look forward to that.
I enjoyed the clips very much Ben, I heard tinges of Barber and Gershwin (this excerpt strongly reminded me of Adagio for Strings). Looking forward to hearing more and seeing what direction you went in with regard to treatment of theme and motifs
I understand that some of the midi instruments will be replaced with "real" ones for the real thing. I would consider selected use of the "fake" ones on the real soundtrack. Something about the way some of them sound here (the bari sax, for instance, on the first clip) seems right.