SPIRIT FIRE - Act III
MUSIC DRAMA
-- WILLIAM MASELLI

THOMAS JEFFERSON
{TOM, son of Sally and Jefferson

{SALLY HEMINGS
{CHANTELLE, daughter of Sally andJefferson

Scenes: Coast of France; Paris; New York; Monticello,Virginia.

SUMMARY

ACT THREE

Years have passed. Jefferson and Sally remain outside the drama. Jefferson is succeeded by his and Sally’s son Tom, while Sally is followed by her and Jefferson’s daughter Chantelle. Rana remains on the scene, overshadowed by her powerful warrior son Rada, who has been civilized by the love and teachings of Chantelle, who herself has been the protegé of Rana. The Act opens with the slave girls in the fields at dawn singing the same prayer of love last heard in France. Rada sings a melancholy lament of unrequited love, joined by the male slaves longing for freedom and home. Tom enters the scene joyously, mocking his ‘brother’ Rada and his desperate love for Chantelle. He encourages Rada into Tom’s rendition of love. Their trance is shaken by Chantelle announcing the impending death of Rana. Rana conveys her blessing upon Rada and invokes Divine affirmation before dying. After performing ritual ceremonies of washing and clothing Rana’s body, Rada and Chantelle express their deepest love for God and Life and each other. Rada passes spellbound through the valley forest. Chantelle parts with joy and tears with her brother Tom, who is to leave in freedom the next day. Tom also passes spellbound, upon the mountain ridge, singing first a song of deep love and yearning for a woman who will not or can not return his love, then returning to his more typical carefree state of mind. The funeral procession of Rana slowly approaches below, led by Rada and Chantelle. With their torches they build a huge fire. After Rada cries for his native home of Africa, Tom echoes him but praises the freedom of Virginia. The slaves react with venom, yet the flowing of the dirge, like the irresistible sway of the great rivers, sweeps the divergent currents within its embrace. As the union consummates Chantelle leads Rada by the hand up a crescent-shaped stony climb toward Tom, reaching to grasp Tom’s hand while holding fast to the hand of Rada, and from Rada down to all the rest, forming a seething whole illuminated by the fire of Africa’s spirit

ACT III

Scene: The plantation fields of Monticello, 1810
Female Slaves:

Enchanted morn!
Graced by thoughts of you!
Timeless and enduring
Radiance of Love!

Rada:

Where does Beauty lie in Love?
Where does Justice lie in Fate?
In darkness we must contemplate
And strain our eyes in feeble sight
To probe below and then above
So slow to grasp that we are Light.

Rada and Male Slaves:

So slow, so slow, so sad tis true
So far from home we rest content
There to groan our sad lament
Decrying Fortune’s wanton ways
As though our trials were something new
Untouched by Life’s Eternal Rays

Rada:
I do not seek Love in your eyes
Nor do I seek it in your smile
And if your heart I don’t beguile
I shall not moan in mad frustration
For I don’t seek Love in disguise
But rest deep in her consummation!

Tom:
We wonder why he sings a sad lament!
Put the lessons of my sister to fair use and
Sound this scenting script
And soothingly sunder the shackles
Shielding sister Chantelle’s shadowed soul:
Unveil this to the beauty of the moon
And catch her smile!

Tom and Rada:

Do you feel the pounding of my heart, sweet love?
Do you feel my image in your soul, sweet love?
Do you mourn when we lie apart, sweet love?
Your eyes of flaming passion scorch my soul, sweet love
The beauty of your heart makes me bold, sweet love
I love you, sweet love
Upon the ramblings of my brain
And in the depths of my desire
My vision reaches higher
Beyond what could be sane
Beyond where Life is dwelling
Carried fiercely by Love’s swelling
Driving driving driving driving
Over mountains mad with anger
At this mortal arrogation
Of death’s abnegation
Spinning! Yes I’m spinning!
Driven by Love’s power
Consumed in passion’s flower
Blooming for salvation
I am saved by God’s creation
As I live in realization
Of Love’s transfiguration
Such a pleasing consummation
In the spirit’s figuration
A poet by complexion or merely through reflection?
Indeed I wax most foolish with rhymes which seem most ghoulish
O pardon me, my men of taste
O pardon me my lady fair!
If my image I’ve disgraced
I beg you stroke my lover’s hair!
Oh bliss! Your sweet report
Has left me stumbling down the road
Where once I traveled firm and strait
Unburdened by Love’s heavy load
I smile even in my shame
I cannot feign to be a square
I cannot play this mortal game
Since I’ve stroked my lover’s hair
And so I kiss thee sweet sweet love
And so I love thee sweet sweet love
I lie I laughter not in shame
You are above me sweet sweet dame!

Chantelle:
Voice offstage, ethereal, audible only to Rada

Rada! Rada!
Rada listens intently, then runs offstage, followed more slowly by
the assemblage, Tom remains.

Scene: In the cabin.
Rana:

Rada my son, take my kiss and be strong.

Rada:

I am unable to lead the people.
You know who is the force among us.

Rana:

God will give you what you need to defend the post He has assigned.
Seek the soul of Chantelle!
All will be left to you.
Keep Truth alive!
Keep Hope alive!

I stand on the mountains of the sea
I soar with the Angel of Freedom
I taste the kiss of my father.
Keep Hope Alive!
She dies. Chantelle and Rada perform religious rites, wash the body, clothe it in white linen.

Chantelle: (Kneeling before Rana, then slowly rising)

And the crystal shines through the window pane
Be it sun, be it moon, be it stars, be it rain
Yes the crystal shines through the wind of Time
O Luminous Light!
And the music plays through the crafted pine
Be it his, be it hers, be it yours, be it mine
Yes the music plays through escaping days
O Luminous Light!

O Greed, you are worldly wise
Few may escape your magnetic lies
O Love you eternalize
You, Eternal Eyes!
O Luminous Light!

Rada:

You are the natural heir
You can invoke spirits from the mountain air

Chantelle:

I am a Christian woman!

Rada:

And you will be free and will never be mine

Chantelle:

And you will be free and will always be mine

Rada:

And in your look I have my answer, you will never be mine

Across fields of autumn
Across skies of winter
The voices of nations in joined spirit flow
Beckon to a burning glow of Spirit Fire!
To loose the chords of ice in warm embrace
As timeless torrents come in measured rhyme of Truth
Captive beauty borne as molten streams of Spirit Fire
Unbound within the steaming womb
Of your vision and your soul and your love!
Your voice unfolds in timeless toll
Mysterious and Immortal Soul!
As we are seared upon the mystic pyre of Spirit Fire!

Eyes of Black, seared with fire
Ancient dreams, spirit beams
Burning womb, bleeding desire
Mystic Love of Spirit Fire
Skin as fine as silken soul
Deep with dreams’ timeless toll
Eyes ablaze with burning desire
Heat my blood with Spirit Fire
Molten flow of Spirit Fire
Mystic Love of Spirit Fire!

Chantelle:

How can I make you feel
The pure spirit of my love
And send the light of my devotion
Into your heart so strong that it shines in your eyes
It is my wish and only dream
That the pure spirit of my love
Forever shines in your eyes
To light the stars
So my love and soul
And all Eternity ---
Through my love for you ---Are One.

Scene: In a forest valley at night

Rada:

Moonlight passes through complex tangles of branches and leaves
Above the path I walk through the forest silent and dark
Shadows shift in graceful caresses of quivering penetration
My heart is heavy with the weight
Burdened by colours of blackest sight
Shrouded with shadows carved of blackest night
Pierced by the sabers of the glancing moon
Burned by the embers of her dancing womb
I am hopeless in exposed captivity
To be taken by the arrows of my destiny
To be crushed in faithless fury?
To be free! To be free!
I embrace your beaming presents from afar!
I am fired by the essence of your light
Timeless soul connection, mystic flight
I am yours forever, you are mine at least tonite!
I am dreaming Chantelle Shining Star
I am breathing Chantelle Shining Star
I am only Chantelle Shining Star

Scene: In the mansion.
Chantelle:

I commend my brother on his extraordinary achievements,
Despite an unseemly nonchalance and dispassion these last few years.
I will miss you deeply and will cherish before you the roads you shall travel
And by that cherishing keep the Spirit of the Lord upon you.

Tom:

In the Mysteries of Life I seek for happiness!
Shadows and sorrows be gone!

Chantelle:

In the Mysteries of Life I seek for Holiness!
Shadows and sorrows be gone!

Chantelle:

Liberty in Mystery!

Tom:

Mystery in Liberty!

Chantelle:

I’ve a melody for you the stars are singing
Fortune and Grace light your way!

Tom:

I’ve a harmony for you it’s all embracing
My love shall vibrate your heart!

Tom:

Harmony in Melody!

Chantelle:

Melody in Harmony!

Chantelle and Tom:

In the Mysteries of flight I’ll hold you tightly
In the Mysteries of flight embrace me tightly
Clothe me with flowers of Love!

Scene: Monticello hilltop. Tom gazes upward toward the mountains, holding up a small ornate portrait of a beautiful woman.
Tom:

In a dream that seemed so magical
All the world was bathed in blue
And the brilliance of your eyes so true
Captivated
Everything I ever thought I knew
All the wisdom of the sky
All the beauty that surrounds you
The dream!
That made you clear to me.
Deep inside the forest where you hide
Shrouded by the silence there
Melodies that travel from your soul
Mystify Me
Drifting from the dark and weary world
Dreaming visions follow you
And the magic that you shine upon the sleeping children
Dream!
That brings your love to me.
All of the world is just a dream to me
And in your eyes I see Love’s light
Visions in whispers of your melodies
The memories that keep me alive
In your kiss the stars shine paradise
In the touch of your skin the world is born
And in the secrets of your mystery
I fly in timeless melody
In a corner of the universe in black’ning shade
We are driven to embrace the stormy(winter) night
And in time all the shining fire of Love’s desire
Is encircled by the shading dance of night
In this world I can dream of your love for me
In this night I can will the world aflame
But you with your silence and scornful air
Crucify my heart, my soul, my brain

Deep in embers of your fading glow
Burn the fires of passion’s dance
Images of beauty you inspire
Romance me
Not a thing that you can say or do
Silences the starry sky
And the magic that you beam upon my sleeping spirit
Dream!
That brings your love to me.
Tom begins walking, drinking wine from the bottle.
My heart is heavy in contemplation but light in pleasure
My goal is no more concrete than those of the blooming carnations
Which spread like Divine Creation at my feet
I snatch one from its bearings
An intoxicating breath later sending it floating merrily down the rolling stream
Its cares as immaterial as the delicately tenuous bubbles it
Shatters into nothingness
Drifting on another aimless escapade
All truth escapes me, all care melts into the frenzied night
Even love whispers to me in frightened tones
Between the outbursts of impetuous laughter
Drifting on another aimless escapade!
I am left alone to wander
Even the dogs having found time to rest
I feel the pulse of Life but it does not bind me in gravity
I jest at the melancholy recesses of my heart and soul
Making their desperate longings sport for my wine-soaked wit!
I stand alone
A mighty victor!
Amidst the shadows of the golden moon
Soon passing through the sparkling night
With only the gods and the stars for my companions
For my inspiration and my pleasure and my Life!

Rana’s funeral procession approaches below
Male slaves:

Bitter night descending, Spirit voices bending
Round the peaks that frame the glistening sky
Autumn wind is pressing, flesh to flesh undressing
Scars that bind the pain in twisting time
Mystic climb --- climb!

In the stars gleams your light
Freedom’s star dreams of Light

Mothers lost and mourning, shallow waters warning
Shattered souls bewail the dawning light
Images of moonlight, sacred scenes of starlight
Visions that transcend this mortal life
Ancient life ---Life!

Rada:

O star that shines upon my native home!
Transcend the chains that bind Immortal Time!
Receive this depth of soul and light the gemstone
That gleams through mountain snows in Africa!
Male slaves:

Africa beam your fire!
Spirit’s home, chaste desire!

Vastness is transcended, earth and heaven blended
Rapturous embrace primordial grace
Bitter chill descending, Nature unrelenting
Mystic senses stall neath flesh and blood
Satan’s flood --- drown!

Tom:

O star that shines upon my native home!
Transcend the chains that bind Immortal Time!
Receive this depth of soul and light the gemstone
That gleams through mountain snows in Virginia!

Male slaves:

Oh!

In the stars gleams your light
Freedom’s star dreams of Light!

Male slaves and Tom:

Dawn’s embrace caressing, flesh to flesh undressing
Naked spirits dance on spears of fire
Floods of blood are racing, destiny is chasing
Visions that transcend this mortal life
Ancient life --- Life!

Male and female slaves, Tom, Rada, Chantelle:

O star that shines upon my native home
Transcend the chains that bind Immortal Time!
Receive this depth of soul and light the gemstone
That gleams through mountain snows in Africa/Virginia

Africa/Virginia beam your fire
Freedom’s home, sworn desire

Spirits are transcending, ancient voices bending
Round the peaks that frame the glistening sky
Souls embrace in starlight, enraptured grace of moonlight
Mystic union joins each seeking son[sun]
Born as One ---One