Beethoven’s Last Night

Beethoven’s Last Night
Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Overture (Instrumental)

(Ghost Story Teller) Since the time when Ra and Isis Raised the Sphinx out of the sand; And Apollo dreamed Athena; And men began to understand

(Ghost Story Teller) That when darkness folds on darkness In the restless tides of night, The lightning raises shadows And for moments, gives them life.

(Ghost Story Teller) It’s been said by those who ponder That it surely is a sign That a life touched by the stars Is now running out of time.

(Ghost Story Teller) And somewhere in that darkness, In the heart of that great storm, The world returns a soul That the gods caused to be born.

(Ghost Story Teller) And this was such a storm, The kind one rarely sees in life. For in a room now filled with shadows The great Beethoven was spending his last night.

(Ghost Story Teller) Now gathered around him there Were the ghosts from out of his past For in the play unfolding there this night They would be the cast.

(Ghost Story Teller) And there among these shadows Was the beautiful spirit of Fate Who had arrived with her dwarf son, Twist, And with the other ghosts did watch and wait.

Midnight

(Twist) And in the dark he sits alone To watch his final hours bleeding. While unconcerned upon the wall, The clock, it ticks away the time.

(Twist) No need for words, for in the dark All words have long since lost their meaning. Still when they whisper in his ear, He tries to read between the lines.

(Twist) What I see in the night, What I feel in your heart, All your dreams, All your lies, Can you tell them apart?

(Twist) See the hands on the clock? Are you watching them turn? For your candle’s quite low; We’ve been watching it burn.

(Twist) Do you lie here awake As the shadows look on? Should they cry for your sake? Should you sleep in their arms?

(Twist) For the shadows see all And they rarely forget Every dream that you’ve had, Every act you regret.

Twist, Ghosts and Spirits
Faith and belief And retreat When you’re standing all alone With your dreams in the dark.

Never knowing what is real In the shadows you meet. Never knowing what is true In the answers you seek.

Never knowing if: Fate, she hears me; Fate, stand near me; Fate, state clearly Whether there will be another card.

Retrieve us. Time deceives us. Fate she hears us, But she doesn’t listen very hard.

As she drifts through our lives Tossing coins into the air, Watch them twist, Watch them fall Turning hope into despair.

Watch them twist, Watch them fall. Then she suddenly revives Every dream that we’ve had And we find ourselves alive.

Believe me. Fate, stands near me. Fate, state clearly Whether there will be another card.

Receive us. Time deceives us. The only moment in our lives That ever really mattered, Fate, is now.

~ With each successive crack of lightning, the spirits ever so slightly move closer, all the while conversing among themselves.~

(Ghost Storyteller) So upon this night the darkness humbled, Candles sputtered, spirits grumbled; Brooding in this bitter room What Fate had woven on her loom While shadows fed upon the gloom.

(Ghost Storyteller) But as these spirits talked and chattered With all their thoughts quite widely scattered On things that no one else thought mattered Beethoven, who as you know, was quite deaf, Heard all their words with deep regret And wished that he was deafer yet.

What Good this Deafness

(Beethoven) What good, this deafness, That my whole life I have dread? With these voices in my head?

(Beethoven) What good, this deafness, If this prattle I must hear? If I were blind, I’m sure they wouldn’t disappear.

(Twist) Did you really want to believe what you’re saying? Did you really want to be here alone? Have I interrupted a moment of praying? While your life’s decaying; Your sins, are they weighing While you’ve been carving your stone All on your own?

(Twist) Did you really want to sit here in silence? Could it be that brooding is part of your art? Is it an extension of artistic license, A moody defiance Of all of life’s tyrants While you’ve been searching your heart Alone with us in the dark?

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven then begged For these shadows to take their leave, That they had no business being there, But the shadows, they disagreed.

(Ghost Storyteller) For no matter how Beethoven implored For these shadows to leave him alone, They chattered on and would not be gone From this, his one-man catacomb.

(Ghost Storyteller) Then Twist explained how it was That they could not do as the composer wished. For since they were his shadows, It was only by his light they could exist.

(Ghost Storyteller) And as Beethoven’s life was fading On this, his final night, It was only natural that these shadows Should cling closer to his fading light.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now, meanwhile, the clock, it just ticked on As clocks are wont to do. For time’s their only purpose, Their only point of view.

(Ghost Storyteller) But when that clock struck midnight, It’s chimes both loud and clear, From out of those shifting shadows A final figure did appear.

(Ghost Storyteller) His voice, it had a certain charm That concealed all his disease As he introduced himself to them As Thee, Mephistopheles.

(Ghost Storyteller) He said that he had come to collect The great Beethoven’s soul. That is really wasn’t much, you see. “Merely, a lump of coal.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “You look surprised, my dear composer, This simple fact to learn. But before tomorrow morning Together we will watch it burn.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven stepped back in horror. “This thing cannot be true! For I have done no great wrongs in life. At least none that I knew.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “Men quite often forget their sins” The Devil did reply. “Until it’s too late to repent, Forgetting it’s never too late to die. It’s a part of human nature Upon which I’ve come strongly to rely.

(Ghost Storyteller) Men quite often forget their sins For redemption can always wait. And I always allow this to happen. It’s an important part of my bait. And by the time that they remember It always tends to be Too Late!

(Ghost Storyteller) Now, you may think your sins are minor; To enter Hell, they’re not enough. Well, a cruel act here, a rude word there Believe me – They add up!

(Ghost Storyteller) And rising from the shadows Is the specter of your death. For since your birth he has been owed And now is here to clear the debt. But perhaps we can talk a little while, For you are not dead Not yet.”

~The cloaked figure of death rises from the floor
~The cloaked figure of death rises from the floor. He offers Beethoven a bony hand. The composer backs away in terror as Mephistopheles sympathetically offers advice.~

Mephistopheles

(Mephistopheles) All of your life now you have denied There’d be a time when you’d ever die. Still, it’s been rumored this thing must be.

(Mephistopheles) Why is it then that you act surprised When I appear now to be your guide? Why do you hesitate to follow me?

See it rising. Stare and wonder. Hear it beckon you to dance.
(Mephistopheles) See it rising. Stare and wonder. Hear it beckon you to dance.

Feel it hold you, Take you under. I’m your god of second chance.
(Mephistopheles) Feel it hold you, Take you under. I’m your god of second chance.

(Mephistopheles) And now you claim you are not prepared. So much to do, you cannot be spared. Still, your entreaties Death will not hear.

(Mephistopheles) The graveyard is filled with important men Who could not be spared but were in the end. And so I whisper now in your ear.

See it rising. Stare and wonder. Hear it beckon you to dance.
(Mephistopheles) See it rising. Stare and wonder. Hear it beckon you to dance.

(Mephistopheles) Feel it hold you, Take you under. I’m your god of second chance – Second chance (3x)

(Mephistopheles) Domine, Domine, Domine, Domine, O Domine, O Domine, O Domine, O Domine ~Domine = Lord~

(Ghost Storyteller) “I cannot die upon this night!” The composer did protest. “For I must complete my Tenth Symphony Before my final rest.”

(Ghost Storyteller) The devil smiled compassionately Which took all by surprise, But not nearly as much as his answer When he finally did reply.

(Ghost Storyteller) “They say that I have no compassion; That my hear, it cannot feel. But I sympathize with your dilemma, So I offer you this deal.

(Ghost Storyteller) Take all the time you need to complete this Tenth Symphony you’ve begun, But first show me what notes you’d change, And then I’ll say the deal is done.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Then Beethoven, he admitted, That the symphony was quite finished, And that if he changed a solitary note The entire piece would be diminished.

(Ghost Storyteller) “I sense your disappointment,” The devil said, “over what must now be done. And since you could not accept my first offer, I’ll make you another one.

(Ghost Storyteller) If you’ll give me your music – Each note, each rest, each beat – Then I’ll return your sould to you And save it From the heat.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now I see your face perplexes; That you do not understand That it is my intention To wipe these songs from the mind of man.

(Ghost Storyteller) Every symphony and choral, Each sonata, old and new, Will simply disappear this night, But your soul returns to you?

(Ghost Storyteller) With that the great Beethoven stumbled backwards Till he fell into his chair. And searched his mind for a reply, But there were no answers there.

(Ghost Storyteller) And the devil said, “I see That your mind is quite confused. So I will return here in one hour For the answer that you choose. And you can tell me then what you will keep And what you will lose.

~The hands of the clock rotate backwards from midnight to eleven PM.~

(Ghost Storyteller) So tell me now what do you fear? What do you love or hold too dear? Is it Death well wrapped in pain? Or perhaps it’s no one will remember your name? If this is so, perhaps I cannot win, But then add pride onto your other sins.

(Ghost Storyteller) I am not trying to pressure you. I know you cannot decide yet. But nothing focuses the mind, my friend, Like the approach of one’s own death.”

(Ghost Storyteller) And as he turned to disappear Into his personal abyss, Beethoven called for him to wait, For something was now amiss.

(Ghost Storyteller) The hands upon the clock, It seems, were moving much too fast, And at this rate his hour gift Would not an hour last.

(Ghost Storyteller) “Consider it a final act of kindness,” Over his shoulder the devil did call. “Because where you are going, my dear Ludwig, The clocks, they never move at all.”

~Mephistopheles disappears back into the abyss through a hole in the floor that opens up to receive him.~

(Ghost Storyteller) With Mephistopheles gone The spirits silently crept back And watched the great composer agonize Over the time that he now lacked.

(Ghost Storyteller) So in this room now filled with shadows Beethoven stood quite alone And contemplated how to save The one thing he truly ever owned.

(Ghost Storyteller) Could all the wisdom he had found, Like so many leaves upon the ground, Combine with all his dreams and sins And on this night be scattered to the wind?

(Ghost Storyteller) For of our faith they are so insistent With gods who are so inconsistent. And if we are to further delve Into this night and find ourselves, Might we discover, in our past, What in our lives might one day last?

What is Eternal

(Beethoven) And here in the night As I feel the inferno, I stare in the dark Thinking what is eternal.

(Beethoven) The man or the moment? The act or the reason? These thoughts fill my head As I contemplate treason.

(Beethoven) Of dreams I have had And dreams I have pondered When late in the night, My mind, it would wander.

(Beethoven) To things I have done And then quickly regretted While denying vices My life had selected.

(Beethoven) And I think what I’ve done Or have yet to begin, And the man I’ve become, And the man that I’ve been.

(Beethoven) Now caught in a waltz With the eternal dancer, I’m courted by Death, But Death isn’t the answer!

(Beethoven) I say: All I was meant to be, Could I suddenly just decide Not a thought would survive? Could it be my life’s worth Ended there with my birth?

(Beethoven) If I could see someone Who’s been there before me And traded their soul For a moment of glory . . .

(Beethoven) His penance or mercy By spirits debated, While judged on a scale That’s been heavily weighted.

(Beethoven) And what have I done? Could there be such a sin In the man I’ve become? In the man that I’ve been?

(Beethoven) Now calling to God From the pit’s very bottom, I pray He forgives Every sin I’ve forgotten This day!

(Beethoven) And who would have thought That my fate, it would conjure This twist in the road On which I have wandered

(Beethoven) Each vision and dream now Completely dismembered, To give one’s whole life And find nothing’s remembered.

(Beethoven) And what good’s a life That leaves nothing behind? Not a thought or a dream That might echo in time.

(Beethoven) The years and the hours, The seconds and minutes, And everything that My life has placed in it Betrayed . . .

(Beethoven) The things I have done, The places I’ve been, The cost of my dreams, The weight of my sins,

(Beethoven) And everything that I’ve gathered in life, Could it be lost – Could it be lost in this – Night?

(Ghost Storyteller) For a moment there was silence As the storm, it hesitated. And like the shadows in the room On his next word it waited

(Ghost Storyteller) As Beethoven tried to remember The exact moment when he crossed the line. Did he lose his soul with one cruel act, Or with little ones that piled up in time?

(Ghost Storyteller) Then Beethoven wondered What one’s soul was worth. Is the price the same the day we die As it is upon our birth?

(Ghost Storyteller) Then he turned towards Fate. There was anger in his eyes. Could his present plight upon this night Be something she’d devised?

(Ghost Storyteller) “Why did you deal me such a hand? Was it all chance or was is planned? And as throughout my life you toyed, Did you regret or just enjoy?”

(Ghost Storyteller) No, Fate, she was quite stunned By this unexpected attack, But she never lost her flawless grace As she gently replied back.

(Ghost Storyteller) “Mephistopheles has made you an offer. Now I will make one, too – That you and I go back through your life And every act review.

(Ghost Storyteller) Together we’ll go through your years. This thing I can arrange. And anything that you wish me to This very night I’ll change.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Now Beethoven thought, “Was this a trick?” But a trick he could not see. So he did the only thing he could Which was, to this new offer, he agreed.

(Ghost Storyteller) “Forgive my outburst,” Beethoven said, “You take kindness to an art. I will gratefully accept your proposal If you’ll just tell me where we start.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “In looking back,” Fate replied, “I see your youth was wild. But if one really wants to know the man, One has to know the child”

(Ghost Storyteller) And with those words the room around them Did slowly fad away Replaced with one from his distant past Where, as a youth, he had once played.

(Ghost Storyteller) And there he saw himself as a young child Still a long way from the grave Where anything was possible And any dream could still be saved.

(Ghost Storyteller) He was sitting at a piano, But there was sorrow in his eyes, And no child’s eyes should have sorrow, But the composer knew the reasons why.

(Ghost Storyteller) His teacher had just struck him. The mark was still clear upon his face, As were the tears that followed it, And whose path one could still trace; And somewhere in his deepest thoughts The composer could still taste.

(Ghost Storyteller) The child was writing a melody To distract himself from his pain, And the elder Beethoven watching this Could not be restrained.

(Ghost Storyteller) He entered into the small room And sat next to the child Which startled the boy for a moment Until the elderly gentleman smiled.

(Ghost Storyteller) Then he played the song the child was writing. And where the melody was rough Beethoven added three small notes, But those notes, they were enough.

(Ghost Storyteller) So in the year of 1778 On a beautiful summer’s day, To a young child’s ears and an old man’s fears, The Sixth Symphony was played.

~ The child looks up in delight at the kind stranger who has helped him finish his song. Though unused to such acts of kindness from adults, he quickly warms to the elderly man and together they play “The Pastoral Symphony.” ~

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate then whispered from the darkness That his time here was at an end, But as he was getting up to leave The child asked: Would they ever meet again?

The Moment

(Beethoven) In this world of circumstance Children never fear forever, And, this moment that enchants, Someday we will both remember.

Then, maybe then, If we are still alive – This moment will survive.
(Beethoven) Then, maybe then, If we are still alive – This moment will survive.

(Beethoven) There is time in every word. There are words in every reason. And these notes that are unheard, One day, they may find their season.

Then, maybe then, If we are still alive – This moment will survive.
(Beethoven) Then, maybe then, If we are still alive – This moment will survive.

~ The elder Beethoven gently touches the child’s hair and turns towards Fate. All the images from his past start to fade into the darkness. ~

(Ghost Storyteller) The composer then looked at the child Who smiled, but did not speak. And then the child faded into the dark of the past Where the darkness is always deep.

(Ghost Storyteller) And Beethoven turned back to Fate, Who had always been close by, And told her what he wanted changed So his fate could be defied.

(Ghost Storyteller) “I did not need a teacher Who taught with the back of his hand While the music I was dreaming He could never understand.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “These moments of your life I’ll change,” Fate says, “But there is a warning I must give: That to change one moment of a life Can change how that life is lived.

(Ghost Storyteller) Like the gears inside a clock, Every moment turns another. Remove from a wall a single block And sometimes that entire wall will shudder.

(Ghost Storyteller) The pain you felt through childhood Would now seem to have no worth. But it was the salve you sought to ease that pain That gave your sixth symphony birth.

(Ghost Storyteller) So, before I grant this wish And this tale you later tell, Know that these wounds will disappear, But so will your sixth symphony, as well.

(Ghost Storyteller) So now that you know all that will be changed, Including things far out of view, When your decision has been made Tell me what it is you would have me do.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate did not have long to wait. The answer was clear upon his face. His childhood would retain its tears And his sixth symphony would retain its place.

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate then said they should move on For their time was growing short, And then asked where he had been happiest, And she watched as he followed that thought.

(Ghost Storyteller) For a moment there was a glitter Somewhere beyond his stare In a time when days were not bitter, And she found Vienna there.

(Ghost Storyteller) Which brings us all, my friends, To the next chapter in our story As they watched Beethoven as a young man Arriving in Vienna with all its glory.

Vienna

(Beethoven as a Young Man)
Since I was a child I’ve seen her in a dream, A captured fairy tale That echoes ‘cross my life.

And though I’ve courted her She’s always stayed unseen. Now all at once she Glitters in the night.

But that was yesterday And that all was before When she was fair away, A silhouette of dreams.

But others whispered That she was so much more. And suddenly I now Know what they mean.

Dreams change Years strain Lost illusions Last stands God’s hand Absolution found

Fairy tale sins Visions by Grimm All forgiven Lives spent in vain Never reclaimed Take their final bows

Pictures and words Visions absurd Maddened poets All within sight Failures in life Who’ll never know it

Lazarus cries There in his eyes Hope has risen Depth and façade All before me now Vienna!

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate then reminded him, “It was here you first met Haydn, And walked through palaces filled with art, And studied with your childhood hero, The legendary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “It was here, as you improvised together, That Amadeus became your brother, Your melodies weaving seamlessly As each note seemed to dare another.”

Mozart (Instrumental)

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate then reminded him That music was not the only debt He owed the city of Vienna. It was here that he first met The Habsburg princess, Theresa, And how their lives became entwined By a love that became immortal And still echoes now through time.

~ Together, Fate and Beethoven watch the composer as a young man falling in love with the Princess Theresa. ~

The Dreams of Candlelight

(Theresa) Could, this night, is last forever, Every moment held together As if in a perfect trance, And such a thing could be?

(Theresa) No one else would understand it. We would know the gods had planned it. And for such a night as this That they gave melody.

(Theresa) And we would live inside this night, Within the dreams of candlelight, If you would bring this wish to life And spend this night with me.

(Theresa) Could this moment last forever, And this dream, our one endeavor, If the stars would just enchant And time would then agree?

(Theresa) Every moment of tomorrow, From this evening we would borrow, If this wish the stars would grant And gently oversee.

(Theresa) And we would live inside this night, Within the dreams of candlelight, If you would bring this wish to life And spend this night with me.

(Ghost Storyteller) The happiest moments of his life Where there inside that night. But within a year, my friends, I fear He would drive her from his life.

(Ghost Storyteller) Not because his love had faded Or another lover had been met, But because he could not believe that someone could love A musician that was becoming deaf.

(Ghost Storyteller) He gave her no explanations For this secret. It was his shame. He could not bear to ever hear The word “deaf” connected to his name.

(Ghost Storyteller) He would not answer her letters Or the inquiries she left. He stayed inside, alone with his pride, Though his heart would not forget.

(Ghost Storyteller) He knew she was still out there. This he could still clearly recall. But the silence was there also. And now the silence – it was all.

Requiem – The Fifth

VOCA ME BENDICTUM SONA MEAN ANIMAM ~ Call me blessed – (or say that I shall be redeemed) – cure my heart ~

(Ghost Storyteller) Sometimes, early in the evening When twilight still lingered in the sky, Beethoven would be writing in his music room And Theresa would walk by.

(Ghost Storyteller) She knew that something had changed in his life, A secret his soul kept deep within, But Theresa did not care what that secret was, She only cared about him.

I’ll Keep Your Secrets

(Theresa) Lost in your dark I see you there. What do you see beyond your stare, And you believe that no one else can know?

(Theresa) What is this thing you keep inside, Out of the light and wrapped in pride, Always afraid that one day it will show?

(Theresa) I’ll keep your secrets. I’ll hold your ground. And when the darkness starts to fall I’ll be around, there, waiting When dreams are fading And friends are distant and few.

Know at that moment I’ll be there with you.
(Theresa) Know at that moment I’ll be there with you.

(Theresa) What are these voices that you hear? Are they too far or far too near? What are these things that echo from the past?

(Theresa) What are these ghosts you see at night, There in the shadows of your life? They only live by the light you cast.

(Theresa) I’ll keep your secrets. I’ll hold your ground. And when the darkness starts to fall I’ll be around, there, waiting When dreams are fading And friends are distant and few.

Know at that moment I’ll be there with you.
(Theresa) Know at that moment I’ll be there with you.

(Theresa) I’ll be around When there’s no reason left to carry on, And every dream you’ve ever had is gone, And the dark is deep and black without a sound, And every star has been dragged to the ground. Know at that moment I will be around.

Know at that moment I will be around.
(Theresa) Know at that moment I will be around.

(Ghost Storyteller) The years quickly went by Until he was totally quite deaf. And then, suddenly, the years he had lived Were more than the ones he had left.

(Ghost Storyteller) While the silence, it grew deeper As it mingled with his fears, But in that total silence The muses still whispered in his ear.

(Ghost Storyteller) And from deep inside They beckoned, danced And deftly wove their porcelain trance Of Chinese silk Dyed in morphine By princesses so bacchantine.

The Dark

(Fate and the Muses) Feel the darkness smiling, Every note is dying, Silence is refining, Every thought in his heart.

(Fate and the Muses) Still the fates are weaving Every note that’s bleeding As he sits there seething All alone in the dark – Alone in the dark – Alone in the –

But in the night The darkness breathes If he wills it to be.
(Fate and the Muses) But in the night The darkness breathes If he wills it to be.

Before his eyes The music dies, But he will always hear me.
(Fate and the Muses) Before his eyes The music dies, But he will always hear me.

He sits alone. The cards are shown As he embraces the dark.
(Fate and the Muses) He sits alone. The cards are shown As he embraces the dark.

The only sound That he will hear Is there in his heart.
(Fate and the Muses) The only sound That he will hear Is there in his heart.

(Fate and the Muses) Someone is whispering softly to thee Shadows of things that no one can see. They are there for you if you want them to be – You want them to be – You want them to –

But in the night The darkness breathes If he wills it to be.
(Fate and the Muses) But in the night The darkness breathes If he wills it to be.

Before his eyes The music dies, But he will always hear me.
(Fate and the Muses) Before his eyes The music dies, But he will always hear me.

He sits alone. The cards are shown As he embraces the dark.
(Fate and the Muses) He sits alone. The cards are shown As he embraces the dark.

The only sound That he will hear Is there in his heart.
(Fate and the Muses) The only sound That he will hear Is there in his heart.

(Ghost Storyteller) “I see the answer clearly not.” Beethoven said. ‘Of this wish, I can have no regrets. The greatest pain within my years Occurred as I became dear.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “Go back into my past, sweet Fate, And return my hearing throughout my life. My live performances would again be legendary And Theresa would have become my wife.

(Ghost Storyteller) I would have children gathered around me Where no I just have songs. Return my hearing to me, my sweet lady, And in doing so, you will right all wrongs.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “Oh, my dearest Ludwig,” Fate replied, “I ache to grant your wish. But as I told you once before, It would cause your other songs not to exist.

(Ghost Storyteller) Before you lost your hearing Your performances were your art. It was how you made your living. Of your life it was an irremovable part.

(Ghost Storyteller) It was only when your hearing left you That you truly began to write, Creating masterpiece after masterpiece That have led us to this night.

(Ghost Storyteller) Say the word and I’ll remove your deafness. Say the word and I’ll remove the pain. But the music will disappear as well, And the world won’t be the same.

(Ghost Storyteller) I wish I could offer you an easy answer, But easy answers are rarely there. And at this moment in your life Of that fact, I’m sure, you are quite aware.

(Ghost Storyteller) No one, including myself, would blame you For trying to save your soul, But the devil will have his victory, And the future’s children will pay the toll.

(Ghost Storyteller) So, tell me Ludwig, what should I do? Should I return your hearing to you? You cannot seek advice from another voice. These songs are your children. Their fate: your choice.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven gazed at her Through eyes of deep regret. The songs, they would remain for now, And his ears, they would remain quite deaf.

Für Elise (Instrumental)

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate then informed him That it is not only his deafness that shaped his life, But his lack of ability to believe That prevented Theresa from being his wife.

(Ghost Storyteller) She would then show Beethoven A moment of his life, of which he was unaware When, s an old man, he walked down a street And Theresa saw him there.

(Ghost Storyteller) The princess kept her presence silent As she stood in the shadow of a tavern’s sign. But Fate allowed him to hear Theresa’s thoughts As she watched him for the very last time.

After the Fall

Time, Only time, Could never take me away from you.
(Theresa) Time, Only time, Could never take me away from you.

And why Should it try? Time never cares just what we do.
(Theresa) And why Should it try? Time never cares just what we do.

(Theresa) It just sits on a star And gazes down, Dropping its moments all around. And if I could wish upon that star I would find what you dream And then ask God to grant it.

(Theresa) I wanted To say this Long before this dark would fall. At night I Would pray this Then wonder if God heard at all.

(Theresa) For the chances I’ve had are now long gone. And that star is no longer wished upon, For on this night it seems too far away.

Try. I have tried To pretend that I don’t care.
(Theresa) Try. I have tried To pretend that I don’t care.

But then Sleep arrives, And in every dream I find you there.
(Theresa) But then Sleep arrives, And in every dream I find you there.

(Theresa) But I don’t want the past to be my life. And I don’t want to live inside the night. But I don’t want to see your shadow fade. So I sleep, and I dream, But I don’t understand it.

(Theresa) You can live your life in a thousand ways, But it all comes down to that single day When you realize what you regret What you can’t reclaim, but you can’t forget. If I could just back into my life, And find you there inside this night, And let eternity just drift away.

(Ghost Storyteller) And with that, the Princess Theresa Walked slowly into the night. It would be the last time that she would see him, At least, the last time in this life.

(Ghost Storyteller) And Beethoven’s heart collapsed into itself When he realized what might have been, And the only one that could not see how she felt During their lives had been him.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now, Fate, she tried to ease the pain From his wounds, now steeped in salt, And reminded him that a man Was not the sum total of his faults.

(Ghost Storyteller) “Think what you have written, The ears you have enchanted, The wishes for every hurt soul’s peace That you have somehow granted.

(Ghost Storyteller) The wings you’ve given cripples In the world inside their minds, The joy you brought to countless lives That heard your music for the first time.

(Ghost Storyteller) Hear how that music echoes In the futures yet to be; And now look into the shadows And hear the music your life will cause to be.

~ Fate allows Beethoven to see all the musicians from the past that have affected his writing as well as all the musicians still unborn whose work will be inspired by him. ~

A Last Illusion

(Ghosts) PRIUSQUAM PRAESENS DAMANATUS SALVENS: HIC HOMO NESCIENS. QUAE FUTURA EST

EST PLANE VANUM MAGNIFICANDUM ERROR AUT SANUM O FORTUNA EST QUA?
(Ghosts) EST PLANE VANUM MAGNIFICANDUM ERROR AUT SANUM O FORTUNA EST QUA?

(Ghosts) The past and present Loss and redemption A man’s intentions All things yet to be

(Ghosts) A last illusion Time’s absolution Fact and confusion Fate and destiny bound

(Ghost Storyteller) At the end of this opus From the future and the past Fate watches the joy on the old man’s face As he finally realized at last

(Ghost Storyteller) That a man is not the sum total Of the collection of his faults, The errors and mistakes from his past He keeps carefully locked in vaults.

(Ghost Storyteller) That every note he agonized Through endless, silent nights Would live countless times With sounds divine Through an eternity of lives.

This is Who You Are

Sometimes Slowly Time brings revelation
(Beethoven) Sometimes Slowly Time brings revelation

Waiting Softly For someone to believe
(Beethoven) Waiting Softly For someone to believe

(Beethoven) That the ghosts we’ve hidden or left to die Have now arisen and will arrive To say what has happened – Say what has happened – To me.

(Beethoven) And who would have thought That you’d be the one That I would have found here waiting

Lost in this night Until you arrived And always too blind to see?
(Beethoven) Lost in this night Until you arrived And always too blind to see?

(Beethoven) And who would have thought That after this time That I’d be the one you’re saving?

(Beethoven) Now undisguised, The ghosts that survive, Now say what was meant to be.

(Beethoven) I never wanted to give my life away. Who ever thought it would matter any way.

(Beethoven) Wandering inside this night, Finding pieces of a life, Never sure I’d ever know what it means?

(Beethoven) It’s the strangers in your life That you’d never thought you’d meet. It’s the hand that picked you up When you’re laying in the street.

(Beethoven) It’s the hand that cut you down. It’s the dream that someone shared. When you thought that all was lost, It’s the friend that wasn’t there.

(Beethoven) You can run from all the memories, But never get that far, For in the end they’ll find you, For this is who you are.

Change one note, Change one line, Nothing’s going to be the same.
(Beethoven) Change one note, Change one line, Nothing’s going to be the same.

Change one loss, Change one cut, Everything is re-arranged.
(Beethoven) Change one loss, Change one cut, Everything is re-arranged.

Every act, Cruel or kind, Lost inside our memory.
(Beethoven) Every act, Cruel or kind, Lost inside our memory.

(Beethoven) If you look There in time You’ll find it in – Find it in – You’ll find it in me.

Beethoven (Instrumental)

(Ghost Storyteller) Their time, it was now over, Like a shattered hourglass. He could not win, So with his sins, They returned from his past.

(Ghost Storyteller) From the shadows of his life He told Fate his decision was made. He would not give up a single note; Every piece, it would be saved.

(Ghost Storyteller) He could not remove the music That gave so many other people joy. But still, he dread his future As the Lord of Evil’s toy.

(Ghost Storyteller) So late into his life, Like the last days of December, He searched his mind For a way to find A way out of his dilemma.

(Ghost Storyteller) For Satan, in our lives, is noted, All his voices often quoted. And though he serves a splendid feast, At the table’s head still sits the beast.

Mephistopheles' Return

(Beethoven) In every life, it has been said, There comes a time to join the dead, Admit there is no second chance, And join death in a final dance.

(Beethoven) Across the floor, eternity Until the final moment’s bled; And in the dark, to take his hand, Accept that it is time to wed.

(Beethoven) I don’t know what I’m thinking, Because all that I see Is his face grinning. Mephistopheles.

(Beethoven) I need to find an answer For this one cannot be Within the words of Mephistophel . . .

(Beethoven – towards Twist)
Tell me what you think. Tell me what you know. Did you really think That there would be an ever after?

Do you think I’m scared? Tell me, does it show When inside this deafness I can always hear his whispering?

(Beethoven – towards Ghosts)
There comes a time you decide What from your life will be real, What scars you will keep alive, What you are willing to heal.

(Beethoven – towards Ghosts)
But can I gamble this night With everything that I am? And can I erase my life, Or do I stay here and be damned?

Do you think I’m scared? Tel me, does it show When inside this deafness I can always hear his laughter?

(Beethoven) I don’t know what I’m thinking, Because all that I see Is his face grinning. Mephistopheles.

(Beethoven) I need to find an answer For this one cannot be Within the words of Mephistopheles.

(Ghosts I) Don’t need this path before me. Don’t need forgotten glory. Don’t need these threats of violence. Don’t need eternal silence.

(Ghosts I) Don’t need these midnight visions. Don’t need to make decisions. Don’t need to be uncertain. Don’t need this final curtain.

(Ghosts II) Somewhere out there He still gazes As I wander through his mazes. Death and life here. Truth or lies – Every thought is well disguised.

(Ghosts III) Now it’s too late, This path to take. Don’t want to lose my life this way. Medusa dreams. The dead still scream. Don’t want to see my life betrayed.

(Ghosts IV) All these things are now before me: Endless death or timeless glory On this night of ghosts returning To the light of bridges burning.

(Ghosts IV) Now it is too late, This path to take. Don’t want to see my life be (trayed)

Do you think I’m scared? Tel me, does it show When inside this deafness I can always hear his laughter?

I don’t know what I’m thinking, Because all that I see Is his face grinning. Mephistopheles.

I need to find an answer For this one cannot be Within the words of Mephistopheles.

The cost of patience, When there’s no time before me, Of hesitation For all this twisted glory,

And my salvation, The cost of how it’s gotten, The cost of what’s gained All forgotten – All forgotten.

(Ghost Storyteller) Then, at that moment, the clock behind them Struck midnight on its bell, And Mephistopheles once more appeared Shimmering in its knell.

(Ghost Storyteller) Saying, “So tell me, my dear Ludwig, What did we decide? Do we have a deal? Had your end been sealed Or has it been defied?”

(Ghost Storyteller) The composer moved not an inch As he stated his reply, “This music, I cannot allow you to take from this world, So it appears you must take I.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “You do not appreciate my kindness,” the devil said. “No one could offer you more. Your soul is trapped, In fire wrapped, And I’ve given you a door.

(Ghost Storyteller) How could you deny it? Are you a saint or are you a fool? Well, I’m feeling generous this night So, once more, I’ll bend the rules.

(Ghost Storyteller) A deal, it is still out there, Just hidden, out of view. So I’ll make one final offer That will return your soul to you.

(Ghost Storyteller) This compassion you feel for mankind I perhaps can understand, That your music that has brought such happiness You cannot remove from the lives of man.

(Ghost Storyteller) But your tenth symphony you’ve just completed. No one else knows it exists. And what mankind has never heard, Mankind will never miss. Believe what I say is true, my friend. It’s as clear as a Judas kiss.

(Ghost Storyteller) So, give this last song to me. Is it really so much? To trade so little for your eternal soul, It’s a deal for which you should rush.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven wavered for a second Until the ghost of Mozart reappeared And whispered very quietly In the great Beethoven’s ear,

(Ghost Storyteller) “You cannot give this song to him, Though the temptation is very hard, For this is the greatest piece ever written. It is the very voice of God.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Then Mozart faded back into the darkness, But his words had done their work As Beethoven once more turned down The offer, no matter how it hurt.

(Ghost Storyteller) “You are a cagey bargainer.” The devil replied, his voice quite icy cold. “If Judas had you around in thirty-three A.D., His silver pieces just might have been gold. But I’ll make you a final offer, And this one I swear you must accept. For if you turn it down, my friend, Your last offer is death.

(Ghost Storyteller) Your soul is now mine to keep, but I have something else to trade – A jewel that glitters in this night And is entirely man made.

(Ghost Storyteller) Walk over to the window And gaze across the street At a child lying in the gutter Where she is trying to gather sleep.

(Ghost Storyteller) But the rain, it will not let her As it falls both hard and cold, With every drop, a devil’s prop, Designed to make her old.”

Misery

(Mephistopheles) There is a child and she sleeps in the gutter. Don’t close your eyes and she’s easy to see. She is not your child; She’s always another’s. And those you abandon, They are left to me.

(Mephistopheles) And know I will impale her like a knife, Leave her twisting day after day after day Of a very short life With me.

(Mephistopheles) Listen now closely and hear how I’ve planned it. Please let me tell you just how it will be. She’ll feel the pain, but she won’t understand it. She’ll think it’s her fate, But we’ll know it’s me.

(Mephistopheles) So let me know. Have I been clear That I will magnify each cut, every bruise And every single childhood tear?

(Mephistopheles) I’ll pick her scabs, Cripple a hand, Push a finger in each wound I make.

Now tell me then, Do you understand? You understand?
(Mephistopheles) Now tell me then, Do you understand? You understand?

(Ghost Storyteller) “Release your tenth symphony” the devil said. “That’s all I ask of thee. And I will give this child to you. A fair trade you would agree.

(Ghost Storyteller) A mere trickling of notes, Who cares about a single song? To not trade it for this innocent child Would certainly be Wrong.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven turned away from the window And gave the devil a final “No!” But the child was still inside his mind, And he could not let her go. (And the more he denied her hold on him, The more that hold did grow.)

Who is this Child

(Beethoven) Who is this child That I’ve never seen before? That I’ve not seen till this day?

(Beethoven) Who dares to fall asleep Outside my door? If we should wait awhile, I’m sure she’ll go away.

(Beethoven) To be involved with this Would surely not be wise For in the final word She means nothing to me.

(Beethoven) I learned the trick is That we just avoid her eyes, And the question, What she means to . . .

(Beethoven) What is this life? There will be other lives Soon to arrive. Surely some will survive. She is but one, And there are many more, Each the same as any other.

(Beethoven) Who is this child? What does she mean to me? I close my eyes, And still her face I see. She is but one. Her kind is everywhere. Can’t you see, there’s no way I should care.

(Beethoven) I need a moment now. I have to clear my mind. Is there a limit, Lord, Just to being kind?

(Beethoven) There is no way in life That each child can be saved. Should I be looking with regret At every grave?

(Beethoven) There are no guarantees In life, she should be warned. I’m not responsible for This child being born.

(Beethoven) I’m not responsible In any kind of way For every child that life can gather.

(Beethoven) What is this life? There will be other lives Soon to arrive. Surely some will survive.

(Beethoven) She is but one, And there are many more, Could this one life really matter?

(Beethoven) Who is this child? What does she mean to me? I close my eyes, And still her face I see.

(Beethoven) She is but one. Her kind is everywhere. Can’t you see, there’s no way I should care.

(Beethoven) Can you see it in the night? Can you feel that it’s out there? It’s the arcing of a life And it’s hanging in the air.

(Beethoven) Though I try to close my eyes And pretend that I don’t know, In my heart, I just can’t let it go.

(Beethoven) There has to be another way for me – A way that leads from this insanity – A way that leads from my destruction in this way.

(Beethoven) Can you see it in the night? Can you feel that it’s out there? It’s the arcing of a life And it’s hanging in the air.

(Beethoven) Though I try to close my eyes And pretend that I don’t know, In my heart, I just can’t let it go.

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven collapsed at his piano Saying to the devil, “We now have a deal.” And Satan replied, “I’ll be gone from her life this very night. From here on happiness she will feel.”

(Ghost Storyteller) The devil then leapt with sheer delight In evil ecstasy, Shouting for all to hear within sight, “The Tenth Symphony belongs to me!”

(Ghost Storyteller) But while Beethoven sat face down at his piano, As if Satan’s boast he had not heard, Twist came up and pulled the composer’s sleeve And said, “How do you know that the devil will keep his word?”

(Ghost Storyteller) The devil did not even look up from the manuscript Where he was examining his prize, “Don’t worry about hurting my feelings With what your warped friend has implied.

(Ghost Storyteller) I see you have a Bible on the table Where you keep the statements from you bank And, as you may have noticed, the last page of a Bible Is always left quite blank.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now, if you’ll just take that Bible And tear out that final page, You can write a contract of your own choosing That will hold my word like a dragon in a cage.

(Ghost Storyteller) And if you don’t believe me, Just ask your good friend, Fate. For a contract written on such a holy page Even I could never break.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven glanced up at Fate Who was still within his view And she nodded her head gently Acknowledging that the devil’s words were true.

(Ghost Storyteller) The old man took the Bible And tore out the last page as he was told. But when he tried to write, his hands, they shook From nervousness or perhaps just from being old.

(Ghost Storyteller) These words would be his ending, But the words would just not come As the devil grew impatient For the deal to finally be done.

(Ghost Storyteller) Fate took pity on the composer, And going gently to his side, Offered to write the contract, And the composer nodded his reply.

(Ghost Storyteller) She then took the paper And with bold artistic strokes, Put down their agreement, And this is what she wrote:

(Ghost Storyteller) ~ It is agreed upon this night, March 26, 1827 between the undersigned, that the music of the Tenth Symphony, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, firstborn son of Johann and Maria van Beethoven, of the city of Bonn, shall henceforth be the property of Mephistopheles.

(Ghost Storyteller) It is also understood that it is his intention to remove any signs of this music from the memory of man for all time.

(Ghost Storyteller) In exchange for the destruction of the aforementioned music it is also agreed that Mephistopheles and all his minions will remove themselves from the life of the child presently sleeping in the gutter directly across from the window of this room.

(Ghost Storyteller) This removal of influence is to be commenced immediately upon signing and the be enforced for all eternity. _______________ _________________ Ludwig van Beethoven Mephistopheles ~

(Ghost Storyteller) The devil read it rapidly And quickly signed his name, And slowly, without looking up, Beethoven did the same.

(Ghost Storyteller) The devil grinned a devil’s grin And shoved the symphony over the candle’s flame Savoring the fire that would consume it all, Forever erasing its name.

(Ghost Storyteller) But when the manuscript emerged from the fire, It was still all quite there. It wasn’t burned or even singed. There wasn’t even smoke wafting in the air.

(Ghost Storyteller) He took the symphony once again And forced it to burst into flames, But once again it remained unsigned, And Mephistopheles looked for who to blame.

(Ghost Storyteller) Then the devil heard a giggle Escaping from a grinning dwarf, And looking around, saw Fate’s son, Twist, And he beckoned him to come forth.

(Ghost Storyteller) “Why is this symphony still here? Why does it not ignite? Tell me, you gnome, what do you know? For if it does not burn You might.”

(Ghost Storyteller) Twist squirmed nervously before Satan, But he could not hide his delight As he explained how the music had survived And would live long past this night.

(Ghost Storyteller) “The contract says that you now own The Tenth Symphony Written by the firstborn son named Ludwig Of the Johann and Maria van Beethoven family.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now, a little known fact of history, But I assure you, it’s totally true, That the composer had an older brother Who was named Ludwig van Beethoven, too.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now this child died quite young Before our composer here was born. So they named their second son Ludwig, also, Though you would think the name was getting worn.

(Ghost Storyteller) His older brother lived only days And now is at rest with God. As to why they named their second son Ludwig, too, Perhaps coming up with names back then was hard.

(Ghost Storyteller) So, according to the deal you signed, If the first Ludwig rises through his coffin boards And writes nine other symphonies, The tenth one will be yours!”

(Ghost Storyteller) The devil’s face contorted As he realized he’d been fooled, And the child outside was safe was well, For the contract’s words would rule.

(Ghost Storyteller) The floor opened into an abyss And the devil disappeared As outside the storm subsided And the stars shined in skies now clear.

(Ghost Storyteller) Beethoven stood up in confusion Over what had just occurred. He realized the girl and the symphony were safe From what he had overheard.

(Ghost Storyteller) But he asked Fate why the devil Had not taken his soul to Hell. “He never had your soul,” Fate said. “It was never his to sell.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “But the devil, he said he owned it From my sins that he did summarize.” “Well, the devil may have said that,” Fate replied back. “But, my dear, he’s the devil, he lies.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “But I was rude and cruel in my life,” Beethoven answered with regret. “Yes,” Fate replied, “but the devil left out That those actions were often caused because you were deaf.

(Ghost Storyteller) And the pains that you caused in life You worked twice as hard to undo. And those acts of kindness, even more than your music, That, my friend, is you.

(Ghost Storyteller) It is true that you made some mistakes in life. Sometimes you seemed rude or a fool. But it was always because of your deafness, And not because you were evil or cruel.

(Ghost Storyteller) You went out of your way your whole life To try to amend those your hurt. And when God weighs your sins against your good deeds, The world will be glad of your birth.”

(Ghost Storyteller) “And what about Theresa? Is it now truly too late?” “You will see her again,” Fate replied, “for love, it will always wait.

(Ghost Storyteller) She’s on the other side of this night Which is closer than it seems. And she still be there by your side When you awaken from your next dream.”

~ Slowly the shadows and spirits disappear
~ Slowly the shadows and spirits disappear. The room is now completely empty except for Beethoven who lies down on a cushioned window seat a drifts into his final sleep. ~

A Final Dream

Lay your head down And sleep on my shoulder. And start a new dream.
(Fate) Lay your head down And sleep on my shoulder. And start a new dream.

(Fate) And for tonight The moment is over. Drift in a lullaby Here where the stars reside And angels are always seen.

(Fate) And lay your head down. The stars, they have whispered. Hear what they say And know that it means –

(Fate) The moon is your guide. The stars, they have kissed her As she goes gently by Light as a baby’s sigh Safe on a fairy tale stream

(Fate) And start a new dream.

(Ghost Storyteller) Now you think our story’s over And all have faded from this night. The ghosts, spirits and the Lady Fate Have all faded out of sight.

(Ghost Storyteller) And just when all seemed silent, A window opened up And Twist cam in, his face agrin, With what he had thought up.

(Ghost Storyteller) And picking up the only copy Of Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony, He slid it behind the clock on the wall Where I think it will must be.

(Ghost Storyteller) And some time on some future day, No one can really say when, That manuscript will be discovered, And the music will live again.

The End

Beethoven’s Last Night

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Beethoven’s Last Night"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Beethoven’s Last Night

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Beethoven’s Last Night"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback