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A mass for our times
by Tarek Hassan
Friday, December 19, 2003
Extracts from Mass in C: a dramatic poem taking
from the latin text of the mass
Triggered by performances of the
Bach mass in B minor and the Mozart mass in C minor.
Performed
as a dramatic scene in London set to electronic music by David Cain.
I could call it “a mass for our times”. For brevity I have omitted
the full text but it is available for performance or for setting to
any form of modern music.
And a Happy Christmas to all,
Celebrating
the festive season,
The essence of which seems to obstinately
elude the decision makers in an increasingly violent World.
A Quote from Ghandi:
“There is no way to peace.
Peace is the way.”
IN THE BEGINNING...
THERE WAS NOTHING...
there was
everything
in pure energy
enormous energy falling from
grace,
dissipating attention,
losing balance, energy became
matter
in a great fall into implosion explosion and the big bang
Kyrie eleison
a universe is born
Kyrie
eleison
and life was born
in defiance of the laws of
physics
......... innocently!
Generating energy to
defy the laws of physics continuously or die
Kyrie eleison
..and a miracle consciousness burst on the scene
..and
was named man and woman ..
not angel, not devil, not
programmed insect in bliss
not machine not even unpredictable
restless atom ..
... MAN ..
lawless unpredictable
restless cursed, blessed man
...and he knew
...and was
afraid
he knew ... half truths and believed them to be immutable
the mountains are mountains are mountains are mountains
then the mountains are NOT mountains
then the mountains are
mountains are mountains mountains mountains
he knew and
was afraid and accursed...
and he always got stuck on the road
half way, with half truths
.....and was more afraid
locked in an eternal circuit:
from panic to manufactured
peace to panic
GREATER THAN THE LAWS OF NATURE NURTURE GENETICS AND PHYSICS
VULNERABLE TO ALL
WEAKER THAN THE ANT
Kyrie
eleison
Man's is the eye that maketh and has made
and
man is bewildered, MISINFORMED, abused, vulnerable, afraid
kyrie
Signor per pieta di nosotros
lost is the
knowledge of the non-defiant nature of defiance
lost is the
knowledge of innocence
of the injustice of the expulsion
from heaven
Sophocles said: “it was better for man had he
not been born”
stay in heaven stay in heaven dwell in heaven
forever insulated protected unborn
Kyrie eleison
KYRIE ELEISON
What is vision's weight?
what
awful price?
t'is in the eyes that see
the tortured gaze
repentant pupils
seething for more to see..
Kyrie
eleison
KYRIE ELEISON
Kyrie eleison
Kyrie eleison
KYRIE ELEISON
Lord have
mercy upon us
II-
GLORIA
Glory be to God
on high
.....and the child cried and sang
I AM LIFE
BETRAY ME NOT!
I -everywhere- am God's message and messanger
but the men divided from nature stifled the music with ever
higher sounds: GLORIA GLORIA GLORIA
Glory be to God on
high,
and in earth peace
good will towards men
......and there was not peace
.....and men of good will
were slaughtered
for God
on blood bespattered altars
......and the child cried
but we sang...........of GLORY
.....and we sang of peace
tuttutututututututututututututututututu
duddudududududududududududududududududududu
we have been
divided against ourselves irreparably
Humpty dumpty
dum
da da dum dudududududuududududududududududududududud
there is an enemy lurking out there
out there
the
enemy
THE ENEMY IS OUT THERE
THE ENEMY THE ENEMY IN HERE
THE ENEMY AT THE DOOR
THE ENEMY ON THE ROOF
THE ENEMY
UNDER THE FLOOR
the enemy manufactured and re-manufactured
incessantly
GLORIA
GLORIA
GLORIA
Laudamus te
benedicimus te
adoramus te
glorificamus te
....and two more men slayed each other
for God
....and as they died
they knew
they
embraced one another and kissed
Wilfred Owen wrote before he
was shot:
“I am the enemy you killed my friend
too late!
“Now men will go content with what we spoiled,
Or,
discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.”
I am the enemy you
killed my friend!
THE ENEMY THE ENEMY THE ENEMY OUT THERE !
THE ENEMY IS OUT THERE ! THE ENEMY IS IN HERE! THE ENEMY IS AT
THE DOOR
the child cried....
the child died.....
FATHER??
MOTHERRRR????
ALL THIS BLOOD?
the
distracted adult was born instead suitably blind to Ghandi, Osiris
and Mozart
Blind to Mohammed and Jesus
Humpty Dumpty
fight HERO! fight and destroy the enemy out there!
Lord!
We give thanks to thee for thy great glory
....we sang of
glory and of peace
....our tongues bleed
Lord have mercy
upon us GIVE US GRACE
THE CHILD IS DYING OR IS DEAD
WOMAN MAN AND CHILD ARE DYING OR ARE DEAD
NATURE IS
Dying or is DEAD
THE CHILD …
Lord! Ford! We give
thanks to thee for thy great glory
life wept
..and turned
away
Father we've turned away the devil GIVE US PEACE
Father our tongues bleed
Father have mercy upon us GIVE
US GRACE
O Lord God
Rex coelestis
pater omnipotens
domine fili unigenite
Jesu Christie
altissime domine
Deus
agnus Dei
filius patris
filius patris
filius patris
and we killed the son for the father
Lord have mercy upon us we are afraid
LORD HAVE MERCY UPON
US GIVE US GRACE
Qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nobis
Lord receive our prayers
DO NOT LIVE
Lord have mercy
upon us
DO NOT LIVE
Lord relieve us of our sins
DO NOT
LIVE
Lord give us PEACE
DO NOT LIVE WE WANT GRACE
like the angels
Qui sedes ad dextram patris miserere
nobis
Lord we want you safe and dead..
..for our
comfort..HAVE MERCY UPON US
...DIE please..and be WORSHIPPED
AND BLESSED..
For thou only art holy
thou only art the
Lord
thou only art most high
..and the knife of fear
killed the son again..
and in his death he was worshipped
above all things
and was reborn
..and begged his
worshippers for a kiss..
..and they closed the door
for it was a day of worship
and they wished to celebrate
and pray..
...and he died again
alone
and without
hate
Quoniam tu solus sanctus
tu solus altissimus
..........THEY PRAYED
..........and they worshipped..
Cum sancto spiritu in gloria Dei patris
Amen
....they prayed
.......and they worshipped
...and he
died
alone...
Dona Nobis pacem
(there is no way to
peace, PEACE IS THE WAY “Ghandi”)
that which makes the seed
flower
that which makes the sperm struggle
that which makes
GROW..
help us come to you
help us love you
and the
sperm said
and the flower...
let no man kill another
for in the other he kills part of himself
give us the
courage not to kill..
give us the courage not to NEED to kill..
give us the ingenuity to surmount the need to kill
give us
the courage to BE YOU
......without hate
and to neutralise
and disempower the life-haters and the dead
..........without
hate
....and give us peace.........
GIVE US PEACE
...give us peace that is the love of all things
..give
us peace that is the love of all things known and unknown
not
the peace which is the nothingness of the literal law
....give us the whiteness that is the harmony of all colors
not the whiteness that is the rejection of all colors
..and let the whiteness of nothingness meet the whiteness of
all things...in a gentle kiss..
......and give us peace.....
..........FOR IN THE END.....
THERE IS NOTHING .....AND
EVERYTHING.....
while the world of men grows larger and
safer for the children to love and play and grow and sing!
Lead us to non-violence and
GIVE US PEACE
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