musicians of old

Chapter 833 No Miracles
"Boom!!"

Once turned on, the light is intensely white.

The massive doors of the monastery church, facing the courtroom, had been pushed aside by the two burly monks.

The hinge stopped, the slide into the groove, and the sound was deafening!
Meanwhile, Fanning's Newm sign gesture had already cut into the air like a rusted blade!

The dozens of violastras in front of the choir suddenly began to play a deep, repetitive A note. Under this aggressive 4/4 time signature, the somber A minor main theme pressed directly into the entire sound field.

Meanwhile, in the center of the courtroom, rows of cross-shaped stakes had been erected, looking like a series of menacing steel swings when viewed together.

Nancy was strapped to the largest of the three frames in the middle, her head bowed like the others.

Beneath the swing were piles of parchment scrolls, which were the “heresy” scores tied with red ribbons. Judging by the quantity, they probably represent the archives of the Guido Dalezo Monastery over the past few hundred years!
Of course, compared to the scene before them, the atmosphere of the opening music composed by the scribe Fanning was what made the audience's hearts stop!

Is the theme of this so-called "March in A minor and Hymn of the Crowd" a "Judgment March" or a "Dark March"?
The bishops and deans below the stands were equally shocked, but after carefully comparing and searching the sacred music regulations in their minds, they all seemed to have sources to follow, making it difficult to draw a conclusion for the time being.

Form 1, the "prototype," begins with an octave leap and a third cut, followed by a falling note pattern, seemingly mimicking the rise and fall of the guillotine's blade; Form 2, the "fall," further emphasizes the falling note pattern; Form 3, the "sigh," features repeated notes separated by rests, forming an octave followed by a sixteenth-note rhythm; Form 4, the "mockery," consists of notes descending in a continuous stepwise manner.
Four basic rhythmic and melodic patterns exist, either clearly or subtly, in the musical ideas that develop later in the march, thereby effectively controlling the somber atmosphere of the entire work!

The monks of the Inquisition had already sprung into action, like busy worker ants. Looking around, they were wearing black robes trimmed with scarlet lace, carefully scattering finely ground mica or some kind of lead-containing reflective mineral powder on the ground.

Under the protection of the constantly recited Creed, the powder shimmered in the sunlight, forming artificial trails of light that stretched from the church to the stake.

They believed that a miracle was about to happen.

The flames of judgment reflected by the stained-glass windows in the church's dome will surely fall precisely and without deviation on the scores and bodies of heretics, achieving complete purification.

“A miracle.” A slight smile seemed to appear on Fanning’s lips.

His hand gestures went from high to low, until around measure 57, when the musicians playing the tabora drums followed his instructions and struck out a series of strange, characteristic rhythmic patterns that resembled the "heartbeat of fate."

Then, the festival trumpet played a “warning chord” that was abruptly spliced ​​together with a “major triad-minor triad”.

It begins with a metallic, bright tone, but quickly transforms into a muddy, glassy state, as if a person, amidst peaceful and joyful conversation, suddenly remembers an unresolved, gloomy sin.

This strange and ominous sound caused the expressions of many of the sacred music performers present to change even further!

As the march ends, the chorus section begins, serving as a transition between the principal and secondary marches.

The soltir plays the previous theme motif as a counterpoint, while the melody above is sung slowly and evenly by the choir in half notes, clearly disrupting the previous tension and impulse.

However, its development was too static, and it unfortunately abandoned the power of the march, making it sound anything but bright. It wouldn't be wrong to call it a "dark hymn of praise".

Dark March and Dark Chorus. Without giving any emotional preparation for the following secondary theme, Fanning closed her eyes slightly, faced the musicians, and raised her arms.

The sub-theme melody is "Love in the Mortal World".

A deeply moving ballad in F major, the notes soaring passionately upwards and then falling heartbreakingly downwards.

The long and short circuitous sentences, the numerous separated rests, and the sudden bursts of force made Dean Bogre frown deeply!

The sacred music material adopted and adapted by Fanning in the entire work "March and Hymn in A minor" was clearly selected under the strict screening of the joint jury, and the final draft a few days ago clearly did not contain such absurd or ominous vocabulary!

Did Fanning make another arbitrary change at the last minute? But he kept someone locked in a room for the last few days and didn't have much contact with the choir or sacred music ensemble. Could it be that the improvisation and guidance on stage have changed?
With so many important figures watching, the matter could only be investigated later, and the time was almost up. Bogre, expressionless, gestured to the monks in charge of the executions in the interrogation room.

“You will be burned like wood, and your blood will flow in the land. You will be remembered no more, for it is true, as my lord has said.”

The clergy began to recite in unison the passages from the Book of Ezekiel that judge sinners.

Instantly, the mineral powder scattered on the ground path began to shimmer and dance with golden light.

The sunlight from the sky, refracted through the church murals and stained glass windows, and guided by the mineral powder, caused wisps of blue smoke to rise from the piles of parchment scrolls in the courtroom within a few breaths!
miracle!

This is a miracle!

Gasps of surprise erupted from the onlookers.

Without any ignition or heating, the scrolls under the pyre began to smoke, which must mean that the person bound to them was guilty!
“If you treat others according to their appearance, you sin and are condemned by the law as criminals,” Fan Ning said at the same time, responding with a warning from the Book of James.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to the choir's lead singer's platform.

“Why did you alter the procedures of the sacred music ceremony, Master Fanning?” Bogre’s eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing through the layers of blue smoke rising from the parchment score. “Monks of the Inquisition, raise your rods high and restrain his behavior, so that he may be awakened and repent.”

"Your Excellency Fanning, what do you wish to say?" Bishop Christopher and Bishop Tuckerville's words were more of an inquiry.

However, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out, first striking the ground and then the wood—several disciplined monks had received orders and were quickly walking through the church, climbing up to the platform, preparing to take action against Fanning.

“At that time, in the territory of Damanuta, the Pharisees came up and questioned the Lord, asking him to show a miracle from heaven.”

Seeing this, Fan Ning chuckled and sighed softly; the church candlelight condensed into two golden spots in his eyes—

"But the Lord says, 'Why does this generation ask for signs? Truly I tell you, there are no signs to be shown to this generation!'"