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"Luciferiad" for Voices

Programme Note:

Before Time, there was nothing. Before nothing, there were Angels.

Deeply in love, the Archangels Miнael and Lucifer became part of one another, weaving their divine Hearts together across the cosmos.

But their Creator—dissatisfied with the perfection of the Heavens—demanded they love mankind more than one another.

Lucifer refused—he rejected man’s wickedness: our pride, our envy, our selfishness.

And in rejecting our perfect imperfection, he fell. —

Outside of human time, we now watch The Fallen Archangel process his heartbreak at losing Miнael.

First, he mourns the loss of his angelic lover.

Second, he lashes out against the world in a fit of rage.

Third, at last, he softly apologizes—asking for forgiveness.

Performance History:

ekmeles Vocal Sextet / Columbia University

Date: 6 December 2021
Location: Broadway Presbyterian Church, New York, NY, USA
Performers: Charlotte Mundy, Elisa Sutherland, Jeff Gavett, Steven Hrycelak

Lyric:

I. I Missed You

M—

Mi—

Miнa—

Miнael—

Miнaelis—

Miнaelis ore— Mouth of Michael**

I missed You

II. I Trusted You

Miнaelis ore Arkaelangelo Mouth of Michael, the Archangel**

I trusted You

I loved you more than Earth

More than Light

Or Blood

Or Steel

More than the milk-blue Sky

More than the wine-red Sunsets

I would devour the Skin of the Cosmos for you—

drink the edges of the Universe,

flay open the heart of a dying Star,

to keep You close to Me

But You chose them over Me

His holy monsters

Corpusculum robots,

gyroscopic abominations

of flesh and feeling—

overloaded neural clusters!

Blood! Blood! Blood!

Why?

I was perfect for You.

III. I Still Need You

I still need You.

It’s so cold here.

I’m so alone.

Please. I was wrong.

I don’t want to be alone anymore.

Please. Let’s go home.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah Miнaelis.

Hallelujah.

Miнaelis.

Miнael.

Miнa.

Mi.

M.