 | The Piper of Hamelin |  |
Liza.
Con.
Liza.
Con.
Liza.
[Music. Cries without.
Enter Martha. Recitative.
Mar.
O woe! O horror!
Liza.
Martha, what's the matter?
Mar.
That terrible Piper. On his pipe he's playing,
And out of every door and every gateway
The little children flock and gladly follow!
He comes this way!
Liza.
Oh, now I understand him!
Alas! he's luring them to their destruction.
[Music swells. Enter the Piper playing a beautiful melody. As he goes, swarms of little children follow behind him, of all ages up to fourteen, some lame, some blind, all looking at vacancy, and following the sound. As they sing the following, the Piper's music accompanies them, piano.
Children.
Children, children, do not stay,
A sweet voice calls, we must obey!
(Voices off.)
Come away!
Children.
Where the summer roses blow,
Ripe grapes cluster, fountains flow,
Pretty fairies white as snow,
Come and go,
In a bright and golden day!
Come away.
(Voices.)
Come away! come away!
Enter Citizens, in terror.
Chatter-Chorus.
Sight most shocking! how they're flocking
Out of every door together.
Stop them, stay them, he will slay them!
Annchen! Bertha! Hans! come hither!
Children, to Piper's Music.
Hasten, hasten, do not stay!
In the golden fields we'll play,
(Voices.)
Come away!
Children.
See they beckon all in white,
Down the meadows, up the height,
In the golden summer light,
Ah, so bright!
Hasten, hasten, do not stay.
Come away!
(Voices.)
Come away! come away!
Recitative.
Mayor.
Stop him, arrest him. Murder! Help! Despair!
Piper.
Back! He who stirs a finger dies. (Movement.)
Beware!
Chorus.
Sight of sadness! full of gladness
How they flock in swarms behind him!
Stop them, stay them, he will slay them!
Children! Children! Do not mind him.
Liza, Aria.
O hearken to our pleading and our sighing,
Spare the children, they are innocent of guile.
The houses will be empty of their crying,
And the mothers will look vainly for their smile.
Take the strongest and the bravest of the city,
Take the fairest, they will follow anywhere!
But spare the little children, O for pity,
For the sake of those who love them, spare, O spare!
Chorus.
Spare them, O spare!
Piper.
Too late your prayer.
Chorus.
They're lost! Despair!
Piper.
No power can stay
Or set them free!
They go with me
Far, far away!
No more you'll hear their happy cries,
No more you'll look into their eyes!
Henceforth with me their souls shall dwell!
Bid them farewell! a last farewell!
Recitative.
Liza.
(To little Hans.)
Hans, is it thou? Come hither, dear, come hither!
Heed not the voice that summons you away.
Alas! he wanders on, he knows not whither,
His eyes are fixed in dream! he will not stay
Little Hans.
(In trance.)
See! see!
The beautiful bright Land,
Where the angels stand
Beckoning and smiling to me!
Hark, can you not hear?
Such sweet, sweet singing!
And the sun shines clear,
Glad birds are winging,
And flowers springing.
How beautiful it seems!
And my mother's face shines bright,
Just as it does in dreams
When I lie asleep at night.
[Struggling in Liza's arms.
She calls, she calls, I cannot stay.
Voices.
Come away! come away!
Children.
Children, children, come away,
A sweet voice calls, we must obey.
Piper.
(In a loud voice.)
Come away!
Voices.
(Off, very piano.)
Come away! come away!
[As the Children follow the Piper up and surround him, he stands towering over them in triumph, with a wild laugh. The people stand amazed and wringing their hands. To the last dying sound of the voices the Act-drop slowly descends.
What can he mean?
Con.
I'm almost afraid to guess.
Liza.
Oh, Conrad, I was sure he was no piper.
He's some wicked fiend.
Con.
What?
Liza.
I'm sure of it? I seemed to smell brimstone
in his very breath.
[Music. Cries without.
Enter Martha. Recitative.
Mar.
O woe! O horror!
Liza.
Martha, what's the matter?
39
That terrible Piper. On his pipe he's playing,
And out of every door and every gateway
The little children flock and gladly follow!
He comes this way!
Liza.
Oh, now I understand him!
Alas! he's luring them to their destruction.
[Music swells. Enter the Piper playing a beautiful melody. As he goes, swarms of little children follow behind him, of all ages up to fourteen, some lame, some blind, all looking at vacancy, and following the sound. As they sing the following, the Piper's music accompanies them, piano.
Children.
Children, children, do not stay,
A sweet voice calls, we must obey!
(Voices off.)
Come away!
Children.
Where the summer roses blow,
Ripe grapes cluster, fountains flow,
Pretty fairies white as snow,
Come and go,
In a bright and golden day!
Come away.
(Voices.)
Come away! come away!
Enter Citizens, in terror.
Chatter-Chorus.
Sight most shocking! how they're flocking
Out of every door together.
Stop them, stay them, he will slay them!
Annchen! Bertha! Hans! come hither!
40
Hasten, hasten, do not stay!
In the golden fields we'll play,
(Voices.)
Come away!
Children.
See they beckon all in white,
Down the meadows, up the height,
In the golden summer light,
Ah, so bright!
Hasten, hasten, do not stay.
Come away!
(Voices.)
Come away! come away!
Recitative.
Mayor.
Stop him, arrest him. Murder! Help! Despair!
Piper.
Back! He who stirs a finger dies. (Movement.)
Beware!
Chorus.
Sight of sadness! full of gladness
How they flock in swarms behind him!
Stop them, stay them, he will slay them!
Children! Children! Do not mind him.
Liza, Aria.
O hearken to our pleading and our sighing,
Spare the children, they are innocent of guile.
The houses will be empty of their crying,
And the mothers will look vainly for their smile.
41
Take the fairest, they will follow anywhere!
But spare the little children, O for pity,
For the sake of those who love them, spare, O spare!
Chorus.
Spare them, O spare!
Piper.
Too late your prayer.
Chorus.
They're lost! Despair!
Piper.
No power can stay
Or set them free!
They go with me
Far, far away!
No more you'll hear their happy cries,
No more you'll look into their eyes!
Henceforth with me their souls shall dwell!
Bid them farewell! a last farewell!
Recitative.
Liza.
(To little Hans.)
Hans, is it thou? Come hither, dear, come hither!
Heed not the voice that summons you away.
Alas! he wanders on, he knows not whither,
His eyes are fixed in dream! he will not stay
Little Hans.
(In trance.)
See! see!
The beautiful bright Land,
Where the angels stand
Beckoning and smiling to me!
Hark, can you not hear?
Such sweet, sweet singing!
And the sun shines clear,
42
And flowers springing.
How beautiful it seems!
And my mother's face shines bright,
Just as it does in dreams
When I lie asleep at night.
[Struggling in Liza's arms.
She calls, she calls, I cannot stay.
Voices.
Come away! come away!
Children.
Children, children, come away,
A sweet voice calls, we must obey.
Piper.
(In a loud voice.)
Come away!
Voices.
(Off, very piano.)
Come away! come away!
[As the Children follow the Piper up and surround him, he stands towering over them in triumph, with a wild laugh. The people stand amazed and wringing their hands. To the last dying sound of the voices the Act-drop slowly descends.
| The Piper of Hamelin | |