The following is part of the opening chapters of a novel I have written based on my youthful experiences. It is based on Schubert's song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin which tells the tale of a young miller who falls in love. You can find the earlier chapters on this blog. One day I'll put the whole thing up as a iBook.
The Beautiful Miller Maid by Janette Miller
Chapter 2 Where? Part 4
Performance, any performance
is like consummating a marriage. Here was an middle aged, performance hardened
experienced man and a young, inexperienced girl of whom King actually knew
nothing, performing in front of this knowledgeable audience and neither of them
had really met let alone practiced. Simon knew at that moment that he had taken
one hell of a risk. It could be a disaster for both of them.
It was just like consummating
an arranged marriage in public. Both had to get on with it, like another famous couple, a young
Marie Antoinette and her young husband, many years ago in France, in very public public. It took Louis XVI many years but for King and Antoinette the moment had come.
Antoinette stood still and
composed while Simon played page after page of the introduction. It was very
long and seemed even longer to Antoinette who had never heard it before and
keeping his fingers crossed Simon gave the eye signal and four bars later in
Antoinette came dead in pitch and singing like an angel.
Audiences then were unused to
the untrained, natural female voice. There was little call for it. Composers
never wrote for young girls only choir boys and because of no audio
enhancement young girls had to
trained to become hooting
hollering sopranos so the freshness of the sound that came out of her
mouth was like a breath of magic. The audience sat stunned as they listened for
perhaps the first time, to the beauty a young girl’s voice. The Pied Piper part had not done Antoinette justice but Wagner
certainly had.
The piece was over and both
Antoinette and Simon were overcome with relief. He got up and kissed her and
said “Thank you, thank you so
much. I am just so sorry I put you through this.” Then he took her had and
squeezed it as only an intimate can. His handshake said “Thank you we are
artistic equals and I admire you! You may be just 14 but not many singers could
do what you did for me tonight ”
Simon led her forward to take
her applause and she curtseyed so beautifully and gracefully and gently without
smiling as if to say to the audience “for me? This is for me?” Then still in
the deep curtsey she raised her head and smiled at the audience, flashing her
eyes from side to side , taking in the house and the house responded and went
absolutely wild with applause and encores.
“I think we must ask for an
encore!” The Royal host demanded and amid the uproar Antoinette looked a Mr.
King and said ‘Do you mean I have to do this again?”
“I am afraid so” said Mr.
King “Sorry, but you’ll enjoy this time. We both shall enjoy it this time” and
they did. This time they knew what they were doing and the music took them to a
different world away from the crowds.
It was over, again rapturous
applause. King arose from the piano, took Antoinette’s hand and said while
shaking it softly. “I really enjoyed that, thank you, thank you so much!” Simon King's admiration for this young lady who had done him proud under the most difficult circumstances was boundless. Miss Miller had definitely put Tring in his place, even Tring could not top her performance that night!
A kiss on the forehead, lots of curtseys and that was it. Antoinette Miller left for London with her
parents the next morning.
“The audience certainly
seemed to like her” said a flustered Tring the next day. "Pity she is not a
boy!”
The Beautiful Miller Maid Chapter 3 Part 1 The Halt by the Brook can be found here
The Beautiful Miller Maid Chapter 3 Part 1 The Halt by the Brook can be found here
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