The Immortal Hour

(November 2024 Demo Page)

text by Fiona Macleod (ca. 1900) music by The Blackbird

This page is private and intended for musicians and performers who are helping to build the production only. In no way are the versions here to be released to the public.

Please keep these works private and confidential, these are not the final versions, the mix is still in process, but these are the entire performance.

Cast & Crew of the CD Production

Greg Dinunzi: Dalua, Midir, The Bard, & Guitars, Keyboards.

RJ Stewart: King Eochaidh & Psaltery

Lia Fisher Lindman/Denise Jastraunig/Shannon Callahan: Etain

Paul Hetherington: Manus * Michele Cuomo: Maeve

Leonardo von Papp: Mallets and Percussion * Karola Elssner: Duduk and Bass Clarinet

Dirk Beisse/Ray Würzebesser: Cello. * Christiane Buchenau/Mariana Vozovik : Viola

Sound Design: Tom Lynn and Greg Dinunzi

Recorded and Mixed by Tom Lynn

Have a Good Journey!

-The Blackbird

(This work is intended to be listened to in its entirety as you would if you were watching a movie or play.)

The Immortal Hour

Act 1

(Scenes 1 & 2) Where Dalua: The God of Shadow and divine madness, and Etain: a Sidhe royal of immortal beauty are mysteriously invoked in the forest at the edge of the world without knowing why or by whom.

Eochaidh, the Great King of Ireland, has arrived in the enchanted forest at the world’s end to pursue the source of his greatest desire and dream: The Fount of Beauty where he hopes to win an undying moment of beauty beyond all mortal experience.

Act 1 (Scene 3) Dalua, after hearing the heartbeat of a mortal in the forest leads Etain to the Huntsman’s Lodge where Eochaidh is also drawn. With the pieces all being in place, Dalua withdraws to allow things to unfold. Etain and Eochaidh meet in the lodge run by Manus and Maeve.

End of Act I.

***

Act 2:

(Scene 1) One year later at the court of King Eochaidh and his Queen Etain. They celebrate their first perfect year together, but they share that they are both troubled by dreams and premonitions.

An unknown Lord arrives (Midir) and challenges the Eochaidh to a game of fidchell, an ancient game of strategy like chess, where unborn Gods battle and kings are pawns. The winner will be granted his greatest wish.

Act 2 (Scene 2.1) The Strange Lord wins, and as a boon, he desires only to kiss the Queen’s Hand and permission to sing a song he wrote for her.

Act 2 (Scene 2 Ending) Midir, the Sidhe royal associated with Love, breaks the spell which has enchanted Etain and stolen her memory of herself, and they return to The Land of the Young, (Tir na nOg) leaving the King Eochaidh with Dalua.

With Etain lost to him, Eochaidh finds himself alone. Dalua returns to deliver him the only dream left to him: the dream of death.