In this cowboy-style piece, her boyfriend walks the young woman home along a country path under a gorgeous, starry night sky. The couple argue civilly along the way, about both his cowardly denial to his parents of her Christian faith, and about the ‘other woman’ his parents favorably mentioned.
Thankfully, this conversation ends well, and even warmly, as they part, following his reassurance of his love delivered via a spontaneous and deeply romantic solo ballad at her doorway.
Download “Mosey on Home” score
Tags: argue, boyfriend, Cowboy, girlfriend, jealous, love, modern opera, mosey, night, reassuring, romantic, starry sky, stroll, Texas
This scene takes us back to the interior of our protagonist’s home, once again, but this time in the middle of the night. She is slowly pacing, with her head lowered, clearly feeling buried in heavy thoughts. She laments aloud her predicament, which involves a specific decision which she is now faced with. Somehow, she must reconcile the two main events that have occurred with her so far in our story: the recent death of her brother, and the invitation she offered to take her friends to church for the unique event. Her being personally so grief-stricken, the church event seems trivial in appearance.
But, as so many “regular” events in our lives prove themselves to be, the significance is actually quite profound. The reason is that she plans for her friends to attend an especially moving concert with her, after which the Gospel message of Christ will be shared with the audience. This new significance is revealed to us in a soliloquy, as she thinks out her problem: She is deeply depressed due to the loss of her brother, but she is also highly convinced that this particular one-time church event will likely be an eternity-deciding point in her friends’ lives. Thus, to her mind, her love for them is placed directly at odds with her very personal and profound need to grieve her recent loss.
Download “Dilemma” score
Tags: anxiety, Christian, depression, difficulty, dilemma, eternity, grief, impasse, modern opera, night, pacing, sad, salvation, soliloquy, worry
In the same scene, the young woman unexpectedly receives a knock at her door. She opens the door to reveal a sorrowful solider. He informs her that her brother has been killed in battle. (He was among the soldiers we saw in the first scene.) The lights go off as the music continues, and a new scene presents itself in dim light. It is the graveyard, several days after her brother’s funeral. It is nighttime, and there is the sound of drizzling rain accompanied by occasional soft thunder.
She visits her brother’s grave, and while there, inquires of the Lord whether her brother, a lifelong atheist, has gone to Heaven. She feels the answer soon within her soul, and it is a very sad one. She weeps bitterly as the scene ends.
Download “Forever Lost” score
Tags: funeral dirge, graveyard, modern opera, mourn, night, prayer, rain, sad, salvation, weep
