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Title: The evergreen tree
Author: Percy MacKaye
Release Date: April 7, 2023 [eBook #70498]
Language: English
Produced by: Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EVERGREEN TREE ***
WORKS BY PERCY MACKAYE
_PLAYS_
THE CANTERBURY PILGRIMS. A Comedy.
JEANNE D’ARC. A Tragedy.
SAPPHO AND PHAON. A Tragedy.
FENRIS, THE WOLF. A Tragedy.
A GARLAND TO SYLVIA. A Dramatic Reverie.
THE SCARECROW. A Tragedy of the Ludicrous.
YANKEE FANTASIES. Five One-Act Plays.
MATER. An American Study in Comedy.
ANTI-MATRIMONY. A Satirical Comedy.
TO-MORROW. A Play in Three Acts.
A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. A Romance of the Orient.
_COMMUNITY DRAMAS_
CALIBAN. A Community Masque.
SAINT LOUIS. A Civic Masque.
SANCTUARY. A Bird Masque.
THE NEW CITIZENSHIP. A Civic Ritual.
THE EVERGREEN TREE. A Christmas Masque.
_OPERAS_
SINBAD, THE SAILOR. A Fantasy.
THE IMMIGRANTS. A Tragedy.
THE CANTERBURY PILGRIMS. A Comedy.
_POEMS_
THE SISTINE EVE, AND OTHER POEMS.
URIEL, AND OTHER POEMS.
LINCOLN. A Centenary Ode.
THE PRESENT HOUR. Poems of War and Peace.
POEMS AND PLAYS. In Two Volumes.
_ESSAYS_
THE PLAYHOUSE AND THE PLAY.
THE CIVIC THEATRE.
A SUBSTITUTE FOR WAR.
COMMUNITY DRAMA. An Interpretation.
_ALSO (As Editor)_
THE CANTERBURY TALES. A Modern Rendering into Prose.
THE MODERN READER’S CHAUCER (with Professor J. S. P. Tatlock).
_AT ALL BOOKSELLERS_
[Illustration]
[Illustration: DANCE-CAROL OF THE EVERGREEN
_So we will sing our even-song_
_And dance for thee, like king and queen,—_
_O Evergreen, dear Evergreen!—_
_To make thy heart be merry._ (Page 42)]
The
EVERGREEN TREE
by
PERCY MACKAYE
[Illustration]
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK LONDON
1917
_Copyright, 1917, by_
PERCY MACKAYE
_All Rights Reserved_
NOTE: For Information concerning Permission to
produce this Masque or to read it in Public, see
ANNOUNCEMENTS, on page 81 of this volume.
Printed in the United States of America
The
EVERGREEN TREE
A Masque of Christmas Time for
Community Singing and Acting
by
PERCY MACKAYE
With Scenic and Costume Designs
by
ROBERT EDMOND JONES
Together with
THREE MONOGRAPHS ON THE MASQUE
written by
the Author, the Scenic Designer,
and
ARTHUR FARWELL
Composer of the Music
TO
THOSE FRIENDLY THOUSANDS
OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN
IN AMERICAN TOWNS AND CITIES, WHO HAVE
SHARED WITH THE AUTHOR IN HIS MASQUES
A COMMON DEVOTION TO THE HAPPY CAUSE
OF A COMMUNAL ART
THIS MASQUE IS DEDICATED
IN CHRISTMAS FELLOWSHIP
PREFACE
Always an evergreen tree points up at a star.
Always a star looks somewhere down on the cradle of a child.
Always, once in the year, a child laughs up at evergreen boughs.
Tree, star and child are triune in the poetry of nature—a constellation
of man that never sets.
The antic mirth, the naïve awe of paganism, the joy and passion of
Christianity, are masks happy and tragic which the Folk Spirit of
childhood has worn for ages, and shall wear for ages more, in ritual of a
tree that never dies.
On the verge of No-Man’s-Land, where the blasted earth reels amid war’s
stench and thunder; in calm cathedrals, to carolling choirs; by lonely
chimney sides, or amid the young, tense assemblies of army camps,
Christmas—this Christmas of our new age—grows again in the ancient
greenness of a little tree.
How may we, too, do it homage?
Not forgetting the old simple merriment of folk days gone by, how shall
we say—and sing—to our tree something of that deep response which we feel
to-day to the creative sadness of our time?
Our young men are going out to the war: our country is grappling the
issue of a planet. Here is a dramatic conflict, not for us as spectators,
but as participants. Here is a theme, not of the traditional theatre,
but of a communal drama, the action of which is at once a battle and a
prayer. How may we take part together in expressing such a theme, at this
new Christmas time?
Surely it must be through some simple festival—chiefly of song, for
song is elemental to us all: a festival in which our people—young,
old, rich, poor, women, men, but chiefly our young soldiers—may share,
outdoors or indoors, in a ritual, democratic and devotional, on a scale
great or small, simple to act and symbolize: a drama not designed for a
hollow amphitheatre of spectators, but for a level-floored cathedral of
communicants: a drama in which the goal of world liberty we battle for
is clearly contrasted with its opposite, that we ourselves may not lose
sight of our goal or swerve from it, as our common prayer, in the midst
of battle. And there, as the focus-point of our festival and symbol of
it—the tree of light: light of our own childhood and of the world’s.
I do not know whether this simple masque will prove worthy to help in
creating such a festival for our new Christmas time—I can only wish and
hope that it may.
PERCY MACKAYE.
Cornish, New Hampshire, September, 1917.
CONTENTS
PAGE
_INTRODUCTORY_
DEDICATION ix
PREFACE xi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiv
PERSONS AND GROUPS xv
CHORUSES AND CAROLS xvi
THE COMMUNITY CHORUS xvii
TIME AND PLACE xvii
QUOTATION FROM ST. MATTHEW xviii
_TEXT OF THE MASQUE IN TWELVE ACTIONS_
I. “WHO KEEPETH WATCH?” 1
II. THE LANTERN IN THE DESERT 9
III. “SOMEBODY IS COMING!” 11
IV. THE LIGHT-CHILD 14
V. “SWORD OF THE WORLD” 21
VI. THE BEFRIENDING 28
VII. THE THREE WISE MEN 31
VIII. “WHICH, O LORD, IS WISEST?” 34
IX. OUTCASTS 44
X. THE WOUNDED PEDLAR 48
XI. THE PERSECUTING HOST 53
XII. THE MORNING STARS 54
_COMMENTARIES_
COMMUNITY PRELUDE 69
COMMUNITY EPILUDE 72
THREE MONOGRAPHS:
I. DRAMATIZING COMMUNITY SONG, BY PERCY MACKAYE 73
II. COMMUNITY MUSIC AND THE COMPOSER, BY ARTHUR FARWELL 77
III. DESIGNS FOR “THE EVERGREEN TREE,” BY ROBERT EDMOND JONES 78
ACTION OF “THE EVERGREEN TREE” 80
ANNOUNCEMENTS CONCERNING MUSIC AND PRODUCTION 81
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
_I. SCENES_
DANCE-CAROL OF THE EVERGREEN _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
THE LIGHT-CHILD 16
SWORD OF THE WORLD 24
THE THREE WISE MEN 32
OUTCASTS 44
THE PEDLAR-KING 62
THE MORNING STARS 66
_II. GROUND-PLAN_ 69
_III. COSTUMES_
GNOME, TREE, ELF 78
BEAR, WOLF, LION 78
JOSEPH, MARY, SHEPHERDS 78
HOST, HEROD, CAPTAIN 78
BELSHASAR, CASPAR, MELCHIOR 78
FOLLOWERS OF BELSHASAR, CASPAR, MELCHIOR 78
SORROW, SONG, DEATH, POVERTY 78
RUTH, CLAUS, CHILDREN, CHORUS B 78
_PERSONS AND GROUPS_
In the Order of their Appearance
PERSONS
ELF
GNOME
TREE
WOLF
BEAR
LION
JOSEPH
MARY (Mute)
SHEPHERD
CAPTAIN OF THE HOST OF HEROD
HEROD
BELSHASAR
MELCHIOR
CASPAR
RUTH
CLAUS
SONG (Mute)
SORROW (Mute)
DEATH
POVERTY (Mute)
GROUPS
SHEPHERDS
HOST OF HEROD
FOLLOWERS OF THE THREE KINGS
OUTCASTS: FOLLOWERS OF SONG, SORROW AND POVERTY
For Army Camp productions, in camps where it may not be practicable to
have women as acting principals, the two mute female figures, MARY and
SONG, may—if necessary—be omitted, and RUTH be acted by some well-skilled
youth, as was the custom in Elizabethan days. The part of TREE, in any
production, may be acted either by a young woman or by a young man (in
small-scale productions preferably by a young woman). ELF and GNOME are
preferably acted by children: a girl and a boy, or—if desirable—by two
boys. In Chorus A, and in the first Semi-Chorus of the Outcasts, choir
boys may, if need be, take the places of women.
_CHORUSES AND CAROLS_
CHORUSES
_First Action_ I. (A,1) Chorus of the Wilderness.
_Fourth Action_ II. (A,2) Light of the World.
_Fourth Action_ III. (A,3) The Star.
_Fifth Action_ IV. (B,1) The Might of Herod.
_Fifth Action_ V. (A,4 B,2) The Wrath of Herod.
_Fifth and Eleventh_ VI. and X. Song of the Persecuting Host.
(B,3 and 4)
_Sixth Action_ VII. and VIII. Glory and Serenity.
(A,5 and 6)
_Ninth Action_ IX. (A,7) Dirge of the Outcasts.
_Twelfth Action_ XI. (A,8 and B,5) Chorus of the Christmas Tree.
Part I: The Pedlar-King.
Part II: The Tree.
Part III: The Child.
CAROLS
_Second Action_ 1. Joseph’s Carol.
_Third Action_ 2. Fairy Round.
_Fourth Action_ 3. Luck Song.
_Fourth Action_ 4. The Tree-Child’s Lullaby.
_Seventh Action_ 5. “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”
_Eighth Action_ 6. The Bell, the Sword and the Laughter.
_Eighth Action_ 7. Dance-Carol of the Evergreen.
_Tenth Action_ 8. Ballad of the Kings and the Pedlar.
In modified small-scale productions of the Masque, where it may be
impracticable to render all the music in its completeness, the Carols
alone may be sung. In that event, the Choruses should not be wholly
omitted, but may be rendered as Choral Poems spoken in chanted speech by
properly qualified leaders (at Stage A and Stage B), as indicated in the
“Guide to the Evergreen Tree” pamphlet, referred to in the Announcements
on the last page of this volume.
_THE COMMUNITY CHORUS_
is in two divisions, as follows:
CHORUS A, in White: Men and Women: located near Stage A.
CHORUS B, in Red: Men: located near Stage B.
_TIME AND PLACE_
TIME
The Time is laid on a night shortly after the birth of Christ.
PLACE
The Masque takes place in Four Regions, indicated by Two Stages, and Two
Aisles, the Audience being located between the two stages.
Stage A represents the Place of Outcasts: a knoll, with path, in the
Wilderness, before the Evergreen Tree.
Stage B (located opposite Stage A) represents the Place of Empire: the
Gateway and Steps to the Palace of Herod.
Aisle I (located on the right of Stage B, as one faces Stage A)
represents a Pathway from the land of Herod into the Wilderness.
Aisle II (located on the left of Stage B and parallel to Aisle I)
represents another Pathway into the Wilderness.
See Ground Plan opposite page 69.
_From the Gospel of Saint Matthew: Chapter II_
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the
king, behold, there came Wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him.”
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled....
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for
the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I
may come and worship him also.”
When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young child was....
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod,
they departed into their own country another way.
Now when they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeareth to
Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his
mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee: for
Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and
departed into Egypt....
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise men, was exceeding
wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under.
THE EVERGREEN TREE
FIRST ACTION
(“Who Keepeth Watch?”)
_STAGE A: THE PLACE OF OUTCASTS_
It is night.
In a dark place of the wilderness, a tree is growing.
Before it is an open space on a knoll, from which—left and right—a path
leads down away into the desert.
At one side, in shadow, sit ELF and GNOME.
At centre, in starlight, stands TREE, half emerged from dim boughs.
[Sidenote: _First Chorus: A,1. Chorus of the Wilderness_]
_CHORUS_
_Who keepeth watch in the lone wilderness_
_For the coming of a sign?_
_Who sendeth her roots down into the dark places_
_Seeking the springs of life,_
_And is restored:_
_And lifteth up her boughs in prayer of quiet,_
_And lo, they are filled with starlight?_
_The Tree: the Tree keepeth watch for the coming of a sign._
_Who waiteth very patiently in the night desert_
_For dawn of a new morrow?_
_And the wild beasts draw near unto her: they are tired_
_But none is afraid,_
_For her lap is like to a mother’s, where little children_
_Play till they weary and sleep:_
_There dryads bring her their dreams,_
_And the fairy folk are at home.—_
_Who liveth very old, alive with young green,_
_And waketh her heart with song for the coming of light?_
_The Tree: the Tree:_
_The Tree keepeth watch in her heart for the coming of light._
(A long wailing cry resounds from the dark.)
THE VOICE
Hi-ih!
ELF
What’s that?
GNOME
That is Wolf.
He’s coming from the desert. He is lonely.
ELF
Why is he coming here?
GNOME
Tree is here.
All the creatures come to Tree, when they are lonely.
ELF
Even Tree seems lonely to-night,
With eyes that look far away.—
Tree, what are you watching for?
TREE
A star.
ELF
But the sky is filled with starlight.
TREE
I am watching for a new star.
I have been waiting for it a long while.
I think I shall see it again soon.
GNOME
Again?—Have you seen it before?
TREE
Yes: once:
One night, not long ago,
I saw it rising in the east, across the desert.
It made a path of wonderful shining.
Then it stood still in the sky—far over yonder!—
And seemed I heard shepherds singing.
(WOLF enters.)
WOLF
Hi-ih! It’s a cold night.
I want to come out of the wind.
GNOME
Ask Tree.
WOLF
High-o! Green-and-alive!
Can a fellow come out of the wind, here?
TREE
Welcome, Wolf.
WOLF
And what may you three be talking about?
ELF
A star.
GNOME
A new star in the east.
(Noises of puffing and growling are heard.)
THE NOISES
Ooff!—Ah-yarrr!
ELF
Who now?
GNOME
That’s Bear and Lion coming.
They’re tired and sleepy.
(BEAR and LION enter. Bear carries a bee-hive; Lion, a large bone.)
BEAR
Ooff! Ooff! Where’s a hollow to sleep in?
GNOME
Ask Tree.
TREE
Welcome, Bear! Break a bough for your pillow.
WOLF
(Edging away)
Hi! Not my tail!
LION
Ah-yarrr! I’m tired of killing.
Where can I bury my bone?
GNOME
Ask Tree!
TREE
Welcome, Lion. Lay your head on my roots and rest.
LION
Yarrr! It’s a night of cold.
You kill nothing, Bear: how do you keep so fat?
WOLF
His belly is full of wild honey.—
Here! he’s soft and round:
Keep him in the middle.
BEAR
Three are warmer than one. Go to sleep.
(WOLF and LION lean against BEAR. Slowly all fall into slumber
and low snoring.)
THE THREE
(Murmuring together)
Hi-yo!—Ooff! Ooff!—Ah-yarrr!
ELF
And why do you wish the star to come, Tree?
TREE
Because of my dream.
GNOME
What dream?
TREE
Because I have dreamed a new star will come in the night;
And will gather all the old stars out of the heaven
To sparkle upon my branches.
And there they shall sing all together.
And in the midst of them the new star
Shall laugh aloud,
Shall laugh like a young child,
And my boughs shall be as sheltering arms to make him a home.
And there we shall dwell no more, dreadful in the desert,
Where wild beasts kill one another, and weary of killing;
And there shall be no more lonely things;
But there shall be carolling of stars and a young child’s laughter;
And I shall be the angel in his home.
ELF
The wild beasts are fast asleep.
GNOME
Nothing is stirring in the world.
ELF
Yes: look! I think I see—
GNOME
Where?
ELF
Don’t you see—there! through the dark:
It is moving towards us.
GNOME
I think I hear some one singing.
ELF
It is drawing nearer.
TREE
O my dear dream!
ELF AND GNOME
Is it the new star?
TREE
Yes; but it has fallen down out of the heaven.
It has made itself very small and lowly.
It has made itself into a little lantern,
To light the feet of them who wander in the wilderness.
ELF
See!
GNOME
Hark.
SECOND ACTION
(The Lantern in the Desert)
_AISLE I: A PATHWAY INTO THE WILDERNESS_
Moving toward the Tree, a Procession enters singing.
First comes JOSEPH in white. He holds high a tall staff, from which a
swinging lantern shines. Behind him comes, in pale blue, MARY, attended
by SHEPHERDS in white. These carry lighted candles and long crooks, and
they are ranged about a MANGER, borne in their midst.
[Sidenote: _Carol 1. Joseph’s Carol_]
JOSEPH
_As Joseph I was walking,_
_I heard an angel sing:_
JOSEPH AND SHEPHERDS
“_This night shall be the birthnight_
_Of Christ our heavenly King._
_His birth-bed shall be neither_
_In housen nor in hall,_
_Nor in the place of paradise,_
_But in the oxen’s stall._
_He neither shall be rockèd_
_In silver nor in gold,_
_But in the wooden manger_
_That lieth on the mould._
_He neither shall be clothèd_
_In purple nor in pall,_
_But in the fair white linen_
_That usen babies all._”
JOSEPH
_As Joseph I was walking_
_Thus did the angel sing;_
JOSEPH AND SHEPHERDS
_And Mary’s Son at midnight_
_Was born to be our King._
THIRD ACTION
(“Somebody Is Coming!”)
_STAGE A_
Tree and the FAIRIES have watched and listened eagerly.
TREE
(To ELF and GNOME)
Look, look! The light is coming here.
Rouse up the wild beasts,
And let us make a welcome for these wanderers.
[Sidenote: _Carol 2. Fairy Round_]
TREE, ELF, GNOME
(Sing in a round)
_Wolf, Bear, Lion!_
_Wolf, Bear, Lion!_
_Are you awake?_
_Are you awake?_
_Somebody is coming!_
_Somebody is coming!_
LION
(Waking and rubbing his eyes, joins in the round)
_Who can it be?_
_Who can it be?_
BEAR
(Rolling to his feet with an “Ooff!” imitates LION)
_Let’s go and see!_
_Let’s go and see!_
WOLF, BEAR AND LION
(Scrambling down the path)
Hi-ih! Ooff! Yarrr!
TREE
Peace, wild folk! Make a welcome for these new comers.
LION
(Grinning savagely)
Welcome, they are! My mouth waters for them.
WOLF
(To LION)
Hi! Let me pass.
I’ll pick a bone with you—after the meat’s gone.
BEAR
You talk loud, but you keep your tail between your legs.
WOLF
That’s more than _you_ can do—with yours!
LION
Now for a new kill!
FOURTH ACTION
(The Light-Child)
_APPROACHING-SPACE and STEPS A; Then, STAGE A_
Approaching along the path, JOSEPH and his GROUP pause, confronted by the
BEASTS.
JOSEPH
God save you, Sir Lion!
LION
Save yourself, Sir Man—if you can.
WOLF
Look sharp: there’s more there behind.
BEAR
They carry a trough there. What’s in it?
SHEPHERD
Keep off!—Aim your blows, fellows: strike!
(The SHEPHERDS, with their crooks, drive back the BEASTS. JOSEPH
intervenes.)
JOSEPH
Stay, good Shepherds! Put away your crooks.
Fear nothing, Mary.
These wild folk crave our leave to behold the Child
And do Him homage.
LION
Man-child!—Yarrr!
JOSEPH
(Pausing before the Evergreen Tree)
Pray you set down the manger. Now, Sir Beasts,
And you, Elf Folk, will it please you draw near and look in?
(On either side the SHEPHERDS draw back, revealing at centre
the MANGER, out from which a wonderful glow shines upward,
touching the faces of the SHEPHERDS and hushing the BEASTS with
awe.)
TREE
The light! The light!
[Sidenote: _Second Chorus: A,2. Light of the World_]
_CHORUS_
_Where sleepeth till dawn-break the light of the new morrow?_
_Alleluia!_
_Lo, as a babe, it sleepeth in a little manger:_
_Light of the World! Alleluia!_
_The dark is his cradle;_
_The beasts come about him;_
_The stars in their watches_
_Are covered with cloud._
_Home hath he none;_
_The desert receives him—_
_The place of outcasts_
_And lonely things._
_No sound is heard there_
_Save shepherds singing;_
_The lords of earth_
_Avert their faces;_
_Dark—dark is his cradle._
_Yet surely will dawn break with light of his new morrow:_
_Alleluia!_
_Yea, for the babe that sleepeth in a little manger_
_Is Light of the World: Alleluia!_
(The FAIRIES and BEASTS peer in the MANGER with awed delight.
Murmuring aloud, they speak to JOSEPH.)
ELF
May we not dance for him?
GNOME
And make gambols?
LION
May I give him my bone? ’Twill make him a rare toy!
BEAR
Ooff!—If he lie in my lap, my fur will warm him.
WOLF
Look-ee! If I wag my tail for him, he will laugh.
JOSEPH
Hush! He is asleep. Please do not wake Him.
(The BEASTS draw back. Kneeling down with ELF and GNOME, all
Five sing together.)
[Sidenote: _Carol 3. Luck Song_]
THE BEASTS AND FAIRIES
_While this Light-Child sleeping lies,_
_Word or murmur never wake him!_
_But when he shall open his eyes,_
_Mirth and antics we will make him._
_Amen!_
JOSEPH
Thank you, friends, for your courtesies;
But now the night grows old, and we are weary of wandering.
Out of the land of Herod we are fled, and go into Egypt.
Mary and Joseph are we, and Jesus, the little Child,
Whom these good Shepherds bear with us in his birth-cradle.
Now we must needs find shelter for the babe to rest.
TREE
Now welcome, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus, the little Child!
Rest you, I pray, with these Shepherds, under my boughs.
JOSEPH
Gentle Tree, you say kindly.
SHEPHERD
(To MARY, with gladness)
Here Herod can never harm Him, Lady dear.
TREE
Who is Herod, that he would harm a little child?
JOSEPH
Herod is lord of the world—there, in the land we have fled from.
Mighty is he, yet afraid: for out of the east
Three Wise Men followed a star to this poor manger,
Telling Herod a little child should inherit his kingdom.
Mighty is Herod, yet trembles now on his throne,
And wishes this Little One death.
SHEPHERD
But shall never find Him!
JOSEPH
Nay, for none in Herod’s kingdom knows
Where Child and Mother and Manger and guiding Star
Are vanished away. Only you, dear folk of the desert,
Share now our secret.
TREE
And shall ward it full well.
So enter into my shelter, with your good Shepherds,
Joseph and Mary and Manger-Child—and rest.
(TREE and MARY pass behind within shadow. As the SHEPHERDS with
the MANGER follow, a sweet, lulling VOICE sings from within.)
[Sidenote: _Carol 4. The Tree-Child’s Lullaby_]
THE VOICE
_Babe of my love,_
_Lull thee to rest!_
_Bird of my heart,_
_Night is thy nest._
_Evergreen bough,_
_Shadow my babe!_
_Shelter my bird,_
_Evergreen bough!_
_Star of my dreams,_
_Soon thou wilt shine:_
_Dream of the stars,_
_Splendor be thine!_
_Evergreen bough,_
_Shine with my Star!_
_Shelter his dreams,_
_Evergreen bough!_
(JOSEPH, pausing a moment before he follows, speaks to his
lantern.)
JOSEPH
Now lantern, that dost hide His holy light,
Show forth on high thy little Master’s star!
(He blows out the lantern.
Instantly a shining Star appears on the top of the Tree.
Staring upward with gestures of surprise, the CREATURES murmur
aloud.)
BEASTS, ELF AND GNOME
The star! The star!
(In wonder, while the CHORUS sings, they follow after the
others.)
[Sidenote: _Third Chorus: A,3. The Star_]
_CHORUS_
_Where shineth in whiteness the star of the new Master?_
_Alleluia!_
_Lo, from the tree that sheltereth a child’s dreaming_
_Shineth His star: Alleluia!_
[Illustration: THE LIGHT-CHILD
_CHORUS_
_Where sleepeth till dawn-break the light of the new morrow?_
_Alleluia!_
_Lo, as a babe it sleepeth in a little manger:_
_Light of the World! Alleluia!_]
FIFTH ACTION
(“Sword of the World”)
_STAGE B: THE PLACE OF EMPIRE_
Gateway and Steps in front of HEROD’S Palace.
With spears and in armor, the CAPTAIN and the HOST OF HEROD are
assembling.
With deep, pounding reverberation, VOICES of the male CHORUS conflict
with the far, high singing of the other CHORUS, now dying away.
[Sidenote: _Fourth Chorus: B,1. The Might of Herod_]
_CHORUS_
_Herod—Herod—Herod—Herod, the mighty_
_Lord of the world!_
_Hail him, hail him, hail him Herod the Master!_
_Bow to his will!_
_His power what star can confound?_
_Or cloud can darken his splendor,_
_Who bindeth his brow with the lightning_
_And girdeth his loins with the storm!_
_For he maketh the world of men_
_The winnowing floor of his glory:_
_And he weareth the mail of the Most High,_
_And shareth the mantle of God.—_
_Millions obey him,_
_Man is his tool._
_Forth on his errands_
_Fly his red legions;_
_Domes of his dwelling_
_Glow in the dawn._
_Fire—fire_
_Forgeth his empire;_
_Slaves—slaves_
_Rear his dominion;_
_Sowing and harvest_
_Bleed in his furrows;_
_Peace is his footstool,_
_War is his crown._
_Herod—Herod—Herod—Herod, the mighty_
_Lord of the world!_
(Beside the gate, the CAPTAIN of the HOST strikes a deep-toned
gong and calls aloud.)
CAPTAIN
Herod! Herod, the most High!
(HEROD comes forth with his Followers. Clad in long robe of Tyrian
purple, he wears on his head a gold helmet. In his hand, he holds
a great staff, surmounted by a globe of the world.)
HEROD
Who calls so loud at my gate?
CAPTAIN
I, Captain of the Host of Herod.
HEROD
Why do you cry on my name?
CAPTAIN
For I am come at your bidding, King of Men.
Lo, we are here to do your command.
HEROD
My command I gave you, to bring unto me three Wise Men,
Kings of the East. Show them before me now.
CAPTAIN
Most High, they are not here. We have made far searching
But they are vanished away.
HEROD
Where are they gone?
CAPTAIN
No man has seen.
HEROD
Where shines their star?
CAPTAIN
Heaven has no sign.
HEROD
Where was he found—the child they worshipped?
CAPTAIN
Lowly he lay, in a poor manger.
HEROD
Now bring him before me!
CAPTAIN
He too has departed.
HEROD
My command! My command! My command!
Have ye not slain him? Speak!
CAPTAIN
Herod, most High, how shall the vanished be slain?
No sign gives us token
Where child and mother and manger and guiding star
Are vanished away.
HEROD
Powers of my crown and throne! Am I not Herod,
Herod, the Mighty? Who shall defeat my power?
[Sidenote: _Fifth Chorus: B,2 & A,4. The Wrath of Herod._]
(Close by, from the Place of Empire, deep CHORAL VOICES
reiterate HEROD’S boasts of triumph; far off, from the Place of
Outcasts, they are answered in antiphony by high, sweet CHOIRS,
affirming his defeat.)
[Sidenote: _B,2, Reiterative_]
_CHORUS B_
_Herod, our lord and king! Who shall defy his command?_
[Sidenote: _A,4, Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS A_
_A star! A star shall confound him._
HEROD
Am I the Sword of the World, and shall a weakling disarm me?
[Sidenote: _B,2, Reiterative_]
_CHORUS B_
_How shall the crook of a shepherd shatter the sword of a king?_
[Sidenote: _A,4, Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS A_
_A child! A child shall disarm him!_
HEROD
Hath God anointed me, yea, and shall a babe disinherit?
[Sidenote: _B,2, Reiterative_]
_CHORUS B_
_Lo, shall the light of a manger outshine his glory of palaces?_
[Sidenote: _A,4, Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS A_
_A dream! A dream shall survive him!_
HEROD
Now, by my host of power! he shall not escape me—
This babe low-born, but for his sake shall all
The hosts of childhood perish. Go forth and slay them,
All newly born of women, that he among them
May not escape, and all who shall resist
My power, young men or old, brothers or fathers,
Destroy them likewise—yea, with red fire and spear
And burning sword-blade. Go! My will is God’s,
For I am Herod—Herod, lord of the world!
(Raising his sword, the CAPTAIN makes sign to the HOST, who
lift high their spears. As the CHORUS breaks into song, they
depart, marching, while HEROD reënters his palace.)
[Sidenote: _Sixth Chorus: B,3. Song of the Persecuting Host_]
_CHORUS_
_Go forth, ye host of power!_
_Lay waste, lay waste the lowly!_
_For Herod’s might is a blazing tower,_
_And Herod’s wrath is holy._
_Yea, Herod’s wrath_
_God’s ire it hath_
_As he rends the weak asunder._
_Go forth upon his fiery path_
_Go forth, ye host, in thunder!_
_The strong, the strong shall reign!_
_Unleash the hounds of pain,_
_And loose their cry_
_Where the wounded lie_
_And the weakling race are slain._
_Go forth, ye host of power!_
_Destroy, destroy the dreaming!_
_For none may pause for a dream to flower_
_Where Herod’s might goes streaming._
_Yea, Herod’s might_
_God maketh His right_
_When the weak of the world go under._
_Go forth upon their darkling flight,_
_Go forth, ye host, in thunder!_
[Illustration: SWORD OF THE WORLD
_CHORUS B_
_Herod, our lord and king! Who shall defy his command?_
_CHORUS A_
_A star! A star shall confound him!_]
SIXTH ACTION
(The Befriending)
_STAGE A_
Now, from the Place of Outcasts, CHORAL VOICES sing, while once more
JOSEPH, MARY and SHEPHERDS bearing the MANGER appear, coming forth from
the shelter of the Evergreen. With them TREE also appears.
[Sidenote: _Seventh Chorus: A,5. Glory and Serenity_]
_CHORUS_
_Glory and serenity,_
_Beauty of desire,_
_Bless to-night this holy tree_
_And our candle fire._
_Tree of our hearts, behold!_
_How the dreams of a child in your boughs unfold_
_And the weary of earth put off their pain_
_Where the Child of our love has lain._
JOSEPH
Shepherd, the morrow’s light will soon begin
To wake the desert world. Here we have lain
This night in quiet refuge; yet through sleep
I heard far off the host of Herod rage
Against this Child His kingdom. So once more
Let us go forth our way, till He is safe
Beyond the war-lord’s might.
SHEPHERD
Yea, let us go,
Yet not till we have thanked this gentle Tree.
JOSEPH
Dear Tree, you have befriended in his need
This little Child new-born. So—for His sake—
Your gracious boughs shall evermore be green,
Nor ever in winter lose their April sap,
But freshly, at this season of His birth,
They shall be fragrant of the hallowed dreams
His happy heart bequeathes you.
TREE
He was welcome,
And I will deck my boughs with infant joys
In his remembrance.
SHEPHERD
So we say—God keep you!
And not ‘Goodbye’!
JOSEPH
(To TREE)
Nay, still another token
We leave with you: His star—to be henceforth
A morning star of song for other children
Who rest from Herod’s wrath. So you shall be
No more a forest sprite, but a hallow’d angel—
His shining angel with a sheathèd sword
To guard all childhood’s home. Keep here his star:
Farewell!
TREE
O fare you well, dear wanderers,
That have fulfilled with love my lonely dream!
(With lighted candles, in processional, the SHEPHERDS with
MANGER, MARY and JOSEPH depart toward the desert. While the
CHORUS sings, TREE stands gazing after them.)
[Sidenote: _Eighth Chorus: A,6. Glory and Serenity_]
CHORUS
_Glory and serenity,_
_Beauty of desire,_
_Blend the song of men set free_
_With their children’s choir._
_Child of our hearts, behold!_
_How the dark is strewn with your fairy gold_
_And the bitter of soul lay-by their spleen_
_Where the Tree of our love grows green._
(TREE goes within.)
SEVENTH ACTION
(The Three Wise Men)
_AISLE II: ANOTHER PATHWAY INTO THE WILDERNESS_
Entering from its farther end appear, in procession, the THREE WISE MEN,
and their FOLLOWERS. Lighted by torches of their Attendants, this PAGEANT
OF THE KINGS moves onward in oriental splendor.
Each KING wears a crown of gold.
The crown of the youngest, BELSHASAR, is set on a turban. He is clean
shaven, pale and recluse. The garb of him and his Group has a tone of
asceticism.
The crown of the middle-aged, MELCHIOR, is placed on a helmet. He is
thick-set, black-bearded and sharp-eyed. A martial glitter touches him
and his Group.
The crown of the oldest, CASPAR, is set on a high-peaked hat with wide
flapping brims. His beard is silver white, his face ruddy and wrinkled
with laughter. His ample gown is gorgeous with red dyes and jewels. Like
him in jocular splendor are his Followers.
As they approach the place of the Tree, KINGS and FOLLOWERS come singing
a carol, led by the KINGS.
[Sidenote: _Carol 4. Trio and Chorus: “We Three Kings of Orient Are”_]
BELSHASAR, MELCHIOR AND CASPAR
_TRIO_
_We three kings of Orient are:_
_Wending home, we traverse afar_
_Field and fountain_
_Moor and mountain_
_Seeking for our lost star._
_CHORUS_
(Of the THREE KINGS and their FOLLOWERS)
_O Star of Wonder,_
_Star of Night,_
_Star with royal beauty bright!_
_Eastward leading,_
_Home proceeding,_
_Show once more Thy perfect light!_
_TRIO_
_Where the guiding glory once shone_
_Dark we wander onward and on,_
_Watching, hoping,_
_Dimly groping,_
_Seeking the light that’s gone._
_CHORUS_
_O Star of Wonder,_
_Star of Night,_
_Star with royal beauty bright!_
_Eastward leading,_
_Home proceeding,_
_Show once more Thy perfect light!_
[Illustration: THE THREE WISE MEN]
EIGHTH ACTION
(“Which, O Lord, is Wisest?”)
_STAGE A_
The THREE KINGS enter before the Tree, their Followers grouped on the
right. As he comes, KING CASPAR lifts his voice in a carol, solo, in
which BELSHASAR and MELCHIOR soon join with him. Each of them, in his
singing, acts out the sung carol in his bearing and movement.
[Sidenote: _Carol 5. Solo and Trio. The Bell, the Sword and the Laughter_]
CASPAR
_Lord of life! how pleasant ways_
_Are thy paths of danger,_
_Leading down from Herod’s place_
_By an ox’s manger:_
_Lo, there lay a little child_
_Rosy ’neath the rafter.—_
_Ahaha! how glad he smiled!_
_Lord, how blithe his laughter!_
MELCHIOR
_Laughter! Nay, I heard none laugh._
_Whom thou heardest—say now!_
CASPAR
_Him, the child, where mid the chaff_
_He lay on the hay-mow._
_Sure, Belshasar, thou didst bend_
_Nigh him and thou heardest._
BELSHASAR
_Caspar, nay: I comprehend_
_Not one thing thou wordest._
CASPAR
_Ohoho! Still, Lord, I hear_
_Music of that laughter._
MELCHIOR
_Daft thou ever wert: I fear_
_Still thou growest dafter._
_Nothing heard I, by my soul_
_But a sword its clanging._
BELSHASAR
_Nay, a bell, I heard it toll:_
_On a cross ’twas hanging._
MELCHIOR
_Now, am I not Melchior?_
_By my crown its keeping!_
_’Twas a sword that dangled o’er_
_Where the babe lay sleeping._
BELSHASAR
_Nay, a bell—a passing-bell:_
_Lonely was its ringing._
CASPAR
_Ahaha! I heard full well_
_‘Merry Christmas!’ singing._
CASPAR, BELSHASAR AND MELCHIOR
(Sing together)
_Lord, how may we wise men tell_
_How to clothe our starkness?_
_Song and sword and passing-bell_
_Lure us through the darkness._
_Send us sign of hidden things—_
_Thou who naught despisest!_
_Lo, of us three crownèd kings,_
_Which, O Lord, is wisest?_
VOICES OF ELF AND GNOME
(Echo in song, within)
“_Which, O Lord, is wisest?_”
(In songful laughter)
_Óhoho! Aháha!_
CASPAR
Lord, Lord, Thy sign! Harken, wise men, my brothers:
Laughter, laughter He sends us for a sign!
BELSHASAR
Nay, voices of the desert places!
MELCHIOR
Mockings of midnight!
ELF AND GNOME
(Enter, laughing lyricly)
_Óhoho! Aháha!_
CASPAR
Heigh! What is here? Elf!—Gnome!
BELSHASAR
Keep back! They are imps of evil.
MELCHIOR
Stay! Do not speak with them. Hush!
(CASPAR pays no heed, but greets the FAIRIES, who return his
greeting with blithe bows.)
CASPAR
Now, neighbors, God rest you merry!
ELF
Welcome, Wise Man!
GNOME
Welcome, Sir King!
MELCHIOR
(To BELSHASAR)
He speaks with them.
BELSHASAR
(To MELCHIOR)
Come. He is lost!
(They draw away.)
GNOME
Where are you from—ye Kings?
CASPAR
From the East, returning home from Herod’s land.
ELF
What went you there for to do?
CASPAR
To worship a new-born Child.
GNOME
How did you find your way?
CASPAR
We followed a star.
ELF AND GNOME
(Nodding to each other)
A star!
CASPAR
Yea, but our path now has lost it.—
Why do ye laugh there so merry?
ELF AND GNOME
(Pointing)
Look up!
CASPAR
The star! The star!
Ho, Melchior, Belshasar, look up!
His star—the star we have lost—is found:
Behold, it shines on the tree!
MELCHIOR
I see no star.
BELSHASAR
’Tis darkness all.
CASPAR
What! Can you see nothing shining yonder?
MELCHIOR
Nothing. Your eyes are bleary with night.
BELSHASAR
Nay, he’s grown old and merry and cracked.
CASPAR
Deaf to His laughter, blind to His star!
God save you, Wise Men! Let me grow old
And merry and cracked,
And talk with His wild, silly creatures.
(Enter WOLF, BEAR and LION.)
BELSHASAR
(To MELCHIOR)
Come farther!—Wild beasts they draw near.
(They move aside into shadow.)
CASPAR
Halloa, goodman Bear! Good even!
BEAR
(Forlornly)
Ooff! Ooff! My honey hive’s empty.
LION
Look you! My bone is picked bare.
WOLF
I’ve never a bone left to pick,
And I’m losing the fur on my tail.
CASPAR
Heigh, Master Wolf, Sir Lion!
How come ye so down at heart?
LION
The Light-Child is gone on his way.
WOLF
When a fellow can’t sing, he feels hungry.
CASPAR
Nay, neighbors, the Light-Child is with us;
He smiles from His twinkling star
Yonder, yea laughs in His light
And bids us make merry together
For joy of His shining.—Hoho!
Bring hither my music, good fellows!
Bring hither my fiddles and cakes
To make Him a feast night.
(From among CASPAR’S FOLLOWERS, cakes and instruments are
brought before him. To WOLF, BEAR and LION he gives each a
cake; to ELF and GNOME a stringed instrument.)
Here, neighbors,
Have each of you now a sweet frosting:
Here’s moon-cake and sun-cake and star-cake,
To mind us His birth-time. And you—
Here’s tune-strings to play, while we sing
To praise this good tree of His star.
(TREE enters, winged, all in white.)
ELF
Look, look! Tree now is his angel.
TREE
Welcome, dear passers in darkness!
The Light-Child is gone on His way,
But He leaves you His star, to make glad
Your path in the wilderness.—Welcome
Under His star!
CASPAR
Thank you, Tree.
His star hath made merry our hearts
To dance in His light—aye, to sing
As we enter your place of His dreams.
Come, neighbors, now blithe be our carol!
(With his sceptre for baton, CASPAR leads in dance and song
WOLF, BEAR, LION, ELF and GNOME, the BEASTS holding their
cakes, the FAIRIES playing their instruments. Joining in their
blithe dance of devotion, the old KING clutches the great flap
of his crown, to keep it from joggling off.)
[Sidenote: _Carol 6. Dance-Carol of the Evergreen._]
ALL
(Sing, to the strongly stressed dance-rhythm)
_O Evergreen, our Evergreen!_
_Thy boughs are brave and bright o’ sheen,_
_Thy bark and wood are live and strong_
_And bonny with the berry._
_So we will sing our even-song_
_And dance for thee, like king and queen.—_
_O Evergreen, dear Evergreen!—_
_To make thy heart be merry._
_O Even-song, our Even-song,_
_Thy notes this holy night belong_
_To Him who came to heal our teen_
_With love and starry leaven._
_His childhood keepeth ever green_
_All hearts of creatures here that long—_
_O Even-song, dear Even-song—_
_To make our earth His heaven._
(Following TREE, they dance joyously within. Outside, MELCHIOR,
BELSHASAR and their Followers wait in the dimness.)
BELSHASAR
A bell! I hear a bell tolling.
MELCHIOR
A sword! The clang of a sword!
NINTH ACTION
(Outcasts)
_STAGE B AND AISLE I_
From the right of HEROD’S Gate sounds the tolling of bells—from the left,
the clangor of swords.
During this, HEROD comes forth and stands on his dais. There, in shifting
light and darkness, HELMETED MEN with swords hurry to him, confer in
pantomime and depart.
Then, as HEROD stands looking down from his height, there passes below
him a PROCESSION OF OUTCASTS, which—moving from Aisle II to Aisle
I—passes on along Aisle I toward the Place of the Tree. When the last of
this dirgeful Pageant has gone by him, HEROD returns in darkness within
the gate.
The Procession of Outcasts is accompanied by FOUR MASKED FIGURES in
symbolic garb, and consists of the FOLLOWERS of these, walking before and
after a stretcher, borne at the middle of the Pageant. First of the Four
is a Female Figure, SONG, who leads the Procession, looking upward; last,
is a Male Figure, POVERTY, bowed in stature. The other two Male Figures
walk at the head and foot of the stretcher, the first being SORROW,
staring before him, the second one—DEATH, who bears a muffled babe in his
arms, lulling it, with a calm smile.
[Illustration: OUTCASTS]
On the stretcher a Poor Man lies wounded—a PEDLAR, with his pack for a
head-rest. He wears a red jerkin and great boots and a workman’s cap. His
beard is brown. His face is pale, his side bandaged. In one hand he holds
a broken sword. The Man is CLAUS, whose Wife, RUTH, walks beside him, in
peasant garb. At his other side walk two small tattered Figures—a BOY and
a GIRL, their children.
As all pass slowly onward, the OUTCASTS chant their song-dirge, out of
which rises momentarily, first, the Voice of RUTH, then of CLAUS, while
at times Full Chorus gives deeper volume to the singing. Rhythms of
tolled bells and of clanging swords accompany the two Semi-Choruses.
[Sidenote: _Ninth Chorus: A,7. Dirge of the Outcasts._]
THE OUTCASTS
(Semi-Chorus of Women)
_Bells, bells of the dark!_
_Tongues of iron and terror!_
_Toll no more, no more,_
_Bells of my breaking heart!_
RUTH
_Beautiful I bore him,_
_Babe of my life and milk:_
_Wonderful I wore him,_
_Yea, as a scarf of silk:_
_Terrible—terrible—_
_They tore him!_
THE OUTCASTS
(Semi-Chorus of Women)
_Bells of my breaking heart,_
_Toll no more, no more,_
_Tongues of iron and terror,_
_Bells, bells of the dark!_
_FULL CHORUS_
(Men and Women)
_God!—God of the broken heart!_
_Lord of the tolling bell!_
_God, our God, if thou art, if thou art,_
_Tell us, our Father, tell:_
_How darkly long_
_Shall the reign of the strong_
_Endure, to make of Thine earth our hell,_
_Ere thou, O Lord of the bleeding dart,_
_Rise in Thy light, to quell?_
THE OUTCASTS
(Semi-Chorus of Men)
_Swords, swords in my soul!_
_Tongues of fire and horror!_
_Clang aloud, aloud,_
_Swords of my burning heart!_
CLAUS
_Newly born I named him_
_Babe of my joy and ruth:_
_Kin of heart I claimed him,_
_Yea, as my star of youth:_
_Murderous—murderous—_
_They maimed him!_
THE OUTCASTS
(Semi-Chorus of Men)
_Swords of my burning heart!_
_Clang aloud, aloud,_
_Tongues of fire and horror,_
_Swords, swords in my soul!_
_FULL CHORUS_
(Men and Women)
_God!—God of the burning soul!_
_Lord of the clanging sword!_
_God, our God, from Thy kindling goal,_
_Answer us, answer, Lord!_
_How far and blind_
_Shall the kings of our kind_
_Beguile our hearts on their paths abhorred,_
_Ere thou, O Christ of a race made whole,_
_Come in Thy world-accord?_
TENTH ACTION
(The Wounded Pedlar)
_STAGE A_
While the OUTCASTS have been approaching, CASPAR has come forth from the
Place of the Tree and watched them coming.
Now, where he joins BELSHASAR and MELCHIOR, the THREE KINGS call, in
song, to the dim Figures who draw near.
[Sidenote: _Carol 8. Trio and Solo. Ballad of the Kings and the Pedlar_]
THE THREE KINGS
_Who are ye that come singing in darkness,_
_Outcast in the desert so late?_
CLAUS
_O Kings, it is me, Claus the Pedlar,_
_And these be my children and mate._
THE THREE KINGS
_Who are those there, your comrades, beside you:_
_Those shadows, say, who should they be?_
CLAUS
_They be Death, and his young brother, Sorrow,_
_And his old brother, Poverty._
THE THREE KINGS
_Nay, but who is that other amidst them,_
_That lifteth her face: What is she?_
CLAUS
_That is Song, and she is their sister_
_Who waiteth upon them, all three._
(CLAUS, RUTH and the two CHILDREN have now joined the THREE KINGS.)
CASPAR
_Goodman, why are the eyes of your woman_
_So weary of look and so wild?_
CLAUS
_He hath broken our home, hath King Herod,_
_And killed us our new-born child._
_Now tell us, ye Kings that be Wise Men,_
_Now tell us, where darkly we roam:_
_What right hath a king of a pedlar_
_To rob him his child and his home?_
MELCHIOR
_A king hath the right of his power_
_To raise high his glory and crown._
CLAUS
_Then it’s Claus hath the right of a pedlar_
_To pull his high glory adown._
CASPAR
_A king hath his host and his captains_
_To shatter the weak with his horde._
CLAUS
_Then it’s Claus he will be his own captain_
_To sharpen the edge of his sword._
BELSHASAR
_Nay, a king hath the might of his lordship_
_’Tis death for his slave to defy._
CLAUS
_Then it’s me hath the right of my manship_
_To master his might or to die._
_For ’tis God is my King and not Herod,_
_And God he keepeth no slave;_
_And liever than live Herod’s henchman_
_I’ll lie a free man in the grave._
_So I dared him his host and his captains,_
_And struck for my babe a sword blow;_
_And ’tis here they have broken my body;_
_With Death now right soon must I go._
CASPAR
Nay, cheerly, Claus! Cheerly, goodwife and kiddies!
Now you have wandered to a lucky place.
Our Evergreen shall heal your hurt. Run, Elf,
And fetch him balsam gum to balm his wounds.
(ELF runs within.)
CLAUS
No balsam gum can heal us our lost babe.
Ruth, wife, where lieth now his little body?
RUTH
Death holds him fast. Death holdeth him forever.
MELCHIOR
Herod is king. Ye should have awe of kings
And bow before them.
BELSHASAR
We are kings and wise,
And warn you what you owe to Herod.
CLAUS
Herod!
I have paid back to Herod all I owe him—
The red blade of this broken sword.
CASPAR
Brave said!
Give me the hasp. See, we will hang it here
On this green bough, to be your shining cross
Of freedom and remembrance—yea, a sign
For Herods, when they pass, to pause and think on.
MELCHIOR
(To BELSHASAR)
He flouteth what we say!
(BELSHASAR shrugs, but motions MELCHIOR to listen. ELF returns.)
CASPAR
So, Pedlar Claus,
Lay-by thy pack, and rest you here till morrow;
Tend him, good Elf and Gnome. Now, mother, bravely!
These beasties shall make hospitality
And share their holy frost-cakes with your children,
Wiping their eyes with love: And these war-weary,
Glad of our Evergreen, shall take new hope
From yon clear star.
(He helps CLAUS to rise and supports him to the foot of the
Tree, where he places his pack for CLAUS to recline. The
stretcher is borne away. Far off, a long blast sounds.)
BELSHASAR
Hark, hark! What trumpet calls?
MELCHIOR
’Tis Herod’s host. Take heed!
RUTH
God shield us now!
(She turns toward CASPAR, who comforts her and the CHILDREN.)
ELEVENTH ACTION
(The Persecuting Host)
_AISLE I AND AISLE II_
Pouring forth from the Place of Empire, the HOST OF HEROD and their
LEADERS, with spears held high, come marching on both pathways toward the
Tree, singing in chorus as they march.
[Sidenote: _Tenth Chorus: B,4. Song of the Persecuting Host_]
_CHORUS_
_Go forth, ye host of power!_
_Enslave, enslave the humble!_
_’Fore Herod’s host their hearts shall cower,_
_Their builded hopes shall crumble._
_Yea, Herod’s host_
_Shall trample them most_
_Where they build their shrines of wonder.—_
_Go forth with Vengeance’ war-red ghost,_
_Go forth, go forth in thunder!_
TWELFTH ACTION
(The Morning Stars)
_STAGE A_
Staying his Followers, the CAPTAIN OF THE HOST approaches the THREE KINGS
by the Tree.
In his hand he bears the Staff of Herod.
CAPTAIN
Halt here!—Behold them. They are found.
Stand forth, ye Kings of East! What make ye
So far from Herod’s throne?
MELCHIOR
We journey home.
CAPTAIN
Know ye not Herod’s wrath, what ’tis!—
Why brought ye not your tidings back
To him? Where is the Manger-Child?
MELCHIOR
We know him not.
BELSHASAR
Our trail we lost.
His star is dark.
CASPAR
Nay, shineth yonder!
CAPTAIN
(Staring)
Where shineth?
BELSHASAR
He is old and daft.
MELCHIOR
Hail, Captain of our lord his host!
Welcome you are in Herod’s name.—
CLAUS
(Rising painfully)
Nay, curst is he in Herod’s name.—
Give back my babe!
CAPTAIN
(Strikes him with his staff.)
Take hence thy life!
(CLAUS falls back motionless. DEATH draws near and bends over
him.)
DEATH
Come, Claus: Awake! Thy babe is here.
CLAUS
Friend Death, now raise me up.—Methought
Thou hadst been deaf and dumb, but now
We speak together.
DEATH
Here I hold
Thy little babe.
CLAUS
(Taking the muffled child)
O little babe,
Now are we both in Death his arms
Safe held from Herod’s wrath. Be glad
Thy father was not Herod’s slave.
(In his great cloak DEATH leads him away. RUTH stares after them.)
RUTH
Claus! Claus!—Now Death hath taken him.
CASPAR
Poor woman, do not weep for Claus.
Friend Death is kind.
RUTH
Now are we left
Alone, and none to shield us.
CASPAR
Yea,
A king shall shield ye.
CAPTAIN
King! What king
Would shield these Herod’s outcasts?
CASPAR
One
That’s old and merry and cracked, and wears
This crown of Caspar, king of babes
Made fatherless.
MELCHIOR
(To the CAPTAIN, shrewdly)
You hear?
BELSHASAR
He’s mad!
CAPTAIN
Nay, give me sign what manner wise men
And kings you are. Make sign, ye three,
Now to this staff; for, by its power!
All lesser kings who bow them not
To Herod’s staff shall lose their crowns.
Bow! Bow ye low to Herod, lord of the world!
MELCHIOR
(Bows low to the staff.)
Herod, most High!
CAPTAIN
Thy crown keep safe.
BELSHASAR
(Bows low to the staff.)
Herod, the Mighty!
CAPTAIN
Keep thy crown.
CASPAR
(Remains standing, and smiles.)
Herod, the Poor!
CAPTAIN
What now! How name ye
Herod—the poor?
CASPAR
Is he not poor
To lose him both my brothers’ crowns,
And needs ask alms of me, old Caspar?—
Ho, take him this my crown, poor Herod!
And this, my sceptre, yea, and this
My cloak also, and bid him keep
His staff for kings of sadder heart
To bow them to. Mine is too merry.—
Now, kiddies, come: where be your cakes
And frosting?
(Having put off his King’s robe, sceptre and crown, CASPAR now
appears in his under-jerkin of red, with long boots, like a
Peasant.)
MELCHIOR
(To BELSHASAR)
Mad! Stark gone!
CAPTAIN
(Tossing aside the robe, sceptre and crown, speaks to his
Followers.)
Lay-by
These tokens, men! Your spears! Your spears!
This wise man shall learn wisdom now
In Herod’s name.
BELSHASAR
(Interposing)
Forbear! He raves.
(HE and MELCHIOR draw the CAPTAIN momentarily aside.)
RUTH
(To CASPAR)
Alas! How can you help us now
And have no kingdom?
CASPAR
Ha, my dears!
A joyful heart finds many a job
Can earn a kingdom.
(Taking the little BOY and GIRL, one on each knee, he speaks to
them and their Mother.)
Cheerly, woman!
Thy goodman plied a goodly trade.—
Poor Claus he was a pedlar: Ho!
A pedlar now will Caspar be,
And take thy goodman’s pack and name,
And ply his trade of children’s toys
By neighbor chimneys, house to house,
With jingling bells in winter air;
And hearth to hearth the mirth shall spread
Around the fire, and yule logs blaze,
And apples toast, and stockings spill
With candy dolls and popping tricks;
And tiptoe boys and girls shall peep
To spy the pedlar with his sack,
And pay his wage in wonder coin
Left on the hearthstone; and through all
The evergreen and evergreen,
Around the tree of light shall run—
With fairy twinklings of His star—
The laughter of a Manger Child.
(Rising, he lifts the CHILDREN in his arms.)
Up, kiddies, now, with Pedlar Claus
To find His kingdom!
CAPTAIN
(To BELSHASAR, brushing him and MELCHIOR aside)
Nay, no more!
He bowed not down, and shall pay dear
For Herod’s anger.
CASPAR
(Swinging the Pedlar’s pack upon his back)
Ho, good hearts!
Now, Sorrow, come! and Poverty!
And you, dear Song, that serve on them!
You, Elf and Gnome, and desert beasts!
Ye children all, both old and young,
Come, gather by this holy Tree
And share with Pedlar Claus his pack!
CAPTAIN
(Mocking)
Ho, Claus, the Pedlar-King! Hail Claus!
THE HOST OF HEROD
Hail, Claus, the Pedlar-King! King Claus!
(They crowd toward him; his cap is struck off.)
CAPTAIN
(Raising the cap on a spear)
Lo, Claus, his crown! Behold the crown!
THE HOST
Hail to the crown! The Pedlar’s crown!
CAPTAIN
Ye Spears of Herod, spill him wine!
Yea, with his blood anoint him!
(Pointing their spears, the HOST turn to rush upon CASPAR, when
suddenly A BLAZE OF LIGHT checks and astounds them: silverly
A BLAST OF TRUMPETS sounds; the Evergreen branches burst into
bloom of stars, while TREE, as ANGEL, comes forth, holding
sheathed a shining Sword, its hasp in a Crown of Holly.)
TREE
Stay!
Bow, Host of Herod! Bow ye down
And hail our Saint of Evergreen:
Hail _Santa_ Claus!
(TREE places the Holly Crown on CASPAR’S head. A BURST OF
SLEIGH-BELLS sounds, filling the air with their circlings of
silver music.)
THE CHILDREN, FAIRIES AND BEASTS
(Shout with wild joy)
Hail, Santa Claus!
THE CAPTAIN AND THE HOST
(Falling back, murmur in awe)
Hail, Santa Claus!
(Overwhelmed, they bow down. Choirs of shrilly gladness break
forth in Chorus, as the jingling sleigh-bells change to PEALING
CHIMES.)
[Sidenote: _Eleventh Chorus: A,8 and B,5. Chorus of the Christmas Tree_]
[Sidenote: _Part I. (Chorus A) The Pedlar-King_]
_CHORUS_
_Hail—Santa Claus!_
_Saint of our Evergreen!_
_Hail, dear Pedlar of starry joys!_
_On your own shoulders_
_Now you have lifted_
_All the world’s weariness—_
_Pack of old burdens,_
_Sack of our sorrows:_
_Lifted it, stored anew,_
_Crammed with enchantment,_
_Bursting with merry_
_And magical laughter,_
_Wonder of children—_
_Mirth of our Lord!_
_Hail, dear Pedlar—_
_King of our Evergreen:_
_Santa! Santa!_
_Holly-crown’d saint of us!_
_Hail, eternal_
_Wise man and child!_
(During this Chorus and while it continues, SANTA—with beaming
face—opens his great pack and distributes forth gifts to the
CHILDREN, the OUTCASTS, and the HOST OF HEROD, who now rise
joyfully and press round him. CHORUS now answers CHORUS across
the assembled People, the deep voices of the Men’s Chorus (B)
now singing in Antiphony.)
[Sidenote: _Part II. (Choruses A and B) The Tree_]
_CHORUS A_
_Who wakened her heart with song for the coming of light?_
_Who harked for the morning stars their singing together?_
[Sidenote: _Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS B_
_The Tree! The Tree!_
_The Evergreen Tree!_
_The light of her heart hath blossomed—_
_Hath bloomed with stars_
_In the places of desert._
_CHORUS A_
_Who nourished a dream in the lone wilderness,_
_Where wild beasts kill one another and weary of killing?_
[Sidenote: _Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS B_
_The Tree! The Tree!_
_The Evergreen Tree!_
_The power of her dream hath blossomed_
_With blinding stars_
_In the hearts of the terrible._
_CHORUS A_
_Herod, lord of the world! Who hath defeated his power?_
[Sidenote: _Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS B_
_A star! A star doth confound him!_
_CHORUS A_
_Herod, sword of the world! Who hath surmounted his cunning?_
[Sidenote: _Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS B_
_A child! A child hath disarmed him!_
_CHORUS A_
_Herod, wrath of the world! What hath o’erthrown his dominion?_
[Sidenote: _Antiphonal_]
_CHORUS B_
_A dream! A dream hath survived him!_
[Sidenote: _Part III. (Choruses A and B) The Child_]
_CHORUS A_
(Appearing in their over-garments of WHITE, look toward the
place of HEROD while they sing.)
_Where are ye that through the blindness of the slaughter,_
_Through the terror and the tempest of the night,—_
_Where are ye that bowed you down to a helmet and a crown?_
_Have you seen the Child His stars?_
_Have you heard the morning stars—_
_His stars that sing around the Tree of light?_
_Will you hasten? Will you heed?_
_Will you bind His wounds that bleed?_
_Will you build his works of joy and charity?_
_Are you risen? Do you hark?_
_Are you coming through the dark—_
_Are you coming, are you coming to the Tree?_
_CHORUS B_
(In their over-garments of RED, rise from the place of their
singing, and move forward in procession toward the CHORUS IN
WHITE.)
_Here are we that knew the blindness of the slaughter,_
_Knew the terror and the tempest of the night:_
_Here are we that bowed us down to a helmet and a crown,_
_But we’ve seen the Child His stars,_
_We have heard the morning stars—_
_His stars that sing around the Tree of light._
_We will hasten! We will heed!_
_We will bind His wounds that bleed;_
_We will build His works of joy and charity._
_We are risen, and we hark!_
_We are coming through the dark—_
_We are coming, we are coming to the Tree!_
(As they approach the Tree, the Singers of CHORUS B lay off
their RED over-garments and join the CHORUS IN WHITE. The two
CHORUSES now form one.
Joined, in their singing, by the HOST OF HEROD, the OUTCASTS,
and by ALL THE ASSEMBLED PEOPLE, they raise their Voices
together.)
_ALL_
_Child of God, forgive the blindness and the slaughter!_
_Child of Pity, calm the terror of the night!_
_Yea, and all that bow them down to a helmet and a crown—_
_Let them see, like us, Thy stars!_
_Let them join the morning stars—_
_Thy stars that sing around the Tree of light!_
_Child of Heaven, now we heed!_
_We will bind Thy wounds that bleed;_
_We will build Thy works of joy and charity._
_We are risen in Thy right:_
_We are singing through the night—_
_We are singing, we are singing to the Tree!_
_Alleluia!_
_Amen!_
[Illustration: THE PEDLAR-KING
Bow, Host of Herod! Bow ye down
And hail our Saint of Evergreen:
Hail _Santa_ Claus!]
[Illustration: THE MORNING STARS
_CHORUS_
_Child of Heaven, now we heed!_
_We will bind Thy wounds that bleed,_
_We will build Thy works of joy and charity:_
_We are risen in Thy right,_
_We are singing through the night—_
_We are singing, we are singing to the Tree!_]
COMMENTARIES ON THE MASQUE
[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF “THE EVERGREEN TREE”
(Not drawn to Scale)
(For Standard Outdoor Production—Alterable for Indoors)]
SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMUNITY PRELUDE AND EPILUDE
I.—PRELUDE
In producing this Masque, different communities will doubtless wish to
observe different ways of assembling to prepare and begin its production.
Some, especially those given on a small scale, may need and desire no
prelusive form of ceremony, in action, speech or song.
For productions given on a larger scale, however, since a receptive and
devotional state of feeling is greatly to be desired for its proper
rendering and its impression upon those who witness and take part, it is
strongly recommended that some kind of brief, general Song Overture of
the people be held just before the Masque begins.
With this need in mind, the suggestions here made by the author are given
for whatever service they may render to the desired end.
As Prelude to the production of “The Evergreen Tree,” the following kind
of Song Overture and informal Ceremony are suggested for such large-scale
types of the Masque’s production as are witnessed and performed by all
classes, races, ages and creeds of the community.
After night-fall, on a winter’s evening, let us imagine men, women and
children of a town or city gathered together out of doors in a public
square or park, or indoors within some level-floored structure, to
assemble by the community Christmas Tree, and to join in general singing
under a leader.
The Leader will gather the best trained singers at a central place
(indicated by the roped-off circle in the Ground Plan on the page
opposite), and will start the community singing, or guide its spontaneous
beginnings under his leadership.
The trained Chorus will perhaps sing the “Adeste Fidelis,” or “Hark! the
Herald Angels Sing,” and the carollers will raise their voices in such
old Christmas songs as may best appeal to them. So, perhaps for twenty
minutes or half an hour, the singers will hold an informal Overture, in
which all the gathered people may have joined.
Meanwhile, or beforehand, the Chorus will have put on their outer
garments of red and white (designed according to Mr. Jones’ costume
suggestions), and will have divided into their two separate bodies—(1)
the mixed voices, Chorus A, and (2) the male choir, Chorus B.
Then the Chorus Leader, or some one appointed by him, when the Masque is
almost ready to begin, will rise at the centre—visible above the heads of
the Chorus and the people—and will speak to the assemblage, perhaps in
his own words, or perhaps—using some portion or all of the speech here
given—he will speak substantially as follows:
THE CHORUS LEADER
Neighbors and Friends—we have been singing together:
Wherever friends sing together out of their hearts
There God sings with them.
We believe many different ideas, many differing creeds.—
To-night let us forget how we differ:
Let us remember only how we believe in one great thing—
One Spirit in common—and this is its holy name:
SINGING TOGETHER.
In old, old times, when plays were sung by the people,
They built for them altars, sacred places of singing;
And before their dramas began,
They used to pray there
And ask a blessing on the players, on the chorus and the people.
And there, on those altars, they wrote the name of their Lord.
Friends, we are gathered here now by an old, old altar:
The altar of Song—
Song of the people: old, young; happy, sad; rich and poor.
We cannot see it with our eyes,
But we know it in our hearts;
And there we can read what is written—the name of our Lord,
Whose hallowed name is called
SINGING TOGETHER.
Now out of our Singing will rise an Acted Pageant
To tell an old story newly—
The story of a Child.
Over yonder, by the Christmas Tree—there is the Wilderness,
The Place of Outcasts:
Over there—is the Gate of a Palace: the Palace of Herod—
Herod, the mighty king in the Bible,
His place of Empire;
And there—and there—are two Paths, that lead to the Tree.
Now let us sing one more carol,
And take our places;
Then listen, and watch for a sign, while the Chorus sings:
And when all is over—each of us, all together,
Let us raise up our hearts and voices to one great Spirit
That will make of us all one people:
The Spirit whose glorious name is
SINGING TOGETHER.
So concluding, the Chorus Leader and his Assistant Leader will accompany
their Choruses (the one—Chorus A, the other—Chorus B) to the places where
they sit during the Masque (indicated on the diagram) in front of their
respective stages.
As they go to their places, the Choruses will sing the carol “Good King
Wencelas.” Then, when all is still, the Masque of “The Evergreen Tree”
will commence with the Chorus of the Wilderness.
II.—EPILUDE
At the conclusion of the Masque, it is not advisable that any other
formal ceremony should follow.
The participants, the children and the people will naturally be gathering
about Santa Claus and partaking of the gifts from his pack, or otherwise
sharing in happy festivity.
In order, however, that the Masque shall not end in a general, disordered
scattering of the assemblage, it is recommended that those in costume,
including the Choruses (now united), shall march in good order to the
places of their costuming, or to such other places as the Director of the
Masque may designate, singing together stanzas of the Masque hymn—easily
learned, in unison, to the appealing music of Arthur Farwell—
“Glory and serenity,
Beauty of desire,
Bless to-night this holy tree
And our candle-fire.”—etc.
THREE MONOGRAPHS
I.—DRAMATIZING COMMUNITY SONG
BY PERCY MACKAYE
The allurement of the communal field in drama is its freshness of
opportunity—its infinite potential variety.
Definitions have not yet hedged it; criticism has not yet charted,
nor pedagogy catalogued its boundless horizons and creative streams;
commercialism has not yet invaded its unstinted harvests, to store and
can them for the market, under the labels of middlemen.
So, in approaching this realm of “The Evergreen Tree,” I have felt
something of that thrill of discovery which must more often have been
felt in earlier days on American soil: a feeling, I think, such as John
Muir once told me he experienced when he gazed first, from the top of a
great tree, over uncharted miles of the redwood region. Only here I have
seemed to look upon the conjoining of a great, structural continent—the
Drama—with a primal sea—the tides of Community Song, now carolling in
quiet inlets, now choral with tempestuous music from fathomless deeps.
If, then, I were to suggest the nature of this kind of community drama by
a topographical line, rather than by a definition of theory, I would do
so perhaps by a line such as this:
[Illustration]
wherein the rising pyramid would represent an emerging contour of that
continent (the Drama), whose base is submerged and fused with those
singing tides (Community Music).
So perhaps, as dramatist, I might suggest the coming together of those
two realms or “movements” of social art, to which my friend Arthur
Farwell refers in his comments, as composer.
Obviously, this coming together implies a new technique of the
community dramatist—a technique not for a hollowed amphitheatre (that
of the traditional theatre), but for a level assembly place (that of
the cathedral): where visually, from a floor thronged with choral
communicants, there rises a sharp focal point of dramatic action—a small
raised stage, for such few acting characters as are typical of the
community dramatic ritual.
So the setting of the Masque takes form according to its nature (as
indicated by the Ground Plan opposite page 69, and by the worded
description in the front of this volume). And so, as the dramatic
architect by his design shapes the conditions for the coöperation of the
composer, he shapes also the conditions for the coöperation of the scenic
producer—in this case, Robert Edmond Jones, whose fresh and fertile
genius becomes in a production as significant for the eye as the creative
ardor of Arthur Farwell does for the ear.
In the following pages, each of these representative artists describes
briefly his distinctive approach and viewpoint toward the ensemble
production. As well as may be in brief space, we hope thus to suggest—for
all who read the Masque with a view to its performance on however
simple a scale—something of our own feelings for the right creative and
interpretive approach to this fresh field, in which we are planning to
coöperate personally in at least some one production of “The Evergreen
Tree.”
In the pioneering attempt of this Masque, my own purpose is to dramatize
community singing—for conditions of our own time, especially in America,
during this new, formative period which the world war has begun.
In other lands and ages of folk art, community song has been dramatized,
as it can only be dramatized vitally, by artists moved by the spirit of
religion; and relics of such forms still survive amongst us in rituals
of the churches. But these rituals necessarily have attained their
growth—nobly classic at their best, at their worst—dully disintegrated.
Now new forces of an age religiously urgent for democracy demand a
re-creation of the forms of folk art, plastic to the living currents of
the new time. These currents, though continuous from the past, widen now
between strange banks and other horizons; though perennial, they require
fresh coördination.
The carol, for instance, and the ballad—old forms of folk art—survive
with us only in their archaic appeal. We in America cannot hope or wisely
desire to revive them for what they once were—spontaneous expressions of
continuous communal life in villages and peasant heaths, for that life
has gone from us, not to return. But we can do this—and in so doing,
give them new life. We can relate them definitely to a form of art for
us still living and indigenous—to the drama, and essentially to that
community kind of drama which is but now beginning its renascence of
world forms portentous for the future.
So in “The Evergreen Tree,” perhaps for the first time, I have embodied
the acted carol and the acted ballad as structural parts of a dramatic
unity—a communal dramatic unity, to which the forms of folk music are
allied and essential.
Here, then, comes into being a new kind of music drama—far removed from
the connotation of opera—a _Song Drama_ of the people. From this, speech
will not be absent; but it will necessarily be related to the simplicity
of folk song and folk poetry, in being rhythmic and chantable in its
cadences—taking on forms of spoken poetry definitely related to the
people’s poetry of song.
This Song Drama, too, of its nature—though susceptible of splendid
pageantry—will depend, for its dramatic conflict, far less on wills
opposed in visual action than on contrasted emotions of song—of choral
song, thus bringing again the Chorus back to its rightful place, heard
and visible, among the people—as with the Greeks; only now for us it
becomes a _double_ Chorus, oppositional in will and definitely divided
in two parts (the antiphonal Choruses, A and B, of this Masque, costumed
also in visual contrast), until its parts become reconciled in emotion,
when—both aurally and visibly—the two unite, as at the end of “The
Evergreen Tree.”
This much at least expresses my conception of a new art implied in the
present work—not as an _a priori_ theory, nor as a generalization for
others—but as the working method which has seemed for me best adapted to
perform a definite task in the community field involved.
The theme of the Masque I will only touch upon here to say that, in
inventing its legend of Caspar and Claus, I hope I may not wholly miss
that unconscious approval, which would be dearer than any other—the
belief of the children.
Cornish, N. H., September, 1917.
II.—COMMUNITY MUSIC AND THE COMPOSER
BY ARTHUR FARWELL
The birth of our national self-consciousness in music, from the creative
standpoint, occurred less than twenty years ago. Not until the last two
decades did the prodigious musical studies of our young people at home
and abroad produce composers in sufficient quantity to make American
music, its character and potentialities, a national question.
Even so brief a period as this has, however, sufficed to witness a
succession of distinct phases in our national musical attitude and
achievement, phases so strongly contrasted as to represent radical
changes of artistic tendency and almost complete reversals in belief and
direction of effort.
The last and greatest of these changes is that one which has withdrawn
attention from the composer as an abstract phenomenon, and from fruitless
theories of American music, and has centered it upon the immediate
service which music can render to the people of our nation. In the
long run, the nation cannot go one way and its music another. That the
ideal in the spirit of music must sooner or later, in this country, be
reconciled to and wedded with the ideal of the spirit of democracy, is an
idea which has met with general acceptance only in the last three years,
although it has been ardently championed by a few individuals for nearly
two decades.
Taking its rise in the compelling necessity of this principle, the
“community music” movement has swept the country in the last few years,
plunging it anew into violent discussion, annihilating personal theories
and products of the musical hot-house, demanding the wholesome and the
true—and giving the people expression.
In this movement the composer of the music for “The Evergreen Tree” has
been immersed. In the communal dramatic work and ideas of Percy MacKaye,
he has recognized a similar development in the art of the theatre. It
was inevitable that these two movements should come together and unite
their powers in seeking to make a helpful contribution to the quest for
a drama—and should it not truly be a music drama?—that shall serve most
appropriately the deep need of the American people for expression in such
a form.
Anything which may prove to be of worth in my compositions for “The
Evergreen Tree,” I owe to the new influx of life which I have received
from my contact with the soul of the people, as revealed in the movement
which is making us a singing nation.
Cornish, N. H., September, 1917.
III.—DESIGNS FOR “THE EVERGREEN TREE”
BY ROBERT EDMOND JONES
The drawings in this book will prove most helpful if they are thought of
merely as notes to be amplified or varied according to the special needs
of each community production.
Different communities will develop the main scheme in various ways.
The production indicated here is on a large scale in the open air;
but the arrangement of stages and aisles is equally impressive in the
smallest church.
Facilities for lighting will vary widely in different communities.
Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t an elaborate electric equipment
at your disposal. Think how beautiful the Masque might be, done by
candle-light in an old country meetinghouse!
The costumes are extremely simple, and depend largely for their
effectiveness on the dignity with which they are worn.
The two _Choruses_ wear surplice-like over-garments, red or white. _Elf_
suggests a butterfly: _Gnome_, a beetle: _Tree_, a Fra Angelico angel.
_Wolf_, _Bear_ and _Lion_ wear masks, rudely made, like mummers of the
Middle Ages. _Wolf’s_ tail is attached to a belt, which he pulls from
side to side.
[Illustration:
GNOME
TREE
ELF
TREE wears green hose bound with silver thongs, a green smock on which
the tree symbol is embroidered in silver, and flat silver wings. Later,
TREE appears in a white smock with the symbol in gold. GNOME wears loose
green trousers, a long tunic striped black and white and two long coats,
orange over green. The hood has eyes of red, white and black at the
sides. ELF wears a white smock with silver bells (mute) and butterfly
spots of red and black. ]
[Illustration:
BEAR
WOLF
LION
The three beasts wear masks of white cloth stretched over a foundation
of cardboard or buckram. WOLF wears a blue-and-white striped jerkin over
blue leggings bound with white, and a big gray tail, fastened to a belt.
BEAR has a padded gray coat over loose padded leggings. LION’S jerkin and
hose are gray, with fringes and thongs of red. ]
[Illustration:
JOSEPH
MARY
SHEPHERDS
JOSEPH, MARY and the SHEPHERDS wear semi-circular cloaks over long, loose
under-robes. JOSEPH’S cape is white over a blue robe; MARY wears blue
over white; the SHEPHERDS are in white. JOSEPH’S cap is blue with a white
band; his lantern has star-shaped panes.]
[Illustration:
HOST OF HEROD
HEROD
CAPTAIN
HEROD wears a triple gold crown and a heavy robe of scarlet on which is
a black design edged with white buttons. His staff is gold. The drawings
for the CAPTAIN and the HOST show the costume adapted to army use. The
HOST wears a scarlet tunic over the Khaki; the CAPTAIN a great scarlet
cloak edged with a scimitar design in white. The CAPTAIN’S shield is
silver and black; the other, silver and scarlet.]
[Illustration:
BELSHASAR
CASPAR
MELCHIOR
BELSHASAR: a cloak of blue, banded with white, over a long black robe; a
high-crowned turban, blue and white. MELCHIOR: a blue cloak with zigzag
trimmings of black and white, a black gown, a black-and-white helmet
with a red hood. CASPAR wears a high-peaked hat of brilliant orange and
a great orange cloak trimmed with bands of red and white and large white
buttons. Underneath he wears a costume exactly like that of CLAUS: long
high boots and a red jerkin trimmed with conventionalized holly leaves in
green and edged with white fur. All three kings wear gold crowns.]
[Illustration:
FOLLOWERS OF BELSHASAR
FOLLOWERS OF CASPAR
FOLLOWERS OF MELCHIOR
The costumes of the FOLLOWERS recall those of the three kings, but are
more simply made: the FOLLOWERS OF BELSHASAR wear blue capes over black
gowns, white hoods and tall, blue hats; the FOLLOWERS OF CASPAR wear
coats of orange banded with white over green gowns sashed with red, and
orange hats; the FOLLOWERS OF MELCHIOR have black gowns and blue capes
with black-and-white designs like those on MELCHIOR’S costume.]
[Illustration:
SORROW
SONG
DEATH
POVERTY
SORROW, POVERTY and DEATH are in black and white. SONG wears white with
bands of blue, and a wreath of white flowers in her hair. The FOLLOWERS
have costumes cut exactly like those of their leaders, but of gray
instead of white. The FOLLOWERS of SONG carry long silver trumpets.]
[Illustration:
RUTH
CLAUS
THE CHILDREN
CHORUS B
RUTH wears a white jacket over a red bodice and a gray skirt over a
black-and-white striped under-skirt. CLAUS has high boots, a red jerkin
edged with white fur and a red cap also edged with white fur. There
should be no green trimming on his jerkin. His costume and RUTH’S should
be extremely ragged and the two children should be roughly wrapped in
rags. CHORUS B wears a short red coat with white bands and a design of
spear-heads on the shoulders. When this coat is removed at the end of the
Masque, the white coat of CHORUS A is seen. This bears a tree in green on
either shoulder.]
Nearly all the other costumes consist of a simple, cloak-like
undergarment, over which are worn tunics and robes to characterize the
Host of Herod, the Shepherds, the Followers of the Three Kings, or the
Outcasts. There is nothing realistic in these clothes: they merely
_suggest_ the characters, broadly, as if they were made by children for
a child’s play. They may be carried out by any dressmaker in inexpensive
materials—muslin, cambric, cheesecloth, flannel—keeping always to a few
brilliant, flat colors: strong red, strong blue, black and white, gray,
and orange.
Make these costumes yourselves: use your own ingenuity in cutting and
draping them: wear them with a sense of what each costume means. Then
your ceremony will be beautiful.
New York, September, 1917.
_ACTION OF “THE EVERGREEN TREE”_
The Masque is performed in Twelve Actions, taking place as follows:
First Action: Stage A (Chorus; Speech).
Second Action: Aisle I (Carol; Processional).
Third Action: Stage A (Carol; Speech).
Fourth Action: Approaching Space and Steps A; then Stage A (Chorus;
Carols; Speech).
Fifth Action: Stage B (Chorus; Speech).
Sixth Action: Stage A (Chorus; Speech).
Seventh Action: Aisle II (Carol; Processional).
Eighth Action: Stage A (Carols; Speech).
Ninth Action: Stage B and Aisle I (Choral Song; Chorus; Processional;
Pantomime).
Tenth Action: Stage A (Carol; Speech).
Eleventh Action: Aisle I and Aisle II (Choral Song; Processional).
Twelfth Action: Stage A (Chorus; Speech).
ANNOUNCEMENTS IN REGARD TO THIS MASQUE
THE MUSIC
for the Choruses and Carols of “The Evergreen Tree” has been composed by
ARTHUR FARWELL
and is Published, with the Words of the Same, by
THE JOHN CHURCH COMPANY
39 West 32nd Street, New York City. Price $1.50
THE PRODUCTION
of the Masque can be adapted to any scale of expense, simple or
elaborate, and to any practical number of participants, few or many.
With a view to assisting any community, army camp, or naval station, to
organize and adapt a production to its own local conditions,
“A GUIDE TO ‘THE EVERGREEN TREE,’”
a Series of QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS relating to all phases to the Masque’s
production, has been compiled by PERCY J. BURRELL, under sanction of the
Author, Composer and Costume Designer, and will be sent, by The John
Church Company, on request, free of expense to any one interested.
NO PERFORMANCE WITHOUT PERMISSION first having been obtained, and NO
PUBLIC READINGS, where money is charged for admission, can legally be
given.
PERMISSION MAY BE OBTAINED to produce this Masque, or to read it in
Public, by applying to the Masque Organizer of “The Evergreen Tree,” 39
West 32nd Street, New York (Care The John Church Company), who will be
glad to supply further information and to arrange, wherever practicable,
for personal conference in regard to productions.
[Illustration]
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