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Text by Andrea Mellis
Covid 19 has struck. The world is shut down. It is hard for many people. Andrea (my wife and librettist) and I are fortunate to be in a stable relationship, both maritally and financially, and thus we can collaborate on musical projects. As theatres and restaurants close, as people are becoming more and more frustrated with the necessary steps being taken to halt the virus, there is one sector at least that is breathing a hefty sigh of relief: the animals. They are taking over. There are videos online of goats invading village streets, of monkeys running amok in formerly crowded markets and public places. There are deer calmly feasting on the flowers in a cemetery, and in our own town we witnessed a trio of ducks who left the palace pond to take up residence in the garden out front. They even strolled up and down the main shopping street, undeterred by the few shoppers who looked on with amusement and made way for them. We take regular walks too, in our neighbourhood since travel further afield is not advised, and one day, observing some pretty bugs on the path Andrea had an idea: do you suppose the animals are relieved that we are no longer about, creating our noise and pollution and driving them away? She set about to describe how the bugs might be happy that we no longer step on them because we are absent. She imagined those ducks being glad to be away from the cold murky water of the pond and away from handfuls of stale bread tossed by tourists ("eat it yourselves" they say in song #1). Arrogant goats mock us as we cower at home in fear, and deer gracefully munch on our graveyard flowers. They have little sympathy. And the monkeys are just monkeys, chattering, scolding and fighting over popcorn left behind by absent humans. Andrea's poems have a great deal of charm, and also a great deal that is dark about them. This pandemic is likely our own doing as we destroy natural habitats and become ever more concentrated in urban centres. Musically, I have tried to capture that dark spirit as well as the charm. The bugs potter along in quick patterns of 6 notes (one for each leg - get it?); the ducks rest languorously on the lawn as does the music; the goats march aggressively and accusingly into our towns, despising our cowardice; the deer chew to a lovely sarabande rhythm and the monkeys chatter to a boogie-woogie accompaniment. It's great fun, and it contains a stark lesson.
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