The Peacock Queen, the Lady of Green Water

Akihiko quite enjoys studying and seeing music with me. Treasured synaesthesia… I would like to share his words on Erwin Schulhoff’s Concerto for Piano and Small Orchestra, Op. 43, conducted by Andreas Delfs, performed by pianist Aleksandar Madžar and the German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen. Schulhoff composed this in 1922…

—Anatolij

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There’s something about it… Elegant, and dark… And like this whole shadow fans out like a peacock’s tail to cover everything

And is just as brilliant.

Like warm water rippling, warm and, black, and green where the ripples catch the light.

Then everything here flies… Yeah… Like… Like dreadful stars      Threatening dreadful stars

Trying to meet     Light trying to come out      But it’s eaten by shadow, will be eaten

Then it’s eaten.

The remains…

A survivor, or…? A spectator, walking by… bits of black and char that float easily into the air         Look. Look. Looking here, and there… A brief flash of warmth, a warm memory     And another me, recollection…

Now just walking alone. No more ashen remains. And Again. But the wind here is gentle, picks up less ruin.

Something threatens to come out

The stars from the shadows of the water

Anatolij—These images are beautiful. Why did no one tell me music could be like this

Oh! There she is! The Lady of the Water… She the ruler, the Queen of this place? It’s like nothing bothers her

And some kind of

light

follows her wherever she goes

A precious soft green light in the waker of her footsteps       The shadows on the water are reacting     Recoiling   Like in fear      Anxious      They’re small little monsters that drag the water with them.

Why’d she disappear? But…

It’s like she felt something in the water… It’s vaguely human… Almost human. Almost approachable… And now it’s mounting strength

It’s growing

It’s not strong yet      But quickly

And a bird flies calling about it

“It’s coming! It’s coming!” And now a rabbit is calling too      The swells in the water are bigger

Oh…?

A droplet of water running somewhere in the dark            Fallen

And now the running

All of the Queen’s minions come rushing out of the water

On horseback

On kelpies

They’re dark, but

It’s a different kind of darkness    With the same peacock’s emblems

They’re running out the shadows and waving banners of moonlight      Am I supposed to be cheering for them? I think so.

Oh! The shadow is screaming. In pain… It falls       Into the canyon

…There’s a bit of light left over

Just a small bit

It’s injured and small and vulnerable     Trying to gather itself up and its things

After all this

Guess there’s

No room for light like this one      Only the green and the shadow      No yellow light   No room for it

The little light doesn’t know where to turn to or run to      It’s all alone       Not even the rabbits are near

Oh.

It’s looking for its lover.

“Run off!”

It’s being told to run along now.

The conquest of the Lady of the Green Water continues

Eradicating all the shadows so everything shimmers in black and green

And that is all!