1 Book 9.5: A Beautiful Bass-Baritone
We sailed on in low spirits for two more days. Try as I might, I could not lift my crew out of their gloom for I myself felt the loss of our comrades. On the third day, we reached an island that looked friendly and that we hadn't been warned against. We decided to stop there to rest and replenish our supplies.
The island was called Voce, as I later learned. It was indeed a beautiful island. The air was warm and moist, and lush foliage grew everywhere. At the center of the island tall, gray peaks rose above the trees, shrouded in a majestic mist. There was an abundance of brightly colored birds who sang sweetly. The only other creatures we could find were what appeared to be small rabbits, but upon close examination were more like small brown lumps of fur with large, sad eyes and unusually large ears. They were extremely fast and could hear us approaching from far away. As a result, we ate only fruit and vegetables for the first week of our stay.
The strange thing about the island of paradise was that we could find no sign of human life. We searched the island everyday for signs of civilization, but we found not a trace. Still, I was determined to find the civilization because I knew that people inhabited this island. My crew was somewhat doubtful, but I was convinced that I was right. One day, as I made my way through the thick jungle, I caught strains of a song. It was a high, sweet voice that floated on the thick air, above the trees. I started running toward the source of the sound. I followed all the way to the heart of the island, only to be faced with the side of the mountain. Face to face with the cold, gray stone, I stood there puzzling. I was absolutely sure that I had heard someone singing, but they seemed to have vanished in to thin air. I waited there for some time, hoping that the person would return, but I eventually turned around and headed back to the camp.
On the fourteenth day on the island, I sat awake by the fire while my crew slept. I stayed awake most of the night trying to figure out what I was missing. My stubborn nature would not let my leave this island without solving the riddle, yet my mind was a blank. Other members of my crew had now reported hearing singing as well, only to be led to the base of the mountain. We had tried climbing it, but the slopes were too steep and smooth for us to ascend. Everything seemed to point to the mountain, but I had no idea how. The singing, the vanishing, it was all too strange. But my mind was clouded and I could come to no conclusions.
I was almost falling asleep when the god Hermes appeared before me. He said to me, "Odysseus, clever man, you are on the right track, but the answer evades you. I think you would find if helpful if you whistled a tune to ease your mind. You are not far from what you seek." With that he vanished, and I was left alone.
His words made little sense to me, but I had nothing better to do, so I whistled song that I remember from my days back in Ithaca. I waited, and nothing happened. I figured that the gods must have just been fooling me again. Then I noticed that the island had gone completely silent. The constant chatter of the birds had ceased, and the only sound that could be heard was the rustle of the trees being blown in the wind.
I turned toward to the forest and in the dim light that Dawn shown as she peeked from her bower, I saw all the little creatures of the forest running toward me. Also the birds flew in a large, multi-colored mass to above where I stood. The animals gathered around my feet and stared at me with their oversized eyes. They kept shaking their heads in the direction of the forest and looking at me. It seemed as if they wanted my to follow them.
I quickly roused my crew and we followed the creature through the forest. They stopped at the very center, at the base of the mountains. My crew and I had been here many times before, and everything looked very much the same. Then the birds and the rodents began to chirp and make noise all together. I could almost decipher a melody. Then, miraculously, the mountain changed right before our eyes. A grand door appeared, it opened, and from it stepped a very tall, dark-haired, maiden who greeted us with a smile. She giggled and said, "I was wondering when you boys were going to figure it out! I just love visitors – especially good-looking ones." She giggled again, and looked expectantly at me.
Still recovering from my shock, I cleared my throat and addressed her, "Fair maiden, my crew and I have been travelling for a long time. We seek your hospitality. Our supplies are low, and we beseech you to allow us to rest in your city." She replied by singing a tune into a small hole in the door. The door swung open, and she beckoned for us to follow her.
She led us into a beautiful city. The buildings were all white and shining. There was a great main road that led to a palace. We walked along this road for a while, while our guide happily chattered about various things: the weather, her latest composition, palace gossip. When we were nearing the palace, I interrupted her steady flow of words to ask her name. "Oh how rude of me!" she exclaimed, "I totally forgot to introduce myself. I'm Vivace, the official gatekeeper of our city."
When we reached the palace, we were shown into the great hall. It was a splendid hall with high, arching ceilings and a large banquet table in the middle. The table was heaped high with all sorts of delicious food. At the head of the table sat two beautiful women who I assumed to be the queen sisters.
Upon our arrival, the noisy hall went silent, and all heads turned our direction. Even the two queens looked up expectantly. They were both very beautiful, but they created such an extreme contrast that it was almost comical. Moderato was a very tall woman with long, straight black hair and dramatic features. Her skin was fair in sharp contrast to her dark eyes and hair and her red lips. She was very tall and slender. Her sister, Allegro on the other hand was a very tiny person. She had bright red hair in curls that spiraled down past her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to hold their own light; they were such a bright shade of emerald.
Vivace announced us to the queens, "Your Royal Highnesses, I present to you the Great Odysseus and his trustworthy crew. They have sailed from very far away, and as you are all aware, have been camping on our island for two weeks. They finally figured out how to get into our city, and they seek our hospitality."
Moderato spoke first, "Odysseus, we have heard so much about you and we are honored by your presence. We will of course show you the hospitality that you are accustomed to, and you are welcome to stay as long as you like. We hope that you will be able join our feast tonight, but of course you must be refreshed first. Forte will show you to the bathhouse were you may clean yourselves. When you are ready, we would be honored if you would join us."
I gave her my thanks and we departed. After a relaxing bath, we went back to the table and enjoyed a wonderful feast. After dinner, there seemed to be some sort of talent show. Every person at the table got up and sang something, even the queens. Allegro and Moderato sang a beautiful but sad duet. Moderato's melodious alto sang a beautiful harmony line to Allegro's sweet soprano. When everyone had sang, the jewel-eyed queen turned to me and said, "We all have sung, and now it is your turn, Odysseus. Sing us a song of your journey and your victory of Troy. Don't leave anything out."
I wasn't quite sure I had heard her right. "Sing?" I stammered. They nodded their heads enthusiastically. "I, I can't sing," I mumbled. I didn't want to offend our hostesses, but asking my to sing was like asking me to speak another language. I loved listening to songs that other people sang, but I simply didn't sing. It just wasn't something I did.
Silence fell over the hall like a sudden frost. Everyone seemed frozen, unable to move or speak. Like flowers caught by surprise, the good mood and carefree manner were instantly killed. I could feel the cold moving from my toes to my very heart. In the sudden winter on this tropical island, I knew that I had said something very wrong.
Everyone stared at me in disbelief. I felt completely naked despite my rich robes. For the first time in my life, I felt extremely awkward with all the attention on me for the wrong reason. After what seemed like an eternity, it was the gracious hostess Moderato who broke the silence. "I'm sure that our guest didn't mean what he said. He probably hasn't prepared anything, and therefor needs some time. I'm sure he would be happy to perform for us tomorrow." I wasn't about to argue with the woman who just saved me, so I nodded and smiled.
Later that night, after the party had died down and people were heading off to bed, Moderato caught my attention, and motioned for me to follow her to her private chambers. Once there, she informed me that we had exactly seven hours for me to learn how to sing. This didn't sound very pleasant to me, but I knew that the consequences would be grave.
Through the course of the night, I had learned how important singing was to the people of Voce. Everyone sang, and that was how it had always been. They were known for their beautiful voices, and were proud of their vocal accomplishments. It was a custom that every guest sang their story instead of telling it, and I was not one to argue with customs, so I subjected myself to a very humbling experience.
That night, I lost a lot of pride. I realized that bravery on the battlefield was not the only kind of courage. I never thought that anything as insignificant as singing could make my heart tremble and my palms sweat. Moderato taught me everything patiently. She also composed a song for me to sing, once I had told her my story so far. We rehearsed over and over again, working on tone color, phrasing, dynamics – everything.
When Dawn was just awakening, the song was nearly perfect. Moderato gave me a drink to strengthen my voice. It was the consistency of honey, with a flavor that I had never tasted before. She assured me that I would be just fine, and that I actually had a beautiful voice but I just lacked training.
I thanked her profusely for her help and her compliment, and retired to the guestroom to catch a few hours of sleep before my performance. As I walked down the corridors, I chuckled to myself thinking about what people would say if they heard that I had been up all night learning how to sing. Well, I thought to myself, you learn something new everyday.
That night, I performed my piece with no mistakes, but with much nervousness. I prayed to the god Apollo before I had to sing, and I believe that it was through his grace alone that I was able to get through that piece unscathed. I felt more scared standing there before all of those smiling faces, than I did in the cave of Polyphemus. But, I was able to complete my task with some success.
After I was done, everyone came up to me and complimented me on my voice. The sisters insisted that I stay with them for at least a few months, so that I could develop my voice and learn more from them. Because my crew and I were weary and in need of recovery, I thought this would be an excellent idea. But months piled upon months, and the sisters showed no intention of letting us go.
After we had stayed there six months, I was reminded of Ithaca by a song that Allegro gave to me to sing. Suddenly, as if waking from a dream, I remember the purpose of my journey. I remembered my home and my family, and I knew that I must leave that island without further delay. I revealed my thoughts to the queens, but they would have none of it. They laughed and couldn't comprehend why I would possibly want to leave their paradise to continue an arduous journey to a place far away.
That night, I talked with some of my most trusted men. After much thought, we came up with a plan to leave the island without sneaking off, and with the good favor of the queens.
We worked all night, composing a lovely quartet. None of us had ever composed before, but it came out extremely well. I have reason to believe that a god was involved with the success of our piece. Nevertheless, we took our composition to the queens the next day. I selected the three best singers of my men, and we performed the quartet for the queens and their court.
They absolutely loved the piece, and demanded to have a copy of it. This is where our cunning played a part. We agreed to give them a written copy only if they would allow us to leave the island and continue on our journey. The sisters looked at each other, back at me, and them burst out laughing. They said that I had their blessings to go, so long as I gave them a copy of the piece. They told me that they would love to have us stay, but would never have actually prevented us from leaving.
We packed all of our things, and came before the queens to bid them goodbye. "Allegro and Moderato – you have been more than excellent hostesses. My men and I will always remember you and your kingdom with fondness. It is through you that I discovered my love for singing, and your kindness and hospitality will not be forgotten. Your good nature, beauty, and singing are all blessings. I pray that you will both remain happy and that the gods will look with favor upon you for the rest of your days. May the sun always shine on Voce."
Before our departure, the generous queens supplied us with food and wine for the journey. They also gave me a gift that I will treasure forever. The jewel-eyed one said to me, "I pray that you reach Ithaca safely. It has been a pleasure to have you in our kingdom, and I sincerely hope that we meet again. This necklace might be a help to you on your perilous journey home. Just blow into the shell, and all beings around, whether they are human, animal, or monster, will fall into a deep sleep. I hope that you will find this useful, and I hope that you continue to sing for you truly have a gift. Farewell, Odysseus!"
And with that, we set sail. I still remember looking back on the beautiful island as I thought of the difficult journey ahead. As we sailed on into the seemingly endless expanse of sparkling blue water, I hummed a tune…
We sailed on in low spirits for two more days. Try as I might, I could not lift my crew out of their gloom for I myself felt the loss of our comrades. On the third day, we reached an island that looked friendly and that we hadn't been warned against. We decided to stop there to rest and replenish our supplies.
The island was called Voce, as I later learned. It was indeed a beautiful island. The air was warm and moist, and lush foliage grew everywhere. At the center of the island tall, gray peaks rose above the trees, shrouded in a majestic mist. There was an abundance of brightly colored birds who sang sweetly. The only other creatures we could find were what appeared to be small rabbits, but upon close examination were more like small brown lumps of fur with large, sad eyes and unusually large ears. They were extremely fast and could hear us approaching from far away. As a result, we ate only fruit and vegetables for the first week of our stay.
The strange thing about the island of paradise was that we could find no sign of human life. We searched the island everyday for signs of civilization, but we found not a trace. Still, I was determined to find the civilization because I knew that people inhabited this island. My crew was somewhat doubtful, but I was convinced that I was right. One day, as I made my way through the thick jungle, I caught strains of a song. It was a high, sweet voice that floated on the thick air, above the trees. I started running toward the source of the sound. I followed all the way to the heart of the island, only to be faced with the side of the mountain. Face to face with the cold, gray stone, I stood there puzzling. I was absolutely sure that I had heard someone singing, but they seemed to have vanished in to thin air. I waited there for some time, hoping that the person would return, but I eventually turned around and headed back to the camp.
On the fourteenth day on the island, I sat awake by the fire while my crew slept. I stayed awake most of the night trying to figure out what I was missing. My stubborn nature would not let my leave this island without solving the riddle, yet my mind was a blank. Other members of my crew had now reported hearing singing as well, only to be led to the base of the mountain. We had tried climbing it, but the slopes were too steep and smooth for us to ascend. Everything seemed to point to the mountain, but I had no idea how. The singing, the vanishing, it was all too strange. But my mind was clouded and I could come to no conclusions.
I was almost falling asleep when the god Hermes appeared before me. He said to me, "Odysseus, clever man, you are on the right track, but the answer evades you. I think you would find if helpful if you whistled a tune to ease your mind. You are not far from what you seek." With that he vanished, and I was left alone.
His words made little sense to me, but I had nothing better to do, so I whistled song that I remember from my days back in Ithaca. I waited, and nothing happened. I figured that the gods must have just been fooling me again. Then I noticed that the island had gone completely silent. The constant chatter of the birds had ceased, and the only sound that could be heard was the rustle of the trees being blown in the wind.
I turned toward to the forest and in the dim light that Dawn shown as she peeked from her bower, I saw all the little creatures of the forest running toward me. Also the birds flew in a large, multi-colored mass to above where I stood. The animals gathered around my feet and stared at me with their oversized eyes. They kept shaking their heads in the direction of the forest and looking at me. It seemed as if they wanted my to follow them.
I quickly roused my crew and we followed the creature through the forest. They stopped at the very center, at the base of the mountains. My crew and I had been here many times before, and everything looked very much the same. Then the birds and the rodents began to chirp and make noise all together. I could almost decipher a melody. Then, miraculously, the mountain changed right before our eyes. A grand door appeared, it opened, and from it stepped a very tall, dark-haired, maiden who greeted us with a smile. She giggled and said, "I was wondering when you boys were going to figure it out! I just love visitors – especially good-looking ones." She giggled again, and looked expectantly at me.
Still recovering from my shock, I cleared my throat and addressed her, "Fair maiden, my crew and I have been travelling for a long time. We seek your hospitality. Our supplies are low, and we beseech you to allow us to rest in your city." She replied by singing a tune into a small hole in the door. The door swung open, and she beckoned for us to follow her.
She led us into a beautiful city. The buildings were all white and shining. There was a great main road that led to a palace. We walked along this road for a while, while our guide happily chattered about various things: the weather, her latest composition, palace gossip. When we were nearing the palace, I interrupted her steady flow of words to ask her name. "Oh how rude of me!" she exclaimed, "I totally forgot to introduce myself. I'm Vivace, the official gatekeeper of our city."
When we reached the palace, we were shown into the great hall. It was a splendid hall with high, arching ceilings and a large banquet table in the middle. The table was heaped high with all sorts of delicious food. At the head of the table sat two beautiful women who I assumed to be the queen sisters.
Upon our arrival, the noisy hall went silent, and all heads turned our direction. Even the two queens looked up expectantly. They were both very beautiful, but they created such an extreme contrast that it was almost comical. Moderato was a very tall woman with long, straight black hair and dramatic features. Her skin was fair in sharp contrast to her dark eyes and hair and her red lips. She was very tall and slender. Her sister, Allegro on the other hand was a very tiny person. She had bright red hair in curls that spiraled down past her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to hold their own light; they were such a bright shade of emerald.
Vivace announced us to the queens, "Your Royal Highnesses, I present to you the Great Odysseus and his trustworthy crew. They have sailed from very far away, and as you are all aware, have been camping on our island for two weeks. They finally figured out how to get into our city, and they seek our hospitality."
Moderato spoke first, "Odysseus, we have heard so much about you and we are honored by your presence. We will of course show you the hospitality that you are accustomed to, and you are welcome to stay as long as you like. We hope that you will be able join our feast tonight, but of course you must be refreshed first. Forte will show you to the bathhouse were you may clean yourselves. When you are ready, we would be honored if you would join us."
I gave her my thanks and we departed. After a relaxing bath, we went back to the table and enjoyed a wonderful feast. After dinner, there seemed to be some sort of talent show. Every person at the table got up and sang something, even the queens. Allegro and Moderato sang a beautiful but sad duet. Moderato's melodious alto sang a beautiful harmony line to Allegro's sweet soprano. When everyone had sang, the jewel-eyed queen turned to me and said, "We all have sung, and now it is your turn, Odysseus. Sing us a song of your journey and your victory of Troy. Don't leave anything out."
I wasn't quite sure I had heard her right. "Sing?" I stammered. They nodded their heads enthusiastically. "I, I can't sing," I mumbled. I didn't want to offend our hostesses, but asking my to sing was like asking me to speak another language. I loved listening to songs that other people sang, but I simply didn't sing. It just wasn't something I did.
Silence fell over the hall like a sudden frost. Everyone seemed frozen, unable to move or speak. Like flowers caught by surprise, the good mood and carefree manner were instantly killed. I could feel the cold moving from my toes to my very heart. In the sudden winter on this tropical island, I knew that I had said something very wrong.
Everyone stared at me in disbelief. I felt completely naked despite my rich robes. For the first time in my life, I felt extremely awkward with all the attention on me for the wrong reason. After what seemed like an eternity, it was the gracious hostess Moderato who broke the silence. "I'm sure that our guest didn't mean what he said. He probably hasn't prepared anything, and therefor needs some time. I'm sure he would be happy to perform for us tomorrow." I wasn't about to argue with the woman who just saved me, so I nodded and smiled.
Later that night, after the party had died down and people were heading off to bed, Moderato caught my attention, and motioned for me to follow her to her private chambers. Once there, she informed me that we had exactly seven hours for me to learn how to sing. This didn't sound very pleasant to me, but I knew that the consequences would be grave.
Through the course of the night, I had learned how important singing was to the people of Voce. Everyone sang, and that was how it had always been. They were known for their beautiful voices, and were proud of their vocal accomplishments. It was a custom that every guest sang their story instead of telling it, and I was not one to argue with customs, so I subjected myself to a very humbling experience.
That night, I lost a lot of pride. I realized that bravery on the battlefield was not the only kind of courage. I never thought that anything as insignificant as singing could make my heart tremble and my palms sweat. Moderato taught me everything patiently. She also composed a song for me to sing, once I had told her my story so far. We rehearsed over and over again, working on tone color, phrasing, dynamics – everything.
When Dawn was just awakening, the song was nearly perfect. Moderato gave me a drink to strengthen my voice. It was the consistency of honey, with a flavor that I had never tasted before. She assured me that I would be just fine, and that I actually had a beautiful voice but I just lacked training.
I thanked her profusely for her help and her compliment, and retired to the guestroom to catch a few hours of sleep before my performance. As I walked down the corridors, I chuckled to myself thinking about what people would say if they heard that I had been up all night learning how to sing. Well, I thought to myself, you learn something new everyday.
That night, I performed my piece with no mistakes, but with much nervousness. I prayed to the god Apollo before I had to sing, and I believe that it was through his grace alone that I was able to get through that piece unscathed. I felt more scared standing there before all of those smiling faces, than I did in the cave of Polyphemus. But, I was able to complete my task with some success.
After I was done, everyone came up to me and complimented me on my voice. The sisters insisted that I stay with them for at least a few months, so that I could develop my voice and learn more from them. Because my crew and I were weary and in need of recovery, I thought this would be an excellent idea. But months piled upon months, and the sisters showed no intention of letting us go.
After we had stayed there six months, I was reminded of Ithaca by a song that Allegro gave to me to sing. Suddenly, as if waking from a dream, I remember the purpose of my journey. I remembered my home and my family, and I knew that I must leave that island without further delay. I revealed my thoughts to the queens, but they would have none of it. They laughed and couldn't comprehend why I would possibly want to leave their paradise to continue an arduous journey to a place far away.
That night, I talked with some of my most trusted men. After much thought, we came up with a plan to leave the island without sneaking off, and with the good favor of the queens.
We worked all night, composing a lovely quartet. None of us had ever composed before, but it came out extremely well. I have reason to believe that a god was involved with the success of our piece. Nevertheless, we took our composition to the queens the next day. I selected the three best singers of my men, and we performed the quartet for the queens and their court.
They absolutely loved the piece, and demanded to have a copy of it. This is where our cunning played a part. We agreed to give them a written copy only if they would allow us to leave the island and continue on our journey. The sisters looked at each other, back at me, and them burst out laughing. They said that I had their blessings to go, so long as I gave them a copy of the piece. They told me that they would love to have us stay, but would never have actually prevented us from leaving.
We packed all of our things, and came before the queens to bid them goodbye. "Allegro and Moderato – you have been more than excellent hostesses. My men and I will always remember you and your kingdom with fondness. It is through you that I discovered my love for singing, and your kindness and hospitality will not be forgotten. Your good nature, beauty, and singing are all blessings. I pray that you will both remain happy and that the gods will look with favor upon you for the rest of your days. May the sun always shine on Voce."
Before our departure, the generous queens supplied us with food and wine for the journey. They also gave me a gift that I will treasure forever. The jewel-eyed one said to me, "I pray that you reach Ithaca safely. It has been a pleasure to have you in our kingdom, and I sincerely hope that we meet again. This necklace might be a help to you on your perilous journey home. Just blow into the shell, and all beings around, whether they are human, animal, or monster, will fall into a deep sleep. I hope that you will find this useful, and I hope that you continue to sing for you truly have a gift. Farewell, Odysseus!"
And with that, we set sail. I still remember looking back on the beautiful island as I thought of the difficult journey ahead. As we sailed on into the seemingly endless expanse of sparkling blue water, I hummed a tune…