Werckmeister Harmonies

For Jumi

Starring

A film by

WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES

Ten o'clock! Closing up!

Gentlemen, please!

Just wait a bit for Valuska

to show us.

Leave it out!

Valuska. Come on.

Show us.

Let's make some room for Valuska

to show us!

You are the Sun.

The Sun doesn't move.

This is what it does.

You are the Earth.

The Earth is here for a start

and then the Earth moves

around the Sun.

And now...

we'll have an explanation

that simple folks like us

can also understand

about immortality.

All I ask is that you step with me

into the boundlessness

where constancy,

quietude

and peace,

infinite emptiness reign.

And just imagine that

in this infinite sonorous silence

everywhere

is an impenetrable darkness.

Here we only experience

general motion

and at first we don't notice

the events we are witnessing.

The brilliant light of the Sun

always sheds its heat and light

on that side of the Earth

which is just then turned towards it.

And we stand here

in its brilliance.

This is the Moon.

The Moon revolves around the Earth.

What is happening?

We suddenly see

that the disc of the Moon,

the disc of the Moon...

on the Sun's flaming sphere

makes an indentation

and this indentation,

the dark shadow, grows bigger...

and bigger.

And as it covers more and more,

slowly, only a narrow crescent

of the Sun remains,

a dazzling crescent.

And at the next moment...

the next moment, say that

it's around one in the afternoon,

a most dramatic

turn of events occurs.

At that moment...

the air suddenly turns cold.

Can you feel it?

The sky darkens

and then goes all dark.

The dogs howl,

rabbits hunch down,

the deer run in panic,

run, stampede in fright.

And in this awful,

incomprehensible dusk

even the birds...

the birds too are confused

and go to roost.

And then... complete silence.

Everything that lives is still.

Are the hills going to march off?

Will Heaven fall upon us?

Will the Earth open under us?

We don't know.

We don't know,

for a total eclipse has come upon us.

But...

but no need to fear, it's not over.

For across the Sun's glowing sphere

slowly the Moon swims away.

And the Sun once again bursts forth

and to the Earth slowly

there comes light again,

and warmth again floods the Earth.

Deep emotion pierces everyone.

They have escaped

the weight of darkness.

That's enough! Out of here,

you tubs of beer!

But Mr Hagelmayer,

it's still not over.

Mr Eszter!

Mr Eszter!

Uncle Gyuri come on.

You're getting cold.

Please come.

Your socks too.

Sleep well.

FANTASTIC:

THE WORLD'S LARGEST GIANT WHALE!

AND OTHER WONDERS OF NATURE!

GUEST STAR:
THE PRINCE

Good evening.

Good evening Uncle Bla.

You're late today, Jnos.

How's Jnos?

How are things in the cosmos?

Everything is fine.

Thanks.

Family tragedies

come in succession.

One just after the other.

Now. If a family takes hold

of itself. They simply disappear.

And nobody knows anything about it.

Now don 't tell me that this is

normal. A normal proceeding.

The world has gone completely mad.

Now it's not down here but up there

where something's gone wrong.

For in November

the Radio says that it's 17 below.

There's a shortage of coal

and then to top it all.

There's the arrival of the circus.

They're bringing that horrible

great whale, and that Prince.

All of ten kilos.

They say he's carried in their arms,

has to be.

And for that matter,

he's got three eyes.

I don't know if that's true or not.

They say that he's taken

from town to town

and makes that godless,

monstrous speech.

Nobody knows for sure.

Even those who were there

don't understand it!

They say that

in the market square of Sarkad,

when they were bringing

the Prince around,

the clock of the church

began to go, just like that.

The clock that had stopped years ago,

and there it started all over again.

And the poplar tree fell.

A great crack

and out came its roots

from the concrete.

No wonder people are afraid.

There isn't anyone who dares

leave the house after dark.

They're afraid of being attacked,

burgled, robbed.

Plundered, stabbed, raped.

You have to keep a dog.

The mind just boggles.

You have to have a dog

for these rascals.

But once again

nothing is sacred.

They went and pulled down

the statues in the Gondocs Gardens.

They stole the headstones

from the graveyard.

So how can you explain

all this in normal terms?

The mysterious unknown plagues

are here.

Great frozen mountains of refuse

are everywhere.

People bolt the door and tremble,

dreading what is to come.

It's certain that

something is to come.

How's our Jnos?

Good morning Uncle Karcsi.

- Have you seen them?

- No. Who?

You don't know anything?

- No.

- Listen.

Apparently,

they came on the evening train

yesterday.

Because of the whale.

Well, you can never know.

You can never know

anything for sure.

Some say there's at least

three hundred of them,

someone else

that there's only two of them

actually,

and that the whole attraction

is the most frightening thing

that you would ever see.

It's also said that the whole thing

is just a cover-up for other things.

That when night comes,

they'll swoop down

on the peaceful inhabitants.

They also say...

the whale's got no part in it.

Then the next moment,

that the whale

is the cause of it all.

What's sure is that

they're already looting.

They broke the windows

of the clothing shop.

The stoker saw that

with his own eyes.

If I go that way,

I'll take a look.

Goodbye.

I have to make it clear

that not even for a moment

is there a doubt that

it is not a technical

but a philosophical question.

So that the tonal system in question,

through research,

has led us inevitably

to a test of faith,

in which we ask:

On what do we base our belief

that this harmony,

the core of every masterpiece,

referring to its own irrevocability,

actually exists or not?

From this it follows

that we should speak of,

not research into music,

but a unique realisation

of non-music

which for centuries

has been covered up

and a dreadful scandal

which we should disclose.

Hence the shameful situation

that all the intervals

in the masterpieces of many centuries

are false.

Which means

that music

and its harmony and echo,

its unsurpassable enchantment

is entirely based

on a false foundation.

Yes, we have to speak

of an indisputable deception,

even if those who are less sure,

a little moderate,

babble on about compromise.

But what kind of compromise,

when for the majority

pure musical tonality

is simply illusion,

and truly pure

musical intervals do not exist?

Here we have to acknowledge

the fact

that there were ages more

fortunate than ours,

those of Pythagoras

and Aristoxenes,

when our forefathers

were satisfied with the fact

that their purely tuned

instruments

were played in only some tones,

because they were not troubled

by doubts,

for they knew that heavenly harmonies

were the province of the gods.

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