Singing and Voice

by João Ventura

Crystal Clear

She was an extraordinary soprano. There were several stories about her; some people who claimed to have been present at a recital where her voice had made a crystal glass vibrate until it shattered. But most put these stories in the “urban myths” category.

In 2045, she was naturally invited to the concert commemorating the nine centuries since the beginning of the construction of Chartres Cathedral. The temple had undergone restoration work, and the stone of the walls and columns received a surface treatment designed, according to the sound engineers who created the project, to improve the balance between the sound absorbed and reflected throughout the interior.

The temple was full, the well-known Missa pro vocem angelorum commenced and the audience waited, expectantly, for the beginning of the soprano’s solo. She started piano, and her voice gained intensity as the chorus diminished. When it reached fortissimo, the 150 windows of the cathedral started resonating and, in a fraction of a second, the stained-glass windows of the 13th century fell shattered on the stone floor of the cathedral. Not one escaped!

The Voice

In the beginning, the primordial Voice was simple, little more than a vibration but, in it, the universe pulsed. And for millions of years, it was the only sound.

When the Voice found the stones and plants, both reacted to the Voice and, in this way, their voices were born.

Then the animals appeared, with moving voices, and the static voices of the stones and plants slowly vanished.

And man ascended, and his voice evolved from the screams of the hunters-gatherers to the Schubert songs and the operas of Verdi.

The primitive voice, which had fallen asleep millions of years ago, awoke.

And it did not like the voices it heard. And it erased them. And for a long time only the pulse of the Voice was heard.

And when the Voice fell asleep again, there was only silence. Deafening.

The Cantata Soloist

The choir brightened up all the liturgical ceremonies that took place in the old church of the monastery.

Brother Bonifácio was one of the soloists, together with Brothers Torcato and Salvador. Brother Francisco, who directed the choir, had been rehearsing for three weeks the famous cantata attributed to one of the monastery founders, to be included in the Mass on the day of the patron saint.

None of the soloists dared to ask Brother Francisco — known for his difficult temperament — who, among them, would sing the solos.

Brother Bonifácio desperately wanted to be the soloist on that day, among other reasons because the Bishop would come to preside over the ceremony. And he devised a plan for that to happen. It was not a totally benevolent plan, but nothing that a well-made confession could not wash away.

Since he worked in the monastery pharmacy, his knowledge of medicinal herbs and their effects was above average. He made a preparation with various herbs that he secretly mixed in Brother Salvador’s food. The next day, the poor monk had his skin covered with bubbles. The abbot, afraid that it was something contagious, transferred Salvador to a ward reserved for the most serious clinical cases.

As for Brother Torcato, an infusion mixed in his tea bowl caused him a tremendous attack of dysentery that led the monk to run periodically towards the latrines.

With the way free, Brother Bonifácio went to great lengths to prepare the cantata, he wanted to make sure he would sing it the best he could.

And yet “Man proposes and God disposes.” In the early morning of the expected day, a violent storm hit the region. The bishop’s carriage was stuck in the mud just over a league from the monastery, and several trees uprooted by the wind blocked the few major roads, making travel in the region extremely difficult.

Even in the city, heavy rain and strong winds prevented the vast majority of the faithful from going to church.

And Brother Bonifácio sang the solos for an audience consisting of the sacristan, two old ladies who lived in a house a few meters from the church, and two or three beggars who had sought the church shelter to escape the storm.