The Lamentations of Thel

Libretto based on the 'Book of Thel' by William Blake (E,R)

S,boyS(or girlS),CT(or S),A,mime; mixed chamber chorus
1(=picc).1.1.1-1.1.1.0-timp.perc(2):jingle bells/tgl/susp.cym/gong/
BD/tam-t/xyl/vib/t.bells/glsp-cel(=hpd).harp-strings(1.1.1.1.1)

The Vales of Har, the Places of the Dead

The daughters of Mne Seraphim are all shepherdesses in the Vales of Har, apart from the youngest, Thel (so-called from the Greek word meaning ‘desire’ or ‘will’). She spends her time wandering on her own, trying to find the answer to the question that torments her: why does the springtime of life inevitably fade so that all things must end? She meets the Lily of the Valley who tries to comfort her. When Thel remains uncomforted, the Lily sends her on to ask the Cloud. The Cloud explains that he is part of a natural process and, although he sometimes disappears, he is never gone forever. Thel replies that she is not like the Cloud and when she disappears she will not return. So the Cloud suggests asking the same question of the Worm. The Worm is still a child and cannot answer. Instead it is the Worm’s mother, the Clod of Clay, who answers. The Clod explains that we do not live for ourselves, but for others. She invites Thel to enter into her underground realm and see the places of the dead where Thel herself will one day reside. Once there, however, Thel is assailed by mysterious voices asking a whole series of yet more terrible questions of existence. Uttering a shriek, she flees back to her home in the Vales of Har.

Dramatic, Poetic