Flirting with the Dragon: Sonnets and Serpents
Can you hear them? Can you hear the church bells chiming through the hills of Italy as the sun rises? Or can you hear the funeral bells tolling through the streets of Eastern Europe as dusk settles? This is a journey through love and death, through brooding horror, and through the reawakening of The Dragon in all its glorious smoke, flame, and brutality as it eagerly waits to devour your soul. Can you hear?
A glint of hope rises in the distance, but such hope is fleeting. This is a journey through life, a life full of joy and sorrow, peace and war, destruction and rebirth. Let the music of Liszt pull you from the depths of misery to the heavens of ecstasy and beyond as he recounts three love sonnets of Petrarch, the dramatic death of Tristan’s lover, Isolde, in a beautiful transcription of Wagner’s genius, and finally the accompanying funeral music to end the journey of life as we know it. But wait…
The soul’s life after death is only beginning as the Andante in C Minor of Paul Aurandt murmurs in the shadows. Like an entrapped prisoner, the Andante schemes and plans its break. After a brief moment of panic and turmoil, the soul is freed. He stands on the steps of the prison, overlooking the new world which is his to conquer. Thus begins the glory and parade of the Andante in C Major: But no joy lasts forever. Upon leaving the refuge of his prison cell, the soul can feel a strange heat at his back, searing and humid like the breath of the devil. Coming about, he spies the gruesome dragon, seemingly waiting for this very moment. Smoke blinds all vision, and with a trembling roar the dragon commences battle as Aurandt’s Sonata in B-Flat Minor begins. Drawing his sword and leaping to and fro it is a miracle the soul still lives. This Sonata, The Dragon, is the tale of the final battle against the last temptation.
Pianist Charles Szczepanek is your guide through earthly life and beyond. Who will be the victor? Listen closely, and Charles will tell you…
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You can contact Charles Szczepanek at:
Charles@wrdstudios.com
Or call (480) 358-7637
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