Lyrics - "the Jielemnice Occultist" Storyline by Masters Hammer

The
Jilemnice
Occultist
A classical operetta of three acts.
The liberetto was written by
Mr.
Scantisek
Storm.
Music by
Master's
Hammer, a promenadealthough also a chamber orchestra.
The event took place under the slopes of the
Krkonose mountainsin the summer and autumn of the year 1913,
Anno
Satanas.
Heroes:
Atrament - a student, amateur occultist and adventurer.
Calamaria - a daughter of
Spiritus the landlord, a well known medium.
Clement
Bombastus von
Satrapold - the new
Jilemnice
Captain.
Poebeldorf - the
Captain's aide-de-camp, and a vile thief
Blether - a groom of castle's stabled and a denouncer.
Spiritus - a landlord of the
Jilemnice inn.
A brief overview of the liberetto:
We have emerged now in
Jilemnice in the year 1913, and, therefore inthe period when the popularity of spiritism (brought
Bohemia by
Etrichas early as 1880) is at its peak.
At first it had been performedmostly by
Kckonse weavers at
Trutnov, but soon it spread all ober thecounty, and so from the very beginnung of the new century, there hadbeen plentiful spiritistic seances at
Semily,
Nova
Paka,
Jelezny
Brodand
Fielemnice, attended by both young and old people - a physiciansits there along with the undertaker, a clerk by the side of ablacksmith, a thief together with a gendarme.
The farming, andcosequently, all of the economy is quite naturally being neglected,and the population demoralized.
That is why the new
Jilemnice
Captain has been appointed.
He issupposed to rid authorities of bothersome spiritists, who have evenrefused to pay taxes.
On the day
Captain is due to take over hisduties,
A
Prague student named
Atrament comes to
Jilemnice.
He is afree-thinker of a doubtful character, but he is extraordinarillywitty.
Besides that he is thoroughly interested in spiritism..."
Among the
Hills a
Winding
Way"
Spiritus' inn does not indeed exhibit a bountiful splendour; neitherdoes it host an exclusive society.
Vigorous countryside people enjoythemselves here the best they can in accord with their wallets andintellects - which both are half empty.
They obtain their delight bymeans of cheap liquors and racy talk.
Standing out like an ametystjewel in a dungheap, the passionate feeling between
Atrament and
Calamaria begins to crystalize here.
The first night they spendtogether is filled with eerie occult practices.
Approximately at the same moment a ceremonial feast is being held atthe
Jilemnice castle to welcome the new lord in his dominion.
Satrapold encounters the castle's inferior and drinks liquorspecialities, talking boastfully."
I
Don't
Want,
Sirs to
Pester
Your
Ears..."
The next day the
Duke goes hunting with his suite.
Fiercely chasing aa deer he loses his companions, and in the growing darkness he fallswith his horse into a deep pit - the bear-trap.
By pure chance
Calamaria is strolling through the forest, picking magic herbs.
Assoon as
Satrapold, covered with numerous bruises, manages to pullhimself out of the pit, he sees a beautiful apparition.
In the silveryhaze of the forest scenery, embroided with a thousand rays from thesetting sun, a gleaming silhouette of an aetheric fairy resides with abasket full of strange muck.
During the first few momemnts
Satrapold think that these are the firstperceptions of his afterlife and he falls into furious melancholy.
Butthen the beautiful with
Calamaria meticulously tretas his wounds andhe falls hopelessly in love with her.
Although
Calamaria refuses hisoffer to walk her home, she accepts an invitation to the castle.
Satrapold, thought, does not have the slightest idea who she mightbe..."
A
Dark
Forest
Spreads
All
Around...""
That
Magnificent
Deer
Has
Vanished in the
Bush..."
In the morning
Satrapold calls
Blether, the head groom of the castle'sstables, and tells him to saddle up a new horse.
The same day the twoof them are going to go to
Spiritus' inn., the occultist' nest; theydo so in disguise so that nobody will recognize them. (
This is a newtechnique of espionage.)
Satrapold is shocked by
Calamaria's presencein the public house, where she serves spirits.
With the wave of amagic wand the
Captain's consciousness vanishes and his body and soulare flooded with an emotion completely opposed to the desire toobliterate spiritism in the
Krkonose slopes."
My
Captain..."
A few moments later
Satrapold, due to his disguise, is attacked by thedrunk
Atrament, and
Blether offers his captain an excuse to imprison
Atrament.
At the same time
Blether also tells
Satrapold in very plainlanguage who
Calamria is.
His explenation is quite naturally differentfrom satarpold's ideals and
Blether instantly falls into disgrace withhis
Captain.
In the coach he is slapped thoroughly, and then in thecastle the
Captain, in an attack of rage, kicks him over a
Persionrug."
By the
Misery of
Fate
I'm
Haunted..."
This aria concerns the most tragical character of the operetta.
It isin its substance a confession of a man of deformed character and diceymorals.
Kicked over and humilitated,
Blether hurries from the castleto
Spiritus' inn to offer his services to the spiritists.
Since theyhave already known him for some time, he leaves misunderstood for
Jelezny
Brod, where he drinks like a fish.
Well - for his whole lifehe has been accustomed to serving some master blindly, and so has lifesuddenly lost all meaning for him.
This probably is the strongest ofthe motives for his desperate suicide, committed by jumping into thewild
Jizera rapids from the
Rieger's path pn his way from
Jelezny
Brod,
UC.
While
Blether is killing himself,
Atrament passes the boring time injail by means of somnambulous sleep.
All of sudden he starts to drawthoughtlessly strange patterns on the wall of his dungeon with abroken brick - medial drawings.
A praemurdial spirit reveals to himthat the man who poses as the
Captain
Satrapold is - just
Satrapold'streacherous aide
Poebeldorf, who devised a vile scheme with theintention to steal jewels from the
Jilemnice castle and to flee to
Cairo with enormous wealth.
He was sent to the
Jilemnice castle toprepare everything for the arrival of the real
Satrapold, who isexpected just tomorrow."
Oh,
My
Precious
Sir,
Do
You
Remember
When..."
Calamaria pays a visit to
Satrapold (the false one) in the castle andafter many minutes of cajoling
Poebeldorf, he agrees to free
Atrament,but on the condition that she will go with
Poebeldorf to hunt laterthat day. (
This is so that he can kidnap her and take her along withhim on a horse, which is already waiting in the stables with thesaddle bags full of stolen jewels.)"
Everything
Is
Just
My
Whim..."
They leave for the castle dungeons to free
Atrament.
As soon as thebars are open,
Calamaria notices the drawings on the dungeon wall,from which she can clearly read what the villain
Poebeldorf hasschemed.
She does not hesitate to cast the accusation in his face, andhe instantly pushes her into the cell and locks the bars.
In a paniche runs into the stables, where his horse is waiting with thecontraband intending to flee immediately.
That very moment he issurprised by the fanfares, announcing the real
Satrapol's arrival.
Satrapold, having inspected the dungeons, learns the whole truth andthe situation turns to
Poebeldorf's disadvantage - he is put into theprison instead of
Atrament."
Glory,
Herr
Hauptmann...!"
The operetta ends with a feast in
Spiritus' public house; it isrevealed that
Satarpold holds no grudge against spiritism...

Return to songs by Masters Hammer.