Dominus Krabbe

Monologue opera for countertenor and decacorde

 

Dominus Krabbe was a real person from the 17th century, a priest who drank his office and ended up a dependent lodger in other people's corners. In P. Mustapää's horror ballad, guilt drives him down from heaven to confess his actions. Krabbe appears as a ghost in the middle of the most beautiful midsummer to his old parsonage, because he has decided to square up his deeds by preaching in his church for the last time. Referring to the fates of John, Herod, Herodias, and Salome, he is able to break down his suicidal anxiety and tell the reason for it: "Every single one of them has killed himself for Salome's sake". 

The flip side of guilt is blame. Here, its part falls on the puristic church and its representatives. Krabbe's portrait is the symbol of the power that controls people. The icy, dull, and all-seeing eyes of the priest in Sakaristo's tableau create a bad conscience among the parishioners: the young master of the parsonage trudges home from Midsummer dances fearing his father, the maid Amanda lazes in the morning, the farmhand Eprami returns from a night's walk in an almighty rosy red, the church guard Optaatus is prone to superstition and tippling, and the parsonage's ladies bare the sins of pride and showing off. In the shadow of Krabbe's ghost, innocence suddenly becomes the bloodiest of sins. But when the sermons are preached, the scales fall from the parishioners' eyes: the feared authority is as brutal as any of us. Redemption manifests itself as a liberating joy in life: "And a beautiful girl danced on the crucifix like Salome". 

In the monologue opera, the dramaturgy is specially created by a versatile singing voice. The register, which extends from the low baritone to the heights of the countertenor, transforms into seven different persons. It is supported by the decacorde, a ten-string guitar, with similar melodic and rhythmic motifs, chords and textures. The center of attention is the priest Krabbe. His form is black and low, and his high falsetto screams out the terror it evokes. A few dark liturgical motifs, the Kyrie cry for mercy and the Dies Irae lament, spice up the archaizing and built-up tone.

Dominus Krabbe is dedicated to its commissioners and original performers, countertenor Teppo Lampela and decacordist Mari Mäntylä.

 

Movements

 

1. The young master’s story

2. Maid Amanda's story 

3. Farmhand Epram's story

4. Churchwarden Optaatus' story

5. The parsonage’s ladies' story

6. The old grave digger's story

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Pekka Jalkanen's composition is based on the poem "Dominus Krabbe" by P. Mustapää.

 

Cast and crew
 

Commissioned by Dryades Music Association ry, premiere performers Teppo Lampela and Mari Mäntylä.

Dedication: Teppo Lampela and Mari Mäntylä.

Direction: Kimmo Kahra

Production: Dryades Music Association ry