Murmuration of the Bells

from Opera of the War by Hourloupe

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    Album cover (without text) printed on museum-quality paper. One of Frank's pieces, "Members of the Modern Museum Ensemble" (assemblage on sand casting mold). Only 20 printed. Comes with a download of "Opera of the War."

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lyrics

(And then something extraordinary happens. Music reveals itself. An air-born orchestra of bells appears in the sky. The iron instruments — some of the oldest vessels of music, used to warn of time and fire and celebration — are alive, breathing. They demonstrate lessons of coordination, movement and their spiraling performance is music’s signature of joy. The composer doesn't give birth to music, he is born from it, given life — and that life is the Opera of the War.)


One by one the bells appeared in the sky
Hanging there as if they had been dropped and stalled

And the larger bell, the deep grey one,
Unimaginably heavy but still somehow floating

Advanced to the front
And the other bells smaller and trebly
Fell in behind it

The grey bell seemed to draw in a breath
And its sides swelled
And it propelled itself, slowly at first,
The other bells settling into formation

The bells became a murmuration
Looping, flattening, a single line
Until one flank tilted up and out
Banking and ringing as they passed over

Their movements pressed the air
Until it seemed to be squeezed out
And our eyes widened for first time in a long time

Then they released us if finished with us
And went on tracing themselves into the air

credits

from Opera of the War, released January 12, 2024

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Hourloupe

Hourloupe: “I associate it, by assonance, to ‘hurler’ (to roar), to ‘huleler’ (to hoot), to ‘loup’ (wolf).”
—Jean Dubuffet

Hourloupe is a collaboration between writer, musician, and artist Frank Menchaca and Anar Badalov. ... more

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