/
Marie, who had been dreaming, woke up absentmindedly.
”I had a dream… again.”
She looked down at her hands. It was already her second dream about Mozart.
The sound of music vaguely echoed in her mind. ‘Will another ability manifest again?’
She wasn’t sure if the dream she had today was just a dream or if she would get an ability from it.
‘I don’t feel anything special. Ah I don’t know. I should get to work, or else I’ll be late.’
Although it was still early, she needed to hurry to the rehearsal room and finish cleaning up before the orchestra arrived.
Marie, arriving at the Crystal Palace’s rehearsal room, exclaimed in admiration. “Wow, the instruments!”
Instruments such as timpani, tuba, and cymbals were placed behind the concert hall.
“Oh wow, so many brass instruments. How cool.” It was her first time seeing them.
Despite the fact that she’d been in the empire for years, she’d never been to a concert nor banquet because she was busy doing chores at the Lily Palace.
‘I wish I could go to the concert.’ The opportunity for a low-ranking maid like her to attend concerts is pretty rare.
‘But I heard there’s a large-scale performance this time, so maybe I’ll have a chance to hear them.’ Thinking so, she worked hard on her chores. Before the orchestra came out, she arranged the instruments and cleaned the floor. But while doing so, she found an object that unlocked a particular memory.
“Wow, is it a piano?”
The piano!
It was a keyboard instrument that recently become widely used throughout Europe, in place of the harpsichord.
‘I used to play it a lot before.’ Marie’s eyes grew dim as she remembered the hours she spent practicing on the piano she had in the palace.
‘I used to love the piano,’ she thought, smiling softly. It was nice to hear a clear sound when pressing the keyboard. It was also interesting that even if you pressed the same keyboard, the sound would depend on how you pressed it.
‘Should I play it for a second?’ As she was contemplating this, a gentle voice startled her.
He said, “I’ve tuned it already, you can go ahead and use it.”
“Ah…!”
Marie turned her head in surprise and saw a young man smiling.
“Are you the maid assigned here?”
“Ah, yes! My name is Marie and I’m here to assist the orchestra.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Vahan. I’m the substitute conductor* of the Imperial Palace Orchestra. I’m in charge for the interim because the former conductor* suddenly took a sick leave.”
*see t/n later
Marie was surprised. ‘He’s so young, yet he’s a conductor already?’ Even though he’s only a substitute, it was still incredible.
“Should you have any concerns, feel free to tell me.”
“Yes sir.”
“Don’t worry, you can play the piano whenever you have a free time.”
Marie smiled at his gentle voice. The young substitute conductor seemed kind.
“I see. Thank you.”
After a while, the members gathered, and  began to rehearse.
“Well, everyone’s already here, right? Let’s begin with the piece we’ve been working on. Since we’ll be performing for distinguished guests, we must all practice to perfection.”
“Yes, Maestro!”
The orchestra was currently preparing for a performance at the festival, and all Marie had to do was assist them. As the head maid Susan said, it won’t be difficult.
“Let’s start!”
The practice began with a signal from Vahan, the young conductor. The glissando* of the weeping clarinet rang out, and soon the rehearsal room overflowed with the sounds of various instruments.
*a continuous sliding upward/downward between two notes
‘I can’t believe I’m enjoying this luxury,’ Marie thought as she listened to the orchestra’s rehearsal.
Commoners, throughout their lives, had few opportunities to listen to the orchestra. Realistically, it was only possible for wealthy nobles to listen to it as much as they wanted.
Even though they were only practicing, being able to listen to music was a huge luxury for a maid like her.
‘Listening to music feels good.’ Marie muttered to herself as she listened to the music. But had she heard of it before? Marie frowned, feeling strange.
‘Ah? What’s this annoying feeling?’ It’s like looking at a messy room.
‘Strange, why do I feel this way?’
Soon, she realized why. The wrong parts of the performance kept ringing in her ears.
‘The sound of the second violin and horn are wrong. Ah, the timpani’s beat is wrong this time. Isn’t the overall tempo a bit off? Oh, the violin sounds wrong again. That part of the tremolo shouldn’t be handled like that.’
Unconsciously thinking so, she was stunned. ‘Wh-What? How do I know this? I don’t know anything about orchestras?’
She had never heard an orchestra play.
Normally, one would be unable to distinguish the sound of an instrument from one another, yet it was so distinct for her that she could hear the flaws in the performance clearly.
‘I’ve never heard this composition before, so how can I know what’s wrong?’
But she soon realized the cause.
‘Mozart! It’s Mozart!’
Mozart, a genius who came down from heaven! It was evident that she was influenced by her dream. Indeed, the piece was drilled into her mind as if she were internally reading the music sheet. It sounded unbelievable.
For a moment, Marie thought like Mozart. ‘Is it okay for the Imperial Palace Orchestra to perform like this? I don’t think it’s a simple matter of lacking practice though.’
Was it really Mozart? She soon found the answer.
‘There’s a problem with the composition itself. First off, it’s unnecessarily complex compared to its theme. Using this exaggerated technique will only sound messy.’
She continued her thoughts. ‘And the fugue sounds distorted, so it’s unpleasant to hear.’
Fugue. It refers to a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the course of the composition.
As it is compositionally difficult, it often contained different layers of message. However, the problem was that it’s rarely comfortable to listen to.
‘It’s like a piece someone would compose to show off their skills, without any consideration to the listener.’
If he were her, no, rather Mozart, he would never make music like this.
‘He didn’t look the type at all.’ Marie looked at Vahan with surprise. He looked down to earth, and yet, he made music like that. It was quite astonishing.
“Well that’s enough. Let’s have a break.”
“Yes, Maestro!”
The members put down their instruments and wiped their sweat. Marie checked to see if she had work to do. But then, the substitute conductor, Vahan, approached her.
“Miss Marie.”
“Yes, maestro! Can I help you with anything?”
“No, nothing like that. I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Did you hear us play? How was it?”
“…!”
Marie looked at Vahan in surprise at the unexpected question.
He spoke in a friendly tone. “It’s just that I’m curious about how other people perceive it. You can speak comfortably.”
“Well…”
It was a mess, according to Mozart’s assessment. She almost said it unconsciously, but Marie bit her lips. ‘Marie! Wake up! You could get in trouble!’
She tried her best to avoid slipping up as she said, ”It wasn’t bad. It’s magnificent… and it sounds complex…” For some reason, somewhere in heaven, she could hear Mozart’s pure soul laughing at her, but still, she said it without hesitation.
However, Vahan’s reaction was surprising. ”Really? How strange.”
”Yes?”
”Wasn’t it frustrating to hear?”
“…!”
Marie looked surprised. How could he say that to his own music?
‘Unless?’
Vahan said lamentably, “Actually, this isn’t the piece we wanted to perform. I didn’t even compose it. It’s from the previous conductor.”
“Ah…” She knew it, it wasn’t his work.
Marie asked tentatively. “Then why don’t you use your own?”
These days, it was common for conductors to play their own pieces.
‘Is something wrong?’
Marie shook her head. At her question, Vahan bit his lip for a moment, then he said, ”Well…”
At that time, a member who overheard their conversation exclaimed, “Maestro! Let’s use your composition instead of this pretentious piece!”
”Yeah! We want to play the Maestro’s music too rather than this vain music!”
Vahan put on an sheepish expression. ”No way. You know my symphony is unfinished.”
“So what if it’s unfinished? The symphony’s great. Let’s just play the ending by ear and use that instead. The audience will like Maestro’s composition a lot more.”
”That’s right!”
Marie looked puzzled at their words.
‘How can they like an unfinished symphony? How good is it?’
In fact, unfinished compositions could not be performed. She didn’t understand how certain they were that it’s good despite being incomplete.
The members exclaimed, “I can’t do this frustrating symphony any more! It’s too much, let’s just play yours once to boost the morale.”
“Yeah, we want to play maestro’s song!”
“That’s right!”
The young conductor, Vahan, went up to the podium with a troubled face.
“Since the piece is too draining, let’s play mine just once for a change of mood.”
He raised his hand. All the members, who had been talking loudly, picked up their instruments and straightened their postures.
“The Country. Symphony No. 1 in G major, first movement. Begin.”
Soon his hands fell, and the performance began. Marie, who was listening, covered her mouth in shock.
‘Ah…!’
***
It wasn’t a complex piece like the one they performed previously. It had a wonderful melody. First, the viola sent a gentle breeze. Then, the violin and contrabass exploded with the sound of cool water with their high and low notes. At the end of the refreshing sound of the string instruments, the timpani produced a low drumbeat, all collectively presenting an imagery of the country side.
‘It’s relaxing.’ Marie muttered to herself.
It was a soothing and pleasant symphony that felt completely different from the previous piece.
‘Perhaps because they haven’t practiced it yet, there are a few mistakes.’ It was so good that the mistakes didn’t bother her at all.
‘I feel comforted by the music.’
It just felt so comforting that it reminded her of the soothing sensation of looking at the ebbing river or sky.
‘I want to stay like this forever.’
It’s as if she were watching the flowing river, making her wish that this type of feeling would never stop. Under Vahan’s direction, the orchestra continued to produce various sounds. It became a cool breeze, an endless river, and a wide sea. The complementary tones brought comfort and peace to the listener.
‘Amazing.’ It was while she was thinking this when Vahan suddenly lowered his hand and frowned.
He said, ”Stop.”
”Vahan?”
”We can’t go any further from here.”
The members spoke in disappointment, “But it’s so good. Can’t we just polish the theme and end it with a climax?”
Vahan shook his head. “No, I think I need to develop another theme to finish it properly, but I can only come up with a faint idea, and nothing more. I think I’ve already hit my limit.”
”I think that’s enough already. What more is there to develop?”
Vahan replied briefly, ”Life.”
“Life?”
”Yes. There’s skill in this symphony, but no life. I want to melt life into it, and bring genuine peace and comfort to the listeners.”
The members grumbled in disappointment. “It’s a shame, though.”
Vahan sighed. “If anything, I’m the one who’s disappointed the most. I wish I could finish it, but I can’t. I’d sell my soul to anyone who could help me.”
Thus, Vahan and the members put aside their dismay and began practicing the complex and problematic composition.
Looking at them, Marie thought, ‘What a pity.’
To set aside a good composition like that… How great would it be if it was completed? The people who would’ve listen to it would’ve been delighted.
‘I want to hear it.’ While thinking this, her eyes suddenly widened.
‘H-Huh?’
Something incredible was happening: a melody coming out of nowhere! It was flowing in her head and no one but her could hear it.
‘W-What is this melody?’
Realizing the identity of the melody, Marie’s eyes swayed. ‘This is the pastoral scenery I heard about earlier!’
It wasn’t just humming in her head. As if reading a sheet music, she accurately recognized the notes and beats of each part. Moreover, it was not just the pastoral scenery; there was another theme hidden beneath the main melody.
It’s the theme of “life” that Vahan said earlier!
‘1st, 2nd, 3rd movement…!’
Even when the part Varan had written was over, the melody didn’t stop. The melody stretched out on its own to form the 2nd and 3rd movement. Then, the theme repeatedly transitioned and eventually ran its course.
The process was not problematic either. The piece flowed naturally, as if unwinding a ball of yarn.
t/n: lord, the author is getting dragged in the comments. a bunch top comments were like this:
[+119] Temporary concertmaster… I don’t know if you’ll see my comment, but the concertmaster is not the Maestro. the concertmaster is elected among the performers and is mainly the first [chair] violin so calling the concertmaster Maestro is a huge mistake…
[+25] Additionally, when the actual members address the conductor, they don’t call him Maestro… Many people call them teacher* (it’s actually seonsaengnim, for lack of a better word. not necessarily a word just for teachers but any professional, like with sensei, where you can use it on doctors, etc.)… I know you’ve been doing a lot of research, but there’s a few errors ㅠㅠ
[+13] Why on earth is the concertmaster in charge…
so… the asterisks earlier indicate that Vahan is actually saying that he’s the substitute concertmaster bc the former concertmaster took a leave etc. it’s also annoying how in some parts she used conductor anyway, as if they’re interchangeable (nope). mind you, these comments were written in 2016, when it was still ongoing. the fact that the mistakes are still there is sending me… so anyway, i took it upon myself to just edit those out.
also, when the author started defining fugue, i got so confused with the music jargons i just googled its meaning and copy pasted it lol.
anyway, i thought this was set in a different universe, but i guess not, if they kept making references to european countries even outside her dreams. but in what empire are they exactly??? do they have their own fictional continent??? well if they’re in our universe but with a fictional empire/continent, i imagine it’s the same as the princess diaries with its fictional country genovia (thought it was real for a sec ngl)