Aurora’s Gifts

The King and Queen wish to share this magical event with everyone and invite the whole kingdom to come in honor and celebration of the christening of the baby princess, Aurora (meaning Goddess of Dawn). Three faeries arrive bearing their gifts.

The harp-like patterns in the beginning rhythm with left hand gracefully moving back and forth like a wand, evoke the special gifts that the faeries bestow upon Aurora—that of the gift of song and beauty. The middle section steadily builds with harmonic changes that are disturbing and restless. The left hand repeats a motific pattern while the right hand becomes very precise with a louder chordal section, conveying the anger and power of this scene. The mood of this wonderful gala turns suddenly horrible.

The only person in the kingdom who was not on the guest list abruptly appears. She announces that, although she is hurt to not have been invited, she has nevertheless prepared a gift for the child. Hers is a spell: upon Aurora’s 16th birthday, the princess will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. The guests stand aghast, yet miraculously the third fairy steps forward to offer her gift. The good faery weakens the evil spell by softening death to that of sleep. She tells the audience that the sleep will last for 100 years whereupon the spell will be broken by a kiss of true love.

In the final section, the music becomes enchanting with expressive sonorities of the utmost delicacy. The mood of the ending is sad and somber, as one ponders the fate of the young child.