magus peter h. gilmore

Many Satanists celebrate today’s pivot point, feeling simpatico with our homeworld’s continuing seasonal cycles. In the Northern Hemisphere, Spring arrives, succeeding Winter’s stasis with gradual verdant vivification. In the Southern Hemisphere, Autumn soothes after the sultry Summer months. Here in the haunted Hudson Valley, Winter was mostly free of snow, except towards the tail end, though frigid temperatures held sway throughout. At last, daytime warmth is returning, though with typical chilly nights. The bulbs have begun awakening, pushing their way into the sunlight, delighting us with early flowers—always such a joy for us when our garden revivifies! Our first crocus is pictured above. Albéric Magnard (1865-1914) was a French composer who began his education by studying law, but, coming from a well-off family, he decided composition was to be his life's work—fortunately for us! His music is richly romantic, with deft counterpoint and exquisitely economical orchestration. His 4 symphonies are splendid works, all too rarely heard in concert halls, though I suspect audiences would be delighted if they were to be programmed. He was known to be of a liberal socio-political orientation, being a "Drefusard" and supporting the innocence of the wrongly accused Dreyfus in the notable case which bolstered a period of virulent anti-semitism in France. Hymne à la Justice, op. 4, premiered in 1903, is an orchestral tone poem inspired by Magnard's opposition to the wrongful conviction of Dreyfus and the hatred which that spawned. Linked is a performance by the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, conducted by Maestro Mark Stringer, with the score shown in the video, so one can examine how well Magnard deploys his orchestral forces. As described by Gaston Carraud, Magnard's first biographer, "we hear, in the first idea, the oppression of injustice and the painful call for justice succeeding each other. Brutally struck down, the victim raises her eyes towards the inaccessible ideal. With a complaint that awakens persecution, she sees the gentle glow vanish; but at the same moment that violence imposes its most insolent return, suddenly, the triumph of justice bursts forth, thunderous, in apotheosis." Magnard was killed by German troops invading France in 1914. He had sent his wife and daughters south for safety's sake, but he remained to defend his home from the incursion. He apparently killed one or two of those soldiers, but was himself slaughtered, and his house burned, so that all of his unpublished music was destroyed, as were his remains. His final two published works are worth your time if you find the Hymn to your tastes, his Cello Sonata in A Major, Op. 20, and his Symphony No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 21. May you find some time to listen to this inspired work of under 15 minutes in duration, and contemplate the ongoing struggles for justice around our troubled globe. Hail Satan! —Magus Peter H. Gilmore

magus peter h. gilmore

Exquisite Equinox!

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To a Discerning New Year!