Page 116 - BRAVE NEW WORLD By Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

Brave New World By Aldous Huxley

first. The saxophones wailed like melodious cats

under the moon, moaned in the alto and tenor

registers as though the little death were upon them.

Rich with a wealth of harmonics, their tremulous

chorus mounted towards a climax, louder and ever

louder–until at last, with a wave of his hand, the

conductor let loose the final shattering note of

ether-music and blew the sixteen merely human

blowers clean out of existence. Thunder in A flat

major. And then, in all but silence, in all but

darkness, there followed a gradual deturgescence, a

diminuendo sliding gradually, through quarter tones,

down, down to a faintly whispered dominant chord

that lingered on (while the five-four rhythms still

pulsed below) charging the darkened seconds with

an intense expectancy. And at last expectancy was

fulfilled. There was a sudden explosive sunrise, and

simultaneously, the Sixteen burst into song:

"Bottle of mine, it's you I've always wanted!

Bottle of mine, why was I ever decanted? Skies are

blue inside of you, The weather's always fine;

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