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From an early age, I have been fascinated by the legends surrounding Bennachie, in particular that of the Maiden Stone, a menhir carved with Pictish symbols. The original legend involved a maiden who bargains with a stranger who wishes to claim her hand in marriage. She tells him to build a path to Mither Tap before she can finish a making batch of bannocks, but the stranger is actually the devil in disguise, and so manages the task flawlessly and reveals his true nature before the bannocks are ready. She tries to escape, but the devil catches her, claims her soul and turns her to stone. The present libretto, written by local poet Catriona Yule, differs slightly from this approach, as can be seen below.
Marn is the daughter of a Laird who often neglects her, leaving her to fend for herself while he spends his time away drinking. In the first scene, we see Marn chopping wood for a fire. As she grimly reflects on her condition, she claims to see the devil grinning from a splintered log. Dirk, a local man, watches her. He is secretly in love for her, but his passion has caused him to go over the edge, and as a result he has been possessed by the devil, who, in the guise of Loki, tells him to make the move closer into Marn’s personal space. As Dirk arrives at her croft, he declares his love for her, but is rebuked by a cautious Marn. After a few attempts, Marn finally promises to take Dirk’s hand if he can build a path to Mither Tap before the end of the following day.
During this time Marn has been somewhat aware of a satanic presence in Dirk’s eyes, and comments upon the whole situation. A forest interlude follows. Dirk meanwhile, has been watching her through the devil’s eyes, and gleefully talks about how easy the task ahead would be for him. He then reflects on how he came to sell his soul. Marn has now begun to plan a counter. She starts making bannocks, and then, through enchantment, she brings them alive and commands them to go down the road.
Dirk has by now started work on his granite track. He lays down boulders with supernatural strength acquired from the devil, but he also delays at points, thinking about Marn. This causes Loki to push him back to work. The bannocks then come marching up the hill and try to stop Dirk, then Marn comes along and talks him down. She then discovers his possession, and finally understands Dirk’s love for her. Then the devil, pushing all his might on Dirk, declares sadistically that HE will wed Marn and Dirk will be left with nothing. However, Dirk finally throws off his possession, claiming that he will always be loved. The bannocks and the boulders of the track march down on Loki and Dirk, chanting, and finally release Dirk from the devil, marking the point of separation with the newly risen Maiden Stone. As Dirk wanders out, Marn comes and they walk off together. Loki meanwhile wanders amongst the crowd, looking for the devil’s next victim.
This opera was written from late 2012 up to mid 2014, and was premiered in early September that year in Bennachie Forest.