The Magic Pipes (1976)

Y. [singing] Hallelujah. [singing] [music] >> [music] >> We are glory, glory, we are [music] [singing] we are [singing] [music] [music] holy. >> [singing] [music] >> Once upon a time, as all good stories [music] should begin, a great castle was built above the town of Kubstein in Austria's beautiful Turolian [music] mountains. In time, the castle came to have a very special [music] meaning for the people of Kubstein. For in this castle is one of the grandest organs ever heard. So fine and strong [music] is its music that it can be heard all through the valley for miles around. In Kstein, as in all of Austria, custom and tradition are very important. This is a [music] land in which many of the greatest musicians and composers of all time lived and created the music that [music] made them and their nation famous. Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven [music] all set these mountains singing with the beauty and majesty of [music] their works. And so, according to tradition, at certain [music] times of day, the great organ is played to honor these great composers and the land and people they so often [music] celebrated. And to the people of Kushine, the organ recital came to mean even more. For here, many of the old [music] ways remain, as if time had passed this beautiful valley by and left the pretty town unchanged. Along the streets, the shopkeepers open [music] for each new day with friendly greetings to the passers by. [music] The many craftsmen go about their artful work just as others have for centuries. [music] [music] The farmers till the fertile countryside along the valley, and the people in their dress and customs often seem figures from a history book or players in some opereta. [music] [music] For years, people from other lands have come to Kstein to see what life [music] was like in an earlier and who can say perhaps a finer time. And so when the people of Kstein hear the organ, it is a sign that custom and tradition are alive, that things are as they should be. It is not surprising then [music] that as he makes his way along the streets on his way to work, Herm, [music] the organ master of Kstein, receives a very friendly wave and greeting from those he meets. [music] [music] >> [music] >> Among his many friends were two of whom Herm was especially fond. Little Ysef and Elizabeth who lived nearby often went with Hermüer when he played the organ in summer and winter. Although the great pipes and bellows of the organ were high up in the castle, the magnificent console with all its buttons and knobs and pulls and stops and pedals was in a special place near town. Here the children [music] would watch her mother go through all his elaborate preparations as he made ready to play. [music] >> [music] >> And they listened attentively when Hermiller told them again how the town's people of Kushstein when they heard the organ knew that things were as [music] they should be. Hermiller was pleased. It was only right. He often said that in the land where Mozart [music] and Schubert and Beethoven had performed so brilliantly as young people that the children should be interested in the music and above all in the tradition. One day, so our story goes, as her Miller and the children were walking home, [music] Ysef said, "Mister Miller, we were wondering, but he didn't finish." "Yes," said Hermiller, "you were [music] wondering, "We were wondering," began Elizabeth. what would happen if. But she didn't finish either. Yes, yes," said her mother. "You were [music] wondering what would happen if." Then suddenly the children said together, "We were wondering what would happen if one day the organ didn't play when it was supposed to for the people of Kofstein to know that things were as they should be." "Muller frowned." "H," he said. "To tell you the truth, that question [music] never occurred to me. I'll have to give it some thought. And the three of them continued on their way home, each deep in thought. That evening, the organ master dined alone, his thoughts very much distracted. [music] What if it should happen? He asked himself again and again. What [music] if, indeed. In the morning, after a sleepless night, he was still deeply preoccupied as he made his way through the [music] early streets to the great console. It was so early, in fact, that the children were nowhere about. Just as well, thought her Mueller, for I don't yet have the answer to their question anyway. [music] At the console, he went through his elaborate preparations. He even went [music] through them twice. But something was different, and he felt tired and listless. "Not [music] enough sleep," he told himself. But since there still was time before the recital was to begin, he put [music] his head down just for a moment. When he opened his eyes, Herm realized with a start that [music] some time had passed. But among all the buttons and knobs, there was a strange new button. He had never seen it before. And on the button, it said, "What if?" Hermula was amazed, but there wasn't time to delay. He brought his hands down for the first great majestic cord and nothing happened. He tried again and again. Nothing happened. All across the [music] land, there was no sound from the great organ. The town's people paused, as was their way, expecting to hear the organ. But there was nothing. Puzzled, they waited, and they began to wonder if things were as they should be. At the console, her Müller was distressed. Something is very wrong here, he said. And he looked at all the buttons and knobs and pulls and stops. Everything seemed to be just right. And then he [music] remembered the strange new button marked what if. He reached over and pushed the button in, then [music] raised his hands and began again. A beautiful sound rolled out across the valley. [music] Her Mueller smiled. The town's people smiled. But then [music] a strange thing happened. No matter how her Mueller played, the music began coming out faster and faster. He played more slowly and still the music went faster. And this, of course, had an odd effect on the town's people. Now they feared that things were not as they should be [music] because everything began going very strangely for them, too. Even when Herm stopped playing, the strange fast music continued. Perhaps he thought, the trouble is in the bellows. So he hurried [music] up the hill, going just as fast as the music itself. [music] [music] >> [music] >> But he could not find the trouble in the bellows or the pipes. Then he remembered the new button. That must be it, and he rushed back down to the console. Now the whatif button seemed to have a mind of its own. Nothing he could do would slow the music. Finally, he gave it a mighty wiggle. And then an even stranger thing occurred. The music began playing backwards. And now the town's people knew that things were not as [music] they should be. For they too were going backwards. And for poor hair Mueller, things not [music] only were not as they should be, they were going from bad to worse. It was the strangest thing he had ever heard. And [music] still he couldn't stop it. All throughout Kushstein, the strange music and even stranger events continue. [music] [music] [music] [music] Then suddenly the organ meister heard a new sound. Someone was calling his name. Her muer it is time to play the organ. The organ master opened his eyes. It was the children. They were shaking him and calling to him to wake up. You've been sleeping, they said. Hurry. It's time to play the great organ so the people of Kubstein will know that all is as it should be. You mean said Hermuler greatly relieved things are not going too fast nor too slow. Things are not going backwards in Kstein. Very carefully Herm looked at the place where the new button had been, the one that had said, "What if?" And it was no longer there. The children laughed. "Whatever are you talking about, Hairmeister?" They said, "This is no time for jokes. The organ must play joyously." He raised his hands and began to play. [music] And all throughout the valley, the people of Kubstein paused and listened. And when they heard the beautiful [music] music rolling down from the great organ, they knew, as they had for generations, that things in Kukstein were as they should be. The children too were happy, but they also knew that things in Kofstein were as they should be. And as for their question, well, they didn't find out on that day what would happen if the great organ didn't play. And as far as we know, they never will. [music] Heat. [music] [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] [music] Heat. [music] >> [music]