 Changelings were believed to be troll or fairy children left in place of stolen human babies. Morgen, an adopted foundling reared in Boston, Massachusetts, now in his mid-twenties, is the charismatic lead-singer and songwriter for Beantown Home Cookin,’ a showband featuring the Trashbabies, a troupe of singer-dancers who contribute mightily to the band’s growing popularity. After a sensational live BBC broadcast of their May Eve concert, Morgen skips its wrap party to test drive a |
rented sports car. A squall causes him to skid into a ditch and daybreak finds him seeking help in Morningstone, an isolated village where it seems the storm wiped out communication with the outside world. In the village pub, Morgen overhears one girl argue that Fates, Muses and Furies represent the denigration of the Mother Goddess, reducing her to a bevy of bickering departmental nymphs. Another suggests fragmentation of the goddess is a device of exposition, used to reveal a crisis dramatically through confrontation between various aspects of her character. According to Fiona, the wise lady at the cottage, song and chant used to mean the same thing, and Morgen, an increasingly popular singer and songwriter, is an enchanter by definition. His songs are spells that once heard, will return, going ‘round and ‘round in one’s head, even when there’s no music to hear. By now in terms of both music and story, Changeling’s Return has crossed into a supernatural realm where, within "The Tomb of Every Hope", Morgen represents humanity, on trial for crimes against Nature. The Furies seek his death. Instead, he receives a sip from the Cauldron of Inspiration, becoming "The Fool", “Truth, Reason, and Magic, Harmony of the Carnal and the Mystical ... Man. Is Morgen human, recognizing humanity’s dependence and obligation to nature for its survival, or a changeling reared by humans, reawakening to his supernatural origins, and if the latter, what impact will Changeling’s Return have on the human race? As the Trashbabies sing in their exit song, “Dog, Roebuck, and Lapwing, your nonsense song makes my ears ring. Between the lines I hear you sing, Dog, Roebuck, and Lapwing.” |
