CHAPTER VI

THE MODERN CANTATA

Wagner: ‘The Love Feast of the Apostles’; Liszt: ‘The Bells of Strassburg,’ ‘Prometheus’--Brahms: ‘Song of Triumph,’ ‘Song of Destiny’--Max Bruch; ‘Frithjof,’ ‘Fair Ellen,’ ‘The Cross of Fire,’ ‘The Lay of the Bell,’ etc.--Rheinberger; Dvořák; Hofmann; Goetz--Grieg; Gounod; Sullivan: ‘The Golden Legend’; Barnby; Gaul; Stainer; Cowen--Parry; Mackenzie; Stanford--Elgar: ‘King Olaf’; ‘Caractacus’; ‘The Black Knight’--Coleridge-Taylor: ‘Hiawatha’ cycle--Dudley Buck: ‘The Golden Legend’; ‘The Light of Asia’; Horatio Parker and other cantata writers in the United States.

Teutonic genius was supreme in the field of cantata-writing until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when there appeared numerous and worthy rivals. While the Germans have consistently retained their love for this form and have maintained a numerical lead in actual production, England, France, Scandinavia, and America have produced choral works that challenge comparison with the best German standards, and in some instances have struck out original lines of development that mark points of notable departure from the older models. The period covered by this chapter includes the works produced in the last quarter, or at most the last third, of the nineteenth century, with some flexibility at either boundary.

I

The most notable exception to the above chronological grouping is Richard Wagner (1813-1883), who belongs to the preceding chapter as far as dates are concerned. But so many of the prominent composers here considered were so strongly influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by the Bayreuth master’s art-methods and followed them in such a direct line of succession, that this seems the more fitting place to mention his brief connection with this field of musical literature.

‘The Love Feast of the Apostles’ (_Das Liebesmahl der Apostel_) was Wagner’s one and only cantata. It was written in 1843, the same year as Schumann’s ‘Paradise and Peri’ and three years before Berlioz completed his ‘Damnation of Faust.’ Wagner had already written ‘The Flying Dutchman’ and ‘Rienzi’ had been performed in Dresden the summer preceding the composition of this cantata. The thirty-year-old composer put into this work much of the dramatic power already hinted at in ‘The Flying Dutchman’ and displayed with such overwhelming power in his later works. It was written for a great _Männersängerfest_ held in Dresden in July, 1843, and was first performed under his own direction on the 6th of the month in the _Frauenkirche_, the orchestra and chorus numbering one thousand performers. The subject of this Scriptural Scene was suggested by the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and Wagner wrote his own words, as he did in all of his dramatic works.

The opening chorus represents the disciples, drawn together by persecution, offering consolation to one another. After a few quiet measures of greeting the voices divide into three choruses, when the movement accelerates and leads to a powerful climax, ending pianissimo. The apostles (twelve bass voices) then enter with a hearty greeting, while the disciples sing softly _Wir sind versammelt im Namen Jesu Christi_ (‘We are assembled in the name of Jesus Christ’), after which the united chorus swells forth in a majestic passage, invoking the blessing of the Holy Spirit, beginning with the words _Allmächt’ger Vater, der du hast gemacht Himmel und Erd’ und Alles was darin_ (‘Almighty Father, Thou that did’st create Heaven and the Earth and all that in them is’). Voices from above (as in the last act of ‘Parsifal’) are then heard singing _Seid getrost, ich bin euch nah_ (‘Peace be yours, I am at hand’). To this the disciples respond with renewed vigor, while the apostles counsel unswerving consecration to God. The work closes with a mighty chorale, _Denn ihm ist alle Herrlichkeit von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit_ (‘To Him all praise and glory be forever and forever’), its dramatic effect being greatly heightened by the rich orchestral accompaniment. The orchestra has remained silent until the final number.

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was an artist of amazing versatility and tremendous creative energy. Greatest as a virtuoso and a composer of instrumental music of striking originality and picturesque romanticism, he yet wrote liberally in various choral forms. In addition to notable church works, large and small, and three oratorios, Liszt wrote several cantatas and shorter choral works--‘The Bells of Strassburg,’ ‘St. Cecilia’ (for mezzo-soprano, chorus, and orchestra), _An die Künstler_ (for solos, male chorus, and orchestra), _Zur Säcular-Feier Beethoven’s_ (for solos, chorus, and orchestra), _Festalbum_ for Goethe’s centenary (1849), ‘Prometheus,’ Psalm 13 (for tenor solo, chorus, and orchestra), Psalm 18 (for male chorus, orchestra, and organ), Psalm 23 (for tenor or soprano solo with harp and organ), Psalm 137 (for solo and female chorus with violin, harp, piano, and organ), and a large number of male choruses.

‘The Bells of Strassburg.’--Liszt composed this work (_Die Glocken des Strassburger Münsters_) in 1874 and dedicated it to Longfellow. The text is a mere fragment from this poet’s ‘Christus’--the prologue to ‘The Golden Legend’--and deals with the futile effort of the prince of darkness and his legions, during a furious night tern nest, to cast down the cross surmounting the cathedral tower. The work is written for baritone solo (Lucifer), mixed chorus, and orchestra. It opens with a short prelude entitled ‘Excelsior,’ consisting of this word sung several times by the chorus with ever-increasing power, ending fortissimo. The main movement, called ‘The Bells,’ begins with a ponderous introduction by the bells, trumpets, and horns, after which Lucifer hurls forth his first command, exhorting his band of spirits to tear down the cross. The chorus of spirits (sopranos, altos, and tenors) replies to this (‘Oh, we cannot, for around it’) and then the tenors and basses, representing the bells, sing a Latin chant. These voices continue in the same order, Lucifer’s exhortation and the cry of helplessness from the evil spirits becoming more and more vehement as the chant of the bells ever replies in tones of calm trust in the protecting power. Lucifer’s fourth and last appeal is given with the full strength of voice and orchestra. In the reply of the chorus the female voices unite, producing a fine effect with the first and second tenors. At length Satan, defeated, gives the order to retreat, and the work closes with the Gregorian chant,

_Nocte surgentes Vigilemus omnes! Laudemus Deum verum_,

given by the combined chorus, organ, and orchestra.

_Prometheus._--This cantata, founded on Herder’s poem of the same name, was composed by Liszt in 1850. He utilizes several of Herder’s prologues, which describe the situations in words and serve to introduce the various choral numbers. The first prologue depicts Prometheus, the Titan, bound to a stake and about to suffer torture for having stolen fire from heaven. This leads to a chorus of sea-nymphs (female voices), expressing sorrow and fear. The second prologue describes the anger of Oceanus at the children of earth for disturbing his waters and gives Prometheus’ reply. This is followed by a spirited mixed chorus of Tritons and a lovely melodious chorus of Oceanides for female voices, closing with a full double chorus, ‘Holy and grand and free is the gift of Heaven.’ The third prologue introduces the goddess Gæa with her train of wood-nymphs, loudly weeping. The chorus of Dryads follows, in the midst of which occurs a very dramatic alto solo, ‘Deserted stand the Gods’ sacred altars in the old forest.’ In the dialogue following Gæa upbraids Prometheus, who stoutly defends himself. The number closes with a mixed chorus of gleaners, which is full of graceful melody. In the next prologue Bacchus builds an arbor to soften the Titan’s suffering and a male chorus of vine-dressers follows. At length an _Allegro moderato_ for orchestra introduces Hercules, who with an arrow kills the vulture which is about to devour Prometheus and frees him, bidding him ‘Go hence unto thy mother’s throne.’ This leads to a stately male chorus, ‘All human foresight wanders in deepest night.’ The last prologue pictures the pardon of Prometheus at the throne of Themis, and the work closes with a chorus of the Muses.

II

The genius of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) touched many fields and he was great in every field that he entered--orchestral, pianoforte, chamber, song and choral. Several of his choral works, notably the _Deutsches Requiem_, the _Schicksalslied_ and the _Triumphlied_, are among the great things of choral literature and enjoy undisputed popularity. Even those that are modest in dimensions are equally serious with the larger ones in conception and in treatment and spring from the deep places of the composer’s soul. In all of them, as in his symphonies, he reached a point of sublimity that had seldom been touched, if at all, since Beethoven. All of his published compositions between his opus 40 and opus 60, with two exceptions, were vocal works, songs or choral. The ‘Requiem’ was opus 45 and his period of greatest

## activity as a writer of choral works followed soon after. Of these

only ‘Rinaldo,’ the first one written after the ‘Requiem,’ can really be called a cantata; the others partake more of the character of the ode or the choral ballad. They are _Rhapsodie_, founded on fragments from Goethe’s _Harzreise_ for alto solo, male chorus and orchestra; _Schicksalslied_ (‘Song of Destiny’) for chorus and orchestra; _Triumphlied_ (‘Song of Triumph’) for eight-part chorus and orchestra; _Naenie_ for chorus and orchestra and _Gesang der Parzen_ (‘Song of the Fates’) for six-part chorus and orchestra, the last two of which were later compositions in the form of short choral ballads like the _Schicksalslied_. He wrote liberally in forms approximating the part-song. In many of the early _Marienlieder_, male choruses and mixed choruses, he adopts the form of the simple harmonized melody, while in others, as the two motets, opus 29, he is the direct descendant of Bach, the contrapuntist. In some of his little known _a cappella_ choruses, as the lovely _Vineta_ from his opus 42 and two from his opus 104, he produces strange and wonderful effects through a masterly handling of harmonic changes and melodic interweavings.

‘Song of Triumph.’--Brahms wrote his _Triumphlied_ in 1871 to commemorate the German victories and the consequent establishment of the German empire, and he dedicated it to Wilhelm I. Its first performance was at Vienna in 1872; a repetition occurred at Cologne in 1873 at the fifty-first Festival of the Lower Rhine. The text was adapted by the composer from the nineteenth chapter of Revelation. The work, consisting of three movements, was written for double chorus, orchestra and organ, together with two short baritone solos. A lively yet solemn prelude introduces the first number, at the close of which both choirs enter with the words ‘Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!’ The principal theme of this movement is founded on an old German song, _Heil dir im Siegerkranz_. This part closes with a tremendous contrapuntal climax of Handelian proportions. The second part, like the first, has its prelude, followed by a short fugue, after which a new melody is introduced and sung antiphonally by the two choirs. The strongest climax occurs in the third movement. After a brief orchestral introduction a baritone solo is heard, ‘And behold then the heavens opened wide,’ to which the choruses reply, ‘And yonder a snow-white horse.’ Then the baritone sings, ‘And lo! a great name hath He written,’ following which the choruses utter the stately phrase, ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords,’ sung antiphonally with ever-increasing fervor and ending with the full power of voices, organ and orchestra, the stately effect of which is beyond description.

The _Schicksalslied_ (‘Song of Destiny’) for chorus and orchestra, with text by Hölderlin, is a noble and expressive work, which received its first performance Oct. 18, 1871, at a concert given by the Carlsruhe Philharmonic Society, the composer conducting. The two ideas of death and eternal life are placed in juxtaposition and although these dominant ideas are dramatically balanced against each other, the close dispels the clouds and lets in a flood of light. Indeed the composer seems to open heaven itself to his hearers and to usher them in. While the poet morbidly depicts the existence of immortals on the one hand and suffering humanity on the other, Brahms, by introducing an orchestral prelude of great beauty, injects a new idea, namely, that there is hope for man and that he is not to be ruthlessly chained to uncertainty or lured by the Unknown. After dramatically setting forth the two conflicting ideas, in the development of which Brahms closely follows the poet in the music, he returns once more to the beautiful music of the introduction, which brings the hearers safely back again into an atmosphere of peace and hope and solace. It is a striking example of the power of instrumental music to change the effect produced by the poetic text.

_Rinaldo._--This cantata is written for tenor solo and male chorus to a text by Goethe and its value lies in the beauty of the choruses and in the intimate solos, expressive of the love which has filled the heart of the hero Rinaldo for the enchantress Armida. The poetic text, however, is rather vague and leaves too much to the imagination of the hearer. Armida, the heroine, does not appear at all nor does the ‘diamond shield,’ to which is assigned such an important function in rousing the enamored Rinaldo from his shame, and the music is not sufficiently definite to supply the hearer with the missing links. Especially effective is the closing chorus, which depicts Rinaldo, freed from the wiles of the enchantress and safe with the crusaders on their homeward journey.

III

The mastery of Max Bruch (b. 1838) over concert choral forms has won him a foremost place among German choral writers of the nineteenth century and his works are known and valued wherever choral music is cultivated. He combines fluent, pleasing melody with rare skill in handling and grouping his orchestral and vocal forces. His choral writing is always broad, dignified, impressive and vocally grateful. The list of his choral works is quite imposing. His larger works comprise the two oratorios _Moses_, opus 67, and _Gustav Adolf_, opus 73, both late compositions, and three epic cantatas, a form to which he gave especial attention. These three, which are frequently classed as secular oratorios, are _Odysseus_, opus 41, _Arminius_, opus 43, and _Achilleus_, opus 50. In addition he has produced a number of shorter compositions in cantata and choral ballad form. They are, in the order of their composition, ‘Frithjof Scenes’ for solos, male chorus and orchestra; ‘Fair Ellen’ for solos, chorus and orchestra; ‘Salamis, a Triumph-song of the Greeks,’ poem by H. Lingg, for solos, male chorus and orchestra; ‘Frithjof at His Father’s Grave’ for baritone solo, female chorus and orchestra; _Normannenzug_ for baritone, male chorus and orchestra; _Römische Leichenfeier_, text by Lingg, for chorus and orchestra; ‘The Lay of the Bell’ (_Das Lied der Glocke_) for solos, chorus and orchestra; ‘The Cross of Fire’ (_Das Feuerkreuz_) for solos, chorus and orchestra; and ‘Leonidas’ for male chorus and orchestra. He has also written several very attractive short sacred choruses, among them the _Jubilate, Amen_, opus 3, for soprano, chorus and orchestra, and ‘The Flight of the Holy Family’ for chorus and orchestra.

_Frithjof_, for baritone and mezzo-soprano solo voices, male chorus and orchestra, is one of his finest productions and was his first work to achieve a signal success. It was written at Mannheim in 1863, when he was only twenty-five years old, and the extraordinary favor with which it was received caused this masterwork of the youthful composer to become the prototype of a numerous group of dramatic cantatas for male voices that followed in its wake. The text comprises six scenes taken from Bishop Tegner’s far-famed _Frithjofsaga_.

A lively orchestral introduction, entitled ‘Frithjof’s Return,’ leads to a beautiful baritone aria, ‘How bravely o’er the floods so bright,’ accompanied by an attractive chorus, ‘O ‘tis delight when the land afar appeareth.’ The second scene depicts Princess Ingeborg, whom Frithjof has come home to wed, being led to the altar by King Ring, the result of a plot by Ingeborg’s brothers against Frithjof. A brief wedding march is followed by the bridal chorus, ‘Sadly the skald walks before the train,’ and Ingeborg’s lament, ‘My heart with sorrow overflowing.’ The next scene, ‘Frithjof’s Revenge,’ intensely dramatic both in the vocal score and the rich instrumentation, opens with a chorus of priests, ‘Midnight sun on the mountain burns,’ in the midst of which is heard Frithjof’s cry, ‘Go to Hela’s dark abode,’ and after it his rugged aria, ‘Where my father rests.’ As he sings this, he fires the temple and flees to his ship, amid the dramatic and descriptive cries of the people and Frithjof’s followers, and the curses of the priests. This chorus is a work of great tonal beauty, portraying vividly the dramatic action of the text. The fourth number, entitled ‘Frithjof’s Departure from the Northland,’ opens with a male quartet of exceptional charm, followed by Frithjof’s powerful solo, ‘World’s grandest region, thou mighty North!’ In the fifth scene occurs ‘Ingeborg’s Lament,’ a sorrowful and pathetic heart-cry to her lost lover, ‘Storms wildly roar,’ after which comes the finale, a spirited chorus sung by Frithjof and his men as they sail away in the good ship ‘Ellida’ in quest of further adventures.

The story of Bruch’s ‘Fair Ellen’ is laid at Lucknow, British India, and the story is founded on an incident said to have occurred during the famous siege of this city in 1857, when a Scotch girl, fair Ellen, heard, above the din of battle, the shrill bagpipes of the Macgregors in the far distance, as the relief party approached, playing ‘The Campbells are Coming.’ Her inspired words of hope and encouragement stirred the despairing defenders to renewed resistance, beating off the besiegers until rescue was at hand. The cantata, the text of which is Emanuel Geibel’s ballad of the same name, was written in 1869. It is of modest dimensions, embracing solos for soprano and baritone, and five chorus numbers. The music, following Bruch’s style, is rich in instrumentation, while the choruses are full of fine melody. The Scotch tune, ‘The Campbells are Coming,’ is introduced many times in the orchestral score, and at the close the composer makes a fine climax by broadening out the joyous march-melody into a devout hymn of thanksgiving.

‘The Cross of Fire,’ a dramatic cantata founded on incidents in Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Lady of the Lake,’ was composed in 1888 and is one of the finest of Bruch’s later choral works. It was an ancient custom in the Highlands of Scotland, when one clan declared war on another, to call the clansmen to arms by means of a ‘cross of fire.’ After solemn consecration at the altar, this war-signal was carried with all possible speed from post to post by noble messengers and in its wake the men-at-arms assembled. Bruch’s librettist, Heinrich Bulthaupt, opens the cantata at the point in Scott’s familiar poem where Norman, a noble Highlander, is proudly leading his bride Mary, a noble maiden, to a near-by mountain chapel to celebrate the wedding ceremony. The wedding train approaches the church to the festal sounds of organ and a wedding anthem. As the ceremony is about to begin, Angus, a messenger, rushes in with the cross of fire and hurriedly hands it to Norman with the chieftain’s command to bear it to the nearest post. Norman bids a heart-broken farewell to his bride and hurries off followed by his warriors. Poet and composer now describe the feelings of Norman on his rapid journey, battling between duty and love. The rising of the clan in response to the war-signal is given vivid portrayal. Then follows the best-known number of the cantata, the beautiful _Ave Maria_, in which the despairing Mary expresses her emotions at being left alone. The stirring war-song, ‘Clan Alpin! Clan Alpin!’ in which Norman rouses his warriors to a high pitch of bravery, is an impressive number, and Bruch with fine effect uses an old Scotch battle-song. The final number is a masterly concerted piece. Mary and her maidens anxiously watch the ebb and flow of battle from a neighboring hill-top. The cry goes up that Norman has fallen, but shouts of victory are soon heard, the valiant Norman appears and rapturously throws himself in Mary’s arms, and joy and happiness reign. This number is massive, full of life, vigor, and effective contrast, and furnishes a brilliant climax to the whole work.

Schiller’s ‘Lay of the Bell’ has furnished inspiration to numerous composers. Romberg’s cantata has already been described and this called forth several rivals. Bruch’s is the most pretentious of them and approaches closely to the oratorio form. The poem loses in musical setting through its over-abundance of rapidly-passing scenes--there are twenty-seven numbers grouped into two parts--but the music abounds in moments of great beauty, especially in such choral numbers as the final one in the first part, ‘One blest assurance yet is granted,’ the funeral chorus in the second part (‘From the steeple, sad and slow’), the chorus, ‘Hallowed Order, child of Heaven,’ which is one of the most elaborate of the work, and the finale with preceding bass solo, ‘Heave it, brothers, heave it high!’ Near the close a charming trio for soprano, alto and tenor voices appears (‘Peace benignant, gentle Concord’) into the accompaniment of which Bruch has skilfully and effectively interwoven the melody of the familiar Christmas song, ‘Silent night, hallowed night!’

For each of his great epic cantatas Bruch chose a warrior hero--Frithjof the Viking, Arminius the German liberator, Odysseus and Achilles, the Greek chieftains. _Odysseus_ was first performed in Bremen in 1873. It was written to the poem of Wilhelm Paul Graff, which, like the ‘Frithjof,’ consists of a series of scenes or episodes. These are grouped into two parts, the first containing four scenes and the second six, drawn from the adventurous and picturesque life of the King of Ithaca. Arminius, equally epic in feeling and treatment, was written in 1875 to a poem by F. Cueppers. The scene is laid in Germany, the time being from 9 to 13 A. D. when Arminius (Latin for Hermann) laid the foundations of the political league of the Germanic tribes by uniting them for the time being against the common Roman foe and throwing off the Roman yoke. The work is in four parts--‘Introduction,’ ‘In the Sacred Forest,’ ‘The Insurrection,’ and ‘The Battle’--and closes with an inspiring patriotic hymn of stately proportions, ‘Germany’s sons shall be renowned.’ The part of Arminius (baritone) is particularly fine throughout. Both of these cantatas are equally popular and they were followed in 1885 by another on the same general lines, _Achilleus_, to the poem by H. Bulthaupt, the motives of which are drawn from Homer’s _Iliad_. This is in many respects a greater work than its predecessors; it is laid out on broader lines, the orchestral part seeks greater recognition and the composer frequently and with tremendous effect employs the double chorus in building up massive polyphonic climaxes.

IV

Joseph Rheinberger (1839-1901) is a prolific composer who has contributed most liberally to choral literature. In this field and that of organ he is at his best. _Christophorus_, sometimes called an oratorio, was written in 1880 and is based on the mediæval legend of the giant who, notwithstanding his mighty strength, sought a master to serve who was most powerful on earth and who knew no fear. But he found that the mightiest earthly monarch feared Satan and that Satan shrank in terror before the Cross, so he gladly became the servant of the Lord of the Cross. The composer mingles sacred and secular elements in a masterly manner; portions of the work, particularly the closing numbers of the first part, belong to the richest and most beautiful choral writing of the last half of the nineteenth century. ‘The Star of Bethlehem,’ a Christmas cantata, possesses sustained beauty and is conceived in a lofty vein. _Das Thal des Espingo_, a choral ballad for male voices and orchestra (poem by Paul Heyse), is one of the finest examples of its kind. ‘Clarice of Eberstein,’ ‘Toggenburg,’ ‘Montfort,’ _Die Rosen von Hildesheim_ for male chorus and wind instruments, and _Wittekind_ are among the finest of his secular compositions.

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) is the one representative Bohemian composer who has given serious attention to the larger choral forms. His greatest compositions in this field, however, were written, not for performance in his native land, but for the great English festivals--the _Stabat Mater_, composed in 1876 and performed March 10th, 1883, by the London Musical Society, the ‘Spectre’s Bride,’ written for the Birmingham Festival of 1885, ‘St. Ludmila’ (oratorio) for the Leeds Festival of 1886, and the Requiem Mass for the Birmingham Festival of 1891. England did valiant service in calling the world’s attention to Dvořák’s unique genius.

‘The Spectre’s Bride.’--This well-known cantata is founded upon an old legend, current among all Slavic nations, about a maiden, who, deserted by her lover and awaiting his return, was enticed away at midnight by a spectre, only to be led over hill and dale, amid grewsome horrors, to the graveyard. There she took refuge in a tiny house where she was beset by spectres, and the moonlight revealed, lying on a plank, a revivified corpse, which rose up and glared at her. Her fervent prayers to the Virgin finally ended the hideous spell. A cock crew, dawn came, and the girl wended her way home in the peaceful morning. When the work was performed at Birmingham it was received with great enthusiasm and, despite its horrible story, it is a masterpiece of dramatic narrative and descriptive realism.

The cantata consists of eighteen numbers. Eleven of these are allotted to the narrator (baritone), who, with the choral responses and supported by vividly descriptive instrumentation, gives a realistic portrayal of the frightful scenes. The weirdness of the music increases in intensity up to the entrance of the maiden in the house of the dead. In the seven remaining numbers other solo voices are heard. The lament of the maiden (soprano) for her lost lover and, at the close, her fervent appeal to the Virgin are fascinating in their beauty. There are also four duets sung by the bride and the spectre (tenor), together with one in which the chorus participates. As Hadow says in his ‘Studies in Modern Music’ (Vol. II, p. 206): ‘There is too much monotony of suffering; there is too much gloom and terror and pain; a tragedy so unrelieved comes near to overstraining the sympathy of the spectator.’ Yet the musical appeal, through the composer’s inexhaustible resources of rhythmic, harmonic and melodic effects, garbed in gorgeous orchestral colors, softens the horrors and lightens the prevailing darkness of the poem.

Heinrich Karl Johann Hofmann (1842-1902) had the good fortune to win public recognition in different fields in rapid succession. In three successive years his ‘Hungarian Suite’ for orchestra (1873), his ‘Frithjof’ symphony (1874), and his cantata ‘Melusina’ (1875) achieved such instant favor that he soon became one of the best-known of the contemporary German composers. While these successes were somewhat ephemeral and while he manifested a tendency to sacrifice individuality of expression to sensuous charm and formal beauty, the ‘Melusina’ deserves long life. He followed the lead of Schumann in choosing legends and fairy tales as subjects for his most successful cantatas. These are, in addition to the one just mentioned, _Aschenbrödel_ (‘Cinderella’), _Nornengesang_ (‘Song of the Norns’) for female chorus, and _Waldfräulein_.

The ‘Legend of the Fair Melusina’ was composed in 1875. Melusina, a fountain nymph, becomes betrothed to Count Raymond and marries him under the agreement that she may go her own way one day in every seven, without question or hindrance on his part. In these intervals she again becomes a mermaid and bathes with her nymphs in her native fountain. Later, urged by his mother Clotilda and his uncle Sintram, who are consumed with jealousy and curiosity, Raymond invades her privacy. Doomed by this violation of his compact to eternal separation, he embraces Melusina for the last time and dies in her arms. The weeping nymph returns to her former element. The music is not difficult and is replete with melody of captivating charm. The melodious prologue, the rollicking hunting song, the rapturous love-duet, the chorus of nymphs at the fountain with Melusina, the dramatic choral accusation of the people against Melusina, the final duet with choral accompaniment leading to the tragic dénouement--all these have contributed to make this one of the most musically effective of the more unpretentious cantatas.

Hermann Goetz (1840-1876) was cut off too early in his career to have given full expression to his undeniably great talent, yet he has left at least one choral work that demonstrated love for, and ability in, this form. In his setting of Schiller’s _Nänia_ (_Auch das Schöne muss sterben_) for chorus and orchestra, as well as the 137th Psalm (‘By the Waters of Babylon’) for soprano, chorus and orchestra, he reveals a close kinship to both Schumann and Brahms in his effective handling of voices and instruments.

V

Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843-1907), the greatest of the Scandinavian composers, chose musical forms of modest mold and outline--such as his altogether charming songs and piano pieces--for many of his most fragrant and characteristic thoughts. He wrote only three choral pieces--all in the smaller forms, but all individual, brilliant and full of his peculiarly charming idiom. They are _Vor der Klosterpforte_ (‘At the Convent Door’) for solo, female voices and orchestra, the well-known and vigorous _Landerkennung_ (‘Land Discovery’) for male chorus and orchestra and the Scenes from Björnson’s unfinished drama, _Olaf Trygvasson_, for solos, chorus and orchestra. The last is the largest and most elaborate of the three and has for its subject-matter the efforts of Olaf, a descendant of Harold Haarfagar (the first king of Norway) but brought up in banishment, to conquer Norway and convert its people from Paganism to Christianity.

For fully thirty years after the middle of the nineteenth century had been passed, French composers were still too firmly wedded to the operatic stage to give more than fleeting attention to choral forms of the cantata type, and few French names of this period, therefore, will find place here.

Charles Gounod (1818-1893), who turned his thoughts almost exclusively to religious music in the later years of his life, wrote several oratorios which will be mentioned in detail in