The Standard Cantatas Part 6

Atritone") in which Penelope bewails the absence of Odysseus. In the next scene the music changes to a bright and tripping strain, the chorus of Nausicaa's maidens ("On the flowery Mead, girt by the dimpling Tide"), which closely resembles that of Calypso's nymphs in the first scene.

After Odysseus' fervent appeal ("Hark to me! Queen, or heaven-dwelling G.o.ddess") the banquet scene occurs. It begins with an animated chorus of the Pheacians ("Be welcome, Stranger, to Pheacia's Land"), followed by an exquisite unison chorus of the Rhapsodes ("Ten Years now are past since Troy in the Dust was laid"), set to an accompaniment of harps. A simple and tender melody ("Let me then depart in Peace"), sung by Odysseus, in which the chorus singers gradually join, closes the scene. The eighth scene contains the most expressive solo number of the work, Penelope's aria ("This Garment by Day I weave in my Sorrow"), with a characteristic descriptive accompaniment. The gems of the ninth scene are Odysseus'

pa.s.sionate aria ("O my Fatherland! blest Remembrance!") and his furious revenge song ("Miscreant! woe to Thee"). The last scene opens with a joyous chorus of the people ("Say, have ye heard the Tidings of Joy?"), followed by a fervent duet between Odysseus and Penelope ("Omnipotent Zeus! we call on thy Name"). The final chorus begins in chorale style ("In Flames ascending"), and after repeating the melody of Odysseus' song in the seventh scene ("Nowhere abides such Delight"), closes with a fine fugued pa.s.sage ("Slayer of Darkness").

BUCK.

Dudley Buck, one of the most eminent of American organists and composers, was born March 10, 1839, at Hartford, Conn., where his father was engaged in the mercantile business. He studied both the piano and organ, the latter with such success that at the age of sixteen he was appointed organist at St. John's Church in his native city. In 1858 he went to Europe and entered the Leipsic Conservatory, where he studied the piano with Plaidy and Moscheles, and composition with Hauptmann and Richter.

After remaining there a year and a half he went to Dresden and began the study of Bach's music with Johann Schneider. A year and a half later he went to Paris, and there acquainted himself with French music and musicians. He returned to this country in 1862, and accepted the position of organist at the Park Church, Hartford, but after the death of his parents removed to Chicago, where he obtained the position of organist at St. James's Episcopal Church, and also devoted much of his time to teaching and composition. In that city his home became a musical centre.

His library, fine organ, and music-room were great attractions, and he had laid the foundation of a brilliant musical career, when the great fire of 1871 swept away his entire property, including many ma.n.u.script compositions. Like many other musicians at that time he left the city, seeing no prospect of advantage to him where it would require a long time to recover purely material losses. He went with his family to Boston, where his fame was already established, and obtained the position of organist at St. Paul's Church, as well as the charge of the large organ in the Music Hall. After remaining a short time in that city he removed to New York, where he has since resided. His life has been a very busy one, and he has had an important influence, both personally and in connection with Theodore Thomas, upon the progress of music in this country. It is not extravagant to say that there are few Protestant churches whose music has not been dignified and improved by his contributions, particularly of anthems and Te Deums, as well as of compositions for the organ, of which he is a consummate master. Singing societies are also indebted to him for many elegant four-part songs.

Among his larger works are the cantata "Don Munio" (1874); the "Centennial," written for the Centennial at Philadelphia; "The Nun of Nidaros" (1878); "The Golden Legend," which was the prize cantata at the Cincinnati Festival of 1880; an Easter cantata; the Forty-sixth Psalm, written for the Boston Handel and Haydn Society; two volumes of sacred songs and motets; "Marmion," a symphonic overture, and other works for orchestra; the cantatas "Voyage of Columbus" (1885) and the "Light of Asia" (1886). The last two cantatas were issued in Europe, the one in Germany and the other in England, and thus came to this country bearing a foreign imprint,--a novelty for an American composer.

Don Munio

"Don Munio," a dramatic cantata for solos, chorus, and orchestra, was written in 1874. The story of it is taken from Washington Irving's Spanish papers, and the scene is laid in the period of the wars with the Moors. While hunting one morning, Don Munio de Hinojosa captures a cavalcade which is escorting the Moorish Prince, Abadil, and his betrothed, Constanza, on the way to their wedding. The Prince, all escape being cut off, seeks to purchase the good-will of Don Munio with his gold and jewels, and implores him not to separate him from his affianced. The Don, touched by their unfortunate condition, invites them to spend a fortnight at his castle, promising that the nuptials shall be celebrated there, and then they shall be released. The lovers accept, and Don Munio is faithful to his promise. Shortly after their departure he is ordered by the king to join in the expedition to Palestine. In one of the encounters of this crusade he is killed by Abadil, who does not recognize his former benefactor with his visor closed. His death is greatly mourned in Spain, but they are consoled when Roderigo, a messenger from Palestine, arrives and tells them that one evening while strolling near the Holy Sepulchre he saw seventy Christian knights riding in ghostly procession, with the late Don Munio at their head. This is regarded as an a.s.surance that all is well with him. _Requiescat in pace._

These are the incidents which Mr. Buck has chosen for musical treatment, and he has done the work excellently well. After the orchestral introduction follows a spirited hunting-song for male chorus. The next scene opens in the chamber of Donna Maria, wife of Don Munio, who laments his absence in a minor strain, to which succeeds a rondo movement. The third is religious in character, marked "Evening. Close of vesper service in the chapel of the castle. Escobedo, the chaplain, with the women, and such retainers as have not followed Don Munio on his expedition." It begins with a prelude closing with full orchestra and organ, and leading to barytone solo and chorus, and a short exhortation to prayer by Escobedo. The next number is an Ave Maria for full chorus, which is very beautifully harmonized. In the next scene we encounter Don Munio in the forest, and are treated to the conventional hunting-song. The next number hints at the approach of the Moors, which is soon disclosed by a pretty three-part chorus of "the females of the Moorish cavalcade as they journey." The eighth scene contains some powerful chorus work, divided between the furious Spaniards and the frightened women, and set to a very vigorous accompaniment. After the tumult ends, Abadil very melodiously appeals to Don Munio, followed by a brief arioso in which the latter makes his terms, and a spirited chorus of grat.i.tude to the Don, which close the first part.

After a short prelude, the second part opens with a tenor aria for Abadil ("O, thou my Star") which is very refined in sentiment. It is followed by the chorale "Jesu, dulcis Memoria," sung by the chapel choir. A duet ensues between the two lovers on the castle terrace, which is very Italian in its flavor, and one of the most effective numbers in the cantata. The next two numbers furnish the wedding music,--a happy bridal chorus, and a charming bolero for orchestra. These lead to an unaccompanied quartet between Don Munio, Donna Maria, Abadil, and Constanza ("It is the Lot of Friends to part"). In the next scene occurs a vigorous duet between Don Munio and his wife, in which he informs her of his speedy departure for Palestine, followed by a stirring battle-hymn for male chorus. The next scene, "The chapel of the castle, choir chanting the dirge for the dead," is in strong contrast with the preceding. Mr. Buck has rarely written anything better in his sacred music than this beautiful requiem. In the next two numbers the messenger describes the manner of Don Munio's death, and the ghostly vision at the sepulchre, and at the end of his message the requiem changes to a jubilant chorus of grat.i.tude ("In thankful Hymns ascending"). "Don Munio"

is one of the most powerful and spontaneous of American compositions, and needs but little more amplification to deserve the name of opera.

The Centennial Meditation of Columbia.

The National Centennial celebration at Philadelphia was inaugurated May 10, 1876, with a special musical programme, in which the cantata with the above formidable t.i.tle occupied a prominent place. The ode was written by Sydney Lanier, of Georgia, a poet who prior to that time had made considerable reputation by two poems printed in "Lippincott's Magazine."

The national idea was satisfied by a.s.signing the music to Dudley Buck, at that time living in Connecticut. It must be acknowledged that the work did not make a deep impression, although it contains some excellent musical writing, and for two sufficient reasons. First, it is not a work of musical genius or inspiration, as it was ordered by a commission for a popular show. It was not singular in this respect. The "Centennial March," written by Richard Wagner, for the same occasion, is page after page of sound and fury, executed for a most exorbitant remuneration. To ascertain its real want of inspiration one has but to place it by the side of the "Kaiser March," with its ma.s.sive chords, its grand thematic treatment, and its stately movement, the outcome of patriotic fervor and national triumph. Second, the stilted and unmusical lines furnished by Mr. Lanier must have hampered the composer in every verse. This is all the more remarkable because Mr. Lanier himself was a practical musician.

He had been for some time a violinist in the Peabody orchestra at Baltimore, under that accomplished leader, Asgar Hamerik. It is remarkable, therefore, that he should not have recognized the difficulties he was placing in the way both of the composer and the performers.

The ode has sixty-one lines, divided into eight stanzas of unequal lengths. It sketches the past and present of the nation, the powers which opposed its progress and hindered the development of its freedom, and the elements which at last produced success, closing with cheering auguries for the future, and a welcome to the world. All this might have been set to smooth and fluent verse, which would readily have adapted itself to music; but what composer could have treated successfully such verses as these?--

"Mayflower, Mayflower, slowly hither flying, Trembling westward o'er yon balking sea, Hearts within, 'Farewell, dear England,' sighing, Winds without, 'But dear in vain,' replying, Gray-lipp'd waves about thee shouted, crying, 'No! it shall not be!'

"Jamestown, out of thee-- Plymouth, thee--thee, Albany-- Winter cries, 'Ye freeze; away!'

Fever cries, 'Ye burn; away!'

Hunger cries, 'Ye starve; away!'

Vengeance cries, 'Your graves shall stay!'

"Hark!

Huguenots whispering 'Yea' in the dark, Puritans answering 'Yea' in the dark!

'Yea,' like an arrow shot true to his mark, Darts through the tyrannous heart of Denial.

Patience and Labor and solemn-souled Trial, Foiled, still beginning, Soiled, but not sinning, Toil through the stertorous death of the Night, Toil, when wild brother-wars new-dark the light, Toil, and forgive, and kiss o'er, and re-plight."

Even in the last verse, where the composer must make his climax, and the singers must be most effective, they are confronted with this unsingable line:--

"And wave the world's best lover's welcome to the world."

The only musical verse is the reply of the angel to Columbia in the midst of her ragged and cacophonous meditation, which the composer selected as a solo for ba.s.s voice:[20]--

"Long as thine Art shall love true love, Long as thy Science truth shall know, Long as thine Eagle harms no Dove, Long as thy Law by law shall grow, Long as thy G.o.d is G.o.d above, Thy brother every man below, So long, dear Land of all my love, Thy name shall shine, thy fame shall grow."

The prelude for orchestra determines the motive of the whole cantata, and is very spirited; for here, at least, the composer was not hampered by words. The opening verse,--

"From this hundred-terraced height,"

is set very effectively in chorale form; but the next two verses, already quoted, are arranged for semi-chorus and full chorus, and close in a vocal stretto quite as hysterical as the words. Then follows the whispering of the Huguenots and Puritans, commencing _sotto voce_, and gradually increasing to a _forte_ at the close. A few bars for the horn lead to the ba.s.s solo, "Long as thine Art," with horn obligato,--a very impressive and dignified aria, and one which would speedily become a favorite in the concert-room if adapted to the words. The final number ("Music from this Height of Time") begins in full choral harmony and closes with a vigorous and well-written fugue.

[20] Sung upon that occasion by Mr. Myron D. Whitney.

The Golden Legend.

"The Golden Legend" was written in compet.i.tion for the prize of one thousand dollars, which the Cincinnati May Festival a.s.sociation offered in 1879 for the best work of a native composer. The judges were Theodore Thomas, Otto Singer, Asgar Hamerik, Carl Zerrahn, and the late Dr.

Leopold Damrosch. Their award was made to "The Golden Legend," and it was first performed at the Festival of 1880, with Miss Annie B. Norton as Elsie, Mr. Frederick Harvey as Prince Henry, Mr. J. F. Rudolphsen as Lucifer, and Mr. M. D. Whitney as Friar Paul.

The text of the cantata is composed of a prologue, epilogue, and twelve scenes taken from Longfellow's Episode in "Christus" by the same name.

The mediaeval story is a very simple one. Prince Henry of Hoheneck, stricken down with an incurable ailment, after vainly seeking a remedy, is visited by Lucifer disguised as a physician, who tempts him to adopt a remedy prescribed by a doctor of Salerno; namely, the blood of a maiden who will voluntarily offer herself as a sacrifice. Elsie devotes her life to the Prince, and they journey together to Salerno, where her death must take place. Arrived at the spot, the Prince, touched by her magnanimity, entreats her to forego her purpose; but she insists upon it, bids him farewell in the school, and enters an inner apartment with Lucifer disguised as a friar. Before the tragedy can be consummated, the Prince bursts open the door, with the aid of his followers, and rescues her. The pair return to the castle on the Rhine, where of course the rapidly convalescing Prince marries Elsie, and the story closes with an epilogue reciting the discomfiture of Lucifer and the triumph of good over evil.

Out of this material the composer has constructed his work, eliminating from and adding to the original matter to suit his musical scheme, but at the same time preserving the general spirit of the story. After a very spirited and energetic prelude, the prologue begins with the fruitless attempt of Lucifer to pull down the cross on the spire of Strasburg cathedral, the protests of the spirits of the air (first and second sopranos), the defiance of the bells (male chorus) as each attempt fails, and the final disappearance of the spirits amid the chanting of the majestic Latin hymn, "Nocte surgentes," by full chorus in the church, accompanied by the organ. The second scene opens in Prince Henry's chamber in the tower of the Vautsberg castle, and reminds one of the opening scene of "Faust," as set by Gounod. After an expressive declamation of his melancholy and his longing for rest and health ("I cannot sleep, my fervid Brain calls up the vanished Past again"), Lucifer appears in a flash of light, dressed as a travelling physician, and a dialogue ensues, the purport of which has already been told, which closes with an ingenious and beautifully-written number for the two voices, accompanied by a four-part chorus of mixed voices and a small semi-chorus of sopranos and altos ("Golden Visions wave and hover"). The fourth scene is an unaccompanied quartet, "The Evening Song," sung by Elsie, Bertha, Max, and Gottlieb in their peasant home in the Odenwald, as they light the lamps ("O gladsome Light of the Father"). It is a simple, tranquil hymn, but full of that sacred sentiment which this composer expresses so admirably in music. The fifth scene, Elsie's prayer in her chamber ("My Redeemer and my Lord"), in its calm beauty and religious feeling makes a fitting pendant to the quartet. In the next number, the orchestra is utilized to carry on the action, and in march tempo describes the pilgrimage to Salerno with stately intervals, in which is heard the sacred song, "Urbs coelestis, urbs beata," supposed to be sung by the pilgrims "moving slowly on their long journey with uncovered feet." The seventh scene is laid in the refectory of the convent of Hirschau, in the Black Forest, where Lucifer enters the gaudiolum of monks, disguised as a friar, and sings the rollicking Latin drinking-song, "Ave color vini clari," which Mr. Edmund C. Stedman versified for this work as follows:--

"Hail! thou vintage clear and ruddy!

Sweet of taste and fine of body, Through thine aid we soon shall study How to make us glorious!

"Oh! thy color erubescent!

Oh! thy fragrance evanescent!

Oh! within the mouth how pleasant!

Thou the tongue's praetorius!

"Blest the stomach where thou wendest!

Blest the throat which thou distendest!

Blest the mouth which thou befriendest, And the lips victorious!

Chorus of Monks.

"Pour the wine, then, pour it!

Let the wave bear all before it!

There's none to score it, So pour it in plenty, pour it!"

The next number is for orchestra only, and once more the instruments are used for a continuance of the action by a description of the carousal of the monks in a characteristic allegro baccha.n.a.le, the abbot testifying his indignation through the medium of the trombone and the use of the Gregorian melody. The sentiment of the latter is expressed by the following verse:--

"What mean this revel and carouse?

Is this a tavern and drinking-house?

Are you Christian monks or heathen devils, To pollute this convent with your revels?"

The ninth scene changes to Genoa. Elsie, on a terrace overlooking the sea, sings a charming aria ("The Night is calm and cloudless"), with a choral refrain of "Kyrie Eleison." The tenth is a graceful barcarolle for orchestra, but it is somewhat in the nature of an interpolation, and is only connected with the movement of the story by a thin thread, as will be seen from the verse which gives its motive:--