The Standard Oratorios Part 13

It is difficult to define the exact form of the work, though it is nearly always cla.s.sed as a secular oratorio, princ.i.p.ally because of the introduction of the narrator, after the style of the pa.s.sion-music. In other respects it resembles the cantata. Reissmann, in his Life of Schumann, says on this point,--

"It seems right that he should have retained the most primitive form of the oratorio, that of the pa.s.sion-music. The poem has no genuinely dramatic course; there was not the smallest intrinsic or extrinsic reason to dramatize it more fully. Even with treatment such as that of the 'Walpurgisnacht,' it must have lost much of its picturesque development The only proper way to treat the subject, therefore, was to retain the original epic form, and to introduce a narrator in the style of antique oratorio, who should relate the facts in a few simple words up to the point where they seem to demand a more dramatic setting."

Von Wasielewski also discusses the same point:

"The narrator is evidently copied from the evangelist in Bach's pa.s.sion-music; but by no means with a like necessity. Unquestionably the latter shared the conviction of his day, that not only the substance, but the words, of the biblical dogma were sacred. Schumann's case was not at all similar. He had before him, in the poem to be set to music, a work of art which, although once remodelled, would still permit every formal change required by aesthetic considerations. How easy, for example, it would have been to abolish the narrator, as destructive of unity!"

Had the narrative pa.s.sages been omitted, it would unquestionably have enhanced the interest and perhaps relieved the monotony and wearisomeness of some parts of the work. Unlike the usual manner in which the narrator's part is treated,--as a mere recitative link between numbers,--Schumann invests it with the same importance as the acts and events themselves, and treats it melodically, so that the relief which comes from contrast is lacking.

The oratorio is written in three parts, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, the princ.i.p.als being the Peri (soprano); the Angel (alto); the King of Gazna (ba.s.s); a Youth (tenor); the Horseman (baritone); and the Maiden (soprano). The choruses are sung by Indians, Angels, Houris, and Genii of the Nile, and the part of Narrator is divided among the various voices. The story follows that of the original poem. The Peri, expelled from Paradise, stands at its gate weeping to think

"her recreant race Should e'er have lost that sacred place."

The angel who keeps the gate of light promises she shall be re-admitted if she brings "the gift that is most dear to Heaven." The Peri goes in quest of the gift, first to India, where she procures the last drop of blood shed by the hero who resisted the tyrant Mahmoud, and takes it with her to the gate; but the crystal bar moves not. She continues her quest, and from the pestilential plains of Egypt she takes back the last sigh of the maiden who sacrificed herself to her love for the youth who stole out to die alone. But still the crystal bar moves not. At last, in the vale of Baalbec, she finds the gift,--the tear of a repentant sinner,--which secures her admission.

After a brief orchestral introduction, the Narrator (alto) tells the story of the disconsolate Peri at the gate, and introduces her in the first solo ("How blest seem to me, vanished Child of Air"), a tender, beautiful melody, characterized by romantic sentiment. The Narrator (tenor) introduces the Angel, who delivers her message to the Peri ("One Hope is thine"), to which the latter replies in a sensuous melody, full of Oriental color ("I know the Wealth hidden in every Urn"). The tenor Narrator introduces at this point a quartet ("O beauteous Land"), in which the two trebles, tenor, and ba.s.s alternate, followed by the full, powerful chorus, "But crimson now her Rivers ran." A weird march, fairly barbaric in its effect, indicates the approach of the tyrant of Gazna, and introduces the stirring chorus of the Indians and Conquerors ("Hail to Mahmoud"). The tenor Narrator describes the youthful warrior standing alone beside his native river and defying the tyrant. Once more the chorus shouts its greeting to Mahmoud, and then ensues a dialogue in recitative between the two, leading up to the youth's death and a double chorus of lamentation ("Woe, for false flew the Shaft"). The tenor Narrator describes the flight of the Peri to catch the last drop of blood shed for liberty; and then all the voices join with the soprano solo in a broad, strong, exultant finale ("For Blood must holy be"), which is one of the most effective numbers in the work.

The second part opens in the most charming manner. The tenor Narrator pictures the return of the Peri with her gift, leading up to the Angel's solo ("Sweet is our welcome"), which preludes a brief choral pa.s.sage for sixteen female voices. After the Narrator's declaration of her disappointment, the scene changes to Egypt, and in a dainty, delicate three-part chorus the Spirits of the Nile are invoked not to disturb the Peri. Her lament is heard ("O Eden, how longeth for thee my Heart!"), and the Spirits now weave a gentle, sympathetic strain with her song. A long tenor narration follows ("Now wanders forth the Peri sighing"), describing the pestilence brooding over the Egyptian plains, the music to which is very characteristic. The scene of the maiden dying with her lover is full of pathos, and contains two exquisite numbers,--the narrative solo for mezzo-soprano ("Poor Youth, thus deserted"), and the dying love-song of the Maiden ("O let me only breathe the Air, Love").

The scene closes with a sweet and gentle lament for the pair ("Sleep on"), sung by the Peri, followed by the chorus, which joins in the pathetic farewell.

The third part opens with a lovely chorus of Houris ("Wreathe ye the Steps to Great Allah's Throne"), interspersed with solos and Oriental in its coloring. The tenor narration ("Now Morn is blushing in the Sky"), which is very melodious in character, introduces the Angel, who in an alto solo ("Not yet") once more dooms the Peri to wander. Her reply ("Rejected and sent from Eden's Door") is full of despair. The narration is now taken by the baritone in a flowing, breezy strain ("And now o'er Syria's rosy Plain"), which is followed by a charming quartet of Peris ("Say, is it so?"). Once more the baritone intervenes, followed by the Peri; and then the tenor Narrator takes up the theme in a stirring description of the boy nestling amid the roses, and the "pa.s.sion-stained"

horseman at the fountain. The alto proclaims the vesper call to prayer, and the tenor reflects upon the memories of the wretched man as he sees the child kneeling. The solo baritone announces his repentance, followed by a quartet and chorus in very broad, full harmony ("O blessed Tears of true Repentance!"). The next number is a double one, composed of soprano and tenor solos with chorus ("There falls a Drop on the Land of Egypt").

In an exultant, triumphant strain ("Joy, joy forever, my Work is done!"), the Peri sings her happiness, and the chorus brings the work to a close with the heavenly greeting, "Oh, welcome 'mid the Blessed!" The third part is unquestionably long and wearisome, and taxes not only the voices of the singers, but also the patience of the hearers. The first and second, however, contain some beautiful gems, and the orchestral work is very rich in its coloring. Taken all in all, however, it is a severe treatment of a fanciful subject.

SPOHR.

Louis Spohr, one of the world's greatest violinists, and a composer of world-wide fame, was born at Brunswick, April 25, 1784. Like all great musical geniuses, his ability was displayed very early. He began to play the violin in his fifth year, and to compose for that instrument before he was in his teens. After studying the rudiments with several teachers, the Duke of Brunswick induced Franz Eck, a recognized master of the violin, to give him instruction. Spohr remained with him two years, and accompanied him on his travels to Russia, studying, composing, and learning much by his observation of Eck's playing. In 1805 he was appointed leader of the band of the Duke of Gotha, and began writing orchestral works, his compositions before that time having been mainly for the violin. His first opera, "Die Prufung," also appeared about this time. In 1807 he made a very successful tour through Germany, and another in 1809, arousing great enthusiasm by his admirable playing. In that year also occurred the first musical festival in Germany, which was conducted by Spohr at Frankenhausen, in Thuringia. In 1811 another was held, for which he wrote his first symphony. In 1812 his first oratorio, "Das jungste Gericht," appeared; but after two performances of it he was greatly dissatisfied, and laid it aside. In the fall of that year he made his first public appearance in Vienna, and achieved such success that he was offered and accepted the leadership of the band at the Theater-an-der-Wien. He remained there only three years, however, and then resumed his professional tours in Switzerland and Italy. In 1818 he was appointed conductor of the opera at Frankfort, where he remained for two years, during which time he brought out his operas "Faust" and "Zemire and Azor." In 1820 he went to England for the first time, and played many of his compositions in the Philharmonic concerts. His English visit was a very successful one, and on his journey back to Germany he stopped in Paris, where also he met with an enthusiastic welcome. He finally settled down at Dresden, where Weber was then busy with the preparations for the performance of his "Freischutz." During his stay there, Weber had been offered the post of Hofkapellmeister to the Elector of Ca.s.sel; but not being in a position to accept it, he recommended Spohr, and the latter obtained the appointment Jan. 1, 1822, where he remained the rest of his days, as it was a life-office. During this year he finished his opera "Jessonda," one of the most successful of all his vocal works. Four years later he conducted the Rhenish Festival at Dusseldorf and brought out his second oratorio, "Die letzten Dinge" ("The Last Things"). In 1831 he completed his "Violin School," which has ever since been a standard work. His most important symphony, "Die Weihe der Tone" ("The Consecration of Sound"), was produced at Ca.s.sel in 1832, and his third oratorio, "Des Heiland's letzte Stunden" ("Calvary"), at the same place in 1835. Four years later he went to England again, and produced his "Calvary" at the Norwich Festival with immense success, which led to his reception of a commission to produce "The Fall of Babylon" for the Festival of 1842. His last opera, "The Crusaders," was written in 1844, but did not meet with a permanent success. From this time until 1857 he was engaged in making tours and producing the works of other composers, among them those of Wagner, whose "Tannhauser" he brought out in 1853, in spite of the Elector's opposition. In 1857 he was pensioned, and two years later died. He was born a musician and died one, and in his long and honorable life he was always true to his art and did much to enn.o.ble and dignify it, notwithstanding the curious combinations in his musical texture. He never could understand or appreciate Beethoven. He proclaimed himself a disciple of Mozart, though he had little in common with him, and he declared Wagner the greatest of all living composers, on the strength of his "Flying Dutchman" alone. As a performer, he was one of the best of any period.

The Last Judgment.

Spohr wrote two oratorios upon the same subject,--"Das jungste Gericht"

("The Last Judgment") and "Die letzten Dinge" ("The Last Things"); but the latter is now universally ent.i.tled "The Last Judgment," and the former was shelved by the composer himself shortly after its performance.

His autobiography gives us some interesting details of each. After a concert-tour to Hamburg, Spohr returned to Gotha, and found there a letter from Bischoff, the Precentor of Frankenhausen, informing him that he had been commanded by the Governor of Erfurt to arrange a musical festival there in celebration of the birthday of Napoleon, August 15. He invited Spohr to a.s.sume its direction and to write an oratorio for the occasion. Previous to this a poet in Erfurt had offered him the text called "The Last Judgment," and Spohr determined to avail himself of it.

He writes,--

"I sent for the libretto and set to work at once. But I soon felt that for the oratorio style I was yet too deficient in counterpoint and in fugueing. I therefore suspended my work in order to make the preliminary studies requisite for the subject. From one of my pupils I borrowed Marpurg's 'Art of Fugue-writing,' and was soon deeply and continuously engaged in the study of that work. After I had written half a dozen fugues according to its instruction, the last of which seemed to me very successful, I resumed the composition of my oratorio, and completed it without allowing anything else to intervene. According to a memorandum I made, it was begun in January, 1812, and finished in June."

In this connection Spohr tells the following humorous story:--

"One of the solo-singers alone, who sang the part of Satan, did not give me satisfaction. The part, which was written with a powerful instrumentation, I gave, by the advice of Bischoff, to a village schoolmaster in the neighborhood of Gotha who was celebrated throughout the whole district for his colossal ba.s.s voice. In power of voice he had indeed quite sufficient to outroar a whole orchestra; but in science and in music he could by no means execute the part in a satisfactory manner. I taught and practised him in the part myself, and took great pains to a.s.sist him a little. But without much success; for when the day of public trial came, he had totally forgotten every instruction and admonition, and gave such loose to his barbarian voice that he first of all frightened the auditory, and then set it in roars of laughter."

It is clear from Spohr's remarks that he was satisfied with the choruses and fugues, but not with the solo parts of Jesus and Mary, which were in the florid cantata style of that day. He subsequently determined to re-write them; but "when about to begin," he says, "it seemed to me as though I could no longer enter into the spirit of the subject, and so it remained undone. To publish the work as it was, I could not make up my mind. Thus in later years it has lain by without any use being made of it."

Thirteen years afterwards he wrote "Die letzten Dinge," now so well known as "The Last Judgment." He says in one of his letters,--

"In the same year [1825] Councillor Rochlitz, the editor of the 'Leipsic Musical Journal,' offered me the text of an oratorio, 'Die letzten Dinge,' to compose for, which I received with great pleasure, as my previous attempt in that style of art, 'Das jungste Gericht,' by no means pleased me any longer, and therefore I had not once been disposed to perform a single number of it at the meeting of our Society.... The whole work was finished by Good Friday [1826], and then first performed complete in the Lutheran Church. It was in the evening, and the church was lighted up. My son-in-law, Wolff, who had been long in Rome, proposed to illuminate the church as at Rome on Good Friday, with lights disposed overhead in the form of a cross, and carried out his idea. A cross fourteen feet long, covered with silver-foil and hung with six hundred gla.s.s lamps, was suspended overhead in the middle of the church, and diffused so bright a light that one could everywhere clearly read the text-books. The musicians and singers, nearly two hundred in number, were placed in the gallery of the church, arranged in rows one above the other, and for the most part unseen by the auditory, which, amounting to nearly two thousand persons, observed a solemn stillness. My two daughters, Messrs. Wild, Albert, and Foppel, together with an amateur, sang the soli, and the performance was faultless. The effect was, I must myself say, extraordinary."

The t.i.tle of the work is clearly a misnomer, as well as a mistranslation, for it contains nothing of the terrors of the Last Judgment, but, on the other hand, is graceful and elegant in style. The affixing of this t.i.tle to it is said to have been the work of Professor Taylor, who arranged it for the Norwich festival of 1830, and supposed he was preparing the earlier oratorio, "Das jungste Gericht." The t.i.tle has now become so indissolubly connected with it that no effort has been made to change it.

In the first part the text is confined to ascriptions of praise. The solo, "Blessing, honor, glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever," conveys the meaning of the whole first part; while the second part is confined to those portions of the Apocalypse which describe the terrible signs of the last day, concluding with visions of the new heaven and a hallelujah. And yet Malibran, in her biography of Spohr, calls the oratorio a musical copy of Michael Angelo's "Last Judgment,"--showing that more than one person has confounded the two oratorios.

The work opens with a very long overture of a grave and majestic character, in limits far beyond those usually found in oratorio. It is followed by the striking chorus, "Praise His awful Name," which is beautifully written, and contains impressive soprano and ba.s.s solos. Some brief tenor and ba.s.s recitatives lead to the second number, a short chorus ("Holy, holy, Lord G.o.d of Hosts"), in which the voices have no accompaniment except the horns. Three phrases of recitative for soprano and tenor lead to the next chorus ("All Glory to the Lamb that died"), a grand number, which is familiar to nearly every lover of oratorio music.

The next number is one of the most striking in the work. A short tenor recitative introduces the tenor solo and chorus, "Blessing, honor, glory, and power," beginning with a tranquil and smoothly flowing solo, the chorus opening in the same manner, then developing into an admirably written fugue, and closing in the same serene style as it opened. A very dramatic and picturesque scene follows, comprising the tenor recitative ("And lo! a mighty Host"), with a very striking accompaniment descriptive of "the mighty host of all nations and people that stood before the throne and the Lamb," and the exquisite quartet and chorus ("Lord G.o.d of Heaven and Earth") which close the first part.

The second part opens with an orchestral symphony which heralds the signs and portents of the Day of Judgment in graphic style. It is followed by a long ba.s.s recitative with intensely dramatic accompaniment:--

"The day of wrath is near.

The Almighty shall reveal His power.

The reaper's song is silent in the field, And the shepherd's voice on the mountain.

The valleys then shall shake with fear, With dread the hills shall tremble.

It comes, the day of terror comes!

The awful morning dawns!

Thy mighty arm, O G.o.d, is uplifted.

Thou shalt shake the earth and heavens.

They shall shrivel as a scroll When Thou in wrath appearest."

The text indicates the dramatic nature of the subject, and it is treated with a force and vigor that are in striking contrast with the tenderness and serenity, at times rising to exultation, that characterize the remainder of the work. This recitative leads to the very pathetic duet for soprano and tenor, "Forsake me not in this dread hour," which is a gem of beautiful melody, followed by the response of the chorus in unison, "If with your whole Hearts." After a short tenor recitative, another strong chorus ensues ("Destroyed is Babylon"), with an agitated and powerful accompaniment, which continues for some time after the voices cease, once interrupted by the tenor proclaiming "It is ended,"

and then coming to a close in a gentle pianissimo effect. A tender, melodious quartet and chorus ("Blest are the Departed") follows. The soprano voice announces the new heaven and earth. A short tenor recitative ("Behold! He soon shall come") and the quartet response ("Then come, Lord Jesus") prepare the way for the final ma.s.sive chorus ("Great and wonderful are all Thy Works"), which begins with a few bars of full harmony, then develops into a vigorous fugue, which, after choral announcements of hallelujah, is followed by another fugue ("Thine is the Kingdom"), closing with a tumultuous ascription of praise, and Amen. The solo parts in the oratorio are always short and of a reflective character. It is peculiarly a choral work, of which, with one or two exceptions, the predominant traits are sweetness, tenderness, and grace.

In these exceptions, like the great chorus, "Destroyed is Babylon," with its wonderful accompaniments, it reaches a high strain of sublimity.

SULLIVAN.

The great popularity which Arthur Seymour Sullivan has enjoyed for a few years past, growing out of his extraordinarily successful series of comic operettas, beginning with "The Sorcerer" (1877), which first caught the public fancy, and ending with "The Mikado" (1885), has almost overshadowed the permanent foundations upon which his reputation must rest; namely, his serious and sacred music. He was born in London, May 13, 1842. His father, a band-master and clarinet-player of distinction, intrusted his musical education at first to the Rev. Thomas Hilmore, master of the children of the Chapel Royal. He entered the Chapel in 1854 and remained there three years, and also studied in the Royal Academy of Music under Goss and Sterndale Bennett during this period, leaving the latter inst.i.tution in 1858, in which year he went to Leipsic. He remained in the Conservatory there until 1861, when he returned to London and introduced himself to its musical public with his music to Shakspeare's "Tempest," which made a great success. The enthusiasm with which this was received and the favors he gained at the hands of Chorley, at that time musical critic of the "Athenaeum," gave him a secure footing. The cantata "Kenilworth," written for the Birmingham Festival, the music to the ballet "L'ile enchantee," and an opera, "The Sapphire Necklace," were produced in 1864. In 1866 appeared his first symphony, which has been played not only in England, but also in Germany, and an overture, "In Memoriam,"--a tribute to his father, who died that year. The next year his overture "Marmion" was first performed. In 1869 he wrote his first oratorio, "The Prodigal Son," in 1873 "The Light of the World," and in 1880 "The Martyr of Antioch;" the first for the Worcester, the second for the Birmingham, and the third for the Leeds festivals. The beautiful "Overture di Ballo," so frequently played in this country by the Thomas orchestra, was written for Birmingham in 1870, and the next year appeared his brilliant cantata "On Sh.o.r.e and Sea." On the 11th of May, 1867, was first heard in public his little comic operetta "c.o.x and Box." It was the first in that series of extraordinary successes, really dating from "The Sorcerer," which are almost without parallel in the operatic world, and which have made his name and that of his collaborator, Gilbert, household words. He has done much for sacred as well as for secular music. In addition to his oratorios he has written numerous anthems, forty-seven hymn-tunes, two Te Deums, several carols, part-songs, and choruses, and in 1872 edited the collection of "Church Hymns with Tunes" for the Christian Knowledge Society.

He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Cambridge in 1876, and from Oxford in 1879, and in 1883 was knighted by the Queen.

The Prodigal Son.

"The Prodigal Son," the first of Sullivan's oratorios, was written for the Worcester Festival in England, and performed for the first time Sept.

8, 1869. It is a short work, comprising but eighteen numbers, and very melodious in character. In his preface to the work the composer says,--

"It is a remarkable fact that the parable of the Prodigal Son should never before have been chosen as the text of a sacred musical composition. The story is so natural and pathetic, and forms so complete a whole; its lesson is so thoroughly Christian; the characters, though few, are so perfectly contrasted; and the opportunity for the employment of local color is so obvious,--that it is indeed astonishing to find the subject so long overlooked.

"The only drawback is the shortness of the narrative, and the consequent necessity for filling it out with material drawn from elsewhere. In the present case this has been done as sparingly as possible, and entirely from the Scriptures. In so doing, the Prodigal himself has been conceived, not as of a naturally brutish and depraved disposition,--a view taken by many commentators, with apparently little knowledge of human nature, and no recollection of their own youthful impulses,--but rather as a buoyant, restless youth, tired of the monotony of home, and anxious to see what lay beyond the narrow confines of his father's farm, going forth in the confidence of his own simplicity and ardor, and led gradually away into follies and sins which at the outset would have been as distasteful as they were strange to him. The episode with which the parable concludes has no dramatic connection with the former and princ.i.p.al portion, and has therefore not been treated."