The Standard Cantatas Part 19

TO ALL THE SPECTATORS GREETING.

[The college seal.]

_Six verses from the Eumenides of aeschylus:_

"Hail people of the city That sit near to Zeus, Friends of the friendly G.o.ddess, Wise in your generation, Ye whom under the wings of Pallas The father guards."

THE OEDIPUS TYRANNUS OF SOPHOCLES WILL BE REPRESENTED IN THE THEATRE OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY on the 17th of May ({Thargelion}), 1881, and again on the 19th, 20th, and 21st.

DRAMATIS PERSONae.

Oedipus, King of Thebes George Riddle.

Priest of Zeus William Hobbs Manning.

Creon, Jocasta's brother Henry Norman.

Teiresias, the blind seer Curtis Guild.

Jocasta, Queen of Thebes Leonard Eckstein Opdycke.

Messenger, from Corinth Arthur Wellington Roberts.

Servant of Laius Gardiner Martin Lane.

Messenger from the Palace Owen Wister.

ATTENDANTS.

Attendants on Oedipus J. R. Coolidge, E. J. Wendell.

Attendants on Jocasta J. J. Greenough, W. L. Putnam.

Attendants on Creon G. P. Keith, J. Lee.

Boy guide of Teiresias C. H. Goodwin.

Antigone E. Manning.

Ismene J. K. Whittemore.

Suppliants.-- G. P. Keith, G. D. Markham (priests), W. H. Herrick, J.

Lee, E. Lovering, H. Putnam, L. A. Shaw, C. M. Walsh (chosen youths), C. H. Goodwin, E. Manning, R. Manning, W. Merrill, E. R. Thayer, J. K. Whittemore (boys).

CHORUS OF THEBAN OLD MEN.

Coryphaeus Louis Butler McCagg.

a.s.sistant to the chorus in the third stasmon, with solo George Laurie Osgood.

MEMBERS OF THE CHORUS.

N. M. Brigham, Frederick R. Burton, Henry G. Chapin, Sumner Coolidge, Edward P. Mason, Marshall H. Cus.h.i.+ng, Wendell P. Davis, Morris Earle, Percival J. Eaton, Gustavus Tuckerman, Charles S. Hamlin, Jared S. How, Howard Lilienthal, Charles F. Mason.

Leader of the chorus and composer of the music John Knowles Paine.

Prompter George L. Kittredge.

The scene is laid in front of the palace in Boetian Thebes. The chorus is composed of Theban old men. Oedipus speaks first. The managers request all the spectators to remain sitting until the postlude is ended. Immediately after the last chorus has been sung there will be a pause for those who wish to go out. After this the doors will be closed.

After the play, horse-cars ({hamaxai hipposiderodromikai}) will be ready for those who want to go to the city.

Wilsons, printers. ({Oyilsones typois egapsan}.)

The story of the Theban hero, his ignorance of his own parentage, his dismay at the revelation of the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother, his quarrel with the former, resulting in the very tragedy he was seeking to avoid, his solution of the riddle of the sphinx, the reward of the Queen's hand which Creon had promised, leading to the unfortunate marriage with his mother, Jocasta, thus completing the revelation of the oracle, does not need description in detail. The marriage was followed by a pestilence that wasted Thebes, and at this point the plot of the drama begins. It concerns itself with the efforts of Oedipus to unravel the mystery of the death of his father, Laius, which lead to the discovery that he himself was the murderer, and that he had been guilty of incest with his own mother. Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus, rus.h.i.+ng frantically into the palace, beholds her, and overwhelmed with horror at the sight and the fulfilment of the oracle, seizes her brooch-pin and blinds himself. In the Oedipus at Colonos the sequel is told. The hero dies in the gardens of the Eumenides, happy in the love of his daughters and the pardon which fate grants him.

The music to the tragedy is thoroughly cla.s.sical in spirit, and has all the n.o.bility, breadth, dignity, and grace characteristic of the Greek idea. The princ.i.p.al lyric movements of the chorus, the choral odes, of which there are six, comprise the scheme of the composer. The melodramatic practice of the orchestra accompanying spoken dialogue only appears to a limited extent in the third ode; and the chorus, as narrator, is accompanied by music only in the seven last lines of the play, which form the postlude. The orchestral introduction, which is treated in a very skilful and scholarly manner, epitomizes the spirit of the work. The odes are divided as usual into strophes and antistrophes, a.s.signed alternately to a male chorus of fifteen and full chorus. The first ("Oracle sweet-tongued of Zeus"), which has the genuine antique dignity and elevation, is a description of the sufferings of the people from the pestilence which has wasted Thebes since the unnatural marriage of Oedipus and Jocasta, and a fervent prayer to the G.o.ds for aid. The second ("Thou Delphic Rock, who can he be?") concludes the scene where the blind prophet Teiresias arrives upon the summons of Creon and accuses Oedipus of the crime, accompanying the accusation with dark hints of further guilt. In this ode, which is specially noticeable for its rich and graceful treatment, the chorus expresses its disbelief of the charges. In the third scene, Creon enters to protest against the accusations of Oedipus, but a quarrel ensues between them, which results in the menace of death to the former. Jocasta appears, and upon her intercession Creon is allowed to depart. In the ode, the chorus joins in this appeal to Oedipus,--a strong, vigorous number, the effect of which is heightened by the intervening spoken parts of Creon, Oedipus, and Jocasta, with musical accompaniment. The fourth ode ("O may my Life be spent in Virtue") is a vigorous denunciation of the impiety of Jocasta in speaking scornfully of the oracles. The fifth ode ("If I the Prophet's Gift possess") is full of idyllic grace and sweetness, realizing in a remarkable degree the old Grecian idea of sensuous beauty. It is a speculation upon the divine origin of Oedipus, after the messenger relates the story of the King's exposure in his childhood upon Mount Cithaeron, and contains a charming tenor solo. The last ode ("O Race of mortal Men") bewails the vicissitudes of fortune, and is full of the tragic significance of impending fate. The work comes to a close with the postlude:--

"Ye who dwell in Thebes our city, fix on Oedipus your eyes, Who resolved the dark enigma, n.o.blest liver and most wise.

Glorious like a sun he mounted, envied of the popular throng, Now he sinks in seas of anguish, quenched the stormy waves among.

Therefore I await the final hour, to ancient wisdom known, Ere I call one mortal happy. Never shall that thought be shown, Till he end his earthly being, scathless of a sigh or groan."

Six public performances of the "Oedipus" were given in 1881, and every season since that time selections from the music have been performed in New York, Boston, and other cities. As the most important and scholarly work an American composer has yet produced, it cannot be heard too often.

The Nativity.

The text of "The Nativity," for chorus, solo voices, and orchestra, is taken from the hymn in Milton's ode "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," and is composed in three parts. The first part includes the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh; the second, a combination of the eighth and ninth; and the third, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth verses. After a short instrumental introduction, which works up to an effective climax, the cantata begins with a chorus ("It was the Winter wild"), introduced by the soprano, developing to full harmony at the words, "Nature in Awe to Him," and closing pianissimo. After a short soprano solo ("But, He her Fears to cease") the chorus resumes ("With Turtle Wing the amorous Clouds dividing"). A succession of choral pa.s.sages follows, admirably suggestive of the sentiment of the poem,--a vigorous, stirring allegro, "No War or Battle's Sound was heard the World around;" "And Kings sat still with awful Eye," broadly and forcibly written; and a tender, graceful number, "But peaceful was the Night." They are followed by another soprano solo ("And though the shady Gloom"), full of brightness and animation, which leads directly to a majestic chorus ("He saw a greater Sun appear"), which closes the first part.

The second part, a quartet and chorus, is pastoral in character, and reflects the idyllic quiet and beauty of the text. The quartet, "The Shepherds on the Lawn," is introduced by short tenor, ba.s.s, and alto solos, and also contains a very melodious and graceful solo for soprano ("When such Music sweet their Hearts and Ears did greet"), after which the full quartet leads up to a vigorous chorus ("The Air such Pleasure loath to lose"), closing the part.

The third part is choral, and forms an effective climax to the work. It opens with the powerful chorus, "Ring out, ye crystal Spheres,"

emphasized by the organ ba.s.s with stately effect, and moves on majestically to the close,--

"And Heaven as at some festival Will open wide the gates of her high palace hall."

The Realm of Fancy.

"The Realm of Fancy" is a short cantata, the music set to Keats's familiar poem:--

"Ever let the fancy roam, Pleasure never is at home: At a touch sweet pleasure melteth, Like to bubbles when rain pelteth."

With the exception of a dozen lines, the dainty poem is used entire, and is set to music with a keen appreciation of its graceful beauty. A short allegretto fancifully trips along to the opening chorus ("Ever let the Fancy roam"), which is admirable for its s.h.i.+fting play of musical color.

A soprano solo ("She will bring in spite of Frost"), followed by a very expressive barytone solo ("Thou shalt at a Glance behold the Daisy and the Marigold"), leads up to a charming little chorus ("Shaded Hyacinth, always Sapphire Queen"). A short instrumental pa.s.sage, in the time of the opening allegretto, introduces the final chorus ("O Sweet Fancy, let her loose"), charmingly worked up, and closing in canon form. The cantata is very short; but rarely have poem and music been more happily wedded than in this delightful tribute to fancy.

Phoebus, Arise.

Mr. Paine's ripe scholars.h.i.+p is shown to admirable advantage in his selection of the poem "Phoebus, Arise" from among the lyrics of the old Scottish poet, William Drummond, of Hawthornden, and the characteristic old-style setting he has given to it. Like "The Realm of Fancy," it is very short; but like that cantata, also, it ill.u.s.trates the versatility of his talent and the happy manner in which he preserves the characteristics of the poem in his music. Drummond, who has been called "the Scottish Petrarch," and whose poems were so celebrated that even Ben Jonson could find it in his way to visit him, was noted for the grace and lightness of his verse, and the pensive cast with which it was tinged. It has little of the modern poetic style, and the composer has clothed his poem in a musical garb to correspond.

The cantata is written for tenor solo, male chorus, and orchestra, and opens with a brilliant chorus ("Phoebus, arise, and paint the sable Skies with azure, white, and red"), closing with a crescendo in the old style.

An expressive and somewhat pensive tenor solo follows:--

"This is that happy morn And day, long-wished day, Of all my life so dark (If cruel stars have not my ruin sworn And fates my hope betray), Which purely white deserves An everlasting diamond should it mark.

This is the morn should bring unto the grove My love, to hear, and recompense my love."

A short choral pa.s.sage with tenor solo ("Fair King, who all preserves") leads to a full rich chorus ("Now, Flora, deck thyself in fairest Guise"). In the next number the chorus returns to the opening theme ("Phoebus, Arise"), and develops it with constantly increasing power to the close.