has always had a strong bias. His first opera
was produced in 1854, "_La Nonne Sanglante_." In 1852 he was made
director of the Orpheonists, the male part singers of Paris, numbering
many thousands, somewhat answering to the organization of the Tonic
Sol-fa in England. "_Faust_" made an epoch in French opera. Its rich
and sensuous music, its love melodies of melting tenderness, and the
cleverness of the instrumentation, as well as its pleasing character,
combine to place it in a category by itself. This was the beginning
and the end of Gounod, for in his other works, while there is much
cleverness and melodiousness, there is also much reminder of
"_Faust_." Perhaps the best of his later operas are "_Romeo et
Juliette_" (1867), and "_Mireille_" (1864). Among the others were
"_Cinq-Mars_," "_Polyeucte_," "_Le Tribute de Zamora_." He has also
written an oratorio, "The Redemption," produced at Birmingham in 1882,
many numbers in which are truly imposing. As a whole the work is
mystical and sensuous, rather than strong or inspired. A continuation
of this work "_Mors et Vita_" was given at Birmingham in 1885, and the
following year several times in America, under the direction of Mr.
Theodore Thomas. In this work, a part of the text of which consists of
the Latin hymn "_Dies Irae_," Gounod contrives to repeat certain of the
sensational effects of Berlioz's work. Both these oratorios belong to
an intermediate category in oratorio, sensational effects possible
only in the concert room intervening with others planned entirely in a
devotional and mystic spirit. As a composer, Gounod has two elements
of strength.

He is first of all a lyrical composer of unusual merit, as can be seen
in his "Oh that We Two were Maying," "Nazareth," "There Is a Green
Hill Far Away," etc. His second element of greatness is his talent for
well sounding and deliciously blending instrumentation, in which
respect he is one of the best representatives of the French school.
This quality is happily shown upon a small scale, in connection with
the other already mentioned, in his famous "_Ave Maria_," with violin
and organ obligato, superimposed upon the first prelude in Bach's
"Well Tempered Clavier." Unfortunately his structural ability is not
equal to the strain of elaborate dramatic works, in which the interest
greatly depends upon the music following the complications of the
drama. In "Faust," and in all his other operas, the songs are the main
attract