chorus, "Thou, O Lord, art our Father," closing with
a Hallelujah in full, broad harmony.

The Light of the World.

Sir Arthur Sullivan's second oratorio, "The Light of the World," is laid
out upon a much larger scale in every way than "The Prodigal Son." It
was written for the Birmingham Festival of 1873, was given for the first
time on the 27th of August. The purpose of the work, as the composer
explains in his preface, is to set forth the human aspects of the life of
our Lord upon earth, by the use of some of the actual incidents in his
career which bear witness to his attributes as preacher, healer, and
prophet. "To give it dramatic force," he says,--

"The work has been laid out in scenes dealing respectively, in the
first part with the nativity, preaching, healing, and prophesying of
our Lord, ending with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem; and in the
second part, with the utterances which, containing the avowal of
himself as the Son of Man, excited to the utmost the wrath of his
enemies, and led the rulers to conspire for his betrayal and death; the
solemn recital by the chorus of his sufferings, and the belief in his
final reward; the grief of Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre; and the
consolation and triumph of the Disciples at the resurrection of their
Lord and Master."

The first part has four scenes, "Bethlehem," "Nazareth," "Lazarus" (which
might more appropriately have been entitled "Bethany"), and "The Way to
Jerusalem." The scenes of the second part are laid entirely in Jerusalem.
"Bethlehem" includes the message of the angels to the shepherds, their
visit to Mary, the nativity, the warning by the angel to Mary and Joseph
of Herod's design, the lament and consolation of Rachel in Rama, and the
promise of God's blessing upon the child. In "Nazareth" we have a scene
representing Christ in the synagogue reading from Isaiah and declaring
himself the object of the prophecy, his expulsion by the incredulous
crowd of listeners, and his exhortations to his disciples, when left
alone with them, to bear their persecutions with meekness. "Lazarus"
describes the journey to Bethany and our Lord's assurances to the
bereaved sisters that their brother shall rise again. "The Way to
Jerusalem" scene is indicated by its title,--the entry of the Lord into
the city amid the hosannas and exultant acclamations of the people. In
the second part, we have the discourse conce