Sun on the Mountain burns"), gradually
accelerating until it is interrupted by Frithjof's cry ("Go to Helas'
dark Abode"). Three bars of chorus intervene ("Woe! O wicked Deed"), when
Frithjof, after a short recitative, sings a spirited aria ("Where my
Father rests"). At its close, as he rescues Ingeborg's ring and fires the
temple, the chorus resumes ("Woe! he tugs with all his Might at the
Ring"). The choral finale of this scene, with its effective
instrumentation, is a masterpiece of dramatic music, worthy to rank with
the highest work of its kind in opera. After the storm, the calm. In that
calm occurs a melodical episode of an extraordinary character. The melody
itself is so unlike anything which precedes or follows it that it must
have been interpolated. In grateful contrast with the revenge of
Frithjof, the burning of the temple, and the curses of the infuriated
priests, comes the fourth scene, "Frithjof's Departure from the
Northland,"--a solo quartet for male voices ("Sun in the Sky now mounteth
high"), of exquisite harmony, leading up to and accompanying a barytone
solo which has rarely been surpassed in the tender beauty of its melody
or the majestic sonority of its style:[19]--

"World's grandest region, thou mighty North!
From thy dominions I am driven forth;
Within thy border I lov'd to dwell;
Midsummer sun, farewell, farewell.
Thou mighty North, farewell.
My love is foiled, my roof-tree rent,
Mine honor soiled, I in exile sent!
Cheerless is my soul within me,
Hopeless I must bear my lot.
Ye rugged mountains, where heroes dwell,
And Thor commandeth clouds and winds;
Ye azure lakes, that I love so well,
Ye woods and brakes, farewell."

The fifth scene is Ingeborg's lament for her lost lover ("Storms wildly
roar"),--a soprano solo, which, if not as dramatic as the music assigned
to Frithjof, is nevertheless full of beautiful sentiment. The work closes
with a delightful chorus, with short phrases for Frithjof ("Now he
crosseth the Floods of the salt desert Waste"), supposed to be sung on
board the hero's good ship "Ellida" as they sail off for conquest and the
enjoyment of the booty he has promised his companions.

[18] An admirable translation of the Saga was made by George Stephens,
published in London and Stockholm in 1839. It includes besides the
Saga, a life of Tegner, by Bishop Franzen of Hernoesand, Sweden; the
Frithjof literature; description of Ingeborg's