n legend of Prometheus'
punishment for stealing fire from heaven, and his ultimate rescue by
Hercules from the vulture which preyed upon his vitals. The poet pictures
the victim in the midst of his sufferings, consoled by the knowledge that
he has been a benefactor to the human race. The spirits of the ocean mock
and menace him, but the harvesters and tillers of the soil praise him for
the bounteous gifts he has given to the earth. Ceres and Bacchus,
protectors of the soil and its products, also pay their tribute of
sympathy to him and thank him for the blessing of fire. Hercules at last
releases him from his torture by killing the vulture and breaking the
chains which bind him to his rock. The sufferer is brought before Themis,
who announces that the divine wrath has been appeased by his long
punishment, and that the gods forgive him.

In building up his cantata Liszt has introduced several prologues from
the poem without music, which serve as narrators explaining the
situations, linking and leading up to the musical numbers, which are
mainly choral. Thus the opening prologue pictures the sufferings of
Prometheus, the crime for which he is forced to endure such a terrible
penalty, and the patience, hope, and heroism of the victim. The closing
lines,--

"Now through the hush of night burst well-known voices
Upon his ear. From out the slumbering ocean,
Fanning his cheek with breath of the sea waves,
The daughters of Oceanus approach,"--

introduce the opening chorus of sea-nymphs ("Prometheus, Woe to thee"),
for female voices, arranged in double parts, and set to a restless,
agitated accompaniment, expressive of fear and despair. The second
prologue, reciting the wrath of Oceanus "on his swift-winged ocean
steed," that mortals should have dared to vex his peaceful waters, and
the reply of Prometheus that "on the broad earth each place is free to
all," introduces the choruses of Tritons and Oceanides. The first is a
mixed chorus full of brightness and spirit ("Freedom! afar from Land upon
the open Sea"). Their exultant song is followed by a fascinating melody
("Hail! O Prometheus, hail!") for female chorus, with short but
expressive solos for soprano and alto ("When to our Waters the golden
Time shall come"), the number closing with double chorus in full rich
harmony ("Holy and grand and free is the Gift of Heaven"). Thereupon
follows the third prologue:--

"Scarcely has ceased the Ocean's song of joy,
W