's hand,
Long shall my dwelling stand;"

to which comes the ominous response of the female chorus:--

"Yet none may with Fate supernal
Ever form a league eternal;
And misfortune swiftly strides."

The Master now gives the signal to release the metal into the mould,
whereupon follows a stirring and picturesque chorus ("Right helpful is
the Might of Fire") describing the terrors of fire, the wild alarm, the
fright and confusion of the people, the clanging bells and crackling
flames, and the final destruction of the homestead, closing the first
part.

The second part opens with the anxious orders of the Master to cease from
work and await the result of the casting. The chorus takes up a slow and
stately measure ("To Mother Earth our Work committing") which closes in a
mournful finale describing the passing funeral train, followed by a
pathetic soprano solo which tells the sad story of the death of the good
man's wife, while "To the orphaned Home a Stranger comes unloving Rule to
bear." The scene now changes from a desolate to a happy home as the
Master bids the workmen seek their pleasure while the bell is cooling. A
soprano solo takes up a cheery strain ("Wends the weary Wanderer"),
picturing the harvest home, the dance of the youthful reapers, and the
joys of evening by the fireside, followed by a tribute to patriotism,
sung by tenor and bass, the pleasant scene closing with an exultant full
chorus ("Thousand active Hands combining"). The Master then gives the
order to break the mould, and in contemplation of the ruin which might
have been caused had the metal burst it, the chorus breaks out in strong,
startling phrases picturing the horrors of civil strife ("The Master's
Hand the Mould may shatter"). The work, however, is complete and
successful, and in the true spirit of German Gemuethlichkeit the Master
summons his workmen:--

"Let us, comrades, round her pressing,
Upon our bell invoke a blessing.
'Concordia,' let her name be called:
In concord and in love of one another,
Where'er she sound, may brother meet with brother."

The cantata closes with a last invocation on the part of the Master,
followed by a jubilant chorus ("She is moving, She is moving").

SCHUBERT.

Franz Peter Schubert was born in Vienna, Jan. 31, 1797, and received his
first musical lessons from his father and his elder brother Ignaz. In his
eleventh year he sang in the Lichtentha