n. The composer's defence of
his works and his story of the effort which he made to bring about a
realization of his ideals deserve to be rehearsed in justice to his
character as man and artist, as well as in the interest of the works
themselves and the subjects, which, I believe, will in the near future
occupy the minds of composers again.

"The oratorio," said Rubinstein, "is an art-form which I have always
been disposed to protest against. The best-known masterpieces of this
form have, not during the study of them but when hearing them
performed, always left me cold; indeed, often positively pained me. The
stiffness of the musical and still more of the poetical form always
seemed to me absolutely incongruous with the high dramatic feeling of
the subject. To see and hear gentlemen in dress coats, white cravats,
yellow gloves, holding music books before them, or ladies in modern,
often extravagant, toilets singing the parts of the grand, imposing
figures of the Old and New Testaments has always disturbed me to such a
degree that I could never attain to pure enjoyment. Involuntarily I
felt and thought how much grander, more impressive, vivid, and true
would be all that I had experienced in the concert-room if represented
on the stage with costumes, decorations, and full action."

The contention, said Rubinstein in effect, that Biblical subjects are
ill adapted to the stage beeause of their sacred character is a
testimony of poverty for the theatre, which should be an agency in the
service of the highest purposes of culture. The people have always
wanted to see stage representations of Bible incidents; witness the
mystery plays of the Middle Ages and the Passion Play at Oberammergau
to-day. But yielding to a prevalent feeling that such representations
are a profanation of sacred history, he had conceived an appropriate
type of art-work which was to be produced in theatres to be specially
built for the purpose and by companies of artists to be specially
trained to that end. This art-work was to be called Sacred Opera
(geistliche Oper), to distinguish it from secular opera, but its
purpose was to be purely artistic and wholly separate from the
interests of the Church. He developed ways and means for raising the
necessary funds, enlisting artists, overcoming the difficulties
presented by the mise en scene and the polyphonic character of the
choral music, and set forth his aim in respect of the subject-matter of
the dramas