ms of the
world in a moment of time." This disclosure is made by a series of
scenes, each opening for a short time in the background--castles,
palaces, gardens, mountains of gold, and massive heaps of earth's
treasures. In the second scene John the Baptist is seen and heard
preaching on the banks of the Jordan, in whose waters he baptizes
Jesus. This scene at the Bremen representations was painted from
sketches made by Herr Handrich in Palestine, as was also that of the
"Sermon on the Mount" and "The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes," which
form the subject of the next part. The fourth tableau shows the
expulsion of the money changers from the Temple; the fifth the Last
Supper, with the garden of Gethsemane as a background; the sixth the
trial and the last the crucifixion. Here, as if harking back to his
"Tower of Babel," Rubinstein brings in pictures of heaven and hell,
with angels and devils contemplating the catastrophe. The proclamation
of the Gospel to the Gentiles by St. Paul is the subject of the
epilogue.

CHAPTER IV

"SAMSON ET DALILA"

There are but two musical works based on the story of Samson on the
current list to-day, Handel's oratorio and Saint-Saens's opera; but
lyric drama was still in its infancy when the subject first took hold
of the fancy of composers and it has held it ever since. The earliest
works were of the kind called sacred operas in the books and are spoken
of as oratorios now, though they were doubtless performed with scenery
and costumes and with action of a sort. Such were "Il Sansone" by
Giovanni Paola Colonna (Bologna, 1677), "Sansone accecato da Filistri"
by Francesco Antonio Uri (Venice, about 1700), "Simson" by Christoph
Graupner (Hamburg, 1709), "Simson" by Georg von Pasterwitz (about
1770), "Samson" by J. N. Lefroid Mereaux (Paris, 1774), "Simson" by
Johann Heinrich Rolle (about 1790), "Simson" by Franz Tuczek (Vienna,
1804), and "Il Sansone" by Francesco Basili (Naples, 1824). Two French
operas are associated with great names and have interesting histories.
Voltaire wrote a dramatic text on the subject at the request of La
Popeliniere, the farmer-general, who, as poet, musician, and artist,
exercised a tremendous influence in his day. Rameau was in his service
as household clavecinist and set Voltaire's poem. The authors looked
forward to a production on the stage of the Grand Opera, where at least
two Biblical operas, an Old Testament "Jephte" and a New Testament
"E