d here occurs another, the evening
prayer of Samuel ("This Night I lift my Heart to Thee"),--a pure, quiet
melody, gradually dying away as he drops asleep, and followed by an angel
chorus for female voices with harp accompaniment ("No Evil shall befall
thee"), the effect of which is very beautiful, especially in the
decrescendo at the close. A messenger suddenly arrives, announcing the
defeat of Israel by the Philistines, upon which the chorus bursts out
with one of the most telling numbers, both in the voice parts and the
descriptiveness of the accompaniment ("Woe unto us, we are spoiled!").
Some very dramatic recitative between Samuel and Eli follows, after which
the Levites join in the chorus, "Bless ye the Lord," opening with the
tenors and closing in four parts, with the call of Eli intervening
("Watchmen, what of the Night?"). A long recitative by Samuel ("The Lord
said"), foreshadowing the disasters to the house of Eli; an air by Eli
("Although my House be not with God"); a funeral chorus by the Israelites
("Lament with a doleful Lamentation"); further phrases of recitative
announcing more defeats of Israel, the capture of the ark, the death of
Eli and his sons, and an appeal by Samuel to blow the trumpet, calling a
solemn assembly to implore the pity of the Lord,--prepare the way for the
final chorus ("Blessed be the Lord"), closing with a fugue on the word
"Hallelujah."
The oratorio was first given in this country by the Boston Handel and
Haydn Society, Feb. 15, 1857, under the direction of Carl Zerrahn, with
Mr. Thomas Ball as Eli and also as Saph, Mr. Wilde as the Man of God, Mr.
C. R. Adams as Elkanah, Mrs. Long as Hannah, and Miss Hawley in the
contralto part of Samuel. Writing of that performance, Mr. Dwight, the
careful and discriminating critic, summed up the work as follows: "As a
whole, 'Eli' is a noble and impressive oratorio. The composition is
learned and musician-like, and generally appropriate, tasteful,
dignified, often beautiful, and occasionally grand. It is by no means a
work of genius, but it is a work of high musical culture, and indicates a
mind imbued with the best traditions and familiar with the best masters
of the art, and a masterly command of all the modern musical resources,
except the 'faculty divine,'"--which, we may be permitted to say, is not
included in "modern musical resources." The characterization of the
oratorio, however, is thoroughly pertinent and complete. It is somewhat
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