March, the Church
Song, and the Hungarian Air, and weaves them into a rich and varied
texture for full orchestra, bells, and drums, forming the funeral song of
the sainted Elizabeth,--the same effect, and produced in the same manner,
which Wagner subsequently used with such magnificent power in the dirge
of Siegfried. It is followed by a solo from the Emperor, "I see assembled
round the Throne,"--a slow and dignified air, leading to the great
ensemble closing the work, and descriptive of the canonization of
Elizabeth. It begins as an antiphonal chorus ("Mid Tears and Solemn
Mourning"), the female chorus answering the male and closing in unison.
Once more the Crusaders' March is heard in the orchestra as the knights
sing, "O Thou whose Life-blood streamed." The church choir sings the
chorale, "Decorata novo flore," the Hungarian and German bishops intone
their benedictions, and then all join in the powerful and broadly
harmonious hymn, "Tu pro nobis Mater pia," closing with a sonorous and
majestic "Amen."

Christus.

"Christus, oratorio, with texts from the Holy Scriptures and the Catholic
Liturgy," as Liszt entitles his work, was finished in 1866. At the outset
the composer selected the "Hymn of Praise" and "Pater Noster" from
Ruechert's "Evangelical Harmony;" and upon these and one or two other
detached numbers for a background, he built up a series of religious
events connected with the offices of the Church according to the Vulgate
and its Liturgy. These events are laid out in three divisions,--"The
Christmas Oratorio," "After Epiphany," and "The Passion and
Resurrection;" the separate parts of which are as follows: (1) The
Introduction. (2) Pastoral and Vision of the Angels. (3) Stabat Mater
speciosa. (4) Song of the Shepherds in the Manger. (5) The Anointing of
the three Kings. (6) Hymn of Praise. (7) Pater Noster. (8) The
Establishment or Foundation of the Christian Church. (9) The Storm on the
Lake. (10) The Entry into Jerusalem. (11) Tristis est anima mea. (12)
Stabat Mater dolorosa. (13) Easter Hymn. (14) Resurrection of Christ. The
motive of the work is announced in Saint Paul's words to the Ephesians:
"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ."

The long instrumental introduction is constructed upon a theme
representative of a text from Isaiah, "Resound, ye Heavens above," many
times repeated, and leading to