s come
forth to their labor. The orchestral part begins with the melody of the
Vineyard Song ("We will take the Foxes"), and serves to introduce their
chorus, a joyous pastoral ("Come, let us go forth into the Field"). As
they disappear, the voice of the Beloved is heard singing a tender and
passionate appeal beneath the Sulamite's lattice ("Rise up, rise up, my
Love") as he urges her to join him, "For lo! the winter is past; the rain
is over and gone." Her reply follows from within her chamber, full of
love and adoration, and closing with the Vineyard Song ("We will take the
Foxes, the little Foxes that ravage the Vines"). She descends from her
chamber and joins the Beloved, and their voices unite in a delightful
duet ("Come, Beloved, into the Garden of Nuts"). Once more the chorus of
the Vine-dressers is heard, and at its close, after an intermezzo
descriptive of the joys of a spring morning, the scene changes to
Lebanon. A short alto solo announces the coming of Solomon, and the
pastoral music is followed by a brilliant and stately processional march,
accompanied by chorus ("God save the King!"). Solomon beholds the
Sulamite, and pours forth his admiration in a rapturous song ("Thou art
lovely, O my Friend, as Thirza"). The Princes and Nobles also testify to
their admiration of her beauty. A very dramatic scene ensues, in which
the Beloved and the Sulamite seek to escape "out of the caves of the lion
and from the haunt of the leopard." She is brought back by an elder, and
again Solomon pleads his cause in a passionate declamation ("Unto my
charger in Pharaoh's stud I would compare thee, O my friend"). She
replies, "My Beloved is to me a nosegay of myrrh," and clings to her
lover, who once more seeks to escape with her; whereupon she is seized
and placed in one of the king's chariots, and the cavalcade moves off to
the brilliant strains of the cortege music, accompanied by the chorus.

The second part, "Temptation," introduces us to Solomon's palace, where
the Sulamite is alone, pining for her lover. The scene opens with the
psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd," set to a simple, charming melody, full
of the spirit of devotion, but entirely disconnected with the general
texture of the work. As the touching strain comes to an end, the Women of
the court enter, insidiously plead the cause of Solomon, tempt her with
his luxuries, and seek to shame her love for the Beloved. "Kings'
daughters shall be among thine honorable women