wept
bitterly." An orchestral interlude follows, in the nature of a lament, a
minor adagio full of deep feeling. It is followed by an aria for Peter
("O God, my God, forsake me not"), which is cast in the same strain of
lamentation as the orchestral number which precedes and really introduces
it. At its close a chorus of Angels, sopranos, and altos, with harp
accompaniment ("Remember, remember from whence thou art fallen"), is
heard warning Peter, augmented on the introduction of the second subject
("And he that overcometh shall receive a Crown of Life") by the full
chorus. This chorus is followed by a beautiful aria for alto ("The Lord
is faithful and righteous to forgive our Sins"); and then a massive
chorus, which is fairly majestic ("Awake, thou that sleepest"), closes
the first part.

The second part opens with a chorus ("The Son of Man was delivered into
the Hands of sinful Men"), which tells the story of the crucifixion, not
only with great power, but also with intense pathos, ending with the
chorale, "Jesus my Redeemer lives," which invests the sad narrative with
tender and consolatory feeling. The ascension scene is accompanied by
graceful and expressive recitatives for tenor and bass, followed by a
tenor arioso ("Go ye and teach") and a short soprano recitative ("And he
lifted up his Hands"), leading to the full melodious chorus, "If ye then
be risen." The next number is an impressive soprano solo ("O Man of
God"), in which Peter is admonished "to put on the whole armor of God and
fight the good fight." A beautifully written quartet ("Feed the Flock of
God") closes the scene of the ascension. The last scene opens with a
tenor solo describing the miracle of Pentecost, set to an extremely
vigorous and descriptive accompaniment. It is followed by the chorus,
"The Voice of the Lord," which is one of the most effective in the whole
work, though not constructed in the massive style of those which close
the two parts. A contralto recitative links this chorus to its successor,
"Behold! are not all these who speak Galileans?" After a brief soprano
recitative, Peter has another vigorous solo ("Ye Men of Judaea"), which is
as dramatic in its style and almost as descriptive in its accompaniment
as the opening tenor solo of this scene. A reflective aria for alto ("As
for Man") follows it, and bass and tenor recitatives lead up to the
eagerly questioning chorus of the people, "Men and Brethren." The answer
comes from Peter