1854 and remained there three
years, and also studied in the Royal Academy of Music under Goss and
Sterndale Bennett, during this period, leaving the latter institution in
1858, in which year he went to Leipsic. He remained in the Conservatory
there until 1861, when he returned to London and introduced himself to
its musical public, with his music to Shakspeare's "Tempest," which made
a great success. The enthusiasm with which this was received, and the
favors he gained at the hands of Chorley, at that time musical critic of
the "Athenaeum," gave him a secure footing. The cantata "Kenilworth,"
written for the Birmingham Festival, the music to the ballet "L'Ile
enchantee," and an opera, "The Sapphire Necklace," were produced in 1864.
In 1866 appeared his first symphony and an overture, "In Memoriam," a
tribute to his father, who died that year. The next year his overture
"Marmion" was first performed. In 1869 he wrote his first oratorio, "The
Prodigal son," in 1873 "The Light of the World," and in 1880 "The Martyr
of Antioch;" the first for the Worcester, the second for the Birmingham,
and the third for the Leeds festival. The beautiful "Overture di Ballo,"
so frequently played in this country by the Thomas orchestra, was written
for Birmingham in 1870, and the next year appeared his brilliant little
cantata, "On shore and Sea." On the 11th of May, 1867, was first heard in
public his comic operetta, "Cox and Box." It was the first in that series
of extraordinary successes, really dating from "The Sorcerer," which are
almost without parallel in the operatic world, and which have made his
name, and that of his collaborator, Gilbert, household words. He has done
much for sacred as well as secular music. In addition to his oratorios he
has written numerous anthems, forty-seven hymn tunes, two Te Deums,
several carols, part-songs, and choruses, and in 1872 edited the
collection of "Church Hymns with Tunes" for the Christian Knowledge
Society. His latest works are the opera "Ruddygore" and the cantata "The
Golden Legend," both written in 1886. He received the honorary degree of
Doctor of Music from Cambridge in 1876, and from Oxford in 1879, and in
1883 was knighted by the Queen.

On Shore and Sea.

The cantata "On Shore and Sea" was written for the London International
Exhibition of 1871. The solo parts are allotted to La Sposina, a Riviera
woman, and Il Marinajo, a Genoese sailor. The action pa