a certain liberty. Some of the
minor incidents--such as the conversion and martyrdom of Tiburtius, the
brother of Valerianus--have been omitted with a view of avoiding the
introduction of secondary persons, and of concentrating the main
interest in the martyr heroine. Further, the catastrophe which (to cite
Dryden's known line in defiance of its original import)

"Raised a mortal to the skies,"

has been simplified. The legend narrates that after the agony of slow
fire, which failed to kill the Christian bride, the sword ended her
days. A literal adherence to this tradition might have weakened the
closing scene by presenting two situations of the same character.
Others must judge how far I have been indiscreet, or the reverse, in
its omission."

The story of the cantata is strikingly similar to that which forms the
theme of Donizetti's opera "Il Poliuto," though the manner of the
conversions differs. In the former it is Valerianus, the lover of
Cecilia, who is turned from heathenism by the angelic vision. In the
latter it is Paulina, the wife of the Roman convert Polyutus, who
witnesses the divine illumination and hears the celestial harps, which
induce her to abjure the worship of the gods and join her husband in
martyrdom. It is in fact the old, old story of the persecutions of a new
faith by the old. Cecilia, though married to Valerianus, hears the divine
call summoning the bride away from her lover until he shall have been
converted. She appeals to Heaven in his behalf. A vision of angels
appears to him and their songs win his soul. The infuriated prefect, who
has but just performed the rites of their marriage, orders their
death,--Valerianus to be beheaded, and Cecilia to die by the slow
martyrdom of fire. The tragedy of the former is left to the imagination.
Cecilia dies surrounded by the angels and hears their voices:--

"Before mine eyes, already dim,
Doth heaven unclose the gate;
I hear the choiring seraphim
Around the throne that wait.
To join the song of that bright choir
Thy mercy sets me free;
And so I triumph o'er the fire,
And rise, O Lord, to Thee."

The work contains thirteen numbers, and the solos are divided as follows:
Cecilia, soprano; Valerianus, tenor; the Prefect of Rome, bass; a
Christian woman, contralto. The remaining numbers are assigned to
choruses of Roman citizens, Christians, and angels. A tender and
sorrowful prelude, foreshadowin