The Martyr of Antioch

Last updated

St. Margaret of Antioch St. Margaret of Antioch.jpg
St. Margaret of Antioch

The Martyr of Antioch is a choral work described as a "Sacred Musical Drama" [1] by the English composer Arthur Sullivan. It was first performed on 15 October 1880 at the triennial Leeds Music Festival, having been composed specifically for that event. Sullivan was musical director of the Leeds festival in 1880 and conducted the performance.

Contents

The Martyr of Antioch is based on the 1822 epic poem by the Rev. Henry Hart Milman concerning the martyrdom of St. Margaret of Antioch at the end of the 3rd century. Sullivan's friend and collaborator, the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, assisted him in adapting the libretto from Milman's poem. Gilbert and Sullivan's fifth opera, The Pirates of Penzance , had opened in December 1879. At the Leeds festival of 1886, Sullivan would premiere an even more successful choral work, The Golden Legend .

The Martyr is rarely performed today, though two recordings are available.

Background

In January 1878, the secretary of the triennial Leeds Music Festival's Provisional Committee wrote to Arthur Sullivan to encourage him to compose an oratorio for the 1880 Leeds festival: "I need hardly tell you with what completeness, force, and exceptional choral power we should perform your work, for our recent production of Macfarren's Joseph will be fresh in your memory, if you read or heard the universal praise bestowed upon the Leeds Festival Performance." Sullivan was in France at the time, where he was trying to recover from illness. On his return in March, he answered that he could compose a shorter piece of an hour or an hour and a half, but not a full-length oratorio. The committee accepted his offer. [2] Sullivan's reluctance to compose a full-length oratorio on more than two years' notice casts some doubt on his willingness to devote himself to serious composition. The historian Michael Ainger noted: "He was still only thirty-five, but most of his serious work already lay behind him." [3]

At first, Sullivan intended to prepare a libretto himself based on the biblical David and Jonathan story. He struggled with this task at length and worried that the best bible verses for an oratorio on this subject had already been used by oratorio writers, and his use of them would provoke comparisons with their work. When a suggestion was made that, in view of the economic and political situation in England, the festival be postponed for a year, Sullivan wrote in a letter dated 30 June 1879: "If you carry out the idea of postponing the Leeds festival till 1881, it will be a very great relief to me and a weight off my mind, because, in consequence of my approaching visit to America [where Gilbert and Sullivan would premiere The Pirates of Penzance ], I should have very little time to write for the next six months, and I have been seriously perplexed how to manage it." Ultimately, the festival was not postponed. [2] It was announced in June 1880 that Sullivan had turned to an 1822 poem by the Rev Henry Hart Milman (1791–1868), The Martyr of Antioch, as the subject for the oratorio, and that W. S. Gilbert would assist him in adapting the libretto. [2] The poem concerns the martyrdom of St. Margaret of Antioch at the end of the 3rd century. [4] [5]

Sullivan in the early 1880s Arthur-sullivan-1883.jpg
Sullivan in the early 1880s

Gilbert helped Sullivan to adapt Milman's poem to make it into a libretto suitable for the work. The libretto cuts text considerably, focusing the story more narrowly on the title character, and a new character, Julia, is introduced as a representative of the chorus of sun-worshippers. [6] Milman's sons authorised Sullivan to say that the alterations "had been made with judgment and good taste, and in complete accordance with the spirit of the original work". [7] Sullivan acknowledged Gilbert's contributions in his preface to Martyr, attributing to Gilbert "the change which in one or two cases (marked with an asterisk [numbers 2, 8 and 10, and also number 15, which is missing the asterisk.] [8] ) has been necessary from blank verse to rhyme; and for these and many valuable suggestions, he returns Mr. Gilbert his warm acknowledgements." [9] In gratitude for his assistance, Sullivan gave Gilbert a silver cup inscribed "W.S. Gilbert from his friend Arthur Sullivan. Leeds Festival 1880. The Martyr of Antioch." [9] In return, Gilbert wrote to Sullivan on 3 December:

Dear Sullivan, It always seemed to me that my particularly humble services in connection with the Leeds festival had received far more than their meed of acknowledgement in your preamble to the libretto – and it most certainly never occurred to me to look for any other reward than the honour of being associated, however remotely and unworthily, in a success which, I suppose, will endure until music itself shall die. Pray believe that of the many substantial advantages that have resulted to me from our association, this last is, and always will be, the most highly prized." [10]

In January 1880, the festival committee, after considering other conductors, asked Sullivan to conduct the Leeds festival, which was to run from 13 to 16 October. This was a popular choice, as one columnist wrote, "for an English Festival we are to have an English conductor. Too long have we in this country bowed down to foreign talent, even when it has been far inferior to English talent." [11] When Sullivan stood before the festival chorus of 306 voices for his first rehearsal in Leeds on 4 June 1880, they greeted him with cheers and applause. On 31 August he first rehearsed The Martyr of Antioch at Leeds. He outlined the narrative of the new work to the chorus before proceeding with the rehearsal, which was reported in a local newspaper:

[T]he warm praise that the composer-conductor bestowed on the singers at the conclusion of the rehearsal was well deserved. ... These pleasant congratulations were not all on one side, for after several of the choruses the vocalists manifested their appreciation of the composer's success and talent. [11]

Performance and aftermath

The premiere of The Martyr of Antioch took place on 15 October 1880 at Leeds Town Hall, employing impressive forces: The orchestra numbered 111 instrumentalists, and there were 306 choristers. [11] The audience numbered more than 2,000 including Sullivan's mother and his friend, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who was President of the festival. The oratorio formed the first half of the programme that morning, followed by a performance of Beethoven's Mass in C and Schubert's Song of Miriam in the second half. [12] The Leeds Mercury's reviewer wrote:

[T]he cheers which greeted the arrival of Mr. Sullivan were renewed with still more vigour and enthusiasm at the close of his new work. ... The whole assemblage, indeed, joined in a hearty tribute of praise. ... [T]he strength of The Martyr of Antioch lies in its beautiful Pagan choruses, so full of character and colour; in the first and last airs of Margarita...; in the Funeral Music of the Christians; in the love music of Olybius; and, with reference to the entire work, in charmingly varied and appropriately coloured orchestration. ... [T]he dramatic portions of the Cantata ... are inferior in treatment, and consequently in result, to those of a lyrical nature. Hence a comparative want of effect in the scene between Margarita and her father, and between the same person and her lover, when revelation is made of a change of faith, meaning nothing less than death to the convert. ... This opinion, however, is based upon purely dramatic considerations. Regarding the situation from a musical point of view, there is nothing in the work we would willingly have sacrificed to make room for dramatic expansion. ... A word is certainly called for by Mr. Sullivan's orchestrations. Few living musicians know better than our composer how to employ the resources of instrumentation. ... He uses the orchestra, as not abusing it, charming attentive ears by touches of delicate fancy in form and pleasing cultured taste by a harmony of colour. ... All this the scoring of The Martyr of Antioch proves beyond dispute. It never wearies by sameness or repels by eccentricity. [13]

Other critics agreed that the music had much to admire, but the work failed to achieve sufficient dramatic effect; some mentioned a lack of sufficient reverence, as the Pagans are treated sympathetically in both text and music. [14] The performance of the cantata at the festival under Sullivan's baton earned praise, as did his performance as musical director of the festival, and he was invited back to conduct the next six Leeds festivals. [11] At the Leeds festival of 1886, Sullivan would premiere an even more successful choral work, The Golden Legend . [15]

Sullivan conducted the cantata two months later in London, on 11 December 1880, at The Crystal Palace, together with his overture In Memoriam. The piece was again a popular success and mostly well received by the critics, with the same reservations as they had expressed at its premiere. It was repeated occasionally over the ensuing years, but after the introduction of The Golden Legend in 1886, The Martyr was heard only rarely. [16] Like many of Sullivan's other major choral pieces, The Martyr is, or at least was considered, theatrical in conception. [17] In 1898, it was mounted as an opera by the Carl Rosa Opera Company; Sullivan made a few changes to the piece to adapt it as an opera. [18] The piece was performed for the first time in the United States with orchestra in 2018 by Utopia Opera, conducted by William Remmers. [19]

Characters and original soloists

Heathens: [20]

Christians: [20]

Synopsis

The action of the piece is laid at Antioch, in Syria (now Turkey), at the end of the third century.

Olybius the Prefect is in love with Margarita, and she returned his love. This, however, was in her heathen days. She is now a Christian, and with her conversion, of which both her lover and her father are ignorant, she, although still not indifferent to him, rejects all idea of union with a heathen. The chorus of sun-worshippers, led by Julia, gather, giving glory and praise to Apollo with a sacrifice of a hundred cattle and libations of honied wine. The Prefect calls for Margarita to take her accustomed place and lead the worship of Apollo with her grace and lyre, but she fails to appear. The Priest charges Olybius with lukewarmness in the cause of Apollo by letting "sleep / The thunders of the law". He notes that Galileans (Christians) have achieved high places and sanctuary, instead of being smitten, as they should be. The Prefect admits that he has taken the path of "contemptuous mercy", but he now vows his firm intention to follow the edict of the Emperor and put all Christians to death.

Later, in the Christian cemetery, after the burial of one of the brethren, a hymn is sung over him. After the funeral, the heathens approach and the Christians disperse. Margarita remains behind and pours forth her feelings in adoration of the Saviour. Her father, the Priest of Apollo, finds her thus employed. She hopes to tell him gently of her conversion. He asks her to sacrifice to Apollo, and she tells him that she cannot. He asks her if she denies the god of Antioch. She replies, "No god is he ... /Withering before the all-enlightening Lamb". Callais asks her to look to the sky to see enthroned sun god: "Is he not life and light?" Margarita denies the divinity of the sun. Later, in the palace of the Prefect, the maidens of Apollo sing their evening song. Olybius and Margarita are left together; he begins his old endearments and dilates on the glories which will be hers when they are united. She then confesses that she is a Christian, says that her faith is the path to glory. She tells him that if he will learn and believe in Jesus Christ, then she can be his; this is her noble dowry to him. He curses her religion, and she bids him "farewell forever". She leaves for prison.

Outside the prison of the Christians, on the road to the Temple of Apollo, the heathen maidens, led by Julia, chant the glories of Apollo ("Io Paean!"), while from within the prison are heard the more solemn and determined strains of the Christians. Margarita is brought forward and required to make her choice. She proclaims her faith in Christ, concluding that "Thou and I / Shall [on Judgement Day] give an account of this day's process / And Christ shall render each his own reward." Her lover (noting that "the rapture of her speech [doth] enkindle / The brightness of her beauty" whilst observing her "burst fillet" [21] ) and her father urge her to retract, and pray for the mercy of heaven, but in vain. Margarita is unwavering: "I see the star-paved land / Where all the angels stand". She dies with the words of rapture on her lips:

The Christ, the Christ, commands me to his home;
Jesus, Redeemer, Lord, I come! I come! I come!

Structure and musical numbers

Sullivan (top right) and colleagues at the 1880 Leeds festival where The Martyr of Antioch was premiered Leeds-music-festival-1880.jpg
Sullivan (top right) and colleagues at the 1880 Leeds festival where The Martyr of Antioch was premiered
Scene I – The Front of the Temple of Apollo
Scene II – The Burial Place of the Christians – Night
Scene III – The Palace of the Prefect
Scene IV – Outside the Prison of the Christians

Recordings and full score

The Martyr of Antioch is rarely performed today, though two recordings are available. A professional recording was made at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in 2000, and an amateur recording was issued by The Sir Arthur Sullivan Society in the 1980s. In addition, various selections from the work have been recorded over the past few decades. [4] The work's orchestra parts were lost after the performance in 2000, but a critical edition of the score was published in 2017, edited by Robin Gordon-Powell and Martin Wright, with orchestral parts and vocal scores published in 2018. [22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Parry, William. Sullivan between Secularism and Christianity in SullivanPerspektiven, Essen: Oldib-Verlag, 2012, p. 140; and Gordon-Powell and Wright, vol. 1, preface, p. ix
  2. 1 2 3 Howarth, Paul. "The Commissioning of The Martyr of Antioch", The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed December 20, 2017
  3. ↑ Ainger, p. 153
  4. 1 2 Shepherd, Marc. "The Martyr of Antioch (1880)", The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography, 24 December 2003, accessed 21 December 2017
  5. ↑ Milman was then a Professor of Poetry at Oxford University and would later be the Dean of St Paul's. Wright, "Introduction", p. ix
  6. ↑ Wright, "Introduction", pp. x–xi
  7. ↑ "Review: The Martyr of Antioch", The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 16 October 1880
  8. ↑ Wright notes: "Gilbert seems in fact to have composed four original lyrics, some de novo, some drawing freely on Milman: ... The first three of these are marked in all libretto sources with an asterisk, attributing them to him; the last [No. 15] is not, but this must be an error as the lyric is original and could only have come from Gilbert. Apart from these lyrics, the extent of Gilbert’s 'suggestions' must remain a matter of speculation." Wright, "Introduction", p. x
  9. 1 2 Howarth, Paul. "Gilbert’s Contribution to the Libretto", The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed December 21, 2017
  10. ↑ Jacobs, p. 146
  11. 1 2 3 4 Howarth, Paul. "Sullivan's First Leeds Festival", The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 20 December 2017
  12. ↑ Wright, "Introduction", p. xi
  13. ↑ "Review of the first performance of The Martyr of Antioch", The Leeds Mercury, 16 October 1880, reprinted in The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 21 December 2017
  14. ↑ "The Leeds Festival", The Times , 16 October 1880 and Excerpts from several reviews of the original performance of The Martyr of Antioch, all reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 21 December 2017; and Wright, "Introduction", pp. xi–xiii
  15. ↑ Shepherd, Marc. "The Golden Legend (1886)", The Gilbert & Sullivan Discography, 24 December 2003, accessed 21 December 2017
  16. ↑ Wright, "Introduction", p. xiii
  17. ↑ The Morning Post, 16 October 1880, p. 2; and Wright, "Introduction", p. xii
  18. ↑ Wright, "Introduction", p. xiiv
  19. ↑ "Utopia Opera Presents the US Premiere of Arthur Sullivan's Oratorio The Martyr of Antioch", BroadwayWorld.com, April 16, 2018; and Shepherd, Marc. "The Martyr of Antioch", Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Magazine, No. 97, Summer 2018, p. 14
  20. 1 2 Spark, p. 177
  21. ↑ Gordon-Powell and Wright, vol. 1, preface, p. xlviii
  22. ↑ Gordon-Powell and Wright, passim; and "Sullivan's 'Sacred Musical Drama', The Martyr of Antioch", Deutsche Sullivan-Gesellschaft e.V., 14 May 2017, accessed 22 December 2017

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert and Sullivan</span> Victorian-era theatrical partnership

Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Sullivan</span> British composer (1842–1900)

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord".

<i>The Pirates of Penzance</i> 1879 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where it was well received by both audiences and critics. Its London debut was on 3 April 1880, at the Opera Comique, where it ran for 363 performances.

<i>Utopia, Limited</i> 1893 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances. It did not achieve the success of most of their earlier productions.

<i>Princess Ida</i> 1884 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a run of 246 performances. The piece concerns a princess who founds a women's university and teaches that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. The prince to whom she had been married in infancy sneaks into the university, together with two friends, with the aim of collecting his bride. They disguise themselves as women students, but are discovered, and all soon face a literal war between the sexes.

<i>Thespis</i> (opera) 1871 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.

<i>The Gondoliers</i> 1889 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances, closing on 30 June 1891. This was the twelfth comic opera collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan.

<i>The Grand Duke</i> Comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan

The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 March 1896, and ran for 123 performances. Despite a successful opening night, the production had a relatively short run and was the partnership's only financial failure, and the two men never worked together again. In recent decades, the opera has been revived professionally, first in the US and then in the UK.

<i>Theodora</i> (Handel) 1750 oratorio/opera by Handel

Theodora is a dramatic oratorio in three acts by George Frideric Handel, set to an English libretto by Thomas Morell. The oratorio concerns the Christian martyr Theodora and her Christian-converted Roman lover, Didymus. It had its first performance at Covent Garden Theatre on 16 March 1750. Not popular with audiences in Handel's day, Theodora is now recognised as a masterpiece. It is usually given in concert, being an oratorio, but is sometimes staged.

<i>The Mountebanks</i> Comic opera by W. S. Gilbert, Alfred Cellier and Ivan Caryll

The Mountebanks is a comic opera in two acts with music by Alfred Cellier and Ivan Caryll and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The story concerns a magic potion that causes the person to whom it is administered to become what he or she has pretended to be. It is similar to several "magic lozenge" plots that Gilbert had proposed to the composer Arthur Sullivan, but that Sullivan had rejected, earlier in their careers. To set his libretto to music, Gilbert turned to Cellier, who had previously been a musical director for Gilbert and Sullivan and had since become a successful composer. During the composition of the piece Cellier died, and the score was finished by the original production's musical director, Ivan Caryll, who became a successful composer of Edwardian Musical Comedy.

<i>The Zoo</i> Comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and B.C Stephenson

The Zoo is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London, concluding its run five weeks later, on 10 July 1875, at the Haymarket Theatre. There were brief revivals in late 1875, and again in 1879, before the opera was shelved.

<i>The Golden Legend</i> (cantata) 1886 canata by Arthur Sullivan and Joseph Bennet

The Golden Legend is an 1886 cantata by Arthur Sullivan with libretto by Joseph Bennett, based on the 1851 poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The piece premiered at the triennial Leeds Music Festival. At least 17 performances of the cantata were given in Britain during the first year after its premiere in October 1886, and during Sullivan's lifetime it was widely considered his greatest and most successful work of serious music. Indeed, outside of the comic operas with W. S. Gilbert, this cantata was widely regarded as Sullivan's most successful large-scale composition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Masque at Kenilworth</span>

Kenilworth, A Masque of the Days of Queen Elizabeth, is a cantata with music by Arthur Sullivan and words by Henry Fothergill Chorley that premiered at the Birmingham Festival on 8 September 1864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy McIntosh</span> American singer and actress

Nancy Isobel McIntosh was an American-born singer and actress who performed mostly on the London stage. Her father was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which had been blamed in connection with the 1889 Johnstown Flood that resulted in the loss of over 2,200 lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Radford</span>

Robert Radford was a British bass singer who made his career entirely in the United Kingdom, participating in concerts and becoming one of the foremost performers of oratorios and other sacred music. He had equally great success in a broad spectrum of operatic roles, ranging from Wagner to Gilbert and Sullivan, due to the strength and burnished beauty of his well-trained voice.

<i>The Prodigal Son</i> (Sullivan)

The Prodigal Son is an oratorio by Arthur Sullivan with text taken from the parable of the same name in the Gospel of Luke. It features chorus with soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solos. It premiered in Worcester Cathedral on 10 September 1869 as part of the Three Choirs Festival.

<i>The Light of the World</i> (Sullivan)

The Light of the World is an oratorio composed in 1873 by Arthur Sullivan. Sullivan wrote the libretto with the assistance of George Grove, based on the New Testament. The work was inspired by William Holman Hunt's popular 1853–54 painting, The Light of the World. The story of the oratorio follows the whole life of Christ, told mostly in the first person, focusing on his deeds on Earth as preacher, healer and prophet.

The Leeds Festival, officially known as the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival, was a classical music festival which took place between 1858 and 1985 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

<i>Trial by Jury</i> 1875 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its popular companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole. The story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire. Gilbert based the libretto of Trial by Jury on an operetta parody that he had written in 1868.

Frederic King was an English baritone and voice teacher. A singer who specialized in the concert repertoire, he was particularly celebrated as an interpreter of the title role of Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah and the role of Mephistopheles in Berlioz's La damnation de Faust, the latter of which he performed for the work's English premiere at Royal Albert Hall in 1882. He is also remembered for performing works composed by Arthur Sullivan for the Leeds Festivals of 1880 and 1886.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.