It is permissable to doubt if in the whole realm of sacred music, anything more approaching sublimity has been penned by the musician, than the setting of the noble hymn, "Praise to the Holiest in the Heights." The whole work dwells in an atmosphere of ecstatic emotion, and words seem strangely inadequate to convey a true impression of its nobility. The world at large has recognized its supreme merit, and nowhere has this been more eloquently acknowledged than by the great German composer, Herr Richard Strauss, on the occasion of its performance at the Rhine Festival in 1902. It was hardly to be expected that a work so complex in character and so different from anything hitherto presented in England, should be at once understood and its great qualities immediately grasped. Hence, on the occasion of the first performance at Birmingham, it scarcely realized the success that those who knew its unique value had expected. Little time, however, was to elapse before English music lovers came to a just appreciation, and its popularity to-day is not only a sign of enduring qualities, but of the immense advance in musical perception that has characterised recent years in the country. There had been signs, many and ominous, of a waning interest in oratorio. The number of works that had any real hold of, or power of attraction for the people in general, were few. The failure of so many new ones to realize the expectations that had been aroused in the public mind before their production, was making an effect that was, in every sense, deplorable; but, happily, "The Dream of Gerontius" came in time to stem the current of popular feeling, and to add an additional lustre to the history of oratorio in England. CHAPTER VIII OPERA IN ENGLAND Italy, the birth-place of opera--Purcell and opera--English people and opera--Charles II. and his court--Italian opera--Its popularity--Managers and great singers--Royal Opera--Dr. Richter--Opera in English--Dr. Richter and English singers--Mr. Thomas Beecham and opera in English--Alfred Bunn and his efforts--"Bohemian Girl"--Louisa Pyne and William Harrison--The Pyne family--G. A. Macfarren--Carl Rosa Company--His distinguished artists--Madame Valleria and Mr. Ludwig--British composers and opera--Goring Thomas' "Esmeralda"--Lack of national feeling--Mr. D'Oyly Carte--Royal English opera--"Ivanhoe"--Eug[e']ne Oudin--Remarkable cast of singers--Difficulties attached to opera in English--State aid--Is it to be expected?--Musical comedy--Its popularity--A successful manager--Basis of the plea for State aid--A suggestion.