question "il reo quai è?" which closes with a pause on a dissonant chord, repeated, like an echo, by all the wind instruments. Such a magnificent and agitating effect as is attained by this concentration into one point of every musical expedient, without overstepping the boundaries of the beautiful, had scarcely been heard in any opera, and Mozart himself never surpassed it. The concluding chorus, which follows an accompanied recitative for Idomeneo, is of an entirely different character, expressive of a flight, winged by fear and horror. The 12-8 time, seldom used by Mozart, is suited to the expression of haste and agitation, and so also is the generally independent and partially imitative treatment of the voices. They only unite sometimes into an outcry of horror, otherwise they make detached exclamations, and each goes his way in hurried confusion until all are dispersed. The chorus in the third act (24) expresses a totally different sentiment in equally grand style. When, after the effective appeal of the High Priest, Idomeneo discloses his obligation to sacrifice his son, the people, still discontented and murmuring, are struck with grief and horror. The intensity and almost over-wealth of beauty with which these emotions are expressed give the music, as we have already remarked, the national stamp of the Italian opera. We may learn from this chorus how in a true work of art the universal emotions of the human heart may be blended with the peculiarities of national and individual life and transported into the realm of pure art. The effect of unison at the words "giä régna la morte," expressing the depressed murmur of the people, is wonderfully fine; the chromatic triplet passage of the accompaniment seeks meanwhile in vain to raise the fainting spirits higher. This motif passes finely into the calm confidence of the High Priest's prayer, and the touchingly beautiful orchestral conclusion lets a ray of light on to this dispirited mood. But the climax has not yet reached its highest point. After a simple but wonderfully effective march, there follows a prayer for Idomeneo and the Priest which is a complete masterpiece, whether we consider its truthful expression of emotion, its rich and original orchestral accompaniment, or the combination in it of the various elements which produce the {CHORUSES--RECITATIVE.} (157) total effect. We can here merely indicate the short chorus of priests, which remains in unison in the one key of C, while the instruments (the strings _pizzicato_ in a harplike movement, the wind instruments in characteristic passages) proceed in varied harmonies from C minor to F major, whereupon the voices sink to F and keep this key, while the orchestra gives out the solemn and quieting chords of the so-called church ending (B minor, F major).