The nymph Galatea deeply loved the shepherd Acis, but in turn was adored by Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops of Ætna. One day, while she was reclining in Acis’ embrace, the giant, believing himself alone, poured out his story of hopeless love, ending in a burst of jealousy against his rival, when, spying the lovers, he hurled an immense rock at Acis and crushed him. His blood, gushing forth, became a purling stream. A graceful overture, pastoral in style, leads to a chorus depicting the pleasures of rustic life. Galatea enters, seeking her lover, and sings a recitative, ‘Ye verdant plains and woody mountains,’ followed by a sweet melody, ‘Hush, ye pretty warbling choir!’ Acis responds with an aria of exquisite grace and beauty, one of Handel’s finest, ‘Love in her eyes sits playing and sheds delicious death.’ Galatea replies with the famous ‘As when the dove laments her love,’ after which the first part closes with a sparkling duet and chorus, ‘Happy we.’ Part II opens with a chorus of alarm, expressing fear of the love-sick giant and describing the phenomena of Nature at his angry approach. Then follows a recitative by the Cyclops, ‘I melt, I rage, I burn,’ and after it the well-known aria, ‘O ruddier than the cherry!’ Acis’ plaintive song, ‘Love sounds the alarm,’ follows in marked contrast. Galatea begs him to trust the gods and is joined by the other two in the trio, ‘The flocks shall leave the mountain.’ The Cyclops in a rage then seizes a fragment of Mt. Ætna and crushes the unhappy lover. Galatea’s sad lament follows, ‘Must I my Acis still bemoan?’ and the work closes with a consolatory chorus of the shepherds and shepherdesses, ‘Galatea, dry thy tears.’ ‘Alexander’s Feast.’--The text for this work is Dryden’s famous poem, the full title of which is ‘Alexander’s Feast or the Power of Music, a Song in Honour of St. Cecilia’s Day, 1697.’ Handel composed the music in 1736, completing the first part January 5th, the second January 17th. The work came to its first performance at Covent Garden Theatre, February 19th, 1736, and met with remarkable success, winning a lasting popularity which even at the present time makes it one of the five best-known of Handel’s choral works. The chief solos are the stormy aria ‘"Revenge, Revenge!" Timotheus cries,’ and the great descriptive recitative, ‘Give the vengeance due to the valiant crew.’ Some of the choruses are among Handel’s finest, equalling those of the ‘Messiah’ or ‘Israel in Egypt.’ They are ‘Behold Darius great and good,’ ‘Break his bands of sleep asunder,’ ‘Let old Timotheus yield the prize,’ and ‘The many rend the skies with loud applause.’