After a meditative and melodious orchestral introduction the first chorus, ‘Seek Him,’ is sung, by the Levites (male voices) in the Temple courts. The blind man’s prayer for light is followed by a recitative by the narrator. The disciples ask ‘Who did sin?’ which is directly answered in an expressive aria sung by the mother, who asserts that he has not been made to suffer this affliction because of the sins of others. The Master then explains, ‘Neither hath this man sinned,’ after which a broad, forcible chorus, ‘Light out of darkness,’ follows. The eyes of the blind man are now anointed, he washes in the Pool of Siloam and comes forth healed; then he is asked by his incredulous neighbors and towns-people how this healing came. In the heated discussion which follows, the music becomes very dramatic. After the blind man has related his story, the Pharisees again enter into discussion, the strife between those approving and those condemning the man being described in a characteristic choral setting. Especially effective is the orchestration in the scene in which the Jews question the mother and the blind man. The strongest and most beautiful part of the work is a solo sung by the Master, ‘I am the good shepherd,’ which soon leads to the final chorus, ‘Light of the world,’ which, though short, is permeated by a strongly triumphant feeling. ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ was written by Edward Elgar upon commission of the Birmingham Festival Committee and performed on the morning of Oct. 3, 1900, at the Birmingham Triennial Festival. Although it was finished for this particular occasion, it had been in the composer’s mind for years and was, therefore, not thought out in haste, as has been the case with many other occasional works. The poem by Cardinal Newman relates the dream of Gerontius as he lies on his death-bed, the flight of his soul to the realm of the unseen, its awakening with ‘a strange refreshment’ as it is safely piloted before the Judge by the Angel, or Soul’s Guardian Spirit, amid the hubbub of demons and the reassuring voices of the angels--not, however, before it has been purified in the waters of purgatory. This poem had made a profound impression upon Elgar and the words and the music are so closely wedded that they seem like twin-expressions of the same thought, both poet and composer having approached their tasks from the standpoint of devout Catholics.