Scene III. The Vesper Hymn. "In the evening, according to the invariable custom on board the admiral's ship, the mariners sang the Vesper Hymn to the Virgin." Scene IV. Discontent and Mutiny. "In this way they fed each other's discontent, gathering into little knots, and fomenting a spirit of mutinous opposition ... finally breaking forth into turbulent clamor." Scene V. In distant Andalusia. "He compares the pure and balmy mornings to those of April in Andalusia, and observes that they wanted but the song of the nightingale to complete the illusion." Scene VI. Land and Thanksgiving. "As the evening darkened, Columbus took his station on the top of the castle or cabin, on the high poop of his vessel, ranging his eye along the horizon, and maintaining an intense and unremitting watch." The cantata opens with a brief orchestral prelude of a sombre character begun by the trombone sounding the Gregorian intonation, and leading to the barytone solo of the priest ("Ye men of Spain, the Time is nigh"), appealing to the crew to commit themselves to Heaven, to which the full male chorus responds with ever-increasing power, reaching the climax in the "Ora pro nobis." Twice the priest repeats his adjuration, followed by the choral response, the last time with joy and animation as the flag of Castile is raised and they bid farewell to the shores of Spain. A short allegro brings the scene to a close. The second scene is a bass aria for Columbus ("Eighteen long Years of Labor, Doubt, and Scorn"), of a vigorous and spirited character, changing to a solemn adagio in the prayer, "Lord of all Power and Might," and closing with a few spirited phrases in the opening tempo. It is followed by the Vesper Hymn, "Ave Maris Stella," a number in which the composer's eminent ability in sacred music is clearly shown. Its tranquil harmony dies away in the softest of pianissimos, and is followed by an agitated prelude introducing the furious chorus of the mutinous crew "Come, Comrades, come," which gathers intensity as it progresses, voices and instruments uniting in broken but powerful phrases, sometimes in full chorus and again in solo parts, until the climax is reached, when Columbus intervenes in brief solos of great dignity, to which the chorus responds, the scene closing with the renewal of allegiance,--a stirring bass solo with choral accompaniment. The fifth scene is a tenor recitative and love-song of a most graceful character, and one which will become a favorite when it is well known:-- "In Andalusia the nightingale Sings,--sings through the live-long night; Sings to its mate in pure delight: But, ah me! ah, my love! Vanished and lost to my sight In distant Andalusia."