The second part, after a short allegro movement for orchestra, opens with a contralto solo ("Of wasted Fields and plundered Flocks") which prepares the way for a concerted number for solos and chorus ("And now the Moon her Orb has hid"), describing the magical arts which Merlin employed to thwart the Baron. This number alone is sufficient to stamp Mr. Corder as a composer of extraordinary ability. A succession of bass, tenor, and contralto recitatives ("Wroth waxed the Warrior") leads to another powerful chorus ("Rash Adventurer, bear thee back"), the song of the "four maids whom Afric bore," in which the composer has caught the weird, strange color of the scene and given it vivid expression. A tenor recitative ("While yet the distant Echoes roll") leads up to a graceful, sensuous soprano solo and female chorus ("Gentle Knight, awhile delay"). Its counterpart is found in the tenor recitative and spirited, dignified male chorus ("Son of Honor, Theme of Story"). The _dénouement_ now begins. A contralto solo, declamatory in style ("In lofty Hall, with Trophies graced"), and a short soprano solo of a joyous character ("Thus while she sang") lead to the final number ("Gently, lo! the Warrior kneels"), beginning with full chorus, which after short solos for tenor and soprano takes a spirited martial form ("And on the Champion's Brow was found") and closes with a quartet and chorus worked up to an imposing climax. The work is largely in narrative form; but this, instead of being a hindrance, seems to have been an advantage to the composer, who has not failed to invest his music with dramatic force that is remarkable. Mr. Corder is credited with being an ardent disciple of Wagner, and his cantata certainly shows the influences of that school. It is throughout a vigorous, effective work, and gives promise that its composer will yet be heard from outside the English musical world. COWEN.