On Shore and Sea is a "dramatic cantata" composed by Arthur Sullivan, with words by Tom Taylor. Sullivan completed this work to open the Royal Albert Hall, and it was performed at the opening of the London International Exhibition of art and industry on 1 May 1871. The concert featured works commissioned from Italy, France, Germany, and Great Britain. Charles Gounod was the French representative.
The cantata has an appropriately international flavour, telling of war and reunion, based on a 16th-century conflict between Christians and Moors at a time when conflict raged between the Saracen settlements in Northern Africa and the Christian states of the Mediterranean, especially Genoa. The theme is the sorrows and separations that are always incidental to war. The central characters are a sailor and his love, who are separated when he goes to battle, and later reunited. The final chorus, "Sink and Scatter, Clouds of War," was later renamed "The Song of Peace" and was played separately as a concert item.
The same year as On Shore and Sea premiered, W. S. Gilbert first worked together with Sullivan, on a burleque-style comic opera, Thespis . Four years later, in 1875, Gilbert and Sullivan's second work together, Trial by Jury , would also be described as "a dramatic cantata," and this was Sullivan's only work, other than On Shore and Sea to be so described.
The whereabouts of the composer's autograph score were not publicly known until Terence Rees purchased it at auction in 1966. [1] On Shore and Sea was finally professionally recorded in 2014, by Victorian Opera Northwest, conducted by Richard Bonynge. [2] A review of the recording notes that the cantata and a companion piece, The Masque at Kenilworth , "emerge in good heart under veteran Richard Bonynge's life-ebullient conviction. The singers, solo and ensemble and orchestra deliver fully satisfactory results ... and more." [3]
Near a small seaport on the Italian Riviera near 16th century Genoa, the fleet weighs anchor to the sounds of a joyous song of the sailors as they heave at the windlass and spread the sail. Their brave declaration of their determination to sweep the Saracens from the sea is contrasted with the lament of the wives and mothers, sisters and sweethearts, left sorrowing on the shore. At sea, aboard one of the galleys, in the midnight watch, the thoughts and prayers of Il Marinajo go back to the loved ones left behind and invoke for them the protection of our Lady, Star of the Sea. "What doth now the maid I love?" he wonders. "Does she sleep and dream of me? / Or prays she her aint above Shield of her sailor to be? / Sending her heart, like a dove, / Hither across the sea!" Months pass. The fleet appears on the horizon, and the crowd flocks to the port to greet its triumphant return. La Sposina faithfully awaits the return of Il Marinajo, her lover. She looks for him hopefully, but the galley aboard which her sailor served is missing: it has been taken by Moorish sea rovers. Her beloved is captive, or slain. She gives expression to her desolation, amid the sympathizing sorrow of her companions.
Her lover, however, is not slain, but a slave, toiling at the oar, under the lash of his Moorish captors. While the Moors are celebrating their triumphs with song and feasting, he obtains the key to the chain securing all the prisoners and exhorts his fellow prisoners to strike for their liberty. The galley slaves rise up against their captors bolstered by their Christian faith and their love for their wives and mothers ashore. They overwhelm their captors, master the galley and steer homewards. Re-entering the port, they are welcomed by their beloved ones. The sorrow of separation is turned to rejoicing; La Sposina and Il Marinajo will live and die in each other's arms. The cantata ends with a paean to the blessedness of Peace, inviting all nations to her temple.
A trireme( TRY-reem; derived from Latin: trirēmis "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek triērēs, literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord".
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras. The Ottoman forces were sailing westward from their naval station in Lepanto when they met the fleet of the Holy League which was sailing east from Messina, Sicily.
A galley was a type of ship which relied mostly on oars for propulsion that was used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean Sea region during antiquity and continued to exist in various forms until the early 19th century. It typically had a long, slender hull, shallow draft, and often a low freeboard. Most types of galleys also had sails that could be used in favorable winds, but they relied primarily on oars to move independently of winds and currents. The term "galley" originated from a Greek term for a small type of galley and came in use in English from about 1300. It has occasionally been used for unrelated vessels with similar military functions as galley but which were not Mediterranean in origin, such as medieval Scandinavian longships, 16th century Acehnese ghalis and 18th century North American gunboats.
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar, or a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing.
Oruç Reis was an Ottoman corsair who became Sultan of Algiers. The elder brother of the famous Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, he was born on the Ottoman island of Midilli and died in battle against the Spanish at Tlemcen.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 in 1723 during his first year as Thomaskantor, the director of church music in Leipzig. His cantata is part of his first cantata cycle there and was written for the Marian feast of the Visitation on 2 July, which commemorates Mary's visit to Elizabeth as narrated in the Gospel of Luke in the prescribed reading for the feast day. Bach based the music on his earlier cantata BWV 147a, written originally in Weimar in 1716 for Advent. He expanded the Advent cantata in six movements to ten movements in two parts in the new work. While the text of the Advent cantata was written by the Weimar court poet Salomo Franck, the librettist of the adapted version who added several recitatives is anonymous.
Kenilworth, A Masque of the Days of Queen Elizabeth, is a cantata with music by Arthur Sullivan and words by Henry Fothergill Chorley that premiered at the Birmingham Festival on 8 September 1864.
The Martyr of Antioch is a choral work described as a "Sacred Musical Drama" by the English composer Arthur Sullivan. It was first performed on 15 October 1880 at the triennial Leeds Music Festival, having been composed specifically for that event. Sullivan was musical director of the Leeds festival in 1880 and conducted the performance.
The Prodigal Son is an oratorio by Arthur Sullivan with text taken from the parable of the same name in the Gospel of Luke. It features chorus with soprano, contralto, tenor and bass solos. It premiered in Worcester Cathedral on 10 September 1869 as part of the Three Choirs Festival.
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its popular companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole. The story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire. Gilbert based the libretto of Trial by Jury on an operetta parody that he had written in 1868.
Monica Sinclair was a British operatic contralto, who sang many roles with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden during the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared on stage and in recordings with Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Malcolm Sargent and many others. She had a great gift for comedy, and sang in recordings of many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, as well as in recordings from the standard operatic repertory.
Dragut, also known as "the Drawn Sword of Islam", was an Ottoman corsair, naval commander, governor, and noble. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended across North Africa. Recognized for his military genius, and as being among "the most dangerous" of corsairs, Dragut has been referred to as "the greatest pirate warrior of all time", "undoubtedly the most able of all the Turkish leaders", and "the uncrowned king of the Mediterranean". He was described by a French admiral as "a living chart of the Mediterranean, skillful enough on land to be compared to the finest generals of the time" and that "no one was more worthy than he to bear the name of king". Hayreddin Barbarossa, who was his mentor, stated that Dragut was ahead of him "both in fishing and bravery".
Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the Christmas cantata for the First Day of Christmas, possibly in 1713 for the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle. He performed it again for his first Christmas as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, on 25 December 1723.
Richard Conrad was an American singer, voice teacher, and impresario whose voice at times inhabited both the tenor and baritone ranges. He sang in opera, cabaret and musicals. He is perhaps best known for his 1963 recorded collaboration with Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne, conducted by Richard Bonynge, known as The Age of Bel Canto.
The Venetian navy was the navy of the Venetian Republic which played an important role in the history of the republic and the Mediterranean world. It was the premier navy in the Mediterranean Sea for many centuries between the medieval and early modern periods, providing Venice with control and influence over trade and politics far in excess of the republic's size and population. It was one of the first navies to mount gunpowder weapons aboard ships, and through an organised system of naval dockyards, armouries and chandlers was able to continually keep ships at sea and rapidly replace losses. The Venetian Arsenal was one of the greatest concentrations of industrial capacity prior to the Industrial Revolution and responsible for the bulk of the republic's naval power.
The Genoese navy was the naval contingent of the Republic of Genoa's military. From the 11th century onward the Genoese navy protected the interests of the republic and projected its power throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It played a crucial role in the history of the republic as a thalassocracy and a maritime trading power.
The Battle of Trapani took place on 23 June 1266 off Trapani, Sicily, between the fleets of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice, as part of the War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270). During the war, the Venetians held the upper hand in naval confrontations, forcing the Genoese to resort to commerce raiding and avoid fleet battles. In the 1266 campaign, the Genoese had an advantage in numbers, but this was not known to the Genoese commander, Lanfranco Borbonino. As a result, the Genoese tarried at Corsica until the end of May. The Venetian fleet under Jacopo Dondulo, was left to sail back and forth awaiting the appearance of the Genoese fleet in the waters around southern Italy and Sicily. Fearing that the other side had more ships, both sides reinforced their fleets with additional ships, but the Genoese retained a small numerical advantage.