Evening journal., 1910-12-09
ARGUMENT OF
"THE CRUSADERS
Story Of Caltata is Described
for Be. eft Of Music
Lovers

OluSdQtIS winch Is 10 De SUNK D9
the Wilmington Choral Society at the
New-Century Club next Tuesday even-
ing under the direction OF 7. Leslie
Carpenter, the argument of the work
is given as follows:
The theme Of the Cantata of the
Crusaders is not that of the Rinaldo
passages in "Je 'usalem Delivered" al-
though the same or similar characters
appear in the one as in the other.
The Cantata story is simpler and more
direct 1T is more in keeping, perhaps,
with the early lays of medieval times
than with the heroic poem.
In arts Of necromancy and magic. so
say the troubadours and minnesingers,
the Saracens surpassed all other ma
tions of the world. So when Antioch
had fallen and the army of the Cru
saders was marching on to Jerusalem,
the Caliph Kerbogha, seeing that 40
force Of arms could stay the onward
march Of the Christians, summoned in
despair the magicians and sorcerers
Of Arabia and Egypt to his aid, and
these magi In their turn called upon
all those malign genii over whom they
had control through the power of the
seven signs of Solomon.
Among other magicinans was one
Idraot, Prince of Damascus, whose
niece, the sorceress Armida, was of
all others the most potent and malign
Summoning her to him, Idraot bade
his niece hasten TO the aid Of the King
OF Jerusalem. Entering her dragon car
Armida flew through the air to the
host gathering within the walls OF
Jerusalem to its defense.
So powerful we're Armida's incan-
tations that she could control the very
forces of nature itself-the sunlight,
the wind and the rain. So by means Of
her sorcery the ve-dant plain, over
which the Christian host was march
ing, was converted into a bald and
naked desert, strewn thickly with
bleaching bones, the fountain streams
and lakes were dried up and all living
things perished off the face of the
earth, whilst the health-glving breezes
wee converted into the breath OF
pestilence and death. Thus the enc
mics Of the cross hoped either to turn
back the Christian amy from its holy
quest through fear of the plague
b stricken desert stretched out before
il. or else, should they push forward
into that desert, to destroy them with
hunger, thirst and the dread disease.
But still, in spite of all the sorcery
that Armida wove around and before
them. the Christians continued adj
vancing toward the Holy City. No- was
5 their courage more sustained by the
spiritual exhortations of Peter the
Hermit, and the firmness Of the great
Duke Godfrey, than by the chivalroua
. example OF the Sieur Rinaldo, nephew
. of the great Guelpho, captain of the
}. &c man division of the Christian
army. OF all the warriors none equal.
= led him in feats of arms-not even this
noble Tancred himself. and he, before
all others, championed the spiritua
authority Of Peter the Hermit, and tn
temporal authority Of the great Duk
Godfrey. II was his chivalrous ex
ample more than aught else that in
: spired the fainting host Of the eros
to face the parched and binding des
ert.
Rinaldo must be removed or else }
= was plain that the sorcery Of the Sar
+ lacens would be OF no avail 10 them.
e Accordingly, Armida, su rounding
e. herself with a cloud of darkness an'
. so rendering her invisible to morta
e eyes. few through the air in he
a dragon chariot to the camp of tn
{, Christians, these TO await such op
portunity as might occur, to seducl
Rinaldo from his duty. Her cunningll
,, devised plan was TO entice the herr
into a maligin paradise Of her Owl
creation and there to tempt him b.
j. means of her own beauty and tn
n charms of her attendant sirens, mrs
q 10 Weld himself TO coluptuous ease ant
luxury and then to quench his sham
and remorse by drinking the wine o
= oblivion which would cause an endles
sleep of forgetfulness.
The theme OF the Cantata begin
with the Christians advancing upo
Jerusalem. A leafiess and naked deser
Y surrounds the army of the Crusaders
y who. groaning beneath the fierce re
lentless glare Of the burning sur
marched with thirst and consume
e with famine, drag their slow an
~ weary footsteps across the desolatiof
Meantime the fainting host Is urge
IL onward by Peter the Hermit in word
& at once of exhortation and reproof.
ID Rinaldo, plying the despondenc
lof his poor. famished, harassed CON
rades first pleads with Peter the Her
nit to mitigate his severity, and thei
turning to his tagging fellow soldier
IL and d d-awing his sword, lifts the Cru
Dc sader's song that has cheered tnel
40 wav so often before. Once more cheer
20 ed from their despondency, the Cru
u saders burst forth into luoilant sons
81 and then. as the cool shadows OF nign
envelop the burning desert, they knee
AT the bidding of Peter the Hermit
and led by him, lift their voices j
50 the prayer that all know so we'll.
9S As night descends upon the camp
IS tba Christians. Armida sends befo.
So her spirits of darkness who cause IN
l6 soldiers of the Cross to fall into
deem and dreamless sleep whilst sn
weaves her sorcecy around the her
:, Rinaldo.
85 Overcome by the magic Of the spirit
80 of darkness, all but Rinaldo sink int
D4 a deep and heavy slumber. Armid
81 now clothes herself with magic beaul
10 and draws near to the silent camp;
She app caches, the spirits OF darl
ness recognize their mistress, and,
=. her bidding. leave the magic maze
81 their dance. Aroused by the music thi
80 heralds the coming of Armida, Rinalc
65 comes forth, and as she, singln
15 Weayes her so-cery about him he 10
20 lows dazed and bewildered, across Il
gloomy sands into the darkness OF u
night beyond.
Instantly in answer to the invoci
ton of Armida, the gloomy SAN
b. waste is transformed into garden
I'd paradise. In the midst of the ga-d'