The Fiery Cross (Bruch)
cantata composed by Max Bruch
The Fiery Cross, Op. 52 (German: Das Feuerkreuz; 1889) is a cantata for soprano, baritone, bass, mixed chorus, and orchestra (2.2.2.2(=dbn)-4.2.3.1-timp.perc:1-harp-org-strings) composed by Max Bruch. It was first performed on 26 February 1889 in Breslau. It is based on a motif from Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake with words by Heinrich Bulthaupt. The action concerns the main character, Norman (baritone), who is summoned to join a rebel army as he comes out of church at his own wedding. The other soloists are Mary, just bride, and Angus (bass), who hurries in bearing the fiery cross that is the signal that the rebels are mustering. Ferdinand Pfohl said of the work: "The Fiery Cross does not represent any kind of artistic progress: the public too seemed to feel this when it was meagre in its applause, so that the composer, who was conducting, felt the need to darken his brow."
Bruch originally intended to dedicate the work to the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II but changed his mind, commenting that Wilhelm’s tastes in music were limited to "the blarings of massed trumpets", and "an unhealthy appetite for (Wagner’s) world of dragons, dwarfs, giants and supermen." instead, he dedicated it to the Breslau Sing-Akademie. After its premiere in that city, The Fiery Cross was performed in Rotterdam, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Barmen, Bonn and Riga in the summer of 1899.
The first of the work’s eight scenes sees a bridal boat crossing a quiet lake at dawn: the bride (soprano solo) and groom (baritone solo) are greeted in two wedding choruses. The wedding takes place in a woodland chapel, accompanied by the orchestra and a bell.
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