THE EXHIBITION CANTATA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1801, 28 March 1888, Page 3

THE EXHIBITION CANTATA.

The following Is the cintata which baa i bean awarded first pr z> by tho Executive I Oommiaeionera of tho Melbourne Cen- | tennial Exhibition, the author being the Rev William Allen, Congregational minis- ' ter, of Oarlton :— ■ ANALYSIS OF THE CANTATA. ' Historically descriptive poem, written (with , a view to musio) either m trochaio or trisyllabic measure, with the exception of the ' secord part, where (m consequence of the Bombre character of the theme) tho heroic ' couplet is adopted, consisting of six parts — ( the Cantata Proper (Parts 11. to IV.) ; an In- i troduolion (Part I.) ; and an Epilogue (Part i VI.) ARGUMENT, ' Part I.— lntroduction : Welcome to visi- ' tors. ' Part II. — Australia's Solitary Past. Part 111. — First Stage m the National His- < tory : The Solitude Invaded i by the Pastoral Pioneers. j Part IV. — Next Stage m the National His- . tory : The Discovery of Gold , and its Effects. ( Part V. — The Present and the Future. ( Part Vl.— Epilogue : Lavs Deo. Part I.— INTEODUCTION : WELCOME TO VISITORS. i Loyally, royally, greet wo hero Guests of this Centennial Year : You, who ovor distant seas ' Sailed to our festivities ; < You, allied m federal bands, ( Sister States of Austral lands : • Heart and hand we give to all f At our opening festival. 4 Let the curved arches ring | With the greeting song we sing. Part II.— AUSTRALIA'S SOLITARY PAST. ( The reign of solitude, o'er vale and hill, t Broad-breasted lake, deep river, leaping rill; O'er Btony wastes of stillness, scarcely . stirred ' By whirr of wing or note of passing bird, Or speech barbaric; from whose face austere The dusky savage turns m shuddering fear; Where fainting Nature sinks and swoons away, 1 Smit by the summer sun's unkindliesfc ray ; O'er ferny haunts, whose mossy hollows, J deep, The lifelong year their fadeless beauty keep ; O'er the primeval forest depths profound, Wherein is heard the wild-bird's joyous Bound ; O'er leagues of wrathful waves, with sullen 1 roar, Tumultuous, thundering on the rock-bound shore — O'er all perpetual solitude doth brood, Save where the savage stalks m searoh of food : A land by civilisation's step untrod — Alone with Nature, and with Nature's God Pact III.— FIRST STAGE IN THE NA- , TIONAL HISTORY : THE SOLITUDE INVADED BY THE PASTORAL PIONEERS. Honor the Pioneers. Stout of heart and strong of frame, Sturdy sons of Britain came ; Grappling hard with natural powers Turned the wilderness to flowers ; Taught the sometime barren field Nature's kindly fruits to yield. Now on lawny spaces green, Chestnut-spotted kine are seen, With the horse and patient ox, And the fleecy-covered flocks. Cheerful human speech is heard, Mingling with the song of bird, And the inharmonious oall Of the tameless warrigal. Stout of heart and strong of frame, Worthy of their British name ; These the men that set the tree Of Australian liberty. Honor the Pioneers. < Pabt IV.— SECOND STAGE IN THE NATIONAL HISTORY : THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD, AND EFFCTS FOLLOW ING. Said of old the mighty master (Speaking he of halls infernal Whore the lords of Hell assembled), That from earth the enormous fabno " Roße up like an exhalation." So arose the stately structure, Rose the temple walls supernal Of the commonwealth Australian. Pastoral pioneers, unheeding Recked not that there lurked beneath them Subtle, strong, the great magician — Gold, before whose spell arising, Lo, the myriad-peopled cities, And the hum of human converse Dispossessing solitude. Part V.— THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. Where the warrigal whimpered and bayed, Where the feet of the dark hunter strayed, See the wealth of the world is arrayed. Where the spotted snake crawled by the stream, See the spires of a great oily gleam. Is it all but tho dream of a dream ? And the halls of our domed palace fair, And the wealth of the world that is there, Are they naught ? Are they fashioned of air? Not a dream 1 For the night is away, And we walk m the light of a day That shall not be extinguished for aye. Part VI.— EPILOGUE : LAUS DEO. Lowly and reverent, Thy people are kneeling, Hear us All-bountiful Father, we pray. O'er ua the thought of Thy goodness is Stealing, i \ Asfor bur land we invoke Thee to-day. All through the past has Thy goodness, unsleeping, Guided the path that our fathers have trod ; May we, their children, be held m Thy keeping, !l True to our country, and true to our God. x Laws.