Even before the first scene is opened to our eyes we hear the voice of the multitude in prayer.

The Israelites, oppressed by their conquerors and sore stricken at the reflection that their God has deserted them, lament, accuse, protest, and pray.

Before they have been heard, the poignancy of their woe has been published by the orchestra, which at once takes its place beside the chorus as a peculiarly eloquent expositor of the emotions and passions which propel the actors in the drama.

That mission and that eloquence it maintains from the beginning to the final catastrophe, the instrumental band doing its share toward characterizing the opposing forces, emphasizing the solemn dignity of the Hebrew religion and contrasting it with the sensuous and sensual frivolity of the worshippers of Dagon.

The choral prayer has for its instrumental substructure an obstinate syncopated figure, [figure: an musical score excerpt] which rises with the agonized cries of the people and sinks with their utterances of despair.