But nothing in the whole work impressed me more than Christ's entrance to Jerusalem (orchestra, chorus, and soloist) for the reading alone gives no idea of it.

Here the author reached the heights.

That also describes the delightful effect of the children's chorus singing in the distance _O Filii et Filiae_, harmonised with perfect taste.
While I listened to this beautiful work, I could not help thinking of the great oratorios which crowned Gounod's musical career so gloriously.
Liszt and Gounod differed entirely in their musical temperaments, yet in their oratorios they met on common ground.

In both there was the same drawing away from the old forms of oratorio, the same search for realism in the expression of the text in music, the same respect for Latin prosody, and the same belief in simplicity of style.

But while there is renunciation in the simplicity of Liszt, who threw aside worldly finery to wear the frock of a penitent, on the contrary Gounod appears to return to his original bent with an almost holy joy.