My native valley lies;
There by a gentle stream that murmurs rest
My father’s tents arise.
“Fearing no harm, the happy peasant tills,
The woolly flocks increase;
The shepherd’s pipe is heard upon the hills,
And all around is peace.”
Another dramatic scene follows, in which Sâwa consents to Sayid’s return to his father, and accepts Ilmas as his bondswoman, which leads to a very spirited and elaborate melody for the latter (“First of his Prophet’s Warriors he”). The first part closes with the departure of Sayid and a repetition of the choral invocation of Siva.
The second part opens in an apartment of Sâwa’s palace, and discloses Ilmas sitting with her maidens, as a thunderstorm dies away in the distance. The latter join in a graceful chorus, which is one of the most beautiful numbers in the cantata:—
“Sweet the balmy days of spring,