strings and tenors; the texture is much less complicated than the preceding movements. The third movement lacks a tonal center and meanders through significantly more dissonant harmonies; the absence of a catchy, recognisable tune (found in most other movements) makes the third movement come across as a recitative. IV. He Journeys to Palestine The fourth movement of the cantata depicts a sea voyage bringing Nicolas to Palestine. During this voyage, a mighty storm assails the ship, perhaps as punishment to the faithless sailors who have mocked the pious saint. The storm is terrifying, and the sailors despair. Amidst the violent winds, waves, and rain, Nicolas gathers the sailors in prayer, and the storm subsides. The movement opens with an energetic modal melody centred on F; the melody alternates between the Aeolian, or natural minor mode, and Dorian, with its raised sixth. Britten even raises the fourth occasionally, hinting at Lydian. The interplay between modes in this melody contributes to its lilting character. The tune becomes more dissonant as the storm approaches, and when the storm arrives, the men's song is halted. The female chorus, singing from the galleries, represents the winds and tempests; the girls’ voices describe the terrifying storm, pausing only for the sailors’ cries for mercy. As the storm subsides, Nicolas emerges; his prayer is musically and textually simple. The movement ends with a return of the initial tune, this time in F major with very slight alteration. V. Nicolas Comes to Myra and is Chosen Bishop In the fifth movement, Nicolas is appointed Bishop of Myra. The chorus calls upon him to “Serve the faith and spurn its enemies.” Nicolas vows to do just that, and the movement closes with a congregational hymn. This movement is the most traditionally tonal of the entire cantata; D major is strongly established in the chorus’ homophonic texture. Halfway through the movement, Britten employs a diatonic fugato that concludes in G major. In this key, the congregation joins in the singing of the hymn known as Old Hundredth, which misses out verses 2 and 5 and begins with the words "All people that on earth do dwell" The semichorus sings an upliftingly beautiful descant in Verse 2, rising up to a top B on the word it in "For it is seemly so to do". VI. Nicolas from Prison Like the third movement, the sixth recalls an operatic recitative. Here Nicolas