The Apostles (Elgar) the disciples of Jesus and their reactions to the extraordinary events they witness. Despite arranging the commission in December 1901, Elgar paid little attention to "The Apostles "until July 1902, when he had finished composing and rehearsing his "Coronation Ode", Op. 44. Elgar's planning of the libretto included a long immersion in theological writings, as well as Wagner's sketch for "Jesus von Nazareth", and Henry W. Longfellow's poem "The Divine Tragedy". He assembled his libretto from verses of scripture, as had been the pattern for many of the most influential oratorios, including Handel's "Messiah" (1741) and Mendelssohn's "Elijah" (1836). After
The Kingdom of the Wicked reign of Domitian. The story starts where "Man of Nazareth" ended, immediately after the crucifixion of Jesus, and covers the work of the apostles, in particular Paul (who himself was not one of the original twelve apostles), the development of Christianity as an Abrahamic religion separate from Judaism, the Great Fire of Rome, the persecution of Christians, the destruction of the Second Temple, and the destruction of Pompeii. The Kingdom of the Wicked The Kingdom of the Wicked is a 1985 historical novel by Anthony Burgess. Like two of his earlier works, the long narrative poem "" and the novel