It was as a composer of vocal music that Mackenzie first achieved national fame. His cantata "The Bride" was a success at the Three Choirs Festival of 1881. Edward Elgar played in the violins at the première and later remarked that meeting Mackenzie was "the event of my musical life". A second cantata, "Jason", for the Bristol festival of 1882, was also well received. His most famous choral work was the oratorio "The Rose of Sharon", written for the Norwich festival of 1884. The words were adapted from the "Song of Solomon" by Joseph Bennett, music critic of "The Daily Telegraph", who later provided Sullivan with the text for "The Golden Legend". "The Dream of Jubal" (1889), is an unusual combination of recitation and choral sections, composed for the jubilee of the Liverpool Philharmonic Society in 1889.