Orchestral scoring: S-solo,T-solo,B-solo / GemCh-SSAATTBB / 2,2,2,2 – 4,2,3,1 – Pk,Bck,Trgl – Hfe – Str

Gade composed the cantata “The Crusaders” op. 50 for soloists, choir and orchestra (termed as “Dramatic Poem” in the original print) in the summer of 1865; it was premiered on 24 April 1866.

Together with the cantatas “Kalanus” and “Zion” written later, the work constitutes, in Gade’s understanding, a “kind of trilogy” which centers on different manifestations of the “longing for the...