[Publius]

From the ancient German collection of folk poetry "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" (The Youth's Magic Horn) comes the poem "Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt" (St. Anthony of Padua's Sermon to the Fish). In the 1890's, composer Gustav Mahler set this poem to music for high voice (soprano or tenor) and orchestra. Then he used the same material for the third movement of his Second Symphony ("Resurrection"). It's a fine piece of music and fits the words well.

[NYer]

Thanks for that information. I never realized Mahler had composed a piece on this miracle of St. Anthony.

* * * * *

Men Won't Listen, Fishes Will!

EVEN though he was an eloquent preacher, St. Anthony wasn't always able to get an audience. Such was the case one day in Rimini. Undaunted by the refusal of the heretics of Rimini to listen to the word of God, the Saint was determined to preach to those who would listen. So he walked to the seashore and took his stand at the water's edge. As the saintly friar began to preach, the surface of the water was broken by the heads of countless fishes which rose to listen.

St. Anthony preached to the fishes of the glory of God and the goodness of their Creator. He bade them be grateful and thus confound the coldness of the people of Rimini who had no place for the word of God in their hearts. Not a fish moved as St. Anthony went on with his sermon to his quite unusual congregation. When he had finished, the Saint blessed the fish with the Sign of the Cross. Then they left.

Taken from the Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua

[AnAmericanMother]

Funny, it's sung by a baritone here . . .

Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt