The stage is darkened and there appears in the center, in mid-air, an immense illuminated cross upon which the person of Christ is dying.

Beneath it the Chorus of Mankind solemnly assembles, robed as for a church choir, prayerfully, with bowed heads and clasped hands; they begin to speak only after a silent prayer, lifting their heads so that their audiences may now see their faces clearly.

**

The image is the center

of the late medieval triptych by Mathias Grunewald, the Isenheim Altarpiece .

Music excerpt is

Missa Solemnis

by Beethoven, conductor Herbert van Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker.