52 (German: Das Feuerkreuz; 1889) is a cantata for soprano, baritone, bass, mixed chorus, and orchestra (2.2.2.2(=dbn)-4.2.3.1-timp.perc:1-harp-org-strings) composed by Max Bruch.
The other soloists are Mary, just bride, and Angus (bass), who hurries in bearing the fiery cross that is the signal that the rebels are mustering.
[4] Ferdinand Pfohl said of the work: "The Fiery Cross does not represent any kind of artistic progress: the public too seemed to feel this when it was meagre in its applause, so that the composer, who was conducting, felt the need to darken his brow.
After its premiere in that city, The Fiery Cross was performed in Rotterdam, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Barmen, Bonn and Riga in the summer of 1899.
The following scenes contrast the groom’s journey carrying the flaming cross over the Scottish highlands with a quiet apparition of the Virgin Mary, and the work ends with a battle and triumphal chorus.