Chapter V: Book I: , is another piece of imperfectly realised suggestive tone (1)

poetry. It is difficult to play, requiring great crispness of finger action combined with perfect control of tone volume.

_Idyl_ (_Allegretto_) is No. I of Book II, and has a certain charm and lyrical beauty, although not one of the composer's best efforts. It is a study for the cultivation of delicacy, singing tone and grace.

_Shadow Dance_ (_Allegrissimo_) has just that touch of fanciful romanticism that MacDowell knew how to infuse into a piece, thus heightening its interest. The piece is one of the most popular of MacDowell's shorter pieces and makes a fine solo. From a technical point of view, it is a valuable study for development of finger agility combined with lightness of touch.

_Intermezzo_ (_Allegretto_) is tuneful and pleasing, but does not reach a very high level of poetic writing. It is, however, a useful exercise for development of independent action of the two middle fingers of the hand.

_Melodie_ (_Andantino_) is a melodious exercise for cultivating independence of fingers.

_Scherzino_ (_Allegro_) is a tuneful study for double note playing with the right hand.

_Hungarian_ (_Presto con fuoco_) has the characteristic fire and syncopated rhythm of a Brahms' Hungarian Dance, and is a study for the development of dash, speed and virtuoso playing.

OPUS 40. SIX LOVE SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.

_Composed_, 1890. _First Published_, 1890 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Sweet Blue-Eyed Maid_.

2. _Sweetheart, Tell Me_.

3. _Thy Beaming Eyes_.

4. _For Sweet Love's Sake_.

5. _O Lovely Rose_.

6. _I Ask But This_.

These songs, although not absolutely of the composer's best, have a charm, tenderness of feeling and beauty of expression that is often irresistible. They are essentially the love songs of a romantic, but refined and gifted poet. As a whole they are singularly free from sexual sensuousness, which is so often a trait in songs of their type. There is an idealism, wonderfully fresh and pure, about them, that is antagonistic to the composer's own assertion that verse often becomes doggerel when harnessed to music in song form.

_Sweet Blue-Eyed Maid._ (_Daintily, not too sentimentally._) The spirit of this song is happy and it is beautifully, although simply, expressed.

_Sweetheart, Tell Me._ (_Softly, tenderly_.) The ability of MacDowell to suggest a definite mood in music is clearly demonstrated in this song, which has a simple melody of wonderful appeal and tenderness.

_Thy Beaming Eyes._ (_With sentiment, passionately._) This is the most widely known of all MacDowell's songs. The composer himself thought it too sentimental and was not pleased with the popularity it gained. There is no mistaking its passionate feeling, however, and it strikes the human note frankly and spontaneously, without becoming commonplace. The song is at least sincere, and its popularity can do no harm to its composer's deeper music, which is less easily understood.

Gramophone records of _Thy Beaming Eyes_ have been made for "Columbia" by Charles W. Clarke, baritone, and for "His Master's Voice" by Sophie Breslau, contralto.

_For Sweet Love's Sake_. (_Simply, with feeling_.) This song is not a very successful alliance of words and music. The former are of tender content, while the latter is after the style of a pleasant lullaby. The music does not in the least reflect the spirit of the words.

_O Lovely Rose_. (_Slowly, with great simplicity_.) This is the pure lyric gem of the _Six Love Songs_ by MacDowell. It is very short, but has a rare charm and fragrance.

_I Ask But This_. (_Moderately fast, almost banteringly_.) There is an attractive piquancy and lightness about this song that makes it distinct from its companions. It suggests light-hearted love, and its demure ending, as the lovers part, was a happy thought on the part of the composer.

OPUS 41. TWO PART-SONGS, FOR MALE CHORUS.

_Composed_, 1890. _First Published_, 1890 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Cradle Song_.

2. _Dance of the Gnomes_.

These two part-songs are effectively written and sharply contrasted. Their contrast furnishes good reason why both should be sung in the order given, and not robbed of their natural companionship.

OPUS 42. FIRST SUITE, IN A MINOR, FOR FULL ORCHESTRA.

_Composed, about_ 1890-91. _First Performed, September,_ 1891, _at the Worcester, U.S.A., Musical Festival. First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Movements First Published_, 1891. _Third Movement First Published_, 1893 (Complete--Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _In a Haunted Forest_.

2. _Summer Idyl_.

3. _In October_.

4. _The Song of the Shepherdess_.

5. _Forest Spirits_.

This suite, although reminiscent of the nineteenth century German romanticism amongst which MacDowell was educated, has an atmosphere of its own that at once distinguishes it as an example of the highly sensitive and suggestive tone poetry peculiar to its composer. The work is very skilfully written and is remarkable for its freshness and buoyancy of spirit. The scoring is exquisite and always illustrative of the poetical subjects of the suite. Each of the pieces has in its title a suggestion of a scene of Nature, the first and last having also the fanciful and imaginative atmosphere of folk-lore; this provided MacDowell with a task in tone painting such as he loved. In _In a Haunted Forest_ and _Forest Spirits_ we have examples of the romantic and fanciful sort of tone poetry characteristic of the composer. In the _Summer Idyl_, in the fine, mellow beauty of _In October_ and in the lovely _Song of the Shepherdess_ we have MacDowell composing in his beloved Nature style, although not in a manner quite comparable with the pianoforte pieces, _Woodland Sketches, Op. 51_, and _New England Idyls, Op. 62_. As a whole, the _First Suite for Orchestra_ is not the finest of MacDowell's orchestral works up to this stage, but it stands alone in the style of its poetic subject matter. It has not the same bearing as _Hamlet and Ophelia, Op. 22_, Lancelot and Elaine, Op. 25_, _Lamia, Op. 29_, or _The Saracens and the Lovely Alda, Op. 30_, which all have an historical or romantic outlook, but it possesses instead the wonderful spirit of mysterious Nature. Even the noble _Second (Indian) Suite for Orchestra_, the grandest of MacDowell's orchestral works, cannot alter the position of this first suite, which has an interest entirely its own. In performance the work is notable for its fresh and finely-coloured material, and makes a fine item in a concert because of its brilliancy and the charmingly interesting suggestions of its poetic sub-titles.

OPUS 43. TWO NORTHERN PART-SONGS, FOR MIXED CHORUS.

_Composed_, 1891. _First Published_, 1891 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _The Brook_.

2. _Slumber Song_.

These are well written and effective part-songs, making lovely unaccompanied choral numbers. They have been undeservedly overshadowed by the composer's instrumental and solo songs. Both should be sung together for the sake of the intentional contrast.

OPUS 44. BARCAROLLE, FOR MIXED CHORUS AND ACCOMPANIMENT FOR PIANOFORTE DUET.

_First Appeared_, 1892 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

This is a meritorious choral piece, skilfully written. The somewhat elaborate accompaniment for pianoforte requires two players.

OPUS 45. FIRST SONATA, TRAGICA, IN G MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_Composed_, 1892-3. _Third Movement First Publicly Played, March 18th_, 1892, _at Checkering Hall, Boston, U.S.A., by the Composer. First Public Complete Performance, March_, 1893, _at a Kneisal Quartet Concert at Chickering Hall, Boston. Played by the Composer. First Published_, 1893 (Breitkopf & Härtel).

1. _Largo maestoso--Allegro risoluto_.

2. _Molto allegro, vivace_.

3. _Largo con maesta_.

4. _Allegro eroico_.

Huneker, the celebrated American writer on music, described this sonata, soon after its appearance, as "the most marked contribution to solo sonata literature since Brahms' F minor piano sonata." The work is chiefly notable for its general boldness and strength, punctuated by passages of intimate tenderness and deepness of expression, and its slow movement is one of MacDowell's most inspired efforts. The great demerit of the sonata, however, is its lack of cohesive thought. As a whole it suggests the spectacle of a highly gifted poet, full of emotional ardour and desire for self expression, but lacking the requisite skill to bind long continued effort into a cohesive whole; and who makes the mistake of trying to cramp his undoubtedly beautiful ideas by compressing them into a set form. The _Sonata Tragica_ is more of a traditional sonata than its successors, the _Eroica, Op. 50_, the _Norse, Op. 57_, and the _Keltic, Op. 59_, but as a work of art is less successful. Its subjects are quite fine, showing, individually, great strength of character and tender feeling, but they often appear to have no definite connection with each other. In the first movement especially we find this defect, for the second subject, with its lovely tenderness, contrasts awkwardly with the boldness and strength of the first. The cause of this would seem to be that a quieter second subject is demanded by the form of the sonata, but its effect on the movement as a whole is patchy and illogical. MacDowell evidently made some efforts to effect cohesion, transferring ideas from one movement to another in the process, but the attempts generally are not successful. He tries to write in the traditional form, and only succeeds in drawing the student's attention to the futility of it. Later, in the _Norse_ and the _Keltic_ sonatas, he threw form overboard when it suited him; and wrote far greater works in doing so. There is no doubting the quality of the music in the _Sonata Tragica_, however, for it contains passages of dramatic fire, breadth and sweep of line, beauty of expression and a strength of character that can only be the work of a great tone poet. The work was undoubtedly written at a white heat of inspiration, for at the time MacDowell was not only grieved over the death of his old master and friend, Joachim Raff, but was also harrassed by the drudgery and struggle of his own existence. He poured out his passionate feelings into the sonata, which is largely a reflection of the hopeless outlook of his own care-laden life.

1. The introductory _Largo maestoso_ opens with a figure of striking aspect, like a clenched, upraised fist. Immediately following this comes a quieter, more serious strain, but only to be succeeded by loud chords again, now punctuated by rushing ascents in scale and arpeggio figures, the whole culminating in a tremendous descent of double octaves bringing almost the whole range of the pianoforte keyboard into action. After a pause, the _Allegro risoluto_ enters _ppp_. Its bearing is strong and proud and has much that is akin to the nervous, resolute martial energy of Elgar. The second subject, _Dolce con tenerezza_, is exquisitely tender and contemplative, but it follows the first awkwardly, and the two as MacDowell left them are like detached scraps having no relation to one another. As we proceed the music becomes mysterious and restless until a more solid chord passage appears. The whole is soon interrupted by the arresting figure of the introduction, now appearing softly, with foreboding seriousness. With the resumption of the _Allegro risoluto_ the striving commences again and is even more restless than before. From now onwards the music becomes increasingly significant, graduating in tone power from a shadowy _ppp_ to solid and virile loud chords. The first and second subjects formally reappear and the end comes with a short coda, the feature of which is its powerful upward expansion, culminating in chords of great strength, the striking opening figure being again heard.

2. The scherzo-like second movement is inferior in quality to the rest of the sonata, and apart from some ejaculations suggesting the dramatic opening of the first movement, does not appear to have any connection with the work as a whole. Its themes are not distinguished, although there are touches of strength in many places, and the movement savours generally of Teutonic romantic influence and probably only exists at all as a concession to form.

3. The _Largo con maesta_ is the outstanding movement of the sonata, remaining to this day one of MacDowell's most impressive creations. It is full of deep feeling and gravity, contrasted with passages of tender contemplation and the impassioned poetry of despair. The whole aspect of the movement is lofty in thought, vast in tonality and altogether indicative of power and of genius. MacDowell was harassed by drudgery and care when he wrote it and the tragic note is sounded from its first bars. After exhausting itself in intense expression, the opening theme makes way for a mood of quiet, although still despairing, contemplation. This wanders on, until the music becomes impassioned and more intricate. Rushing ascending scale passages add to the restless movement of the whole, culminating in a tumultuous and despairing utterance of the contemplative theme. This gradually dies down and soon the impressive strains of the first theme are heard, now softly breathed and portraying a deep and broken sadness in place of the clenched fist attitude of their first appearance. The music becomes more and more subdued, finally becoming extinct in _pppp_ chords. The whole of this last page is one of the most impressive and soul-stirring things in contemporary pianoforte music.

4. The final movement, _Allegro eroico_, opens with a bold, heroic theme in spread chords, followed by a quieter subject. The music goes triumphantly on with increasing brilliance, complexity and heroic ardour. At length a great final version of the heroic theme is heard, _Maestoso_, and soon we come to the dramatic moment of the whole sonata. At the very height of exaltation we are overwhelmed by a shattering descent of double octaves, _precipitate_. The heroism and self-confident ardour so carefully built up are swept away and the significant strains of the introduction to the work are heard, now augmented in time value. The music bursts into fury and the sonata ends with immensely powerful and ringing chords, but it is the shout of tragedy and not of victory. Thus closes a work that may well stand to-day as a musical representation of the composer's own life story. The sonata was first played in London on February 25th, 1902, by Lucie Mawson.

OPUS 46. TWELVE VIRTUOSO STUDIES, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_Composed_, 1893-94. _First Published_, 1894 (Breitkopf & Härtel).

1. _Novelette_.

2. _Moto Perpetuo_.

3. _Wild Chase_.

4. _Improvisation_.

5. _Elfin Dance_.

6. _Valse Triste_.

7. _Burlesque_.

8. _Bluette_.

9. _Traumerei_.

10. _March Wind_.

11. _Impromptu_.

12. _Polonaise_.

These studies, while indicated by the composer as requiring advanced technique for performance, are full of poetical thought and tonal beauty that make them worthy of study. Many of them possess that Nature tone painting, that mystic, subtle romanticism of whispering tree-tops and elfin glades, that freshness and open air spirit which distinguish MacDowell's later short pieces.

_Novelette_ is an attractive study and full of the composer's own individual spirit. It is considered to be one of the best of the set.

_Moto Perpetuo_ is cleverly written and musical.

_Wild Chase_ is one of those exhilarating, imaginative pieces so characteristic of MacDowell. It is full of outdoor poetry and suggestive of a wild and glorious ride over the great American prairies, or of a dream gallop full of breathless fancy.

_Improvisation_ exhibits the composer's finer poetry and mastery of his art.

_Elfin Dance_ is suggestive and imaginative.

_Valse Triste_ is expressive and interesting, although not one of the most distinguished of the set.

_Burlesque_ is a musical number, bright in spirit and free from commonplace.

_Bluette_ is a beautiful piece of tone painting.

_Traumerei_ has a certain beauty of its own, indicating the composer's capacity for deep expression.

_March Wind_ is full of the wild open-air breeziness associated in our thoughts with the subject of its inspiration, and captures the imagination. For a minute or so we can escape the heavy atmosphere confined within four walls and rush with the sweeping wind, high above cities and out over the broad, rolling country beyond. The study has a background of spaciousness that suggests American scenery.

_Impromptu_ is interesting and musical.

_Polonaise_ has brilliance and is well and effectively conceived for big pianoforte tone production.

OPUS 47. EIGHT SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.

_Composed_, 1893. _First Published_, 1893 (Breitkopf & Härtel).

1. _The Robin Sings in the Apple Tree._

2. _Midsummer Lullaby._

3. _Folk Song._

4. _Confidence._

5. _The West Wind Croons in the Cedar Trees._

6. _In the Woods._

7. _The Sea._

8. _Through the Meadow._

With the composition of these songs, MacDowell fairly entered into his finest and most mature period. They are beautiful, characteristic, and full of that engaging romance, piquancy and poetic charm that distinguishes his best lyrical work.

_The Robin Sings in the Apple Tree_ is written to the composer's own words, which may be found in the published book of his verses. The song is infinitely tender and tinged with that wistfulness that he so often infused into his music. Particularly beautiful is the spirit of the last verse:--

_O robin, and thou blackbird brave,
My songs of love have died;
How can you sing as in byegone days,
When she was at my side._

_Midsummer Lullaby_ has much charm and grace in its refined and sensitive verse inspiration.

_Folk Song_ is characteristic and melodious.

_Confidence_ shows a lyric power of unusual quality and although the music is not always in sympathy with the verse, the true spirit of poetry is there.

_The West Wind Croons in the Cedar Trees_ is written to the lines of MacDowell's little poem entitled, _To Maud_. This song is beautiful and full of feeling, and tells in its three verses of Love's expectation, doubt and disappointment. The music is allied with perfect sympathy to the words.

_In the Woods_ was written to the composer's lines after Goethe. This song is a pure lyric, touched with just enough romance to deepen its significance.

_The Sea_ is well written, showing some of the power and healthiness of the true MacDowell open-air spirit.

_Through the Meadow_ makes an exquisite vocal piece, thoroughly attractive in its freshness. It is a song of the true nature-poet, breathing the atmosphere of its title in the most delightful and sensitive manner.

OPUS 48. SECOND SUITE (INDIAN), FOR FULL ORCHESTRA.

_First Performed, January_, 1896, _by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in New York. First Performance in England, October 23rd,_ 1901, _at a London Queen's Hall Promenade Concert. Conductor, Sir (then Mr.) Henry J. Wood. First Published,_ 1897 (Breitkopf and Härtel).

_Dedicated to Emil Paur and the Boston Symphony Orchestra._

_Optional Titles to Movements, Furnished by the Composer._

1. _Legend._

2. _Love-Song._

3. _In War Time._

4. _Dirge._

5. _Village Festival._

In the _Indian Suite_ we have one of the most graphic examples of MacDowell's power of creating atmospheres and impressions of big subjects. It is the finest and most mature of his orchestral works, thoroughly individual and without a trace of the nineteenth century German romanticism that is found in his earlier productions. Its musical declamation is commanding and infinitely noble. The atmosphere of the great rolling plains, mighty forests, and vast and lonely retreats is unerringly created. The notes of wildness and an indescribably touching spirit of far away romance are sounded, telling of a forgotten and dying elemental race. In the _Suite_ the lodges of the Red men rise again before our eyes; their old legends, savage war dances, love romances, their sorrows, joys and festivities live once more. MacDowell has caught the spirit of the days when the rude, but curiously interesting aborigines of America lived; of days that are now but treasured legends that still stir the hearts of the young in many lands. He conveyed a feeling of this atmosphere in his music with an unerring touch, the effect of which is heightened by the use of material derived from the native tunes of the North American Indians. The _Indian Suite_ is undoubtedly one of the most noble and impressive works that MacDowell ever composed, containing in the _Dirge_ movement one of his most striking utterances. In his last days he expressed a preference for this above anything else he had composed. The _Suite_ is full of stirring strength, vast tonalities, depth of feeling and elemental greatness, and is scored with a mastery of orchestral tone colour used solely and unerringly to enhance the poetic suggestiveness of the whole. It was fully sketched between three and four years before its first appearance, as the composer spent much time in becoming more closely acquainted with Red Indian tunes.

1. _Legend_ (_Not fast. With much dignity and character_). This opens with a romantic horn-call of the plains that is significant of the whole _Suite_:--

[Music.]

It is heard again at the end of the last movement. Indescribable is the effect of the paused note, the silence, and then the far away answer. The call is elaborated with rich effect, but the atmosphere of vastness and loneliness is preserved. The suggestiveness of this introduction is wonderfully vivid, for in a moment we are transported from the civilisation of to-day to the wildness and romance of the old days on the plains of the great West. The introduction finished, the movement proper begins (_Twice as fast. With decision._) with a long tremolo on the note B. At the fifth bar a harvest song of the Iroquois Indians appears:--

[Music.]

Vivid in effect is the following striving figure:--

[Music.]

The Indian theme is now elaborated at some length with much richness, and is wild in effect. After this a tender MacDowell-like second subject appears:--

[Music.]

This contemplative atmosphere is soon broken as the influence of the native theme is felt, and the striving figure is also heard. The music grows more and more wild and intricate, working up to a tearing intensity and then dying away until only a few deep murmurs remain. The striving figure is heard twice, and then follows a small bridge to a repetition of the tender second subject, now heard pianissimo under a swaying, chord accompaniment. After a time it grows in intensity and imperceptibly merges into the romantic call of the introduction, the influence of which, however, is at once felt. The music now mounts to a tremendous pose of strength, double _fortissimo_, the final bars striking the same attitude in a deeper and more stolid form. There is little in music of such iron-like force as the conclusion of this _Legend_. The thundering tremolos and chords are not intricate or beautiful, their very splendour lying in their stark, magnificent elemental power.

2. _Love-Song_ (_Not fast. Tenderly_). This opens with the tune of a love song of the Iowa Indians:--

[Music.]

This little after thought brings a touch of romance:--

[Music.]

A new and equally tender theme follows:--

[Music.]

Although not of great importance, this little episode is notable for its poetic suggestion of the Red Indian atmosphere:--

[Music.]

The music now goes on its way, rich in harmonic and instrumental colour, but always clear, now soft and lulling, now approaching the passionate. The first theme is heard again, and the _Love-Song_ is then concluded by the little after thought.

3. _In War Time_ (_With rough vigour, almost savagely_). A rude war song of the Iroquois Indians opens this movement:--

[Music.]

The rhythm of its continuation is afterwards made much of, particularly the active semiquaver figure:--

[Music.]

The opening theme is now repeated with the implied harmonies, the whole progressing with increasing intensity, the figure of the second illustration being prominent. The music surges wildly, undulating in a manner that suggests a Redskin scalp dance, the hideous, painted figures now bending low, now holding their weapons high above their heads. At length the fury of the war dance reaches an elan that exhausts it, the barbaric figure referred to in our second illustration becoming more and more prominent, then sinking lower and lower until it is nothing more than a series of thudding accents, broken by periods of silence of increasing length. The effect is one of horses galloping further and further away into the distance. After this the whole atmosphere changes, and a mournful, lonely cry is heard:--

[Music.]

We may find the significance of this in the fact that it is a prominent figure of the _Dirge_, No. 4 of the suite. The active figure is now heard again, deep and almost inaudible, softly ushering in the barbaric opening theme, now heard in the bass. The warriors appear to be returning as the music once more grows in volume. Wilder and wilder it grows--a moment's silence--only to begin again faster and faster. Still faster does it become until it is almost a scream, the conclusion coming in a magnificent series of reiterated chords thundered out with the full strength of the orchestra employed. There is no doubt that this piece is one of the most vividly imaginative and brilliant in the whole range of orchestral music, although it is rarely performed with the skill and insight it requires.

4. _Dirge_ (_Dirge-like, mournfully_). "Of all my music," said MacDowell after his last music had been published, "the _Dirge_ in the _Indian Suite_ pleases me most. It affects me deeply and did when I was writing it. In it an Indian woman laments the death of her son; but to me, as I wrote it, it seemed to express a world-sorrow rather than a particularised grief." The piece is undoubtedly one of its composer's most melancholy utterances. Under a long series of reiterated key notes of the tonic minor, the wailing phrase heard in _In War Time_ (No. 3 of the suite) appears:--

[Music.]

It goes on at some length with increasing sadness and richer harmonic and instrumental colouring (indescribable is the effect of a muted horn heard off the platform). Soon comes a deep and solemn bass uttering, heart-shaking in its grief. We give it with the passage leading up to it:--

[Music.]

After a while the music rises with the same lonely mournfulness to an outburst of despair:--

[Music.]

The sad opening phase follows and after this the solemn bass figure. The close is mysterious but piercing in its sobbing, inconsolable grief.

[Music.]

This _Dirge_ is indisputably the cry of a great soul, and there is little in music which expresses grief so effectively. The sense it gives of loneliness and sombreness has never been quite equalled by any other composer. The piece is not a funeral oration weighed down with pomp, but the spontaneous grief of elemental humanity. The scene is of a mother mourning for her son; its significance is of a world sorrow. The music would honour any composer, living or dead.

5. _Village Festival_ (_Swift and light_). This number is the longest of the Suite. It opens with the tune of a squaws' dance of the Iroquois Indians:--

[Music.]

This is soon followed by another of festivity:--

[Music.]

The music proceeds, rich in harmonic and instrumental colouring, and vividly suggesting the wild orgies of the village festivities of the Red Indians. The whole works up to frenzied power until exhaustion comes and it dies down again. Indicated as _slightly broader_, the opening tune is now heard softly over mysterious tremolos. Particularly subdued is the wild and sombre after thought:--

[Music.]

After a time, the striving figure first heard early in the first number of this suite, _Legend_, appears. The thumping accents of the festal dance are now heard again, softly, and soon we hear the opening tune. The wild excitement begins to return, growing to a frenzy in which a reminiscence of the first theme of the _Legend_ may be noticed. Soon the music sinks down again, but never losing its strongly-marked accents, and now hastening its course. The second festive theme is heard softly, high in the scale. Faster and faster, but still subdued, grows the music, the striving figure of the _Legend_ being prominent. A broadening out then comes and with it a magnificent, raw strength, in which is heard the romantic call that opens the whole work in the introduction to the first movement. The bare tonic is now struck with a gesture of great force. A roll of sound follows. Again the bare note is sounded, and again the roll of sound succeeds. The last dozen bars thunder solely on the tonic note, with a rude, but stern and manly elemental absence of harmonic colouring, typifying with undeniable dignity the savage, but often impressive and noble figure of the Red Man, forgotten now that his great race has been succeeded by the greatest and most striking nation of the white races--the Republic of the West.

The _Indian Suite_ is obtainable in pianoforte score.

OPUS 49. AIR AND RIGAUDON, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1894 (Breitkopf & Härtel).

This work has been curiously neglected. It comes just at the beginning of MacDowell's more mature period, but nobody seems to know much about it. It is true that it lacks the definitely indicated poetic basis that is a feature of the composer's finest work, but it is a well written and melodious composition. It is at least more deserving of attention than the popular _Hexentanz, Op. 17_, and the _Etude de Concert in F sharp, Op. 36_, but these two owe their popularity to the virtuoso pianist. Grove's _Dictionary of Music and Musicians_ refers to _Op. 49_ as "some dances published in a Boston collection."

OPUS 50. SECOND SONATA, EROICA, IN G MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1895 (Breitkopf & Härtel).

_Dedicated to William Mason._

"_Flos regum Arthurus._"

1. _Slow, with nobility_--_Fast, passionately, etc._

2. _Elf-like, as light and swift as possible._

3. _Tenderly, longingly, yet with passion._

4. _Fiercely, very fast._

The _Sonata Eroica_ is perhaps the most beautiful and noble, although not the grandest or most stirring, of MacDowell's four pianoforte sonatas. It has not the weight and power of the _Sonata Tragica, Op. 45_, but in its beauty and noble dignity it is infinitely more impressive. The whole work was inspired by the Arthurian legends that MacDowell, with his love of ancient chivalry and romance, loved to idealise. In the sonata he has illuminated his subject with compelling nobleness of thought and beauty of effect, freely adapting the traditional musical form to the needs of his poetic purpose. The work requires a considerable amount of study for its finished performance, as well as a knowledge and understanding of its source of inspiration. Heard at its best it is a magnificent solo piece, only surpassed by the composer's own two later sonatas, the _Norse, Op. 57_, and the _Keltic, Op. 59_.

1. The first movement is notable for its variety of _tempo_ and expression, every page containing new indications as to these in the illuminating and characteristic English of the composer. He has told us that the movement as a whole typifies the coming of Arthur, and as such we may leave it. The traditional sonata form is freely adapted to the poetic requirements of the movement, but the result is rather ragged. The music itself, however, is deeply inspired and full of fire. The simple, yet pathetic second subject is recalled again in the slow movement.

2. The fanciful and "elf-like" _scherzo_ movement was suggested to the composer by Doré's picture of a knight in a wood, surrounded by mythological forest folk. The music is imaginative and cleverly written, but MacDowell afterwards considered the movement as a whole to be "an aside" from the general content of the sonata. The present writer thinks that this _scherzo_ may be omitted by a performer who satisfies himself that it is not an essential part of the Arthurian concept of the whole. If the sonata is played simply as programme music, however, it benefits by the inclusion of this movement.

3. This movement is headed, _Tenderly, longingly, yet with passion_, and is considered by many of the composer's admirers to be one of his most beautiful inspirations. It is, according to MacDowell himself, a musical representation of Guinevere, Arthur's lovely queen. Quite independent of the rest of the sonata, the movement is a tone poem of rare beauty, expressiveness and passion, although the melody entering at its eleventh bar connects it with the preceding movement.

4. The last movement represents the passing of Arthur. It is strikingly suggestive of the closing days of the Arthurian drama, the tragic note being often impressively struck, although not so definitely as in the _Sonata Tragica_. The import of the movement is satisfying to those who believe that the days of romance and chivalry closed with the fall of Arthur and his knights, despite the attempts in the Middle Ages to revive the past. The movement as a whole is physically exhausting, except to the very strong. The great climax arrives some way before the end of the work, the music seeming gradually to ebb away after it as though it were but recounting the last scenes of Arthur's death. The two final pages sadly recall the opening theme of the first movement, typifying the coming of Arthur. The coda is of moving tenderness, indicating the tragedy of Guinevere. A final and elevated outburst is heard and then the sonata ends with a prolonged chord. Altogether there is something very noble and beautiful about this sonata, from which the magnificence and surpassing power and beauty of the two later ones do not detract.

OPUS 51. WOODLAND SKETCHES, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1896 (P.L. Jung. Assigned, 1899 to Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _To a Wild Rose._

2. _Will o' the Wisp._

3. _At an Old Trysting-place._

4. _In Autumn._

5. _From an Indian Lodge._

6. _To a Water-lily._

7. _From Uncle Remus._

8. _A Deserted Farm._

9. _By a Meadow Brook._

10. _Told at Sunset._

These widely known pieces were composed during the last part of MacDowell's residence at Boston, just before he left for New York to take up his duties as professor of music at Columbia University. In these _Woodland Sketches_ we come for the first time to the point at which his pianoforte poems are absolutely responsive to elemental moods, unaffected in style and yet distinguished, free from commonplace, speaking with a personal note that is inimitable. They are, as a whole, mature Nature poems of an exquisite and charming order, beautiful not only for their outward manifestations, but for the deeper significance they give to their sources of inspiration.

1. _To a Wild Rose_ (_with simple tenderness_). This is one of the most charming and well known of MacDowell's small pieces. It is founded on a simple melody of the Brotherton Indians, and has a poise of the most refined and beautiful order. The composer was always afraid of the less intelligent music lovers "tearing it up by the roots." A vocal arrangement has been made by Herman Hagedorn, but the words are sickly and commonplace in sentiment, and so unnaturally cramped, that the song is artistically worthless.

2. _Will o' the Wisp_ (_Swift and light; fancifully_). This is a very imaginative piece, full of mysterious and shadowy lightness, and swift of movement. It seems to just float over the keys and in its general effect is fascinating and spirit-like, with dancing little lights flickering in the shadows.

3. _At an Old Trysting-place_ (_Somewhat quaintly; not too sentimentally_). This is the shortest piece of the set, and is only thirty bars long. It is cramped into one page in the current edition of the sketches. The melody is tender, undulating and expressive and is supported by full but always clear chords, with typical modulations. The broadness of the chord writing, together with the general tone of the piece as a whole, seems to call for orchestral colouring and foreshadows MacDowell's most advanced period. As a whole, it is contemplative, expressing the wistfulness of one who stands at a quiet place, musing on bygone meetings there.

4. _In Autumn_ (_Buoyantly, almost exuberantly_). MacDowell threw an irresistible joyous excitement into this piece (as he did later in the superb _The Joy of Autumn_, from _New England Idyls, Op. 62_). _In Autumn_ opens with a brisk staccato theme, followed by little chromatic runs which seem to suggest the whistling of the wind through the tree-tops. A middle section brings a complete change of mood, as if questioning the elements. A mysterious and fanciful little passage leads to a resumption of the opening joy of existence. In short, this piece is most exhilarating, and pulsates with life and with an exuberance that is most infectious.

5. _From an Indian Lodge_ (_Sternly, with great emphasis_). This is as strong and impressive a piece as MacDowell ever composed for the pianoforte. From the first bar the note of the stern stolidity of the Red man is struck. The rude, elemental power of the bare octaves of the introductory bars is unmistakable. The ensuing stolid oration, punctuated by emotionless grunts, is an ingenious musical sketch of a pow-wow scene in an Indian wigwam. The piece closes with a reminiscence of the last part of the introduction, first softly and then very loudly, the final chords being of orchestral-like sonority. The whole composition is one of the best in the set for showing MacDowell's ability to create atmosphere. The scene of the Indian lodge is unmistakable.

6. _To a Water-lily_ (_In dreamy, swaying rhythm_). This is a remarkable little piece of lyrical tone painting. It is in the key of F sharp major, and is mostly played on the black keys. Its chords are rich and, except in the short middle section, scored on three staves, yet always with an effect of the utmost lightness of poise. The piece is vividly suggestive of a water-lily floating delicately on quiet water, but in the questioning little middle section something seems to disturb the water, and for a moment the flower rocks uneasily. The opening theme returns and the piece ends with the utmost delicacy of effect. _To a Water-lily_ is generally admitted to be one of the most exquisite and perfect lyrics MacDowell ever composed for the pianoforte.

7. _From Uncle Remus_ (_With much humour; joyously_). American youngsters delight in the negro tales of "Uncle Remus," and this piece opens with an unbridled joviality that continues to the end. There is a wealth of jolly humour that is delightfully frank and infectious without being commonplace. It is rich and real, with a breadth that was a captivating feature of MacDowell's personal sense of humour.

8. _A Deserted Farm_ (_With deep feeling_). A deeper note is struck in this piece, the opening theme being very grave. Later a wistful tenderness comes over the whole, but the grave melody returns and in this mood the piece ends. The whole atmosphere of it is one of loneliness, and, except for a sonorous bar or two, its expression is subdued. It gives an impression of the quiet that hangs around an old country home long since deserted, where human life once existed with all its joys and sorrows.

9. _By a Meadow Brook_ (_Gracefully, merrily_). This goes bubbling and sparkling along, now swirling round a little rock, now running over a little waterfall, but always going merrily on until softer and softer grows the tonality, finally vanishing from musical sight. The piece is purely a play of tone, but never shallow, for it suggests not only a particular type of Nature scene, but the significance of the beauty and goodness it symbolises.

10. _Told at Sunset_ (_With pathos_). This piece is of some importance from the fact that it contains thematic allusions to two of the preceding numbers. It opens with a sad, reflective theme that is reminiscent of _A Deserted Farm_. It proceeds for nineteen bars, dying softly away high in the scale. After a moment's silence, a softly breathed, but firmly emphasised marching tune appears, marked _Faster sturdily_. It grows gradually louder until it is thundered out in its full strength, with something of the nervous accentuation peculiar to Elgar's music. It dies gradually away again, until nothing is left but a few last faint references to its sturdy quality. The grave theme of _A Deserted Farm_ (_No._ 8) is now introduced (transposed a semitone lower than the original to F minor), freely altered, and infused with more intense expressiveness. The conclusion is dramatic, for after twenty-four bars of deep and tender contemplation comes an impressive silence--and then the stern and solemn chords of the latter part of the introduction to _From an Indian Lodge_ are heard, first softly and then with virile orchestral _fortissimo_, and with this the piece closes.

OPUS 52. THREE CHORUSES, FOR MALE VOICES.

_First Published_, 1897 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Hush, hush!_

2. _A Voice from the Sea._

3. _The Crusaders._

These part-songs are finely written and full of suggestiveness. _Hush, hush!_ creates the atmosphere suggested by its title. _A Voice from the Sea_ and _The Crusaders_ are settings of some of the composer's own verses. The sea song tells of the north wind's wrath, the roaring sea on the rugged shore and of a woman with a torch, looking out into the darkness, moaning: "Thy will be done." The whole song graphically suggests the dangers of the sea. The third chorus is heroic and strong, not treating of the forces of nature, as does the preceding number, but with the bold, adventurous daring, fired with religious zeal, of the old Crusaders. The music of _The Crusaders_ is worthy of its theme.

OPUS 53. TWO CHORUSES, FOR MALE VOICES.

_First Published_, 1898 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Bonnie Ann._

2. _The Collier Lassie._

These are charming part-songs, and bear the composer's individual stamp. The groups of male voice choruses of Ops. 52, 53 and 54, present a fine aspect of MacDowell's work, although they are not of his most important output. Presumably a good reason why they are so seldom performed in Europe is that they are little known here; it is certainly not because their inspiration or effect is poor. The composer was conductor of the Mendelssohn Glee Club, an old-established American Male Voice Choir, about the date when these part-songs were written.

OPUS 54. TWO CHORUSES, FOR MALE VOICES.

_First Published_, 1898 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _A Ballad of Charles the Bold._

2. _Midsummer Clouds._

These two choruses are some of the finest of MacDowell's little known part-songs for male voices, and are both written to his own lines. The first is a stirring ballad of olden times:--

_Duke Charles rode forth at early dawn
Through drifting morning mists,
His armour frosted by the dew
Gleamed sullenly defiance....

... All day long the battle raged.
And spirits mingled with the mist
That wreathed the warring knights...._

Charles, although his charger is led by Death against the foe, himself falls a victim to the tireless Reaper.

The second chorus, _Midsummer Clouds_, is in pleasant contrast to the blood and war spirit of the first. In it we have the imaginative charm and beauty of lines like the following:--

_Through the clear meadow blue
Wander fleecy white lambs...._

There is a certain depth about the song, however, as if the scenic suggestion is only a symbol of something greater and more human, and this feeling is increased by the last verse:--

_And the light dies away
As the silent dim shapes
Sail on through the gloaming,
Towards dreamland's gates._

OPUS 55. SEA PIECES, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1898 (P.L. Jung. Assigned 1899 to Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _To the Sea._

2. _From a Wandering Iceberg._

3. _A.D. 1620._

4. _Starlight._

5. _Song._

6. _From the Depths._

7. _Nautilus._

8. _In Mid-Ocean._

The _Sea Pieces_ contain some of the finest of MacDowell's suggestive tone poetry. They are chiefly remarkable for their exhibiting the composer's ability to suggest a big scene, or a dramatic or emotional content of far-reaching significance, in an incredibly small space. The power and breadth of some of the pieces is great, while their beauty of tone, displaying the powers of the pianoforte from _pppp_ to _fff_, is rich and full in its harmonic construction. Although the chords seem to call for orchestral colouring, the effect is always clear and ringing on the pianoforte, whilst the melodies are some of the most noble and dignified of MacDowell's short pieces. As a contrast to the strength of some of the numbers in the set, others are of an exquisite and quiet beauty. Altogether the _Sea Pieces_ make up one of the most superb pianoforte albums in existence, for they are tone poems of unsurpassed beauty, strength of character, nobleness of thought and unerring atmospheric suggestion, touching the high water mark of the composer's inspirations. Each piece is headed by a verse of the composer's own writing, except the first, sixth and seventh, which have single lines only. The poems are included in the published book of his verse.

1. _To the Sea_ (_With dignity and breadth_). This is headed:--

_Ocean, thou mighty monster_,

and is a tone poem of remarkable power. It is but thirty-one bars in length and yet it contains more solid material, breadth and perfectly concentrated splendour than many an orchestral tone poem of symphonic proportions. The graduations of tone found in the piece are very fine and could only have been written by one who knew intimately the tonal resources of the modern pianoforte. The chord writing spreads over a wide area of the keyboard, but is remarkable for its clarity. It is indeed extremely difficult to call to mind any other composer who could have painted a tone picture so big in outlook and so complete in itself, in such a small space as MacDowell has done here.

2. _From a Wandering Iceberg_ (_Serenely_). This piece suggests a towering iceberg gradually approaching, passing by in all its splendour, and going on toward _realms of burning light_. The tone variety ranges from _as soft and smooth as possible_ to a virile, orchestral _fff_. The melody of the piece is very beautiful and the whole thing has a curious icy clearness about it that is remarkably realistic. The last seven bars contain music as tender and serene as anything MacDowell ever composed.

3. _A.D. 1620_ (_In unbroken rolling rhythm_). This represents the voyage of the pilgrim fathers and is a four-page piece, about double the length of the preceding two. Its character is generally stern, and the rolling of the lumbering ship is vividly suggested. The middle portion consists of a magnificent song marked _Sturdily and sternly, but without change of rhythm_. The tune is not beautiful, but it is strong and inspiring, and in these respects it is unique. Its power is remarkable even for MacDowell. As the preceding part gradually led up to the song, so in its repetition it gradually dies away, as if the ship had approached and passed by, bearing its load of the men, women and children who were to found the great Republic of the West.

4. _Starlight_ (_Tenderly_). This is a tender and beautiful little inspiration. It has a melodic and harmonic outlook of the exquisite poise that marks MacDowell's finest work. The light and shade of the piece call for perfect control of tone production on the part of the performer. It is lighter and more finely conceived than the preceding pieces in this set, and is a very perfect tone suggestion of the loveliness of a quiet, starlit sea.

5. _Song_ (_In changing moods_). This opens softly with a cheery song which has a rough and hearty chorus. A deeper emotion is sounded where the music is marked _passionately_, and after this comes a passage of wistful tenderness. The song is resumed, together with its chorus, but near the end the tender portion is recalled, and the piece ends with a subdued and thoughtful reminiscence of the air.

6. _From the Depths_ (_In languid swaying rhythm_).This is one of MacDowell's greater inspirations and is headed:--

_And who shall sound the mystery of the seas._

This is a magnificent tone poem. We first have a picture of the sea, calm, but sinister, and then we see it working up to its full power and fury in a storm. The gradations of tone range from a sombre, mysterious _ppp_ to an _fff_ of furious power. The writing is very full and rich, and there are passages of a stupendous strength and magnificence of effect seldom found outside MacDowell's own music.

7. _Nautilus_ (_Delicately, gracefully_). This is headed:--

_A fairy sail and a fairy boat_

and is the gem of the set. The writing is of exquisite gracefulness and charm. The scenery, as the little voyage proceeds, is of fresh loveliness and constantly changing, while the curious, indecisive rhythm is unmistakably suggestive of an uncanny boat trip in quiet water. The whole piece is one of perpetual charm and delight to the ear.

8. _In Mid-Ocean_ (_With deep feeling_). Here we find the deeper note struck again:--

_Inexorable! Thou straight line of eternal fate...._

The music of this piece is transporting in its majestic nobility and magnificent, sweeping strength. It is one of the most superb of MacDowell's short pieces. From the deep and sonorous opening bars, through passionately mounting fury, to the sombre and mysterious close--in all of it we are confronted with the work of an unmistakably inspired master. With this fitting, unsurpassed picture, not of the outward might of the sea alone, but of the mysterious, relentless and terrible beauty of its significance as Fate, MacDowell concluded his _Sea Pieces_--Tone poems of artistic supremacy, of inimitable strength and loveliness of expression, that will live as long as there are men and women who are stirred by the deep power of music to give expression to God's Creation.

OPUS 56. FOUR SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1898 (P.L. Jung. Later assigned to Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Long Ago, Sweetheart Mine._

2. _The Swan Bent Low to the Lily._

3. _A Maid Sings Light._

4. _As the Gloaming Shadows Creep._

This is a very beautiful group of songs, made from the best of the composer's artistic material. They are of pure and uncommonly high quality, expressing happiness, tenderness and irresistible charm. The verses of each are the composer's own, those of the last number being after Frauenlob.

1. _Long Ago_ (_Simply, with pathos_). This song has a sadness and tenderness which, together with its words, give it an irresistible appeal. The scene it suggests is that of an elderly couple, for whom life is drawing to a close, recalling the far-off days when their undying love for each other commenced. The expression of the music is very human and free from any commonplace sentiment.

2. _The Swan Bent Low to the Lily_ (_With much feeling_). This song is an exquisite and charming little lyric.

3. _A Maid Sings Light_ (_Brightly, archly_). This song has a captivating delightfulness and warns off a lad, lest he lose his heart to the fair maid who not only sings light, but loves light.

4. _As the Gloaming Shadows Creep_ (_Tenderly_). This is one of MacDowell's finest songs. The words are "after Frauenlob," and were used previously by the composer in _As the Gloaming Shadows Creep_ in _Songs from the Thirteenth Century_ (without opus number) _for Male Chorus_. The music is very tender and beautiful in expression, and these qualities atone for the fact that the song does not always show a perfect alliance between words and music; its chief merit is in the outstanding quality of the latter.

_Long Ago_ and _A Maid Sings Light_ form one of the gramophone records made for "His Master's Voice" series by Alma Gluck. This lyric soprano has sung the two MacDowell songs with sympathy and perfect phrasing. The accompaniments were played by a Mr. Bourdon, who unfortunately disregarded the composer's tone and legato indications.

OPUS 57. THIRD SONATA, NORSE, IN D MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1900 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Impressively; at times with impetuous vigour._

2. _Mournfully, yet with great tenderness._

3. _With much character and fire._

The two last sonatas, the _Norse, Op. 57_, and, the _Keltic, Op. 59_, are MacDowell's most superb achievements, banishing for ever the mistaken and ignorant assertion that he was only a miniaturist in composition. The _Norse_ sonata is separated by a wide gulf of progress from its predecessor, the _Sonata Eroica_, being greater in outlook, freer in form and altogether more strongly determined and personal in character. It has a more mature strength, nobleness and dignity, together with an inspiring and magnificent beauty and splendour of tone power. The subject of the work was one that MacDowell loved to dwell upon--the stirring tales of love and mighty heroism told in the ancient Norse sagas. The barbaric, but undoubtedly splendid spirit of those dim days seized upon his imagination as it did upon that of the English composer, Elgar, when he wrote his _Scenes from the Sagas of King Olaf_. The writing in the _Norse_ sonata is of tremendous breadth and sweep of line, only surpassed by that of the _Keltic_ sonata, (_Op. 59_), often calling forth the utmost power of which the modern pianoforte is capable and altogether ignoring the stretch of one pair of hands, which have to leap the huge chordal stretches very smartly. Notwithstanding this fullness of writing, however, the effect is always ringing and clear. The third and fourth of MacDowell's sonatas were dedicated by him to Grieg, but the printed copies of the former do not bear the inscription, though those of the _Keltic_ do so.

1. The first movement opens darkly and sombrely, suggesting the lines of the verse that heads the sonata as a whole, telling of the great rafters in the hall at night, flashing crimson in the flickering light of a dying log fire. The strong voice of a bard rings out, and through this medium the tales of battles, love and heroic valour is told. The movement has passages of tremendous vigour, passion and depth, all painted with the unerring skill of the composer. The final bars are of fierce and elemental power.