ess, while they were written for the use of amateurs, they
contain nearly all of the Haendel art of variation-making, as the reader
can easily satisfy himself by comparing their treatment with that in
the famous "Harmonious Blacksmith" variations in E major.

A very remarkable, and at present almost unknown, chapter of the Brahms
cult is afforded by his four Ballads, opus 10. These are short,--only
about four pages each,--and when properly interpreted are very noble
and beautiful. The first, in D minor, has an opening theme of a very
serious and almost antique character, like an old ballad. After one
page of this a second subject comes, allegro, in D major, very much
more dramatic and broken. This lasts about a page; the principal theme
is resumed again, with certain variations of treatment, and the whole
concludes at the end of the third page. The second ballad is of a
softer and more tender character in its principal subject, and very
beautiful it is, too; but the second subject, in B minor, is very
emphatic in rhythm, and is followed by a middle piece in B major, in
6/4 time, which is rather difficult to play satisfactorily to one's
self. Then the second subject returns, and finally the first, in the
key of B major, changing afterward to minor, and thus the end. The
third ballad is marked intermezzo, and has the character of a scherzo.
It is rather difficult. The fourth ballad, again, is a purely lyric
composition, and is precisely what its name implies--a story, a melody
with a past. The middle piece of this ballad is in F-sharp major, the
original key of the whole being B major, and there is a very pretty and
reposeful melodic effect. Nevertheless, the tonality of the piece
throughout is extremely vague, no key being adhered to for any length
of time, but modulations occurring with a free hand. This ballad is
carried out to the extent of eight pages, and is the longest of the lot.

A careful study of these ballads will show them to be works of the
deepest poetry, which, while never appealing to the player in search of
the grateful and effective, nevertheless richly reward the most
intimate acquaintance, and show themselves full of ideality and musical
suggestiveness. That they are devoid of all kinds of passage work and
pianoforte effects, as such, is merely another way of saying that they
are entirely and exclusively loyal to the ideal and the poetic; and
these elements in them must eventually give the