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
poe