somber_; five bars from the end there is a moment's
silence, and then the opening theme of the first movement rings
out and the sonata ends with the utmost breadth and strength.

OPUS 58. THREE SONGS, FOR VOICE AND PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1899 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

1. _Constancy_ (_New England, A.D. 1899_).

2. _Sunrise._

3. _Merry Maiden Spring._

The verses of these songs are MacDowell's own, and both words and
music here go to make up song writing of an order that is rare in
its beauty of expression, tender thought and pure lyricism.

In _Constancy_ (_New England, A.D. 1899_), indicated _Simply, but
with deep feeling_, we have one of MacDowell's best songs. It has
a tenderness and wistfulness about it that is irresistible, and
sung in the spirit of its words, which tell of an empty house and
neglected garden, it is a very beautiful thing.

_Sunrise_, marked _With power and authority_, is short and tells
of the sorrowful spectacle of a wrecked and broken ship. The
actual scene, however, seems secondary to its own significance as
a symbol of human life. The music is heavy after the style of
certain of the composer's pianoforte _Sea Pieces_ (_Op_. 55).

The third and last song, _Merry Maiden Spring_, is charming, with
a singularly bright and captivating freshness. It is indicated to
be sung _Lightly, gracefully_.

OPUS 59. FOURTH SONATA, KELTIC, IN E MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE.

_First Published_, 1901 (Arthur P. Schmidt).

_Dedicated to Edvard Grieg_.

1. _With great power and dignity_.

2. _With naive tenderness_.

3. _Very swift and fierce_.

The _Keltic Sonata_ is generally considered MacDowell's supreme
achievement, the great culmination of his evolution toward
musical expression of immense and rare power. The sonata is a
work of great breadth and vitality, and has a sweep of line and
noble beauty of expression that is only equalled in the supreme
efforts of genius, such as Beethoven's _Appassionata_ sonata for
instance. It is a most superb poetical romance, full of the
passion and heroic fervour of the Celtic strain in MacDowell's
own nature. It searched out his finest and deepest inspiration
when he wrote it and it grew to be part of his very being
afterwards. The whole thing is a reflection of the heroic and
stirring romances in Celtic legend. It is full of a wild beauty
and sorrow, and carries us back to those far-off days when men
lived the lives that now to us see