omposer'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
contras