the composer? In Germany, on the other hand, the one is quite as prominently given as the other, showing that the words are considered equally important with the music—as indeed they are. There is nothing in our language which makes it unsuitable for singing, though undoubtedly some difficulties in setting it to music arise out of the irregular occurrence of the accents in our poetry. But accentuation is a subject deserving of much more study than it has yet received. Even some of our best composers seem scarcely to have bestowed a thought on the due correspondence of the accents of the verse with the accents of the music. German songs, on the other hand, are seldom defective in this respect, except when they have been translated into English, and then, of course, the blame lies with the translator. Much injustice has too often been done to fine German and other foreign songs by the carelessness with which the translation of them has been confided to hasty or incompetent hands. Skilful translation is by no means an easy art, and its importance would seem to be better understood in Germany and France than in England. Adolphe Laun and Victor Wilder have shown what high accomplishments may worthily be employed in the art of translation for music; but how few are the English translators of whom the same could be said!
Of living and very recent English song-writers, a large section still adhere to the ever-popular ballad form. Regarding the voice-part as the paramount consideration, they attempt nothing more than the simplest harmonies and accompaniments. And within these narrow limits, by the force of natural gifts and instinctive taste, they have produced many songs of great merit, whose popularity has often been a sufficient reply to adverse criticism. Such were Knight's 'She wore a wreath of roses,' and 'Rocked in the cradle of the deep'; Wallace's 'Bell-ringer'; Balfe's 'Come into the garden, Maud,' and many another detached ballad; Madame Sainton Dolby's 'Sands of Dee'; Smart's 'Lady of the Lea' and 'Estelle,' etc., etc. But the English ballad can be of much lower grade than these, and is too often debased by a vulgarity which, to say the least, is not creditable to our national taste, though it is often loudly applauded. Perfectly distinct from these is another class of writers, whose aims are higher, and who follow more closely the footsteps of the German school. Pre-eminent among these are Sterndale Bennett, in his two sets of six songs (ops. 23 and 35); and, with the same correctness of form but more distinct English feeling, Macfarren, especially in his lyrics from Shelley and others; J. W. Davison ('Swifter far' and other songs from Shelley); Hullah ('The Storm,' 'I arise,' 'The Three Fishers'); C. K. Salaman; and in particular Edward Bache, whose six songs (op. 16) are among the most enduring relics of his too short career. [App. p.795 "among the English songs, Hatton's 'To Anthea' should be mentioned as one of the very best of its kind. Its omission was accidental."]
Of genuine English songs—that is, purely English in idiom or turn of expression—there has been of late a considerable revival. Few songs have ever been more popular than those of Sullivan, and few vary more widely in merit. His 'Orpheus' and other Shakespeare songs, his set or cycle of 'The Window, or the Loves of the Wrens,' to Tennyson's words; 'Sweet day so cool,' 'O fair dove,' are truly delightful, melody and accompaniment alike full of character, and with an unmistakeable individuality. 'I wish to tune' is a long scena, full of good points, but hardly coming within the category of the Song. Others are less carefully studied, and, with all their extraordinary popularity, can hardly last, or add a permanent tribute to the many merits of this composer. F. Clay and Seymour Egerton have both written good and graceful detached songs. Stanford's 'La belle dame sans merci' is powerful, and his 'Robin,' from Tennyson's 'Queen Mary,' though slight, is full of quaint charm. Hubert Parry's 'Three odes of Anacreon,' 'Why doth azure deck the sky,' 'The Poet's song,' 'I prithee give me back my heart,' and many more, are of a high degree of excellence and individuality.
But criticism in detail of the compositions of living or recent writers is always difficult and full of risk. We stand too near them to appraise their work without, at least, awakening suspicions of prejudice or partiality; and time may be trusted to discriminate the good from the bad with substantial, if not infallible justice. To the tribunal of posterity we must leave Barnby, J. F. Barnett, Bond-Andrews, Cowen, Davison, Duggan, Elliot, Virginia Gabriel, Gledhill, Lawson, Mounsey-Bartholomew, Marzials, Molloy, Stainer, Stirling, E. H. Thorne, Maude V. White, and many more.
The books from which the above information has been taken have been referred to en passant in the notes.
Scandinavia.
To this group belong Sweden, Norway, Denmark, parts of Finland, Iceland, and the adjacent islands. The Scandinavians have always been a music-loving nation; but it was not until recent times that systematic collections of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish Volkslieder were made. In these collections the dates of the songs are nearly impossible to define; they may have been faithfully transmitted by ear from generation to generation for hundreds of years past, or they may have been invented by some gifted peasant of the present day. Very few were noted down until the end of the last century.
The poetry of Scandinavia is peculiarly rich in ballads, legends, and tales of the old heroes of the middle ages, the heroic-epic element being abundant, while the lyrical one plays little part except in the refrains to the ballads. The collectors of the Volkslieder have found great difficulty in noting down the music of these Kämpeviser, owing to the free, declamatory way in which they are sung. The formal melody only occurs in the refrain or Omkväd.
Little as we know of the ancient minstrelsy of the Scalds, it is probable that the same analogy that now exists between the heroic epics and the
