by Ethel Walker
MacDowell, pupil of Raff and one of the most distinguished of American composers, is best known by his charming genre pieces for piano. But he also wrote four highly romantic piano sonatas entitled respectively ' Tragica ', ' Eroica ', ' Norse ', and ' Keltic '. The ' Tragica ' was inspired by the death of Raff, the ' Eroica ' by Tennyson's ' Idylls of the King ', and the ' Keltic ' by the legend of Deirdre and Cuchullain. The ' Norse ', which Ethel Walker is playing, is also based on a legend, that of Gudrun and Sigurd, and the title-page bears the following verses by the composer himself:
Night had fallen on a day of deeds.
The great rafters in the red-ribbed hall Plashed crimson in the fitful flame
Of smouldering logs.
And from the stealthy shadows
That crept 'round Harald's throne, Rang out a Skald's strong voice, With tales of battles won ;
Of Gud run's love
And Sigurd, Siegmund's son.