4. _Dirge._

5. _Village Festival._

In the _Indian Suite_ we have one of the most graphic examples of
MacDowell's power of creating atmospheres and impressions of big
subjects. It is the finest and most mature of his orchestral
works, thoroughly individual and without a trace of the
nineteenth century German romanticism that is found in his
earlier productions. Its musical declamation is commanding and
infinitely noble. The atmosphere of the great rolling plains,
mighty forests, and vast and lonely retreats is unerringly
created. The notes of wildness and an indescribably touching
spirit of far away romance are sounded, telling of a forgotten
and dying elemental race. In the _Suite_ the lodges of the Red
men rise again before our eyes; their old legends, savage war
dances, love romances, their sorrows, joys and festivities live
once more. MacDowell has caught the spirit of the days when the
rude, but curiously interesting aborigines of America lived; of
days that are now but treasured legends that still stir the
hearts of the young in many lands. He conveyed a feeling of this
atmosphere in his music with an unerring touch, the effect of
which is heightened by the use of material derived from the
native tunes of the North American Indians. The _Indian Suite_ is
undoubtedly one of the most noble and impressive works that
MacDowell ever composed, containing in the _Dirge_ movement one
of his most striking utterances. In his last days he expressed a
preference for this above anything else he had composed. The
_Suite_ is full of stirring strength, vast tonalities, depth of