Here, as in his writing for piano and for orchestra, one will find abundant evidence of his distinguishing traits--sensitiveness and fervour of imagination, a lovely and intimate sense of romance, whimsical and piquant humour, virility, passion, an unerring instinct for atmospheric suggestion.

But there are times when, despite his avowed principles in the matter, he sacrifices truth of declamation to the presumed requirements of melodic design--when he seems to pay more heed to the unrelated effect of tonal contours than to the dramatic or emotional needs of his text.
As an instance of his not infrequent indifference to justness of declamatory utterance, examine his setting of "in those brown eyes," at the bottom of the last page of "Confidence" (op.

47), and of the word "without" in the fourth bar of "Tyrant Love" (op.

60).

I dwell upon this point, not in any spirit of captiousness, I need scarcely say, but because it exemplifies a fairly persistent characteristic of MacDowell's style as a song writer.
Of that other trait to which I have referred--his not exceptional preoccupation with a purely musical plan at the expense of dramatic and emotional congruity--the attentive observer will not want for examples in almost any of MacDowell's song-groups.