Twelfth Night, Shakespeare remarks—“I did think by the excel-
lent constitution of thy leg that it was formed under the star of
a Galliard.” One of the most remarkable works of the English
composer John Dowland (born 1562) is entitledLachrymae, or
Seven Teares, figured in seven passionate Pavans.
[Footnote 75: For a vivid description of these dances see Chabrier’s
Lettres à Nanette, Paris, 1910.]
The Suite, by reason of its freedom in combining different rhythms
and moods, has appealed vividly to modern composers; and
the literature of our times contains a number of Suites which
should be known to the music-lover. In these modern Suites
no attempt is made to conform to the old conventional group-
ing of dances. The movements are in different keys, are of-
ten based on rhythms of an exotic or ultra-nationalistic type—
as in Tchaikowsky and Dvo[vr]ák, or may employ any mate-
rial suggested by the fantastic imagination of the composer—
as in Debussy and Ravel. Among the most attractive modern
Suites may be cited: ThePeer Gynt (put together from inci-
dental music to Ibsen’s play) and theHolbergby Grieg; the two
L’Arlésienne Suitesby Bizet (written to illustrate Daudet’s ro-
mantic story)—the first, with its dainty Minuet and brilliant
Carillons (Peal of bells); Dvo[vr]ák’sSuite for Small Orches-
tra, op. 39, with its sprightly Polka and impassioned Furiant;
Tchaikowsky’s five Orchestral Suites of which the best known are
theCasse-Noisettewith its exotic rhythms and novel orchestral
effects, theMozartianaand the third which closes with a bril-
liant Polonaise; Brahms’sSerenadesfor orchestra; Charpentier’s
Impressions of Italyin which there is an effective use of Ital-
ian rhythm and color; MacDowell’sIndian Suite, with several
of the themes based on native tunes; the fascinating orchestral
SuiteAdventures in a Perambulatorby John Alden Carpenter;
Arthur Whiting’sSuite Modernefor pianoforte;Stevensoniana,
(based on stanzas from Stevenson’sChild’s Garden of Verses)
an orchestral Suite in four movements by Edward B. Hill; De-
bussy’sSuite Bergamasquein which is found the oft-playedClair
de Lune; Ravel’s[76]Mother Goose, a delightful work—and by
the same composer theDaphnis and ChloeSuite, the material
drawn from an opera of the same name. In modern literature
easily the most celebrated and brilliant example of this type is
theScheherazade Suite(based on the Arabian Nights) for full
orchestra by Rimsky-Korsakoff. This work in the genuine poetic