Of his compositions as a whole it may be said that they are astonishingly original in an age which has found it all but impossible to escape imitation. He is, like most of the great composers, largely self-taught, and yet there is scarcely a trace of mannerisms; nor what is even more remarkable, of the mannerisms of others. His music is the pure and perfectly formed expression of a nature at once refined and imaginative. In these days of startling innovations, the sincerity of which may not be unhesitatingly trusted, it sounds none the less spirited because it is unquestionably genuine and relatively simple. It stands forth as a substantial proof that delicate poetry and clear-cut workmanship have not yet failed to charm. Although he has lived at New Haven for the past twenty years, during which time he has been professor of music at Yale, Horatio Parker's career is in a large measure identified with Boston and its circles. Parker was born (1863) at Auburndale, a suburb of Boston, and his earliest teachers were Stephen Emery and Chadwick. After his preliminary studies with these men Parker studied with Rheinberger in Munich. Returning home in 1885, he soon began to attract notice by the excellence of his compositions and to-day he stands as one of the commanding figures in American music. His compositions have won a dignified place for themselves and his conscientious labors at Yale have created a music department that far excels those of the other American universities in the practical advantages which it offers to the serious music student. The list of Parker's works is long and varied. It contains, besides his two most famous works (the oratorio _Hora Novissima_ and the opera 'Mona'), several orchestral scores, among others an overture (in E flat), a symphony, and 'A Northern Ballad.' There are also several shorter choral works, a few chamber music works, including a string quartet, a string quintet, and a suite for piano, violin and 'cello, besides many songs and piano pieces.