A good part of his work is contained in song cycles, namely: ‘Sorrow and Consolation,’ the ‘Rhine Songs,’ the ‘Christmas Songs,’ and the ‘Bridal Songs.’ In the first of these, for which the composer wrote his own words (he was a poet of much ability), we find three songs which must rank high. These are: ‘From the Quiet Spot,’ ‘Dreaming,’ and ‘A Tone.’ The second would answer anyone’s doubts as to whether Cornelius had the lyric gift. For he has given us here a song which in its few measures can throw magic over our souls. The best known of all his songs is ‘A Tone,’ in which the voice part is carried entirely on one note, while the accompaniment weaves lovely fabrics of melody around it. This, the only song of its kind which the writer is able to call to mind, might have been a mere trick. We can imagine such a song being written on a bet. But a few measures of ‘A Tone’ will dispel any such notion. For the lyric is a work of art throughout. The water-mark of the second-rate song writer is not to be found in a single measure. Of the ‘Rhine Songs’ the best is the fourth, ‘Fancies.’ The Christmas Songs are interesting for the composer’s attempt to adapt them to children. The melodies, of the utmost simplicity, have an ecclesiastical ring which lends color to the sentiment. Of the six songs the best is ‘Three Kings,’ but the whole group is worth knowing for the peculiar vitality of their modal style. The finest and most beautiful of the song cycles, however, is the group known as ‘Bridal Songs.’ These _Brautlieder_, the words written by the composer, seek to interpret six various sentiments of a young girl at the season of her marriage. They are wonderfully delicate in sentiment and finished in execution. The opening song, ‘A Myrtle Spray,’ is tender and appealing; the third, _Vorabend_, is in Cornelius’s fine half declamatory style; and the fourth, the ‘Morning Prayer,’ is a deep and noble expression of religious sentiment, one of the finest things the composer has achieved. In these songs we can scarcely complain of lack of finish and authority. These qualities they have, together with inherent beauty and originality. If Cornelius could have written a greater number of songs like the _Brautlieder_, the _Auftrag_, and the _Abendgefühl_ we should surely be obliged to rank him among the ‘great’ song writers. As it is, his work deserves far more general recognition than it has received and we have reason to expect that his fame will spread.