Jules Massenet (1842-1912), tireless composer of operas, wrote many songs which stand fairly high among French lyrics of their class. They have a certain facility and geniality to commend them, and in particular a voluptuous sinuous contour. Massenet’s use of the slow 12/8 or 9/8 tempo was one of his chief stocks-in-trade. But, except as pleasing and unpretentious parlor songs, we cannot regard them very seriously. Though his lifetime overlapped the ‘new school’ by more than two decades, he is distinctly of the old school. His harmony is quite old-fashioned and he shows but few traces of the French search for atmosphere. His one personal quality is an increased sensuousness of melody, achieved without special aid from the accompaniment. The best of his songs is among the earliest, the ‘Elegy,’ adapted from an orchestral intermezzo which formed part of the incidental music for _Les Erinnyes_. In _A Colombine_ he has created a charming genre piece. In the _Nuit d’Espagne_, a gentle and reserved song of exotic tendencies, in the _Chant Provençal_, a typical 12/8 melody, luscious yet ‘chaste,’ over the barest of chord accompaniments. In the sprightly _Sérénade du passant_ he is altogether delightful, especially in insinuating into the melody more meaning than meets the ear. On the other hand, he has written any number of sentimental songs which, like ‘Open Thy Blue Eyes,’ are rubbish. In the same general school are a number of composers (some of them Massenet’s pupils) who have written songs in quantity, some with occasionally charming results. One of the most fertile and popular was Benjamin Godard (1849-1895). His work was marred by the rapidity with which it was written, necessitating an uncritical attitude on the composer’s part which is fatal to the general body of a man’s work. Several felicitous examples of Godard’s work, however, well deserve their popularity, especially the Berceuse from _Jocelyn_, the delicate ‘Florian’s Song,’ and the spirited Barcarolle, _Embarquez-vous_. _L’Amour_ may be taken as an example of the great majority of his songs--conventional but pleasing.