The achievements of Robert Schumann (1810-1856) in other fields far outshone his choral works, yet the latter are by no means inconsiderable in number or unimportant in quality and influence. But he never mastered the technical details of effective choral-writing as did Mendelssohn. Sonorous and glowing as many of his choruses are, his choral works, even the finest one, ‘Paradise and the Peri,’ make their strongest appeal through the beauty and melodic charm of the solos and their orchestral accompaniments. He wrote nothing that could strictly be called church-music though his compositions include a Mass and a Requiem. Several of his works besides these, however, can be classed as sacred music. They are the ‘Advent Hymn,’ ‘New Year’s Song,’ and a motet (_Verzweifle nicht_) for double male chorus and organ (1849). His secular choral works are numerous, the most important of which are given detailed mention below. In addition there are the two ballads by Uhland for solos, chorus, and orchestra, ‘The King’s Son’ and ‘The Luck of Edenhall’ (for male voices); ‘The Page and the King’s Daughter,’ a ballad by Geibel written for solos, chorus, and orchestra; a beautiful setting of Hebbel’s ‘Song of Night’ for chorus and orchestra; and a number of romances and ballads, among the best-known of which is ‘Gypsy Life.’ He also wrote incidental music to Byron’s ‘Manfred’ and a set of scenes (grouped into three parts) from Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ the latter intended, not for stage performance, but for concert. Some portions of his ‘Faust’ music are quite equal to ‘Paradise and the Peri’ in melodic beauty and in freshness and sustained power of invention, but the work is uneven, the third part being by far the best. ‘Paradise and the Peri’ was Schumann’s first venture in the field of choral forms with orchestra, yet it is not only his finest choral work, but it marks the real beginning of the secular or ‘romantic’ oratorio as a form of equal worth and importance with the sacred oratorio. He published it, however, without giving any classifying name to its form. The constant use of a narrator seems to ally it to passion-music, as far as its form is concerned, but in other respects, notwithstanding its length, it resembles the dramatic secular cantata. In treating the narrative parts, however, Schumann abandons the older form of recitative and gives to these connecting links almost the same melodic importance as to the main events of the story themselves, thus sacrificing an opportunity for much needed contrast among the vocal elements.