solemn and appropriate color that pervades the opening chorus of the German Requiem--"Blessed are they that mourn"--is due to the expressive powers of the string band without violins. The violas and violoncellos are again divided, and the general subdued effect is further enhanced by means of sustained notes for the horns. It is not intended to convey the idea that these two requiems could in any way be suggestive one of the other beyond a certain similarity of tonal color in the opening choruses of both. In all other respects they are radically different. The treatment of musical subject-matter proper as well as the exposition of sacred words show diametrically opposed points of view. The funeral march which ushers in the following chorus "For all flesh is as grass" affords another proof of Brahms' versatility when searching for further religious effects that shall nevertheless embody sufficient contrast so as to avoid monotony in two consecutive movements. The violins and violas are not only divided into six parts, but are muted as well. The string parts are redoubled by the wood-wind, while the kettle-drums lend distinctive character to the passage by means of a prominent though subdued rhythmic figure. The question may well be asked why Brahms should not be regarded as the seventh of the great classicists rather than as a classical-romanticist. The answer is not hard to find. His treatment of form and instrumentation is distinctly classic. His method of harmonization contains modern characteristics. The complex rhythms that are conspicuous in many of his earlier works together with their rather obtrusive syncopations and cross accents are suggestive of Schumann; but whereas Schumann adhered to some marked rhythm that was consistently carried out in order to acquire variety and to knit together the organic structure as a whole, Brahms gradually branched out into broader fields, so that eventually the relegation of rhythm to a comparatively subordinate relationship to the general architectural scheme reverts once more to Beethoven's methods of procedure. Thus Brahms displayed a progressive spirit when employing doctrines of the classic school, which was tempered withal by extreme caution in the acceptance of modern tendencies. The amalgamation is felicitous to a high degree, and has had a most salutary effect upon the ever increasing inclination of the ultra-modern school to enslave music in the throes of what has been called "a thrice-intensified _Weltschmerz_." Even as Wagner stands supreme as the representative dramatic and orchestral writer of the nineteenth century, so Brahms may be regarded as a peer without rival in the art of thematic development, as the noblest exponent since Beethoven of large proportions and great breadth, and as the most prominent symphonic writer since Schumann, whose superior he was in the technics of orchestration. III.