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306 A CENTURY OF BALLADS
writer, it is probably by her "In a Persian Garden " that she is best known to the world at large. These settings of Omar Khayyam have made a very wide appeal, and may be counted among her greatest successes, both from an artistic and a popular point of view. Curiously enough, it was the American public that first took them up so enthusiastically. "I still regard America as the ' Persian Garden's' fairy godÂmother, " she said once, "to the kindness of whose reception I owe everything."
"In a Persian Garden" was followed by the In Memoriam cycle from Tennyson, which contains many beautiful numbers. The first performance of the well-known Daisy Chain cycle took place at the composer's house in St. John's Wood. This cycle made an instantaneous success ; so much so that "Daisy Chain" tours, "Daisy Chain' concerts, and "Daisy Chain" at-homes became all the fashion. This was followed by "More Daisies," "The Life of a Rose" (written for and sung by Louise Dale), and the fascinating Bird Songs.
More recent song-cycles are the Nonsense Songs, from Alice in Wonderland, which have become immensely popular, the Four Cautionary Tales, sung by Clara Butt and Kennerley Rum-ford, and the album of Breton Folk Songs, the words of which are by the well-known Breton |
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