(Section C)
(Led by LAURANCE TURNER )
Conducted by JOSEPH LEWIS
TOM BURKE (tenor)
Friedrich von Flotow was born in Germany a year before Wagner, and died within ii few days of him. He wrote a number of operas, of which Martha and Stradella are the best known. Martha became famous all over the world, particularly so in England, where the impression that it was almost an English opera, has stuck. Stradella, on the other hand, though it had great success in Germany, was a dead failure in London, and was never even produced in Paris. The overture, however, is very often played.
Flotow was much in Paris, the early part of his artistic career was spent there, and later in life he returned and was elected a member of the Institute.
The Dance of the Tumblers is taken from The Snowmaiden, an opera heard in London quite recently. Festival is at its height in the realm of the Snow-maidens ; it is the first day of Spring, and bridal pairs have assembled to receive the King's blessing. Tumblers are engaged to amuse them.
Mannin Veen, which had its first performance early last year, is based on Manx folk-songs. The first, ' The Good Old Way ', is an old and typical air written mostly in the Dorian mode. The second tune, which introduces the lively section of the work, is a reel, ' The Manx Fiddler '. The third tune, ' Sweet Water in the Common ', relates to the old practice of summoning a jury to decide questions connected with water-courses, boundaries, etc. The fourth is a fine old hymn, ' The Harvest of the Sea', sung by the fishermen as a song of thanksgiving after their safe return from the fishing grounds.