(Season 1939-40)
Eleventh Concert from Colston Hall , Bristol
Part 2
Cyril Smith (pianoforte)
The BBC Symphony Orchestra
Leader, Paul Beard
Conducted by Malcolm Sargent
God Save the King
Once Upon a Time
The tale begins with a Prologue, which is the equivalent of ' Once upon a time' (Strauss's own explanation). The first theme to be noticed is the one associated generally with Till's adventures, given out on the horns, and a little later Till's own theme, a sprightly two-bar theme introduced on the clarinet. The tale then proceeds; Till is up to his tricks, tearing through the market-place, sending everybody flying out of his path. His next adventure is with a monk. Till is engaging him in moral conversation ; for a moment he has a twinge of conscience, but almost immediately he is back in his old mood of cynical humour. Next he is off making love to the girls, but the one he favours most will have nothing to do with him ; Till, piqued and vengeful, thunders away wrathfully. Then he meets a number of old pedants, whose priggish talk is represented on the bassoons. Till, having confounded them, puts his fingers to his nose and leaves them, whistling a lively, impertinent little tune. He gets up against the law, is seized and brought to justice. Before the judges he is at first brazen and impudent, but when the death sentence is pronounced poor Till is brought to his senses. He has a brief period of repentance before the hangman performs his duty.
There is an Epilogue, which musically recalls the Prologue. It is designed to show that beneath the jesting exterior of Till a warm heart beats. The rogue is very human.