THE WIRELESS ORCHESTRA, conducted by JOHN ANSELL
FLORENCE Holding (Soprano)
Overture to ' The Magic Flute '
ONE of Mozart's last great works was that favourite Opera, The Magic Flute, which has been broadcast in full more than once.
Mozart was a Freemason. Freemaeonry was very much ' in the air ' at that time, and all the curious plot of The Magic Flute has Masonic ideas at its foundation.
There is much elaborate ceremonial in the Opera, and we hear suggestions of this in the impressive introduction to the Overture, and also later in its course.
After the Introduction we have the First Main
Tune. This is ' 'fugal,' i.e.. one ' voice ' (in this case an instrumental ' voice ') starts all alone with the Tune; next another voice enters, repeating the Tune at a different pitch, and so on. This First Main Tune really runs through most of the Overture. For instance. Bassoons and Clarinets continue playing the beginning of it while Oboe and Flute are playing the Second Main Tune.
With this material the Overture trips along happily and straightforwardly. with only one serious check-when we have solemn ceremonial again recalled.