THE WIRELESS ORCHESTRA, conducted by JOHN ANSELL
Overture to ' The Yellow Princess ' Caprice-Valse, Wedding Cake '
Solo Pianoforte, V. HELY HUTCHINSON
FROM the title of the second piece we may guess that it was written as a festive marriage souvenir. It is a brilliant trifle, originally composed for Piano, with accompaniment of Strings.' That rather unusual description evidently meant that the Piano was regarded as the senior partner, and it certainly leads the Strings in a bold and brilliant style.
First Concerto for Violoncello
Soloist, W. H. SQUIRE
THIS is shorter than most Concertos, the usual three Movements being condenspd into one, which, however, preserves the three sections characteristic of Concerto form. The work is its Composer's Op. 33.
The first theme, played by the solo instrument, is much used throughout the work.
In the middle section we have a charming miniature in the style of a Minuet, in which the 'Cello is accompanied by Muted Strings . This section is frequently played as a solo, apart from the rest of the Concerto.
The work was dedicated to and frequently played by M. Auguste Tolbocque , one of a distinguished family of .musicians, originally Belgian, who settled in France. ,
THE ORCHESTRA and DOROTHY D'ORSAY
(Contralto)
Selection from the Opera ' Samson and Delilah '
The Animals' Carnival
Pianofortes, V. HELY HUTCHINSON and GORDON BRYAN
THIS ' Grand Zoo. logical Fantasy was written in 1886 as a joke, for a private concert. In it; Saint - Saens gives musical portraits of fish, flesh and fowl, and indulges in ironical wit. in a little satire upon the human animal.
For some reason he insisted that the work as a. whole should not be published until after his death. One Movement escaped the ban, and became extremely popular-the charming 'Cello solo entitled The Swan.
The music is piquantly scored for Strings, two Pianos. Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Xylophone and Harmonica (an instrument consisting of metal plates, struck with hammers).
1. Introduction and Royal Lion's March.
An amusingly grandiose circus-entry, with very effective roars from His Majesty.
2. Hens and Cocks. Pianos and Strings, with Clarinet. The fiddle's' cock-a-doodle-doo ' is very life-like.
3. Hemioni (Swift Animals). Wild asses caper about all over the keyboards.
4. Tortoises. A well-known, lively tune from
Offenbach's Orpheus is played extremely slowly, with comical effect.
5. The Elephant. The Double Bass (or, in another version, the Tuba) treads in a lumbering fashion a measure from the Ballet of Sylphs in Berlioz' Faust.
6. Kangaroos. Agile skips on the Pianos.
7. Aquarium. An impression of the lithe darts and flashes of fish. The Piano, in arpeggios, and the Harmonica, suggest the undulating, shimmering surface of the water.
8. Long - eared Personages. Two
Violins imitate the mournful brays of donkeys.
9. The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Wood. The Clarinet gives the bird's familiar call, against a background of Piano tone.
10. The Aviary. Pianos and Flute imitate various bird-notes, while Strings, trembling, suggest the flutter of wings. The cuckoo is heard again, at the end of the Movement.
11. Pianists. These weird beings play finger-exercises, after the fashion of the child next door, from whose early fumblings we have all suffered.
12. Fossils. Bits of well-worn French tunes are scattered about. The inclusion of the dance of skeletons, from Saint-Saens's Danse Macabre, is appropriate, though in one sense those bones, whose rattling is so much enjoyed by audiences, cannot be said to be fossilized.
13. The Swan. A graceful tune for solo
'Cello, accompanied by the two Pianos. The melody's outline, on paper, is curiously like the curves of a swan.
14. Finale. A brilliant display by all hands, to wind up.
[Those who wish to read something about
Saint-Saens's life and works will find information in Saint-Saëns, by Arthur Hervey (Lane, 6s.), and Saint-Sains, His Life and Art, by Watson Lyle (Kegan Paul, 4s. 6d.). There are chapters on him in Romain Holland's Musicians of Today (Kegan Paul. 4s. 6d.), and in Daniel Gregory Mason's From Grieg to Brahms (Macmillan, 10a.). The Composer's own Outspoken Essays on Music (Kegan Paul, 4s. 6d.), and Musical Memories (Murray, 15s.) may also be had.1
Melody, ' The Bell'
