(Section C)
Few modern English composers of light orchestral music have charmed listeners more than John Ansell, the well-known conductor. Although in every way a perfectly equipped musician, who is at home in the more serious branches of music, John Ansell is not greatly interested in either ultra-modern music or music of a sombre and gloomy character. As a composer he has specialised in bright and gay music which shows the hand of a tine craftsman. His choice of subjects is varied and characteristic, but whether he sets out to describe the merriment of children as in the Children's Suite, ships and the sea as in Plymouth Hoe, the ballet as in Danses Miniatures de Ballet, or hunting as in Tally-ho, the composer always leaves us with a feeling that the world is a much happier place, than we sometimes are led to believe.