Relayed from the Free Trade Hall, Manchester
S.B. from Manchester
The HALLE ORCHESTRA
Guost Conductor, ERNEST ANSERMET
THE actual date and place of the birth of our great English composer have never been quite definitely fixed; all that one can say certainly is that Purcell was born in 1658 or 1659, in London, and that he died there in 1695. Nor can we say with any certainty exactly when many of his greatest works were produced, and had it not been for the industry and enthusiasm of the Purcell Society, comparatively few of the works themselves would be known to us today. As it is, we possess a great store of music, grave and gay, for almost every known combination of voices and instruments, ranging from Opera to quite small pieces. The great wealth of beauty, and, above all, the utter sincerity of all that he wrote, are steadily reaching wider popularity, and it is" quite safe to prophesy that his place of honour in English music is for all time assured.
Arthur Bliss who has arranged a number of Airs and Dances of the old Master in the form of a very effective Suite, has long ago made his own mark on British music. Although quite definitely one of the moderns, there is nothing in his music which would justify the term ' decadent,' so often hurled as a reproach at the young men of today. It is too virile and sane for that ; an enthusiasm for the fresh wholesomeness of Purcell is of itself almost sufficient evidence of sanity.