(From Birmingham)
Conducted by E. A. Parsons
Mr. Holst has chosen for this military band arrangement a very merry Fugue of the great Bach's which might have been more popular if it had been called a ' Gigue in Fugue form' rather than a ' Fugue in the style of a Gigue.' The tune shows us Bach in his most playful mood, and in this arrangement for military band its reappearances can be more easily followed than when the piece is played, as Bach intended, on the organ.
Russian composers, probably more than others, have used their native folk tales as bases of operas and other works on a big scale. In The Snow Maiden, from which ' The Dance of the Tumblers' is taken. Rimsky-Korsakov embodies an old story which tells of the first day of Spring. The Snow Maidens' realm is in festive mood, because it was on this day that young bridal couples came to receive their monarch's blessing. The Dance of the Tumblers is the last part of the attendant festivities.