Programme in celebration of the composer's 70th birthday, played by the BBC Northern Orchestra, conducted by Clarence Raybould
Symphonic Fantasy : Aeterna munera Arcadian Suite
Professor William Henry Bell was born and educated in England but has spent the greater part of his life in South Africa, where he has had a great influence on the Union's musical life. In 1911 Bell was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Music at Capetown University. Among his compositions are the ' Walt Whitman * Symphony, a large choral work entitled ' Maria Assumpta '. and the ' Song of Greeting ' written for the centenary of the Royal Academy of Music in London. The first performance of his latest work, the symphonic fantasy ' Aeterna Munera ' (Gifts Eternal) is being broadcast this afternoon to celebrate the seventieth birthday of this outstanding figure in South African music.