A programme for children under five
Nursery rhymes, stories, and music
'Are you ready for the music?' asks the announcer - and it is pleasing and interesting to learn from our correspondence how large is the number of under fives who are indeed ready actively to enjoy the musical excerpts which come at the beginning of their programme, and to discover which seem to emerge as their favourites. Very high on the list, we find, stand the 'Chinese Dance,' the 'Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy' and the 'Dance of the Little Swans,' by Tchaikovsky; the 'Prelude' theme, from the suite called 'The Birds' by Respighi; the Viennese Clock music from 'Hary Janos' by Kodaly, and part of an oboe concerto by Corelli. Greatly loved, too, are the bassoon antics of Senaille's 'Allegro Spiritoso,' the strident sounds of barrel organ tunes and the pretty tinklings of musical boxes while another universal favourite is 'Peter's Tune' from Prokofiev's musical fairy tale, 'Peter and the Wolf.' This is the piece we shall play again this week, to preface the familiar nursery songs and the stories. Today's story is called 'The Robin's Breakfast.' It is by Joan Barter, and will be told by Daphne Oxenford. (Elizabeth A. Taylor)