REX PALMER (Baritone)
CLAUDE POLLARD and ISABEL GRAY
(Duets for Two Pianofortes)
THE WIRELESS MILITARY BAND
Conducted by B. WALTON O'DONNELL
DICKENS' Christmas novel has been the basis of more than one opera. There is a charming one by Goldmark which was produced in Berlin in 1896, and which is so full of fresh and wholesome melody that its neglect in this country is not easy to understand.
The one by Sir Alexander Mackenzie , produced at the Royal Academy of Music in 1914, is also but little known, although the Overture is occasionally heard. It is made up of themes from the Opera and forms a wonderfully compact summary of the story. At the head of it stands the quotation, ' The Kettle began it,' and as the music begins, we can easily imagine the cheerful hearth with the kettle singing on the hob. The chirping of the Cricket is heard too, and then comes the melody of the song, ' Hawthorn of the May,' the happy song which Edward Plummer sings in the Opera. There is then a merry, bustling section, which depicts the Peorybingle family, and after that comes the tuno of a song which Caleb sings about the ' sparkling bowl.' With a change to pathetic tone, we have a hint of John's unhappiness, and then the refrain of the drinking song is repeated. The end of the Overture is made of Edward's song, in which ho rejoices at his home-coming to England.