A Dramatic Cantata written by K. J. ERBEN
Set to Music for Soprano, Tenor, Baritone Soli, chorus and Orchestra by ANTONIN DVORAK
S.B. from Manchester
ELSIE SUDDABY (Soprano)
TREFOR JONES (Tenor)
HAROLD Williams (Baritone)
THE HALLÉ Chorus : Chorus Master,
HABOLD DAWBER
THE AUGMENTED STATION Orchestra
Conducted by T. H. Morrison
(For the words of the Cantata eee page 319)
'THE SPECTRE'S BRIDE, written for the Birmingham Festival of 1885, when the composer came over and conducted it, is a poetic version by K. J. Erben (English by Dr. Troutbeck) of an old legend found very widely scattered over Europe. The theme is that of a dead man who returns as a spectre to claim his beloved.
At the opening of the work the maiden is praying by night before a picture of the Virgin. She is an orphan; her sister died when a child, and her brother has gone to the wars. Her lover has been away three years, and she knows not what his fortunes may have been.
The picture suddenly moves, the lamp flares up and goes out. She hears steps outside, and a knock on the door. Her lover's voice calls to her to follow him, for they are to be wed ere the dawn. She goes out, and the spectre leads her in haste over the countryside, by rough places and through dark woods. The ghostly lover bids her throw away her prayer-book, her crucifix and rosary. He answers none of her questions, but ever draws her on in greater haste until she is exhausted and her feet are bleeding. At length, they reach a graveyard. She is terrified and would return, but the spectre leaps the wall, calling on her to follow.
In an instant she takes courage and runs to a little cottage near by, where she bars the door against the horror. She finds within a corpse laid upon a plank. Ghosts gather before the door, and chant :
' The body must to death be brought,
And woe to him who ill has wrought.'
There is a knock at the door, and the voice of the spectral lover calls on the dead man to rise and draw the bolts. The corpse comes to life and is about to do so when, by the power of the maiden's anguished prayer, the life is withdrawn from it, and it falls again stark and still. Once more the voice commands, and once more the dead arises, to be struck motionless again as the maid renews her prayer for heavenly intercession, and in the Holy Name bids it forbear to move. A third time the spectre exerts its power, but now the cock crows, and at the sound the dead man moves no more, and the ghosts vanish.
In the morning the people coming to church find her alive in the house of the dead, and in the churchyard a ruined grave.
' A Hymn of Wisdom.'—Psalm cxi
Relayed from Wesley Chapel, Broad Street,
Nottingham
Conducted by the Rev. C. H. HODGSON
SJB. from Nottingham,
Hymn, ' '0 Happy Band of Pilgrims' Prayers and Responses The Lord's Prayer
Hymn, 'Jesus High in Glory' Scripture Reading ADDRESS
Hymn, ' Lord, in the fulness of my might' Benediction
From the Studio
Conducted by THE SALVATION Army With an Address by General BooTH
Order of Service :
Opening Song, ' Jesus, the Name high over all ' Prayers by Lieut.-Colonel ORSBORN
Bible Reading (Mark x, verses 46-52) by Mrs-
Major Sansom
Meditation,' Hanover,' by the International Staff
Band
Talk by Lieut.-Colonel MCILWRAITH (Anbai),
'Experiences during 36 years' missionary service in India'
Song, ' Hark, the Gospel news is sounding,' by Salvationist Miners from Abertillery
Address by General BOOTH
Closing Hymn, ' Just as I am ' Benediction
Appeal on behalf of the Salvation Army by General Booth
The work of the Salvation Army is worldwide and far-ranging, and those of its activities with which we are most familiar - street services, night refuges, and so on - are only a fraction of the whole. Tonight's service has given some idea of the scope of the Army's work. The missionary side is represented by Mrs. Major Sansom, of China, and Lieut.-Col. (Lottie) McIlwraith, who spent thirty-six years in India; Lieut.-Col. Orsborn, who reads the prayers, is in charge of the International Training Garrison, and the music is supplied by the Army's own bands.
Contributions should be sent to General Booth at the International Headquarters, [address removed].
THE Wireless MILITARY BAND, conducted by B. WALTON O'DONNELL
DOROTHY BENNETT (Soprano)
TOM KINNIBURGH (Bass) mHE first extract is one of the two splendid
Bass airs in The Magic Flute. In it the High Priest of the Temple of Wisdom tells how the noble in heart is welcomed to the company of those who are guided by the gods Isis and Osiris, but the mean and unworthy can never find a place within those hallowed walls, where all live in peace.
IN the song by Gounod, the blacksmith god,
Vulcan, who forged Jove's thunderbolts, tells why he prefers to remain in his underground kingdom, where he is lord of all. It is because when he ventured above, to Olympus, and wooed Venus, he was repulsed and made a laughing-stock.
THIS, generally reckoned the best of all the Overtures written for the Opera Fidelio, is a long piece, fully developed on symphonic lines-too extended for use as a theatre overture, perhaps, but a magnificent concert piece. There is a short-slow Introduction, and then the vigorous main body of the Overture begins. There are two chief tunes-the very soft and mysteriously-opening one, and a smoothly flowing one.
Note the dramatic interruption of the Trumpet call in the middle of the Overture (generally performed in the concert room, by a player out of sight); this represents the crucial moment in the play, when the Minister of State appears, just in time to save the hero from execution.
BRÜNNHILDE, beloved child of Wotan, has disobeyed him, and must be punished. No longer may she ride the storms and exalt in the wildness of her godhead. As a mortal she must live henceforth. She is to be awakened by the first man who encounters her. She pleads that only a true hero shall make her captive, and as a last boon Wotan, having laid her to sleep upon a rock, summons the fire-god. As ho points his spear here and there, spurts of flame issue from the rocks around her, and the famous Fire Music flames and hisses and glows in the Orchestra. As Wotan turns slowly away, we hear, thundered out by the brass, the sturdy, martial melody prophetic of the hero who shall win her-Siegfried.
