Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,693 playable programmes from the BBC

MARIE THOMSON (Soprano)
RITA SHARPE'S OCTET

HUMPERDINCK, although at one time a disciple of Wagner's, one who lived with him at Bayreuth and helped in the production of Parsifal, contrived none the less to keep his own strong individuality, and to make the happiest use of his own fresh ideas. In his young days he made rather a speciality of winning prizes; one after another he gained all the chief scholarships open to German music students and, as more than one of these entails study abroad, he knew something of the music of Italy, France, and Spain at first hand.
A good part of his busy life was spent in teaching and he was also music critic for one of the leading German papers. But none of these activities interfered with his industry ns a composer, and though comparatively few of his big works are known to us now, he produced a great volume of work which was successfully performed.
Hansel and Gretel seems destined to bo the opera by which his fame will survive; an immediate success when it appeared in 1893, it soon made its way all over the world, and is still as popular as ever. Its fresh, innocent wholcsomeness was welcomed as a happy change from the tragic order of opera which was then enjoying such a vogue. It certainly forms a refreshing antidote to anything sombre or melancholy. The story, made by his sister from one of the best known and best loved of all children's tales, lends itself admirably to union with melodies of the folk song order, and these are used by Humperdinck in the most felicitous way, and presented with the most masterly orchestration. And the whole opera is so full of joyous melody that the compiler, of a selection from it has an easy task. Prominent, of course, is the broad melody of the Children's Evening Prayer, in which they ask for fourteen angels to guard them as they lie asleep in the woods. The stirring music of The Witch, in which make-believe terror and fun are cunningly blended, the singing and dancing of the children in the first act, with the irresistible merriment with which the music is instinct, and the great Song of Thanksgiving when the witch is overcome and all her captives set free-all these fall on tho ear with a freshness which no repetition has any power to stale. Drink to me only with thine eyes
Three poor Mariners

Contributors

Soprano:
Rita Sharpe

DESIREE ELLINGER (Soprano)
THOSE FOUR CHAPS :
CLAUDE HULBERT
PAUL ENGLAND
DICK FRANCIS
EDDIE CHILDS
PAUL ENGLAND (Singing Comporo)
JULIAN ROSE (Our Hebrew Friend)
ANN PENN (Impersonator)
PETER BERNARD (In Comedy Songs and Stories)
Lou ABELARDO (And his Guitar)
JACK PAYNE and THE B.B.C.
DANCE ORCHESTRA

Contributors

Unknown:
Claude Hulbert
Unknown:
Paul England
Unknown:
Dick Francis
Unknown:
Eddie Childs
Unknown:
Peter Bernard
Unknown:
Lou Abelardo
Guitar:
Jack Payne

Nothing that the gramophone can do has a more fascinating interest than its ability to preserve the voices of people who have long passed away. How different our whole study of history and of the arts would be if we could hear faithfully recorded a speech by Demosthenes, by Cromwell, by Napoleon; if we could hear a passage spoken by Burbage, Mrs. Siddons, or Garrick, or Betterton; if Byron could read his own verse to us, or John Knox preach, or Jenny Lind sing. The gramophone came too late for that, but our own posterity will be able to hear the accents of our contemporaries as we hear them ourselves. To-night listeners will hear the most picturesque of Victorian actor-managers, a great singer, a powerful preacher, a brilliant violinist, a famous composer at the piano, and a soldier whose record every school boy once knew by heart - all great men of a bygone age.

The third of the talks from Geneva is to be given by Mrs. Mary Agnes Hamilton , M.P., who is already well known as a broadcaster, as she used for some time to review new novels over the microphone. She was returned to Parliament for Blackburn at the General Election, and is now at. Geneva as one of the British delegation to the League Assembly.

Contributors

Unknown:
Mrs. Mary Agnes Hamilton

2LO London and 5XX Daventry

Appears in

About this data

This data is drawn from the Radio Times magazine between 1923 and 2009. It shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was subject to change and may not be accurate. More