(From Birmingham)
THE WORCESTERSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF Musical
SOCIETIES and THE BIRMINGHAM STUDIO AUGMENTED
ORCHESTRA
(Leader, FRANK CANTELL)
Conducted by HAROLD GRAY and STEPHEN S. MOORE
THIS setting by Stanford of Tennyson's poem, the ' Revenge,' is probably the most popular of all his choral music. There cannot bo many societies nor even schools that have not sung it. The ballad is, as everybody knows, a stirring one, and Stanford's music fits it admirably.
There are only a few bars of orchestral introduction and then the chorus opens the tale. The bass voices give us the words of Lord Howard, and the tenors reply with Sir Richard Grenville 's. His words are always sung by the tenor voices.
Lord Howard goes away with his disabled ships and the music fades as though into the distance. There is a short pause and then in quiet and more solemn music we hear of the sick being brought on board ; Sir Richard decides to meet the Spaniard, and the music rises for a moment to a climax as ' he laughed ' and his men ' roared " Hurrah ." '
The next section is a very vivid musical picture of the battle, the little Revenge against the great Spanish fleet; it again rises to a. big climax after Grenvillo is wounded and bids his men fight on. There is a lull in the music with the words ' and the night went down.' The little Revenge is battered beyond hope and there is nothing for it but surrender ; Grenville is carried on board a Spanish ship to die. There is a finely expressive chorus hero accompanied only by the drums, and the voices tell how they buried him, with honours, in the sea.
The last part of the piece again works up to a big climax to present the storm which fell on the Spanish navy and the sinking of the little Revenge herself.
(From St. George's Chapel, Windsor.)
(From Birmingham)
An appeal on behalf of the Birmingham Discharged Prisoners'
Aid Society, by the Rev. W. 0. WHITE
(Chaplain)
Donations should be forwarded to [address removed]
From the Hotel
Victoria
GABY VALLÉ
(Soprano)
SILVIO SIDELI
(Baritone)
Strings only :
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