THIS work has already been described in The Radio Times. It will be sufficient to remind hearers that though it was not written for Shakespeare's tragedy, it is possible that (as Wagner thought) the Composer had in mind when writing it the scene in that play in which Coriolanus yields to the prayers of his wife and mother, and refuses to besiege his native city, from which he has been banished. For this his allies condemned him to death. The two chief melodies employed might well stand, the first for the hero and the gentler second for the women. On the other hand, the themes might be considered as suggesting two sides of the personality of Coriolanus.
At the end the opening melody is heard in faltering, weakened tones, and we realize the tragedy of the hero's death.
DELIBES wrote the music for Victor Hugo 's play, Le Roi s'amuse (which also supplied another composer with an opportunity, since Verdi's Rigoletto is an Operatic treatment of it). The play was a gory and passionate production, but gave Delibes opportunities for some charming incidental music, as this Suite will show. Several of the pieces in it are in old dance forms-the brisk Galliard, the slow and stately Pavane, and the lively Passepied.

The English Nightingale