Quilter: A CHILDREN'S OVERTURE (Op. 17) (1932 recording).

[Viva-Tonal]

Roger Quilter (born 1 November 1877 at Hove, Sussex; died 21 September 1953 at St John's Wood, London) was known primarily as a gentle and gentlemanly composer of elegant songs. What is less well-known, however, is that he also wrote some lovely orchestral music and memorable piano pieces, that are distinctly impressionistic. (From Valerie Langfield's Quilter tribute page: http://www.minuet.demon.co.uk/quilter.htm)

A CHILDREN'S OVERTURE was written in 1914, originally intended as an overture to the play WHERE THE RAINBOW ENDS, but was not used. The piece is based on children’s nursery rhymes including 'Girls and Boys Come Out to Play', 'I Saw Three Ships', 'Sing a Song of Sixpence', 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' and 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'. Classic British light orchestral music.

Here it is performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Barbirolli. I don't know the venue (Kingsway Hall? Abbey Road studio 1?). I have been unable to find information as to this, the original UK release on HMV, or the precise recording date (or dates).

I found this recording in an album with various other records in a thrift shop here in Mountain Home about a year ago. Although it's a US issue on Victor 36370 (I'm guessing about a 1940 or 1941 release) the original matrix numbers (visible in the dead wax, as this is from UK metal parts, and not dubs) show this to be taken from UK matrices recorded approximately mid-1932. These are 2B.3549 (part 1) and 2B.3550 (part 2).

I've joined the two sides of the 78 together for this presentation. I hope you like the result: http://www.box.net/shared/9no742p9uk