Year 1927 Form Chorale prelude | Genre Symphony | |
Period 20th-century classical music | ||
Carol Symphony is a collection of four preludes, written by Victor Hely-Hutchinson in 1927.
Contents
History
It had its first performance on 26 September 1929 at a promenade concert at the Queen's Hall which was broadcast live on the BBC's 2LO, with other music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Percy Pitt. It was conducted by the composer.
Structure
It is based on four Christmas carols, given additional orchestration and counterpoint arrangements. The four movements are written to be played uninterrupted consecutively.
Movements
Usage for theme music
Two sections from the First Nowell section were used for the 1943 Children's Hour adaptation and the opening and closing titles of the 1984 BBC of John Masefield's The Box of Delights. It featured a recording conducted by Barry Rose in 1966 of the Pro Arte Orchestra at Guildford Cathedral. During World War II, the book had been adapted for radio on the BBC's Children's Hour, and Hely-Hutchinson's same music had been used. Prof Hely-Hutchinson later became the BBC's Director of Music, in 1944, until his death in 1947.
During the 1940-50s, the first movement was used to assist tuning into the BBC's Home Service station before the start of the morning transmission during the Christmas period.