Fairy Tales (Leeds)

Video recording

A video recording of Wilhelm Grosz's cantata Fairy Tales Op. 39, performed at Out of the Shadows Festival, Leeds.

Fairy Tales, a cantata for mezzo soprano, string quartet, flute and harp, Op. 39

Composed in 1936, Fairy Tales was the first collaboration between Wilhelm Grosz and the popular English children's author Rose Fyleman. The first (private) recital of this cantata was on 5 December 1936 in the house of the composer, with Dorothy Moulton-Mayer as soprano soloist. After Grosz's untimely death in 1939, the cantata was performed at memorial concerts held in New York (Carnegie Hall, April 1940) and London (May 1940).

Kate Rotheroe (soprano), the Cassia String Quartet, Eleanor Hudson (harp) and Rhian Hughes (flute) perform Wilhelm Grosz's Fairy Tales Op. 39, a cantata for soprano, string quartet, flute and harp. The Cassia String Quartet comprises Amy Welch (violin I), Tory Clarke (violin II), Laurie Dempsey (viola) and Joshua Lynch (cello), conducted by Stephen Muir. The performance took place at the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall, School of Music, The University of Leeds. The performance is part of a chamber music recital entitled Fates and Fairytales: the Music of Wilhelm Grosz and Zigmund Schul. The text is taken from Rose Fyleman's publication The Fairy Flute (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1921).

The movements of the cantata are as follows:

Präludium - Allegretto (quasi pastorale)

I. If you meet a fairy Interlude I - Vivacissimo

II. Fairy lore Interlude II - Tempo di Valse

III. Every fairy has a star Interlude III - Andantino

IV. Fairy flute Interlude IV - Allegro con spirit

V. Fairy lullaby for a mortal

Postludium - Poco allegro

This performance lasts approximately 15 minutes 30 seconds.

Fairy Tales (Leeds)

Fairy Tales, a cantata for mezzo soprano, string quartet, flute and harp, Op. 39

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