RCA Victor (1910)

NUMBER 31443 4648 5371 4185 5369 31620 2762 31205 58016 58015 58018 58020 ORCHESTRA RECORDS 17 SIZE Dance of the Hours. (Ponchielli) Victor Orchestra 12 This famous “Dance of the Hours” from Ponchielli’s tragic opera of Gioconda, is one of the most beautiful of ballets. It symbolizes, like many other modern Italian ballets, the struggle between the conflicting powers of light and darkness, progress and ignorance. The music is fascinating in the extreme. Dance of the Song Birds. (Richmond) Victor Orchestra 10 A clever dance with bird warbling by Belmont. Darkies’ Jubilee. ( Pastimes on the Levee ) Victor Orchestra 10 Don’t Be Cross Waltz. (Zeller) Pryor’s Orchestra 10 Dream Waltz from “A Waltz Dream.” (Strauss) Victor Orch. 10 This new operetta has been a great success. Like the “ Merry Widow,” its principal musical number is a delightful waltz, the theme of which runs through the whole operetta. The Victor now offers a pleasing record of this charming number. Egmont Overture. (Beethoven) Victor Concert Orchestra 12 Estudiantina Waltz. (Waldteufel) Victor Orchestra 10 Estudiantina Waltz. (Waldteufel) Pryor’s Orchestra 12 Faust — Prelude. (Gounod) L’Orchestre Symphonique 12 The Victor begs to announce a series of orchestral records by a celebrated organization, the Orchestre Symphonique of Paris. The quality of tone produced by this body of players is exquisite and is reproduced here with absolute fidelity. Music lovers will note with pleasure that the orchestra has played several numbers from Gounod’s Faust. The first is the mysterious prelude, with its somewhat sombre opening strain given by the bassoon, expressing the brooding of Faust relieved, however, by the cavatina of Valentine on the wood-wind, and closing with sustained chords, solemn and impressive. Faust — Ballet Music. ( Parti — liaise, “Les Nubiennes”) (Gounod) L’Orchestre Symphonique 12 Gounod placed his ballet between the death of Valentine and the Prison Scene ; called it a Walpurgis Night, set it in a mountain fastness amid ruins, and called to the scene the classic queens, Helen, Phryne and Cleopatra, who danced to weird and distorted versions of melodies from the opera. The first part, which in the opera accompanies the dance of the Nubian Slaves, is a most striking portion, beginning with introductory chords, after which the violins take up a delicious melody afterward repeated with bassoon obbligato. Faust — Ballet Music. ( Part II — Adagio, “Cleopatra and the Golden Cup’’) (Gounod) L’Orchestre Symphonique 12 The second part is the adagio movement which accompanies in the opera the scene in which the Nubian Slaves drink from golden cups the poisons of Cleopatra, who herself moistens her lips from a vase in which she has dissolved her most precious pearls. The playing of this famous French orchestra has brought out much favorable comment among those who have heard the Victor reproductions. Faust — Ballet Music, Nos. 5 and 6. ( Les Troyennes et Variation du Miroir) (Gounod) L’Orchestre Symphonique 12 The fourth of the splendid series of operatic records by this famous French organization. The string and woodwind playing of the orchestra has attracted much favorable attention. In the performance of the ballet, the two parts presented accompany the appearance of the goddess Phryne who rises, a veiled apparition, and commands the dance to recommence.