Macfarren Robin Hood

 Day 172

George Alexander Macfarren Robin Hood

Soloists

Victorian Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Ronald Corp

Macfarren (who was English and not as one might imagine Scottish) was one of the leading music administrators in 19th century England. He had a long association with the Royal Academy of Music, eventually becoming its Principal. He wrote extensively in all forms and his music was admired by, among others, Wagner and Mendelssohn. He was an admirer of Purcell and was of the view that English opera should follow the Purcellian model of being an amalgam of music and dialogue. You can clearly this this in Robin Hood(1860), which is essentially a ballad opera where there is little attempt at musical continuity.  The score has a lot of individually attractive numbers, some of which are called ballads, and a glee for the male voices. The whole thing is extremely old fashioned for 1860 (after all Wagner was writing Tristan at the time!) but on its own terms quite successful and charming.  There is a fair bit of ‘ye olde England’ in parts of the libretto, which now comes across as horribly twee, and the more energetic and concerted music is rather cliched. But overall I enjoyed making its acquaintance, even though it very clearly shows that this was not the parth that English opera needed to go down.

I’ve learned a lot over the last week of listening to these Victoria operas. In particular the discovery of Raymond and Agnes is something to be really appreciated. What a loss for English music Loder’s early death was.

The last few weeks have been spent very much in middle and late part of the 19th century so tomorrow it is time to start exploring something quite different - the music of the Bach family, of which I know almost nothing.