SKU: FP.FDD02

ISBN 9790570503834.

Vernon Park, Stockport’s oldest park, was created on land donated by Lord Vernon (George John Warren). It was built by poor mill workers who called it pinch-belly park and opened on 20th September 1858. Comprising twenty-one acres, it houses a museum, a bandstand, ornamental fountains, a fernery, rockery, borders and sunken rose garden as well terraced walkways that overlook the river and weir. The piece depicts a solitary walker engrossed in his own thoughts on a winter’s day, the landscape, and the park’s Victorian past.

At the very end of the piece a reminder of the park’s Victorian origins can be detected in a quote from Elgar’s Salut d’amour of 1899, which may well have been played by a band in the bandstand. Stockport market celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2010. It dated back to September 1260 when a Royal Charter allowed Robert de Stokeport, the Mayor, to hold a weekly market within the defensive walls of the Norman Castle on the present site of Castle Yard.

The Glass Umbrella was a popular name given to the 1861 covered market built of timber, glass and iron - nine bays with open sides and a glass canopy. In 1912, one bay was removed to enable electric trams and trolley buses to turn a sharp corner.

The piece depicts a lively market day, the multiculturalism of the present day and the old cries of pick and pay without delay. The bells of St Mary’s Church are depicted by a cascading peel tuned to the ten bells of the church tower, and a fleeting reference to John Wainwright’s famous Christmas hymn Christians Awake, and the Westminster chimes striking the hour from St Mary’s, bring to piece to a conclusion. Separate parts are provided for recorder and oboe.

SKU: AP.6-780376

ISBN 9780486780375. English.

Safe within their cocoons, butterflies only become vulnerable when they emerge to enchant the world with their beauty. Madama Butterfly has been breaking hearts for over a century with its tragic tale of an innocent Japanese girl who abandons her faith and her family to marry an American naval lieutenant. Giacomo Puccini created a dozen operas, many of them rooted in his fascination with exotic lands and foreign cultures. Inspired by a London performance of one-act play by American playwright David Belasco, the composer developed an emotionally charged musical score to accompany this tale of devotion, tradition, and sacrifice. The opera's most famous aria, Un bel dí vedremo (One beautiful day, we will see), in which the heroine professes her faith in her lover, ranks among the most popular works in the soprano repertoire. Dovunque al mondo (Throughout the world) characterizes Butterfly's American officer with a musical theme based on The Star Spangled Banner. Other highlights include the endings of each of the three acts: the extended love duet Vogliatemi bene (Love me, please.); the wordless beauty of Coro a bocca chiusa, (Humming Chorus); and the climactic aria Con onor muore (To die with honor). This authoritative 1906 edition of one the world's most beloved operas features the original Italian lyrics.