This year’s celebration of the anniversary of Albert Coates’s birth brings more Wagner, and some familiar Stravinsky. When the Gramophone company was recording its sets of excerpts from the Ring of the Nibelung (in English) in 1922 and 1923, Tudor Davies was the singer for Siegmund. He initially made 2 takes of Siegmund’s “Spring song”, […]
Albert Coates’s birthday
Posted by Damians78s on April 23, 2023
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2023/04/23/albert-coatess-birthday-2/
Franz André conducts Suppé overtures
It’s time for the customary Viennese fare to welcome in the New Year, and a return to the site for the Belgian conductor Franz André. His recording career was almost exclusively on Telefunken, and in the early 1950s several items were issued on Telefunken Füllschrift records – 78rpm with a variable groove pitch which meant […]
Posted by Damians78s on January 1, 2023
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2023/01/01/2690/
Christmas Church Parade – John Mackenzie-Rogan
After his retirement from an illustrious career as bandmaster of the Coldstream Guards in 1920, Lt-Col. John Mackenzie-Rogan continued his involvement in music. Though the Coldstream Guards continued to record for the Gramophone Company under its new bandmaster, Lt R.G. Evans, Mackenzie-Rogan moved over to record for Duophone, more than 30 records with “Mackenzie-Rogan’s Military […]
Posted by Damians78s on December 23, 2022
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2022/12/23/christmas-church-parade-john-mackenzie-rogan/
Albert Coates’s 140th birthday
As it’s the anniversary of Albert Coates’s birthday, I present my customary update. This year it’s Coates in his familiar Wagner, but a recording that has been elusive on reissues. Coates recorded Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung twice. On 25th January 1926 Coates conducted a substantial Wagner recording session at the Queen’s Hall with an […]
Posted by Damians78s on April 23, 2022
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2022/04/23/albert-coatess-140th-birthday/
Organ and Orchestra
After my annual Albert Coates post which included a couple of Handel organ concerto sides, I received some feedback prompting me to transfer some other 78rpm sides for organ and orchestra. The first has Sir Hamilton Harty conducting his own arrangement for organ and orchestra of movements from Handel’s Concerto in D major, HWV 335a […]
Posted by Damians78s on August 8, 2021
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2021/08/08/organ-and-orchestra/
Albert Coates’s birthday
Albert Coates’s birthday This year for the anniversary of Albert Coates’s birth I’ve selected several discs conducted by Coates (and a couple of related items not conducted by Coates.) To begin with, two of Coates’s less familiar recordings. In 1932 Coates two movements from Handel organ concertos, played by Herbert Dawson on the organ of […]
Posted by Damians78s on April 23, 2021
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2021/04/23/albert-coatess-birthday/
Albert Coates and “The Rhinegold”
The anniversary of Albert Coates’s birth rolls round again. This year I’ve opted to transfer a disc from HMV’s acoustic Ring cycle excerpts in English of the early 1920s. “The Rhinegold” was rather short-changed in the set, meriting just one record, featuring scenes with Alberich. (HMV did also have a 1920 recording in the catalogue […]
Posted by Damians78s on April 23, 2020
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2020/04/23/albert-coates-and-the-rhinegold/
Prosit Neujahr!
As usual, some Viennese light classics for the new year, as we start the 2020s. Eight works are given here with Hans Knappertsbusch conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on a 1957 German language DECCA LP. J Strauss I – Radetzky March – Hans Knappertsbusch, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra K Komzak – Badner Mad’ln – Hans Knappertsbusch, […]
Posted by Damians78s on January 1, 2020
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2020/01/01/prosit-neujahr/
An oblique tribute to Sir Henry Wood
To round off Sir Henry Wood’s anniversary year (150 years since his birth and 75 since his death) and anticipating the 125th anniversary of the Proms in 2020, I’ve transferred an early vocal record. The baritone Alan Turner sings A Soldier’s Song by Angelo Mascheroni, a song heard at the very first of Sir Henry’s […]
Posted by Damians78s on December 31, 2019
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2019/12/31/an-oblique-tribute-to-sir-henry-wood/
Happy Birthday Sir Henry
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Henry J Wood, the first conductor of the Promenade Concerts, and a mainstay of British musical life. The Proms were founded in 1895, and Sir Henry was their guiding hand for several decades, and continued to conduct in the concert series until his death in […]
Posted by Damians78s on March 3, 2019
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2019/03/03/happy-birthday-sir-henry/
Johann Strauss II on Classics Club
After the Kirkby-Lunn diversion last year, I’ve returned to Viennese fare to welcome 2019. It seems I’ve had a busy year, as I completely failed to upload anything during 2018. The two records presented here are from the Classics Club label. This venture, which began in the mid to late 1950s, initially used sources from […]
Posted by Damians78s on December 31, 2018
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2018/12/31/johann-strauss-ii-on-classics-club/
Louise Kirkby-Lunn
Rather than the usual Viennese fare to welcome 2018, I’ve opted instead by some early Pathé sides by the great English contralto Louise Kirkby-Lunn. They’re from 28cm diameter, centre-start, etched label double-sided issues. All are piano accompanied. There is a spoken introduction to the first side, presumably Madam Kirkby-Lunn herself. The second record has Kirkby-Lunn […]
Posted by Damians78s on December 31, 2017
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2017/12/31/louise-kirkby-lunn/
Albert Coates day
April 23rd is the anniversary of the birth of the wonderful Albert Coates. To celebrate, I’ve transferred a pair of his Wagner recordings. Wagner – Lohengrin – Act 3 Prelude – Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates HMV D 1054 Matrix Cc 7083-II (4-0751) Recorded 27th October 1925, Studio B, Hayes Wagner – Tannhäuser – March – […]
Posted by Damians78s on April 23, 2017
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2017/04/23/albert-coates-day/
Frank Titterton sings Lehár
To end the Viennese theme for New Year, the two famous tenor arias from Lehár’s The Land of Smiles, sterlingly sung in English by Frank Titterton. My copy of this 1930s DECCA record is very worn (especially “You are my heart’s delight” which was clearly much played) and though I’ve done my best to improve […]
Posted by Damians78s on January 2, 2017
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2017/01/02/frank-titterton-sings-lehar/
Walter Rehberg plays Soirée de Vienne and Voices of Spring
A pair of brief Viennese arrangements for New Year, in the form of Alfred Grünfeld’s arrangement of themes from Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus, “Soirée de Vienne”, and Roderich Bass’s arrangement of Voices of Spring, both ably played by Walter Rehberg. The second record is rather more worn than the first, but still sounds quite […]
Posted by Damians78s on December 31, 2016
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2016/12/31/walter-rehberg-plays-soiree-de-vienne/
Landon Ronald’s Midsummer Night’s Dream
For Shakespeare’s birthday back in April, I made available the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream music, in a 1911 recording conducted by Landon Ronald. To complement this, I’ve now transferred the Ronald’s early recordings of the Overture, Nocturne and Wedding March, together with his later electrically recorded version of the Nocturne. I’ve included the […]
Posted by Damians78s on June 5, 2016
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2016/06/05/landon-ronalds-midsummer-nights-dream/
400 years
Although I have had not had a great deal of time to work on recordings for this site recently, I could not let the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death pass unmarked. There are several spoken word Shakespeare recordings to be found on site and music based on his works (just enter Shakespeare in the search […]
Posted by Damians78s on April 23, 2016
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2016/04/23/400-years/
New Year’s Suppé from Basil Cameron, and Sir Henry Wood’s 1924 Enigma
For the traditional Viennese welcome to the New Year, here are three Suppé overtures, all performed by the Hastings Municipal Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron. These Decca records from 1929 and 1930 are rather worn, and the sound is not therefore all I would hope for. Suppé – Light Cavalry – Overture – Hastings MO, […]
Posted by Damians78s on December 31, 2015
http://music.damians78s.co.uk/2015/12/31/new-years-suppe-from-basil-cameron-and-sir-henry-woods-1924-enigma/