All posts in category Spoken word

Bransby Williams as Scrooge (1926)

After Christmas carols earlier in the week, today it’s another Dickensian helping from Bransby Williams. His 1912 Columbia recording of his Scrooge monologues, together with a Micawber speech appeared here last year. These were replaced with later acoustic recordings in 1924, but these were swiftly rendered redundant by the advent of electrical recording. Thus in […]

Stanford Robinson’s Nutcracker and Bransby Williams’s Scrooge

With Christmas nearly here, it’s time for my customary festive posting. On the orchestral side of things, Stanford Robinson conducts the Nutcracker Suite, and then there’s a feast of Dickensian recordings from Bransby Williams. Then as a non-festive bonus, a monologue from Wilfrid Brambell, best known as Albert Steptoe in Steptoe and Son. He apparently […]

Shakespeare Day

Although I’ve not posted much here recently, I’ve been doing plenty of restoration, for CRQ editions – there are now four volumes of Percy Pitt recordings available, and one of Lorenzo Molajoli. My reason for posting today though is to honour Shakespeare’s birthday. I’ve transferred a recently acquired late acoustic Vocalion of Henry Baynton (1892-1951), […]

Shakespeare recordings by pupils of the Guildhall School of Music, Basil Maine and John Gielgud; Albert Coates conducts Siegfried’s Funeral March

Today marks the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and death, and is also St. George’s Day. To mark the first of these, there are two quite different Shakespeare recordings from 78s, which are linked by a review in Gramophone magazine. Then there’s a set of Linguaphone recordings of John Gielgud performing Shakespeare. This is different to […]

Albert Whelan – Dickens; Bransby Williams – Dickens and others; Wilhelm Backhaus – Chopin, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, Bach; Vladimir de Pachmann – Chopin; Mark Hambourg – Chopin, Schubert; Irene Scharrer – Chopin; Moritz Rosenthal – Chopin 1st Piano Concerto

This Christmas update brings a batch of Dickensian spoken word recordings and related items. A few of these have appeared here before, but are presented here in new transfers. There are more items for the Chopin anniversary from various pianists, and some recordings by the same pianists of other composers, including a little festive Bach. […]

Landon Ronald – Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Wagner, Svendsen Bizet; Eugene Goossens – Tchaikovsky; Mary Law; Il Trovatore – Carrie Lanceley & Gwilym Richards; Daisy Kennedy interviewed

People are probably starting to wonder just how many Landon Ronald recordings I have. There are still plenty more to come, and a few early transfers which I’m keen to revisit. So, for the summer, a selection of Tchaikovsky, Svendsen, Wagner and Bizet, including a bonus side by Eugene Goossens. Schumann – Carnaval Mediafire link […]

Benno Moiseiwitsch and John Drinkwater

Regular visitors to this site will not be surprised to find a recording conducted by Landon Ronald. In this case, for the anniversary year, it’s Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Benno Moiseiwitsch. The other item is a spoken word recording – the poet and playwright John Drinkwater reading some of his own works. The two […]