Concert Hall CM 2024 Matrices CM 2024-1, CM 2024-2 Recorded 1954 Zurich Radio Orchestra, Walter Goehr Uta Graf (soprano) – Saffi Nata Tuescher (mezzo-soprano) – Czipra Hedda Heusser (soprano) – Arsena Albert Kunz (tenor) – Barinkay Mathias Schmid (baritone) – Homonay Karl Pistorius (tenor) – Zsupan Richard Miller (tenor) – Ottokar Hans Rudolph Kaltenbach (tenor) – Carnero Rita Pich (soprano) – Mirabella
Der Zigeunerbaron – excerpts Overture Act 1: 2. Entrée Couplet (Barinkay, Chorus) – Als flotter Geist 3 (part). Lied (Zsupan) – Ja das schreiben 6. Zigeunerlied (Saffi) – So elend und so treu 7. Finale Act 1 (Soloists and Chorus) – Arsena! Arsena! Act 2: 9 (part). Trio (Saffi, Czipra, Barinkay) – Ei, ei, er lacht 11. Duet (Saffi, Barinkay) – Wer uns getraut 12b. Werberlied (Homonay) – Her die Hand 13 (part). Finale Act II (Soloists and Chorus) – Noch eben in Gloria Act 3: 17. Entrance March (Soloists and Chorus) – Hurrah die Schlacht mitgemacht
It’s time for a special Albert Coates bonus this year. In autumn 1923, Coates recorded Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for the Gramophone Company. It was issued in May 1924 to mark the centenary of the work, so it appears here to mark the centenary of the recording being issued, and the bicentenary of the symphony, which received its first performance on 7th May 1824. Due to the file size, I’ve had to split the finale into 2 sections
This was not the first issued recording of the symphony – Bruno Seidler-Winkler recorded it in Germany for issue in late 1923, but the repeat of the Scherzo was almost completely omitted to reduce the number of records required. Coates was the first to recorded the work uncut. The finale is sung in English.
Chorus in Finale: Sopranos: Gaby Valli, Louise Trenton Contraltos: Nellie Walker, Gladys Peel Tenors: Harold Wilde, Sydney Coltham Basses: Edward Halland, Leonard Hubbard
Soloists in Finale: Soprano: Medora Salteni-Mochi Contralto: Edna Thornton (sides 2, 3, 5), Nellie Walker (sides 4, 6) Tenor: Frank Webster Baritone: George Baker Edna Thornton can be heard as contralto soloist for all of part 1, then in part 2 from start to 3:10, Nellie Walker from 3:10 to 7:37, Thornton from 7:37 to 11:18, and Walker from 11:18 to the end.
Sessions of 24th and 29th October 1923 – 4 1st violins, 3 2nd violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 4 basses, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 1 contra-bassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets. 1 tuba, timpani, (second movement only) 3 trombones. Sessions of 7th and 8th November 1923 – soloists and chorus as listed above. Edna Thornton was unavailable on 8th November, so Nellie Walker stepped in as solo contralto. Orchestra – 4 1st violins, 3 2nd violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 4 basses, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 contrabassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 tuba, 1 timpani, 1 percussion. (plus 3 trombones on 8th November)
In the slow movement Coates, as was his custom in the studio, slowed down considerably at the end of each side. These rallentandi have been digitally reduced to improve the musical flow at the side joins. Between the first and second sides of the finale, three quavers are omitted in the original recording. The identical notes have been extracted from earlier in the side to fill in the join between these two sides. Curiously there are points in the first two movements where there is an overlap of several bars between two sides, making it all the more strange to omit notes at this side join. At the start of the penultimate side, the trombones enter a beat early to give the choir their note. In Coates’s electrical recording, the side join is a little earlier so he does not need to give the choir their note in this manner. I have therefore amended this so the music follows the score.
His Master’s Voice D 842-843 Matrices Cc 3655-III, 3696-IV, 3704-I (4-0511, 4-0512, 4-0513) Recorded 24th October 1923 (sides 1, 3) and 8th November 1923 (side 2), Room 1, Hayes
His Master’s Voice D 843-845 Matrices Cc 3705-II, 3706-III, 3707-III, 3708-III (4-0514, 4-0515, 4-0516, 4-0517) Recorded 24th October 1923 (sides 1, 3, 4) and 8th November 1923 (side 2), Room 1, Hayes
For my annual celebration of the anniversary of Albert Coates’s birth I’m sharing his pair of recordings of operatic music by Boito, both of which were premiere recordings.
His Master’s Voice D 938 Matrix Cc 4831-I (4-0574) Recorded 2nd July 1924, Room 1, Hayes Albert Coates conducts Symphony Orchestra with Chorus: Browning Mummery (tenor), Edward Halland (bass), Leonard Hubbard (baritone), William Michael (baritone), Harold Wilde (tenor), J.H. Bullock (baritone) and 5 trumpets.
This is recording was made just 2 months after the work was premiered.
His Master’s Voice D 938 Matrices Cc 5177-IV (4-0614) Recorded 24th October 1924, Room 1, Hayes (Takes 1 and 2 were made on 5th October, 3 and 4 on 24th October) Albert Coates conducts Symphony Orchestra with Chorus: May Busby (soprano), Miss Rusel Myer, Nellie Walker (contralto), Glady Peel (contralto), Sophie Rowlands (soprano), Louise Trenton (soprano), Edward Halland (bass), Harold Wilde (tenor), Edward Leer (tenor)
To see in 2024 in the customary Viennese style, I’ve transferred an LP of music by Johann Strauss II: waltzes, polkas and a Die Fledermaus pot-pourri.
Otto Dobrindt (1886-1963) recorded for both 78s and LPs, but his name is generally forgotten. In the UK several of his recordings were issued on various labels from the Saga group. The LP presented here appeared in various guises: first as “Night in Vienna” on Saga XID5003 in September 1958 (which also saw an electronic stereo issue on STXID5003 in 1961); then as Classics Club 2509 in June 1961 without the Fledermaus pot-pourri, and credited to “Vienna Philharmusica, Reiner Olbrecht”; then again on Classics Club TE423 as “Vienna State Symphonia, Paul van Heidsieck” without Die Fledermaus; in electronically reprocessed stereo in 1967 in full on Fidelity FID2119; finally in 1971 on Boulevard 4031, once more in fake stereo.
It is the final issue from which this restoration is taken, mixed back to mono.
Boulevard 4031 (from Saga STXID 5003 originally electronically reprocessed into stereo) Matrices STFID 2119A-3, STFID 2119B-3 Recorded c1955 Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Otto Dobrindt (Waltzes and Polkas) Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Otto Dobrindt (Die Fledermaus) Werner Liebing (baritone) – Eisenstein Margot Janez (soprano) – Rosalinde Ursula Richter (soprano) – Adele Gert Lutze (tenor) – Alfred Hans Wocke (baritone) – Frank Gertrud Stilo (mezzo-soprano) – Orlowsky Hans Georg Nowotny (baritone) – Falke
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”, matrix Cc 2304, on 22nd December 1922 with Coates conducting the “Symphony Orchestra”, but these were not issued. A new attempt was made on 25th January 1923, this time with Eugene Goossens conducting the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra. The 2nd of three takes of this new matrix (Cc 2438) was issued on HMV D679. At some point a vinyl test pressing was made of Cc 2304-2 and this has found its way to me. It contains Davies’s usual sterling singingm but there was significant swish which I’ve ameliorated as best I can – this may have been the reason for it going unpublished. This session was the third day of recording for Coates in that week, with sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The orchestra for the Monday session was 4 first violins, 3 second violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 4 flutes, 3 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 3 clarinets,, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba, 8 horns, 3 trumpets, 1 bass trumpet, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 bass tuba, timpani, cymbals, with extra tubas, piano and percussion for some sides. I assume the forces remained similar for the Friday session.
His Master’s Voice unissued Matrices Cc 2304-II Recorded 22nd December 1922, Room 1, Hayes Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates Tudor Davies, tenor
Coates made recordings of 3 works by Stravinsky. He recorded a concoction from The song of the Nightingale in 1930, the complete Petrouchka in 1927-28, and was the first to record the complete 1911 Firebird Suite, in 1924. Coates revisited the Firebird Suite in 1928, recording only the 3rd and 5th movements. It is this later recording which is presented here. The orchestra for the session had 16 first violins, 15 second violins, 10 violas, 10 cellos, 4 double basses, 4 flutes, 4 clarinets, 4 oboes, 4 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tubas, timpani, 3 drums (sic), 2 harps, 2 cornets.
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 that side lengths of over 9 minutes were feasible.
The two Suppé overtures here each took one side of a disc, and both last more than 6 minutes.
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 Band” but one with “Mackenzie-Rogan’s Symphony Orchestra.”
With his Band, he recorded this “Christmas Church Parade”, probably in November 1925. Duophone was part of the Vocalion company, and still recording acoustically at this time. They still managed to include a good sounding band, a small choir and bells!
The first part begins with “Christians, awake”, then items with bells and band that I don’t recognise. The second begins with “O Holy Night” for band, followed by “Hark the herald angels” for choir and band, then two further items that I don’t recognise.
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 anonymous Symphony Orchestra. The session included Siegfried’s Funeral March and his second recording of the Magic Fire Music from Die Walküre. This Rhine Journey was issued on HMV D1080. This version has received several CD reissues. On 29 October 1929 Coates recorded the Rhine Journey again (HMV D 1777), alongside remakes of the Funeral March and the Magic Fire Music. This time he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, again in the Queen’s Hall. The Magic Fire and Magic Fire were issued in May and July 1930 respectively. The Funeral March remained unissued until July 1938, and is elusive! For some reason, these three re-recordings have not been reissued on LP or CD.
His Master’s Voice D 1777 Matrices CR 2463-III, CR 2464-IIA (side numbers 32-985, 32-986) Recorded 29th October 1929, Queen’s Hall, London London Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates
This year I’ve transferred an LP of excerpts from Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus, to welcome in the new year in traditional Viennese Style.
Walter Goehr recorded prolifically, but is not well known. In the 1930s and 40s he recorded widely for EMI, particularly conducting orchestral accompaniments for singers, choruses and soloists. He also conducted some purely orchestral recordings, mostly light classics or pots-pourris, sometimes in the guise of George Walter. In the LP era he mainly recorded for smaller companies. This included recordings for Saga and related labels, at times under pseudonyms (Vladimir Tergorsky, William Stellar) and, as here, for the Concert Hall Society.
Concert Hall CM 2022 Matrices CM 2022-1, CM 2022-2 Recorded 1954 Zurich Radio Orchestra, Walter Goehr Johannes Bartsch (baritone) – Eisenstein Uta Graf (soprano) – Rosalinde Hedda Heusser (soprano) – Adele Albert Kunz (tenor) – Alfred Richard Miller (tenor) – Falke Rita Pich (soprano) – Ida Mathias Schmid (baritone) – Frank Nata Tuescher (mezzo-soprano) – Orlofsky
Die Fledermaus – excerpts Overture Act 1: Introduction (Alfred, Adele) – Täubchen, das entflattert ist Duet (Falke, Eisenstein) – Komm mit mir zum Souper Trio (Rosalinde, Adele, Eisenstein) – So muss allein ich bleiben Drinking Song (Alfred, Rosalinde) – Trinke, Liebchen, trinke schnell Couplet (Rosalinde) – Mein Herr, was dächten Sie Trio (Rosalinde, Alfred, Frank) – Nein, nein, ich zweifle gar nicht mehr Act 2: Couplet (Orlofsky) – Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein Laughing Song (Adele) – Ach, meine Herrn und Damen… Mein Herr Marquis Duet (Rosalinde, Eisenstein) – Dieser Anstand, so manierlich Csardas (Rosalinde) – Klänge der Heimat Ensemble (Soloists and chorus) – Im Feuerstrom der Reben
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 (Concerto a due cori). Some of this concerto was reworked as the overture to the music for the Royal Fireworks. The organist here is Harold Dawber. The original concerto has 3 movements – Largo, Allegro, Allegro ma non troppo. As recorded here the Harty version uses the 1st and 3rd movements as for the first side, then the second side has an abbreviated version of the first first movement directly linked to the second movement. According to the biography of Harty by Jeremy Dibble, Harty’s arrangement also included a Grazioso movement between the two sides recorded here. The arrangement was first performed at a Hallé concert on 25th January 1923 with Harold Dawber. The score was published in 1934, the year of this recording.
Columbia LX 341 Matrices CAX 7112-1, 7113-1 Recorded 12th March 1934, Kingsway Hall, London Released November 1934 London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Hamilton Harty Harold Dawber, organ
The next recording has a pair of Handel organ concertos in their original scoring with the solo part played by Dr G.D. Cunningham, with George Weldon conducting the City of Birmingham Orchestra. The two concertos are here transferred from the best parts of a complete auto-coupled set, and the first and last discs of a manual-coupled set.
Columbia DX 8272-4 / DX 1358-60 Matrices CAX 9305-2, 9310-2, 9311-2, 9312-2, 9313-2, 9314-3 Recorded 4th June 1945, Birmingham Town Hall City of Birmingham Orchestra, George Weldon Dr G.D.Cunningham, organ
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 Kingsway Hall. These were issued on the 10 inch DA 1261. Dawson ornaments the solo line quite nicely in places. The orchestra for the session was 14 first violins, 12 seconds, 8 violas, 8 cellos, 4 basses, 1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 2 bassoons, 1 contra-bassoon, 4 horns, 1 bass clarinet, 3 trumpets, 2 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, tuba, timpani, harp, 3 percussion. The full array of woodwind and percussion did not feature in the Handel pieces, but was reserved for Rimsky-Korsakov’s Dance of the Tumblers and the Bach-Holst Fugue in G.
His Master’s Voice DA 1261 Matrices 0B 1582-II, 0B 1583-II (side numbers 30-8479, 30-8480) Recorded 20th February 1932, Kingsway Hall, London London Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates Herbert Dawson, organ
Coates’s recordings from Tristan and Isolde are little known, apart from the love duet from Act 2, with Leider and Melchior. Coates did in fact record other excerpts from all 3 acts, including this 1926 account of the Prelude to Act 1.
His Master’s Voice D 1107 Matrices CR 144-I, CR 145-I (side numbers 4-0791, 4-0792) Recorded 25th January 1926, Queen’s Hall, London Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates
Last year I shared Coates’s acoustic excerpts from “The Rhinegold”, and this year we move to Siegfried. This opera merited four double-sided records, His Master’s Voice D700 to D702 taking in scenes from all three acts (conducted by Coates except for side 2 by Goossens and side 4 by Pitt), and DB441 providing scenes from the start of Act 3 with Coates conducting for Clarence Whitehill. There was also a double-sided record of the Forest Murmurs conducted by Percy Pitt on D561.
I have transferred the first of these from its French issue as W568.
The first excerpt is described on the label as “Siegfried – Act 1 – Siegfried forges the sword (Finale)”. This is a rather trimmed down account of the forging, shorn of Mime’s contributions. In the Eulenburg miniature score this contains p327-331, 339 (last bar)-350b2, 363b2-364 (without vocal), 382-392b1, 438(last 2bars)-447 (end of act). Tudor Davies sings Siegfried (in English).
The second excerpt is called “Siegfried – Act 2 – Mime betrays Siegfried”. This is a much more coherent selection running from p658b3-664b4, then 665b1-677, so losing 5 orchestral bars before the entrance of the woodbird. Tudor Davies again sings Siegfried, with Florence Austral as the woodbird, and Sydney Russell as Mime.
Tudor Davies sang Froh in English in 1922-3 performances of Rhinegold at Covent Garden under Coates. This role was sung by Sydney Russell in 1910 performances in German under Hans Richter and Paul Drach. Russell sang Mime in 1922-23 performances under Coates, Goossens and Julius Harrison. In these same performances Florence Austral sang Brünnhilde, so to have hear as the woodbird is rather luxurious casting!
The orchestra for the forging song consisted of 4 first violins, 3 second violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 4 flutes, 3 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 3 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 2 bassoon, 1 contra-bassoon, 3 horns, 3 trumpets, 1 bass trumpet, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 bass tuba, timpani, piano and anvil.
His Master’s Voice W 568 (D 700) Matrices Cc 1591-II, Cc 2841-II (side numbers 3-0776, 3-0858) Recorded 30th June 1922, 16th April 1923, Hayes Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates, Eugene Goossens Tudor Davies (tenor) – Siegfried Sydney Russell (tenor) – Mime Florence Austral (soprano) – Woodbird
As a complement to Tudor Davies’ truncated forging song, the next disc, for whom the conductor is unknown, takes us back to the Covent Garden English Ring cycle of 1908. These performances in January and February were conducted by Hans Richter and featured the Danish tenor Peter Cornelius as Siegfried. Additional performances of Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung were given in May and June in German, with Cornelius singing Siegmund and Siegfried. Around this time, soprano Perceval Allen (who sang Brünnhilde in the January and February performances) recorded the Götterdämmerung prolog duet in both German and English with Peter Cornelius, then Cornelius recorded “The sword song” from Siegfried, and “The hammer song”, and Anton van Rooy who sang Wotan in the May/June Walküre performances recorded Abendlich strahlt from Das Rheingold. Further recordings were made in February the following year, some in English and some in German (and one in Danish!) with Clarence Whitehill (Wotan), Minnie Saltzmann-Stevens (Brünnhilde) and Peter Cornelius (recording Siegmund and Siegfried, though Siegmund was sung at Covent Garden by Walter Hyde.
The recording given here is Cornelius’s slightly accented English version of The Sword Song from Siegfried (“Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches schwert!”). In the Eulenburg miniature score it contains p327-350
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 of Landon Ronald conducting the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra in the Entry of the Gods.)
The first excerpt is described on the label as “Alberich steals the gold, The dawn over Valhalla – Scene II”. It runs from “Spottet nur zu!” (p73 of the Schott orchestral score) through the transition to Scene II (with a minor 8 bar cut on p83). The bass Robert Radford sings Alberich, with sopranos Bessie Jones and Louise Trenton and contralto Edith Furmedge as the Rhinemaidens.
The second excerpt is called “The descent to Nibelheim, Capture of Alberich – Scene III. It begins at Wotan’s “Ihr andern harrt bis Abend hier” (Schott p151), runs through the descent to Nibelheim (with anvils) (to p160) then cuts to Alberich’s showing off (p181) from “Hie her! Dorthin!” to “Soll ich euch helfen? Alles hieher!” (p182). After a cut of more than 30 bars we resume with “Zitt’re und zage, gezähmtes Heer” (p185). After the ensuing transitional passage (p186) the music then cuts to the Tarnhelm music (p204) where Alberich’s “Riesenwurm winde sich ringelnd!” line goes unsung. So the record doesn’t actually get as far as “Capture of Alberich” stated on the label! Robert Radford sings both Wotan at the start of the side and Alberich at the end. Edith Furmedge is also credited for Fricka’s single line, and brief lines are heard from Donner and Froh (almost inaudibly). The singers are uncredited, but baritones Leonard Hubbard and Edward Halland and tenors Sidney Coltham and Walter Glynne were in the chorus for these sessions. Although Florence Austral and Tudor Davies were in studio the same day for excerpts from The Valkyrie and The Twilight of the Gods, it seems unlikely that Davies would be the barely audible Froh, even if he were distant from the recording horn.
The orchestra for the recording session consisted of 4 first violins, 3 second violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 4 flutes, 3 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 3 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba, 8 horns, 3 trumpets, 1 bass trumpet, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 bass tuba, timpani, cymbals. For these two sides there were slight changes involving addition of extra tubas, piano and percussion. The piano can be clearly detected playing the harp part when the Valhalla motif enters near the end of the first side.
His Master’s Voice D 677 Matrices Cc 2243-3, Cc 2244-2 (side numbers 3-0814, 3-0815) Recorded 18th December 1922, Room 1, Hayes Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates Robert Radford (bass) – Alberich, Wotan Bessie Jones (soprano), Louise Trenton (soprano), Edith Furmedge (contralto) – Rhinemaidens (side 1) Edith Furmedge (contralto) – Fricka (side 2) Leonard Hubbard or Edward Halland ? – Donner (side 2) Sidney Coltham or Walter Glynne ? – Froh (side 2)
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 Promenade Concerts at Queen’s Hall on 10th August 1895, though on that occasion it was sung by David Ffrangçon-Davies. The other side of the record has Turner singing the Toreador Song from Carmen. Ffrangçon-Davies sang this at the prom on 20th August 1895, though the first night did include a Grand Selection from Carmen arranged by Alfred Cellier.
Alan Turner did eventually sing at the Proms, once in 1914, and on three occasions in 1925, but did not sing the two items given here.
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 1944. Although they are now known as the BBC Proms (the BBC having taken them over in 1927), Sir Henry’s bust still oversees the concerts every season from the back of the Royal Albert Hall stage.
Although I’ve not had time to produce any new transfers of Sir Henry’s work, last summer I uploaded a video of his recording of Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music. This work was written to celebrate Wood’s 50 years as a conductor, and features 16 prominent English vocalists of the era. I’ve included pictures of each vocalist as they sing their solo lines:
Serenade to Music – Sir Henry J Wood and soloist
More of Sir Henry’s recordings are available here on my site. I hope to upload soon a discography of Sir Henry’s recordings.
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 Urania and Concert Hall Society / Musical Masterpiece Society. Many of these were withdrawn when CHS set up a UK branch in 1961. Some years later it bought up the struggling Saga label, so later Classics Club recordings also saw reissue on Saga. A discography can be found at CRQ Editions
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 duetting with the tenor Ben Davies. The last of the 4 sides, “Oh that we two were Maying” has a misplaced stop groove at the outer edge of the record, that interrupts the final chord. There are several revolutions after this groove with the final chord in the piano dying away. I’ve endeavoured to reduce the jarring effect.
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 the sound, it remains very flawed.Titterton’s glorious voice shines through nonetheless!
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 well.
