April 23rd is St George’s Day, Shakespeare’s birthday, and more importantly for this site, the anniversary of Albert Coates’s birth. For this year’s Coates tribute, we have two early electrical choral recordings: excerpts from Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and unaccompanied spurious Bach!

Georg Gottfried Wagner – Blessing, Glory and Wisdom (attr. J.S. Bach, BWV Anh 162)
Sung in English
Choir from the Chorus of the British National Opera Company, Albert Coates

G.G. Wagner – Blessing, Glory and Wisdom – BNOC Chorus, Coates

(mp3 file – click to play, or right click the link, then select “Save as”)

His Master’s Voice D 1036
Matrices Cc 64624-I, 6425-II (single side numbers 04852, 04853)
Recorded 30th July 1925, Studio B, Hayes
These sides play at standard pitch at about 74.5rpm (putting the music in E flat)

This is a rare example of Coates conducting unaccompanied choral music – the piece in question was attributed to Bach, but is now known to be by Georg Gottfried Wagner, who worked with Bach in Leipzig for a little while.

Mendelssohn – Elijah – Baal chorus; Thanks be to God
Sung in English
Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Albert Coates

Mendelssohn – Elijah – Baal chorus – Coates

Mendelssohn – Elijah – Thanks be to God – Coates

(mp3 files – click to play, or right click the link, then select “Save as”)

His Master’s Voice D 1070

Matrices CR 37-II, CR 38-II (single side numbers 4-0781, 4-0782)
Recorded 1st December 1925, Queen’s Hall, London
These sides play in score pitch at about 78.5rpm