"The Harbor Bell" hymn by John H. Yates & Ira D. Sankey = Charles Harrison & Clifford Cairns (1922)

Описание: "The Harbor Bell"

Charles Harrison & Clifford Cairns

Victor 18925

1922

John H. Yates & Ira D. Sankey hymn

Our life is like a stormy sea
Swept by the gales of sin and grief,
While on the windward and the lee
Hang heavy clouds of unbelief;
But o’er the deep a call we hear,
Like harbor bell’s inviting voice;
It tells the lost that hope is near,
And bids the trembling soul rejoice.

This way, this way, O heart oppressed,
So long by storm and tempest driv’n;
This way, this way, lo, here is rest,
Rings out the harbor bell of Heav’n.

Oh, let us now the call obey,
And steer our bark for yonder shore,
Where still that voice directs the way,
In pleading tones forevermore;
A thousand life wrecks strew the sea;
They’re going down at every swell;
“Come unto Me, come unto Me,”
Rings out th’ assuring harbor bell.

O tempted one, look up, be strong;
The promise of the Lord is sure,
That they shall sing the victor’s song,
Who faithful to the end endure;
God’s Holy Spirit comes to thee,
Of His abiding love to tell;
To blissful port, o’er stormy sea,
Calls Heav’n’s inviting harbor bell.

Come, gracious Lord, and in Thy love
Conduct us o’er life’s stormy wave;
Oh, guide us to the home above,
The blissful home beyond the grave;
There, safe from rock, and storm, and flood,
Our song of praise shall never cease,
To Him who bought us with His blood,
And brought us to the port of peace.

Charles Harrison lived from September 11, 1878, to February 2, 1965.

This tenor was one of the busiest recording artists of the acoustic era. Performances were issued on major labels, including Victor, Columbia, and Edison. He was also prominent on minor labels, such as Domino, Regal, Melotone, and other "dime-store" labels.

A Jersey City native, Charles William Harrison studied voice under Leo Koeffler and was tenor at various churches, including the New York Fifth Avenue Brick Presbyterian Church until 1920. He began his recording career on January 31, 1911, with the Columbia Phonograph Company. He sang "Cujus Animam," using the original Latin text from Rossini's Stabat Mater (A5275), and it was issued in May 1911.

The Rossini number also served as his first Edison selection, which was issued exactly one year later.

In the March 1952 issue of Hobbies, Jim Walsh quotes a letter in which Harrison recalls his recording debut: "The lead tenor of our quartet knew the manager of the Columbia laboratory, so we made some 'test' recordings. During the session he spoke about a test of his own solo voice, and I for once put on a bold front and said I would also like to make a test...the manager did not know me, but he said they were looking for a tenor who could sing a high D flat. The other fellow said that I could do it and that they need look no further...I was booked for a test of the 'Cujas [sic] Animam' from Rossini's 'Stabat Mater,' sung in English, with piano, as I did not know Latin! The test came out well enough for them to book me with orchestra for the same selection in Latin. I had a friend...whose brother was a priest, so he gave me the phonetic pronunciation, and I went to it. When this came through the processing I was handed a contract for six months.

"Right away, as my records began to come out, Victor and Edison got on my trail, but I was tied up, so could do nothing. Nearing the end of the six months, I demanded a raise in the fee or a new contract, but found that I had unwittingly signed for an additional year at the same rates. I at once refused to continue, as I apparently had been duped, so went to both Victor and Edison on a non-exclusive basis, designed to keep me at least with 'the big three.'...

"In 1919-1920, I was recording for 18 laboratories, working every day in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Montreal, etc."

Some of his early Columbia discs identify him as Charles W. Harrison, but the simple name Charles Harrison soon became standard. Over a dozen pseudonyms were used for him on small labels. Most common are Hugh Donovan and Billy Burton. Others include Charles Hilton and Norman Terrell.

He made Edison records in 1912 and was even in an early experimental sound film made by Edison. He worked regularly for the company until 1916, cutting mostly "serious" music, then returned in the 1920s. Amberol 1003 featuring "Cujus Animam" was issued in May 1912, followed in June by a wax Amberol featuring an aria translated to English from Ambroise Thomas' Mignon, "Never the Maiden Dreamed" (1033). Later he recorded some waltz songs, including Albert Gumble's "When I Waltz With You" (Blue Amberol 1556), issued in December 1912.