The Yeomen of the Guard - Act 1 (Gilbert & Sullivan) (1920)

Описание: In 1917, The Gramophone Company commenced a series of complete recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan operas 'recorded under the personal direction of Mr. Rupert D'Oyly Carte.' The 'personal direction' essentially involved having D'Oyly Carte Stage Manager J. M. Gordon present at recording sessions to coach the singers.

The first opera to be recorded was - not surprisingly - 'The Mikado.' The cast was comprised of tried and tested recording artists such as Violet Essex, Edna Thornton, John Harrison and Robert Radford, and Arthur Wood was engaged to conduct. The same position applied when 'The Gondoliers was recorded in 1919.'

'The Yeomen of the Guard' was next on the list, scheduled to commence recording in 1920. By this time, The Gramophone Company had a house conductor, George W. Byng, who for the previous few years had worked exclusively for the Company's Zonophone subsidiary. As regards singers, it was suggested that consideration be given to using members of the D'Oyly Carte Company to sing the principal roles. With that in mind, Bertha Lewis, Henry Lytton, Leo Sheffield and Derek Oldham were asked to make test recordings, which they did on 5 December 1919 with 'Mrs Baker' (ie Lilian Bryant) at the piano. With the exception of Oldham, the Company felt that the D'Oyly Carte singers were unsuitable for recording purposes! As a result, a great opportunity was lost. It was to be another four years before a D'Oyly Carte cast was at last engaged for the excellent 1924 recording of 'Ruddigore.'

Recording commenced on 4 March 1920 and was ultimately spread over eight sessions, finally being completed seven months later on 4 October 1920. Not surprisingly, recording quality (and speeds) varied from session to session. Recording a relatively sizeable chorus was a particularly hit-and-miss affair in those days.

It is easy to underestimate the value of the pre-1924 complete sets by reason of their lack of a D'Oyly Carte cast, but Gordon's involvement undoubtedly ensured a great degree of authenticity in the performances: after all, Derek Oldham described Gordon as 'a tiger for knowing and getting what he wanted!'

I therefore decided that it was about time I tried my hand at transferring one of the earlier acoustic G&S sets, and 'The Yeomen of the Guard' was the one I selected to begin with. I am actually fairly pleased with the result. I have attempted to make the transfer quality reasonably consistent and to ensure clarity: after all, the words are definitely important!

I felt it best to post the two Acts separately, so here is Act 1, transferred from the original black label HMV discs.

00:00 Overture (Light Opera Orchestrs/Byng) 18 Mar 1920
03:42 When maiden loves (Nellie Walker) 31 Aug 1920
07:49 Tower Warders under orders (Peter Dawson & chorus) 18 Mar 1920
11:00 When our gallant Norman foes (Edna Thornton & chorus) 18 Mar 1920
14:49 Alas, I waver to and fro (Ruby Heyl, Ernest Pike, Peter Dawson) 4 Mar 1920
16:54 Is life a boon? (Derek Oldham) 4 Mar 1920
19:29 Here's a man of jollity (Chorus) 18 Mar 1920
20:08 I have a song to sing, O! (George Baker) 18 Mar 1920
23:35 How say you, maiden? (Violet Essex, George Baker, Robert Radford) 4 Mar 1920
26:09 I've jibe and joke (George Baker) 4 Mar 1920
28:02 'Tis done! I am a bride! (Violet Essex) 4 Mar 1920
31:48 Were I thy bride (Nellie Walker) 2 Sep 1920
33:40 Oh, Sergeant Meryll, is it true? (Derek Oldham, George Baker, Robert Radford, Ruby Heyl, Nellie Walker, Edna Thornton, Peter Dawson, George Baker & chorus) 2 Sep 1920