Gilbert & Sullivan (1954)
The Savoy Players and Orchestra
There evidently were several records featuring the anonymous Savoy Players and Orchestra. They are listed below, but I have very little information about them.
According to the Varsity-GramophoneConcertone Discography, Gramophone 2061 consists of the following:
- (2061A)
- The Mikado parts 1 and 2
- Gondoliers parts 1 and 2
- (2061B)
- Iolanthe (Sentry Song) parts 1 and 2
- Iolanthe (vocal gems)
- Yeoman [sic] of the Guard parts 1 and 2
- Pinafore
According to correspondent Tony Dwyer, Halo 5061 contains the following excerpts from The Mikado:
- Overture
- A wandering minstrel
- Our great Mikado
- The Lord High Executioner
- Taken from a county jail
- I've got a little list
- A more humane Mikado
- The criminal cried
- The flowers that bloom in the Spring
- Tit-willow
- There is beauty in the bellow of the blast
- Finale
Tony added that "patriotic" has a long 'a' in "A wandering minstrel." In "The flowers that bloom in the spring," Nanki-Poo inserts a cadenza, and Ko-Ko imitates it. He added:
It would be presumptious of me to "review" this record; I'm nowhere near an expert on G&S. It strikes me as a budget recording, but I found the performances entertaining, although my copy of the record has definitely seem better days.
From Tony's report, this seems to be a fairly substantial recording of The Mikado, but I have elected to leave it listed here, with the other pressings that appear to come from the same series.
It is not clear whether the item I have listed as the Halo Pinafore is also part of the series. Another correspondent has alerted me to a further Halo issue, #50308, that seems to be a companion to the Halo Pinafore and has different contents to those Tony has described. A pretty mess indeed!
Date | Label | Format | Number | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Gramophone | Mono LP | 2061 | Contains highlights from Mikado, Gondoliers, Iolanthe, Yeomen |
195-? | Halo | Mono LP | 5061 | Contains highlights from The Mikado |
195-? | Varsity | 10" Mono LP | 6987 | Contains highlights from Mikado and Gondoliers |
195-? | Varsity | 10" Mono LP | 6913 | Contains highlights from Iolanthe, Yeomen & Pinafore |