The 1920 HMV Pirates

Cast
Major-General StanleyGeorge Baker
Pirate KingRobert Radford
SamuelEdward Halland
FredericDerek Oldham
Sergeant of PolicePeter Dawson
MabelViolet Essex
EdithBessie Jones
KateNellie Walker
RuthEdna Thornton

Conductor: George. W. Byng

Chorus: Walter Glynne, Ernest Pike, Harold Wilde, Sarah Jones, & The Soloists

Recorded in London, July 2 – October 1, 1920
Sounds on CD VGS 211
Sounds on CD VGS 211
(Cover art by Matt Bland)
HMV Album Cover
HMV Album Cover

This recording was the fourth in a series of acoustical recordings that began in 1917. The first two sets in the series (Mikado and Gondoliers) had used HMV's own gramophone artists exclusively, but D'Oyly Carte tenor Derek Oldham was included in the 1920 Yeomen, and he appears here as well. The other singers, however, had no association with D'Oyly Carte.

In the early history of the gramophone, little attempt was made to ensure that the same role was played by the same singer throughout an entire set. If a number called for a tenor and a soprano, it seemed that any tenor and any soprano would do. This recording, although it is of comparatively little interest today, was the first in which each singer played only one role, and no role was taken by multiple singers.

Derek Oldham would sing Frederic again on the 1929 Pirates. That recording, and not this one, is the historical Pirates of choice, although this set is certainly a worthwhile document of several important early gramophone singers. It has been re-issued on CD on Chris Webster's Sounds on CD label.

See Also:
Review from The Gramophone, 1927
Album
Photograph made at one of the recording sessions. The conductor, George W. Byng, is standing. The singers, reading from left to right, were: Seated: Bessie Jones, Violet Essex, Sarah Jones, Harold WIlde, Robert Radford; Standing: Derek Oldham, Walter Glynne, Ernest Pike, Edna Thornton, Peter Dawson, Edward Halland, George Baker, Nellie Walker.
Issue History
DateLabelFormatNumber
1921 HMV 78rpm D 504/14
1999 Sounds on CD CD VGS 211
2000 78s 2 CD CD GS07
Notes:
  1. Substantial excerpts from this recording were included on Pearl GEM 125, a Derek Oldham retrospective disc.
  2. Side 14 ("When the foeman bares his steel") was included on Arabesque's LP reissue of the 1931 Ruddigore.

The tables below provide details of the sides in continuity order and in the order recorded. The information is derived from the the researches of Michael Walters, Chris Webster, Brian Rust, and John Francis, for which I am most grateful.

Recording Details
Side
Nbr		Matrix
Number
Selection		Rec.
Date
1HO4489-2
  1. Overture, part 1 (Light Opera Orchestra)
 13 Jul 20
2HO4488-2
  1. Overture, part 2 (Light Opera Orchestra)
 13 Jul 20
3HO4481
  1. Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry (Halland & Chorus)

  2. When Frederic was a little lad (Thornton)
 13 Jul 20
4HO4451-2
  1. Oh, better far to live and die (Radford & Chorus)
  2. O false one, you have deceived me (Thornton, Oldham)
 2 Jul 20
5HO4482-2
  1. Climbing over rocky mountain (B. Jones, Walker, & Chorus of Essex, Thornton, S. Jones)
 13 Jul 20
6HO4450
  1. Stop, ladies, pray! (Oldham, B. Jones, Walker, & Chorus)
  2. Oh, is there not one maiden breast (Oldham, Essex, & Chorus)
 2 Jul 20
7HO4486-2
  1. Poor wandering one (Essex & Chorus of Thornton, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker)
 13 Jul 20
8HO4479
  1. What ought we to do (B. Jones, Walker)
  2. How beautifully blue the sky (Essex, Oldham & Chorus)
 9 Jul 20
9HO4452
  1. Stay, we must not lose our senses (Oldham & Chorus)
  2. Hold, monsters (Essex, Halland, Baker, & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
 2 Jul 20
10HO4453
  1. I am the very model (Baker & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
 2 Jul 20
11HO4454-2
  1. Oh, men of dark and dismal fate (Baker, Radford, Halland, & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
 2 Jul 20
12HO4455-2
  1. You may go (Oldham, Halland, Baker, Thornton, Radford, & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
 2 Jul 20
13HO4456
  1. Oh, dry the glistening tear (Essex & Chorus)
  2. Now, Frederic (Baker, Oldham, & Chorus of Thornton, S. Jones, B. Jones, Walker)
 2 Jul 20
14HO4474-2
  1. When the foeman bares his steel (Dawson, Baker, Essex, B. Jones, & Chorus of Radford, Oldham, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Pike, S. Jones, Thornton, Walker)
 9 Jul 20
15HO4477
  1. Now for the pirates' lair / When you had left our pirate fold (Oldham, Thornton, Radford)
 9 Jul 20
16HO4520-2
  1. Away, away! (Oldham, Thornton, Radford)
  2. All is Prepared / Stay, Frederic, Stay (Essex, Oldham)
 2 Sep 20
17HO4517-2
  1. Ah, leave me not to pine (Essex, Oldham)
 31 Aug 20
18HO4548-2
  1. No, I am brave (Essex, Dawson, & Chorus)
  2. When a felon's not engaged in his employment (Dawson & Chorus)
 4 Oct 20
19HO4484-2
  1. A rollicking band of pirates we (Dawson & Chorus)
  2. With cat-like tread (Halland & Chorus)
 13 Jul 20
20HO4457
  1. Hush, hush, not a word! (Oldham, Baker, & Chorus)
  2. Softly sighing to the river (Baker & Chorus)
 2 Jul 20
21HO4519
  1. Now what is this (Oldham, Baker, Radford, Essex, & Chorus)
 2 Sep 20
22HO4476-2
  1. To gain a brief advantage you've contrived (Dawson, Essex, Radford, Baker, Thornton, & Chorus)
 9 Jul 20

Notes:

  1. On all records of this period, there was a single extra groove to "guard" the needle from running into the center of the disc. On side 7, in this groove, Violet Essex (or, possibly, another woman) can be heard saying, with some indignation, "I just told him!" On the reverse side of the record, she is apparently saying "I know you did," although it could also be "I know you didn't."
  2. Francis gives the recording dates of the overture as 14 July 1920. The date of 13 July (from Walters/Rust) seems more likely.
  3. The record label for side 10 is captioned "I am the very pattern of a modern Major-General" (consistent with early vocal scores), but Baker sings "model".
  4. Similarly, the record label for side 18 is captioned "Yes, I am brave" (as it was given in early vocal scores), but Violet Essex sings "No, I am brave."
Recording Sessions

Result		Matrix
Number
Selection
Session One, 2 July 1920
Issued s. 6HO4450
  1. Stop, ladies, pray! (Oldham, B. Jones, Walker, & Chorus)
  2. Oh, is there not one maiden breast (Oldham, Essex, & Chorus)
Issued s. 4HO4451-2
  1. Oh, better far to live and die (Radford & Chorus)
  2. O false one, you have deceived me (Thornton, Oldham)
Issued s. 9HO4452
  1. Stay, we must not lose our senses (Oldham & Chorus)
  2. Hold, monsters (Essex, Halland, Baker, & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
Issued s. 10HO4453
  1. I am the very model (Baker & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
Issued s. 11HO4454-2
  1. Oh, men of dark and dismal fate (Baker, Radford, Halland, & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
Issued s. 12HO4455-2
  1. You may go (Oldham, Halland, Baker, Thornton, Radford, & Chorus of Thornton, Essex, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker, Dawson, Pike, Baker, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Radford)
Issued s. 13HO4456
  1. Oh, dry the glistening tear (Essex & Chorus)
  2. Now, Frederic (Baker, Oldham, & Chorus of Thornton, S. Jones, B. Jones, Walker)
Issued s. 20HO4457
  1. Hush, hush, not a word! (Oldham, Baker, & Chorus)
  2. Softly sighing to the river (Baker & Chorus)
Session Two, 9 July 1920
Issued s. 14HO4474-2
  1. When the foeman bares his steel (Dawson, Baker, Essex, B. Jones, & Chorus of Radford, Oldham, Halland, Wilde, Glynne, Pike, S. Jones, Thornton, Walker)
Rejected HO4475-1
HO4475-2
  1. Now What is This (Essex, Oldham, Baker, Radford, & Chorus)
Issued s. 22HO4476-2
  1. To gain a brief advantage you've contrived (Dawson, Essex, Radford, Baker, Thornton, & Chorus)
Issued s. 15HO4477
  1. Now for the pirates' lair / When you had left our pirate fold (Oldham, Thornton, Radford)
Rejected HO4478-1
HO4478-2
  1. Away, away! (Oldham, Thornton, Radford)
  2. All is prepared / Stay, Frederic, stay! (Essex, Oldham)
Issued s. 8HO4479
  1. What ought we to do (B. Jones, Walker)
  2. How beautifully blue the sky (Essex, Oldham & Chorus)
 HO4480 Contents unknown, date unknown
Session Three, 13 July 1920
Issued s. 3HO4481
  1. Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry (Halland & Chorus)
  2. When Frederic was a little lad (Thornton)
Issued s. 5HO4482-2
  1. Climbing over rocky mountain (B. Jones, Walker, & Chorus of Essex, Thornton, S. Jones)
Rejected HO4483-1
HO4483-2
  1. No, I am brave (Essex, Dawson, & Chorus)
  2. When a felon's not engaged in his employment (Dawson & Chorus)
Issued s. 19HO4484-2
  1. A rollicking band of pirates we (Dawson & Chorus)
  2. With cat-like tread (Halland & Chorus)
Rejected HO4485-1
HO4485-2
  1. Ah, leave me not to pine (Essex, Oldham)
Issued s. 7HO4486-2
  1. Poor wandering one (Essex & Chorus of Thornton, B. Jones, S. Jones, Walker)
 HO4487 Contents unknown
Issued s. 2HO4488-2
  1. Overture, part 2 (Light Opera Orchestra)
Issued s. 1HO4489-2
  1. Overture, part 1 (Light Opera Orchestra)
Session Four, 31 August 1920
 HO4516 See 1920 Yeomen, s. 3
Issued s. 17 HO4517-2
  1. Ah, leave me not to pine (Essex, Oldham)
 HO4518 See 1920 Yeomen, s. 19
Session Five, 2 September 1920
Issued s. 21 HO4519
  1. Now what is this (Oldham, Baker, Radford, Essex, & Chorus)
Issued s. 16 HO4520-2
  1. Away, away! (Oldham, Thornton, Radford)
  2. All is Prepared / Stay, Frederic, Stay (Essex, Oldham)
 HO4521 See 1920 Yeomen, s. 10
 HO4522 See 1920 Yeomen, s. 12
Session Six, 4 October 1920
Issued s. 18 HO4548-2
  1. No, I am brave (Essex, Dawson, & Chorus)
  2. When a felon's not engaged in his employment (Dawson & Chorus)
 HO4549 See 1920 Yeomen, s. 22
 HO4550 See 1919 Gondoliers, s. 12

Notes:

  1. The table above shows the order in which the selections were recorded. The table shows "unknown" takes to highlight gaps in matrix numbers (which were normally assigned sequentially).
  2. During this period, HMV would record a selection no more than twice on a given day. If this failed to produce a usable take, then the item would be rescheduled for another day. Where this happened, the first attempt is labeled "Rejected" in the table.
  3. Where the matrix number of an issued side is suffixed "-2", it means that the first take was rejected, but the second was accepted. Where a matrix number has no suffix, it means that the first take was accepted.