G&S Discography Revision History
October 21, 2001 — July 20, 2005
- Version 22.0 — July 20, 2005 (591 pages)
-
Chris Webster's Sounds on CD has a bevy of
new releases. Of special interest, Webster has obtained the rights from Decca
to re-issue the 1970s D'Oyly Carte recordings, which heretofore were the only
D'Oyly Carte recordings not available on CD. The complete list of new issues
is as follows:
- 1954 D'Oyly Carte Mikado Broadcast.
- 1966 RCA Pirates (with Martyn Green)
- Of Pleasures There are Many (D'Oyly Carte Concerted Excerpts)
- 1974 Iolanthe.
- 1975 Trial/1978 Cox and Box.
- 1977 D'Oyly Carte Gondoliers.
- 1979 D'Oyly Carte Yeomen.
- 1982 D'Oyly Carte Last Night
-
I couldn't exactly call the following items new, as this is the first
Discography update in quite some time, but the following recordings been added:
- Chandos Cox/Trial.
- Ohio Light Opera Grand Duke.
- Ohio Light Opera Yeomen.
- Di Yam Gazlonim (Yiddish Pirates)
- Hyperion Contrabandista/Foresters.
- Revised version of Charles Pemberton's "A Disagreeable Man?"
-
Chris Webster's Sounds on CD has a bevy of
new releases. Of special interest, Webster has obtained the rights from Decca
to re-issue the 1970s D'Oyly Carte recordings, which heretofore were the only
D'Oyly Carte recordings not available on CD. The complete list of new issues
is as follows:
- Version 21.6 — December 24, 2003 (582 pages)
- Hyperion have issued a new professional recording of The Prodigal Son (its first professional recording) and the Boer War Te Deum.
- Divine Art have issued a new Grossmith CD, with baritone Leon Berger accompanied by Selwyn Tillet.
- Naxos have re-issued the 1951 Patience and the 1961 Iolanthe. They join an already crowded field!!
- Musical Collectables, the sales arm of the International G&S Festival, have re-issued Gilbert & Sullivan: Great Patter Songs with John Reed.
- Two correspondents, Howard Friedman and Jeff DeGrave, pointed out an Angel promotional album for from ca. 1961 for the Sargent/EMI recordings.
- Stan DeOrsey has supplied an updated version of his outstanding Lost Songs page.
- Howard Friedman has filled in details of the unissued takes for the 1906 G&T Mikado.
- Version 21.51 — June 2, 2003 (581 pages)
- Added Chris Webster's new release, Tête-à-Tête, "an entertaining and often hilarious one hour fifty minute conversation between the great John Reed and Peggy Ann Jones, c. 1975, packed with stories about life in the D'Oyly Carte on and off stage, plus some other bonus John Reed interview material." See the Sounds on CD page. The cover image is here.
- Added the J. C. Lockwood release of the four HMV abridged sets: 1933 Sorcerer, 1931 Pirates, 1931 Yeomen, and 1931 Gondoliers. (The Lockwood transfers and those of Chris Webster, below, are from the same original discs. Webster and Lockwood take different approaches to the restoration, however, and which one you prefer is a matter of taste. I'm happy to advise privately.)
- Version 21.5 — May 10, 2003 (581 pages)
-
Added the Sounds on CD re-issues of:
- 1930 HMV Pinafore.
- 1929 HMV Pirates.
- 1930 HMV Patience.
- 1936 HMV Mikado.
- 1927 HMV Gondoliers + Trial.
- Four HMV abridged sets, together for the first time: 1933 Sorcerer, 1931 Pirates, 1931 Yeomen, and 1931 Gondoliers
Webster's 1936 HMV Mikado offers a number of fascinating bonus tracks that should make it the '36 Mikado of choice. (See the web page for details.)
- Added a series of vintage re-issues by Castle Pulse. They are basically the HMV electrical series, and I'm not going to list them here. They are listed for completeness' sake on the "Issue History" of the relevant web pages. Various reviewers have described these transfers as laughably bad.
- Added Decca's CD re-issues of the stereo D'Oyly Carte recordings. They are essentially the same as the old versions previously available on CD. There is also a 24-CD set that includes the full series. Decca now has a G&S page on their website. Look here.
- Added Pearl's CD re-issues of the Prince Consort Beauty Stone, Rose of Persia, and Emerald Isle.
- Added the DVD re-issues of the Brent Walker videos (thanks to T. P. Chai) and Papp's Pirates.
- Added a new CD release of Sullivan's Instrumental Music, conducted by Sir Vivian Dunn. (Thanks to Malcolm Walker.)
- Added recording details for two early Pineapple Polls — those by conductors Robert Irving and John Lanchbury. (Thanks to Malcolm Walker.)
-
Added album cover art added to these pages:
- 1960 D'Oyly Carte Iolanthe (Thanks to Paul Smith)
- 1922 HMV Pinafore (Thanks to Simon Moss)
- 1963 Gilbert and Sullivan Overtures (Kenneth Alwyn) (Thanks to Bruce Miller)
- 1986 Sullivan Overtures (Faris) (Thanks to Bruce Miller)
- 1992 Overtures by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (NSWO/NDOC) (Thanks to Bruce Miller)
- 1993 Sullivan Overtures (Marriner) (Thanks to Bruce Miller)
-
Added the Sounds on CD re-issues of:
- Version 21.42 — November 6, 2002 (580 pages)
- Two CDs have been added: a new recording of Sullivan's Chamber & Instrumental Music and a re-issue of the soundtrack to The Cool Mikado.
- Malcolm Walker, a consultant discographer to EMI Classics, has kindly supplied the recording dates and venues for all of the original D'Oyly Carte's stereo recordings, that is to say, those dating from 1957 and later. See the respective pages for those recordings.
- Version 21.41 — August 23, 2002 (580 pages)
- Simon Moss has kindly contributed a cover scan of the 1963 Bab Ballads recording read by Redvers Kyle.
- Thanks to Herb Zornow for pointing out a number of errors that have been on the site — in some cases for years — but noticed by no one else!
- Version 21.4 — August 23, 2002 (580 pages)
- A new recording from the Band of the Irish Guards has been added: Sir Arthur Sullivan: The Lost Chord.
- Simon Moss has contributed a review of the 1963 Bab Ballads LP read by Redvers Kyle.
- Version 21.3 — June 17, 2002 (579 pages)
- Notwithstanding my "retirement," I've agreed to put out the occasional minor update to fix outright errors and take note of new releases.
- Belva have issued an adaptation called simply Pinafore! which features gay sailors and a transvestite "Josephine."
- Chris Webster's Sounds on CD has issued a blockbuster assortment of new CD releases, including:
- Version 21.21 — February 10, 2002 (578 pages)
- Regis have issued the 1951 D'Oyly Carte Iolanthe, with Martyn Green as the Lord Chancellor. It's the first of several forthcoming CD re-issues of this recording and its companion, the 1951 Patience, both of which came out of copyright at the beginning of 2002. What sets apart the Regis release is the coupling with Charles Mackerras's 1951 recording of Pineapple Poll, its first appearance on CD.
- Regis have also issued another disc of highlights from the 1949-51 D'Oyly Carte sets, complementing a similar disc issued last year.
- Version 21.20 — January 13, 2002 (578 pages)
- Howard Friedman has contributed an expanded and extensively revised version of his article, Matrix and Catalog Numbers in G&S Discography.
- The Terry Hawes recording of His Excellency (which he composed) has been added.
- Pending the selection of a new editor, the G&S Discography is now closed for further updates.
- Version 21.10 — December 10, 2001 (576 pages)
- Two new issues from Sounds on CD have been added:
-
These album covers have been added:
- New D'Oyly Carte Pirates, Koch International CD
- New D'Oyly Carte Gondoliers, Koch International CD
- Engligh National Opera Mikado, Koch International & Showtime CDs
- New Sadlers Wells Ruddigore, Jay CD
- New Sadlers Wells Pinafore, Koch International, TER & Madacy CDs
- Sargent/EMI 16-CD complete set
- Version 21.04 — November 19, 2001 (574 pages)
- Malcolm Walker supplied recording dates for the Sargent/EMI recordings, and he also supplied an account of how these recordings were made.
- Howard Friedman supplied side listings for The World of W. S. Gilbert & A. Sullivan, Volume 1 and Volume 2.
- Howard Friedman supplied a review of the J. C. Lockwood combined issue of the 1926 and 1936 Mikado recordings.
- Chris Webster has supplied a page of Customer Comments on his Sounds on CD label.
- The broadcast history of the Brent Walker videos has been updated thanks to a recent Savoynet discussion.
-
These album covers have been added:
- National Musicale Mikado (Bruce Miller)
- Pineapple Poll, Hollingsworth/Australian Pye (Mel Moratti)
- The Cool Mikado (Alvin Entin)
- Version 21.03 — November 12, 2001 (573 pages)
- Robert Morrison contributed a scan of the cast photo for the 1924 Ida recording, along with a perceptive observation about where the photo was taken!
- Li Yi-Peng contributed reviews of the New D'Oyly Carte Pinafore and Decca's compilation The Very Best of Gilbert and Sullivan.
- I've added DVD scans to the main page for the Stratford Festival productions, as well as their Pirates and Iolanthe.
- Version 21.02 — November 8, 2001 (573 pages)
- The following new CDs have been added:
- Chris Webster has kindly provided label scans for Nellie Briercliffe's own test pressings for the 1928 Yeomen and 1931 Ruddigore.
- I have added significant information on matrix numbers and recording details to the web pages for the Columbia Abridged Sets. Thanks to Chris Webster, James Tappin, and Stephen Turnbull. See the individual web pages for the four Columbia recordings — Mikado, Gondoliers, Yeomen and Iolanthe.
- Robert Morrison has filled in the history of the competition between Columbia and HMV as documented by programme advertisements for the J. C. Williamson Company in the 1930s and '40s.
- Robert Morrison has filled in the Australian issue histories for the 1949-55 D'Oyly Carte mono, 1957-1979 D'Oyly Carte stereo, and 1957-1963 Sargent/EMI sets, and he also supplied a number of album cover images for those sets.
- Robert Morrison has also supplied an article, Australian Decca G&S Recordings — A Summary.
- I have upgraded the Papp's Pirates page, coincident with the release on video of the original Central Park production.
- I have upgraded the pages for Essgee's Pirates, Mikado and Pinafore to reflect the issue of a new version of Pirates (from New Zealand) in a box set with the other two Essgee videos.
-
Album covers/images have been added to:
- 1907 Odeon Pinafore.
- 1931 Colubmia Yeomen.
- 1931 Columbia Iolanthe.
- Perseverance (vocal score cover).
- Opera Australia Gondoliers.
- Opera Australia Patience.
- Reader's Digest CD Set.
- The Great Gilbert and Sullivan.
- Incidental Music to The Tempest (Adler).
- Sullivan Instrumental Music / CBSO, Dunn.
- Sullivan Salute.
- Cello Concerto "British Composers" CD.
- Pineapple Poll "British Composers" CD.
- Pineapple Poll / Verdi "Lady and the Fool" Suite.
- Gulda/Sullivan Cello Concertos.
- The Savoy Connection.
- Classic G&S.
- New D'Oyly Carte Patience
-
Various reader comments have been added:
- 1939 Mikado Film (Stephen Thoroughgood)
- Sargent/EMI Yeomen (David Sommerfield)
- 1974 Iolanthe (Chris Webster)
- 1979 Yeomen (Paul Ensell)
- Lyric Theater Grand Duke and Mountebanks (John Pepper)
- Concert Hall Mikado (John Carroll)
- Topsy-Turvy on DVD (Peter Parker)
- Various Yeomen/Trial (James McCarthy)
- Essgee Pirates (James McCarthy)
- The Bab Ballads (Jim Broadbent) (Peter Parker)
- Opera Australia Patience (Dan Kravetz)
- Die Piraten (Diana Burleigh, Ralph MacPhail, Chris Webster)
- The Savoy Connection (Stephen Turnbull)
- Opera Australia Gondoliers (Robet Morrison)
- Gilbert & Sullivan Highlights (Edmonds/Olsen) (Robert Morrison)
- 1966 Mikado Film (Joe Libby)
- Version 21.01 — October 22, 2001 (563 pages)
- A number of reader comments/reviews have been added:
- Nelson Eddy recordings (Warwick Don)
- New D'Oyly Carte Patience (Derrick McClure, Jamie Moffat, and Bruce Miller)
- Symposium Martyr of Antioch (Stan DeOrsey, Stephen Turnbull)
- History of Decca (Li Yi-Peng)
- A number of reader comments/reviews have been added:
- Version 21.0 — October 21, 2001 (563 pages)
- Howard S. Friedman has contributed a substantial article, Matrix and Catalog Numbers in G&S Discography.
-
A number of reviews have been added:
- 1907 Odeon Pinafore (Howard Friedman and me)
- 1929 Iolanthe (James Tappin)
- 1930 Pinafore (James McCarthy)
- 1936 Mikado (James McCarthy)
- New D'Oyly Carte Pinafore (David Michaels)
- Ohio Light Opera Ida (James McCarthy)