The 1907 G&T Gondoliers

Except for Florence Venning in "When a merry maiden marries," the allocation of the roles is undetermined. The credits only mentioned the "Sullivan Operatic Party," as was common in those days. However, Francis says that the recording sheets for "Then one of us will be a queen" and "In a contemplative fashion" credit "K. P. V. J." Given the stock artists HMV typically used, these could refer to Stanley Kirkby (Giuseppe), Ernest Pike (Marco), Florence Venning (Tessa), and Eleanor Jones-Hudson (Gianetta). Presumably, these singers also sang the other sides recorded that day.

The chorus for "When a merry maiden marries" is given as "K. P. J. D." Francis says that "D" could be Elizabeth Dews, a mezzo-soprano who would have sung the alto chorus part backing Venning. In any event, these sides were recorded during the same period as the 1907 G&T Yeomen, and it is not unlikely to have included the same artists.

Six of the seven sides were recorded on 5 February 1907, with the remaining side recorded on 18 February. They were then issued on single-sided discs in 1907-8, and later re-issued on double-sided discs. The close sequence of catalog numbers for the double-sided re-issue suggests that the Gramophone Company thought of them as a set.

Issue History

Note: In the HMV issue, "Of happiness the very pith" is apparently a single-sided disc, although it could have been a double-sided disc with a non-Gondoliers selection on the other side.

Recording Details

Notes:

1. The Disc Speed and G&T Publication Date columns are from Rees, who does not supply this information for every side.

2. According to Rees, the label of s. 4 is merely "Chorus of Men." Francis gives the content as "Of happiness the very pith." It is not clear whether he has assumed this, or if he had access to information not available to Rees. Certainly it is hard to imagine another plausible men's chorus in the opera.

3. The double-sided issue of s. 4 was backed by s. 18 ("Rapture, rapture") of the 1907 G&T Yeomen. If the content of s. 4 was indeed "Of happiness the very pith," it seems to be an odd choice to accompany the Yeomen side.

Recording Sessions