Sullivan, A: HMS Pinafore: Overture

Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London on 7 & 8 March 2012.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra takes part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June as part of the 1000 boat flotilla celebrating the Queen’s 60th anniversary. Its musicians will play works chosen for their association with British history and London landmarks, recorded here to capture the spirit of the occasion and to serve as a memento of a unique day.

Highlights of the music include Percy Grainger’s Country Gardens, Jupiter from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Thomas Arne’s Rule, Britannia!, the James Bond Theme, The Dam Busters by Eric Coates and two works by Elgar – Nimrod from Enigma Variations and Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1. The CD closes out with a performance of the National Anthem.

Recordings: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, UK, July 1962 (Ruddigore), April 1964 (The Yeomen of the Guard); Watford Town Hall, Watford, UK, August 1959 (H.M.S. Pinafore), September 1960 (Iolanthe, The Gondoliers), September 1961 (Patience); Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, May 1965 (Princess Ida), February 1966 (The Sorcerer), December 1967 (The Pirates of Penzance), January 1969 (Choruses), January 1973 (The Mikado), June 1974 (Macbeth), July 1975 (Utopia Limited), March 1976 (The Grand Duke); Kingsway Hall, London, UK, January 1961 (Cox and Box), November 1982 (Overture di Ballo); Whitfield Street Studios, London, UK, February 1977 (Marmion)

In 2011 Decca Eloquence will commence on a series of G&S operetta highlights discs. By way of an ‘overture’, here’s a 2CD set of Overtures from the D’Oyly Carte recordings made over several years by Decca, together with some of Sullivan’s ‘concert overtures’ – Macbeth, Marmion and Di Ballo. Also included is an extremely rare 1969 Decca recording of Sullivan Choruses conducted by James Walker, better known in musical circles as one of Decca’s key recording engineers, but an ardent G&S fan. It receives its first release on Decca CD. A perfect introduction to the set pieces and patter songs in orchestral guise.

From Greensleeves to Jerusalem this selection of music in celebration of England’s green and pleasant land will evoke fond memories of summer holidays, end-of-term assemblies and listening to the wireless alongside a nostalgic pride in our country and its unique heritage.

Despite being, by common consent, the best of three post-war D’Oyly Carte Opera Company recordings of The Mikado, this sparkling early stereo performance with Donald Adams, Thomas Round and Peter Pratt has never been reissued by its parent label during the CD era.

As it was not recorded with dialogue, the extra space has enabled Magdalen to include not only John Hollingsworth’s vivid version of Pineapple Poll but also, for the first time on CD, three overtures conducted con brio by the inimitable Arthur Fiedler.