Columbia CL-832
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Martyn Green's Gilbert and Sullivan (1953)
The Columbia Operetta Chorus and Orchestra
Lehman Engel, conductor
This disc presents Martyn Green singing seventeen G&S patter songs. Perhaps
its greatest virtue is the chance to hear Green's King Gama, which he
never recorded with D'Oyly Carte (and a truly nasty Gama he is). The
other item of special interest is the Judge's song from Trial, although
this is a role he rarely played in his career. All the other items were recorded
in his D'Oyly Carte prime, so this disc doesn't offer a lot, except perhaps to
those who don't have the older recordings. The selections are listed below:
- "A modern Major-General" (Pirates)
- "When I was a lad" (Pinafore)
- "I've jibe and joke" (Yeomen)
- "The flowers that bloom in the spring" (Mikado)
- "There is beauty in the bellow of the blast" (Mikado),
- with Ella Halman
- "I've got a little list" (Mikado)
- "Willow, tit-willow" (Mikado)
- "If you give me your attention" (Princess Ida)
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- "Whene'er I spoke" (Ida)
- "I have a song to sing" (Yeomen)
- "Am I alone" (Patience)
- "When I went to the bar" (Iolanthe)
- "The law is true [sic]" (Iolanthe)
- The Judge's Song (Trial)
- "Oh! A private buffoon" (Yeomen)
- The Nightmare Song (Iolanthe)
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Issue History
| Date | Label | Format | Number |
|---|
| 1953 |
Columbia |
Mono LP |
ML 4643 |
| 1973? |
Columbia |
Mono LP |
CL 832 |
| 1973 |
Columbia |
Mono LP |
ACL 832 |
| 196/7-? |
Philips |
Mono LP |
GBL 5607 |
| 196/7-? |
CBS Coronet
(New Zealand) |
Mono LP |
KLL 516 |
Note: the 1973 re-issue was titled, "Martyn Green in Famous
Gilbert and Sullivan Songs."
Martyn Green Sings The Gilbert & Sullivan Songbook (1962)
Starlight Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Musical Arrangements by Robert Creis
Conducted by Cyril Ornadel
with June Bronhill, soprano, and Andrew Gold, tenor
MGM E/SE-3980
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This LP features Martyn Green and others singing cuts from Mikado,
Gondoliers, Ruddigore, Yeomen, Ida, Trial, Pirates, and Iolanthe.
The interpretations will not be to everyone's taste, but they are all
competently executed. I find Ornadel's tempos a bit too brisk,
but Andrew Gold's contributions are solid, and June Bronhill's are superb.
Even at this late date, Martyn Green's characterization and impeccable
diction remain highlights, but his musicianship has deteriorated markedly
from his prime. Many lines—in some cases entire verses—are
spoken in rhythm instead of being sung, and his intonation is
wobbly in patches.
The order of the numbers is also a bit odd. Just look at side two,
where there is a Pirates medley, followed by the Nightmare song,
another Pirates number, two more unrelated pieces, and then
the Major-General's song.
Everything Green recorded here he recorded elsewhere, so nothing on
this album is a must-have. It is pleasant without being anything special.
Chris Webster views it a bit more favorably.
He is starting
to sound old....but I think his maturity makes this record a winner. His
interpretations had developed very well by the time this was made, and I
wonder if this has anything to do with being free from DC restrictions —
have you noticed the different note on the word 'you' in the
phrase 'allotted to YOU' from the Nightmare Song? I really like this
alternative note.
Details are as follows:
- Mikado Medley:
- "Behold the Lord High Executioner"
- "Taken from a county jail"
- "Little list"
- "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes"
- "My Boy You May Take it From Me"
- "Were You not to Ko-Ko Plighted"
- "Oh, A Private Buffoon"
- "Tit-Willow"
- "I Can't Think Why" [sic]
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- Trial Medley:
- "All Hail Great Judge"
- "When I Good Friends"
- Pirates Medley
- "Stop Ladies Pray"
- "Is There Not one Maiden Breast"
- "Poor Wandering One"
- Nightmare Song
- "How Beautifully Blue the Sky"
- "Sailing O'er Life's Ocean Wide"
- "I Have a Song to Sing, O"
- "Model of a Modern Major-General"
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Note: the 1970s Carnival Gold Standard re-issue was titled,
"Martyn Green Sings Gilbert and Sullivan."
Issue History
| Date | Label | Format | Number |
|---|
| 1962 |
MGM |
Mono LP |
E3980 |
| Stereo LP |
SE3980 |
| 197-? |
Carnival Gold Standard |
Stereo LP |
2941 205 |
Marc Shepherd, oakapple@cris.com
Copyright ©1995-2005. All Rights Reserved.
Last Modified: 7-Nov-01
URL: http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/ms_green.htm
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