The 1949 D'Oyly Carte Pinafore

Cast Sir Joseph Porter Martyn Green Captain Corcoran Leslie Rands Ralph Rackstraw Leonard Osborn Dick Deadeye Darrell Fancourt Bill Bobstay Richard Walker Bob Becket L. Radley Flynn Josephine Muriel Harding Little Buttercup Ella Halman Hebe Joan Gillingham D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Conductor: Isidore Godfrey Recorded in London, July 28, 1949

Sounds on CD VGS213 (Cover by Matt Bland)

Naxos 8.110175

Following closely on the 1949 Trial, this was the first full-length opera to be issued after the war, and the first issued on long-playing records. With the new technology having proved itself, the Company embarked on a prodigious recording schedule, which saw nine operas issued in a three-year period.

Compared with the 1960 Pinafore, which was issued with full dialogue, this recording inevitably comes out as an inferior choice. As on many recordings of the period, Leonard Osborn's tenor is a significant obstacle to the set's enjoyability.

Decca LK-4002/3

Decca Ace of Clubs ACLA 1054/5

Richmond RS 62003

London A-4201

Richmond R23058

Pearl GEM0096

Decca LKA 4078

David Sommerfield pointed out to me an ugly splice in the chorus tag of "A British tar." Clearly, this and other recordings of its time must have been recorded at great speed—"virtual run-throughs" as David calls them—as apparently they could not be bothered just to re-record the full number (as would undoubtedly be done today).

This recording enjoyed plenty of re-issues through the 1960s, and has been re-issued on Chris Webster's Sounds on CD label, Pearl, and Naxos. Chris tells me that he has cleaned up the splice problem referred to above, as well as other notorious sonic problems with this series. Perhaps the recordings of this era will finally be heard as the original artists intended them.

During the 1950's, Decca issued highlights of this recording (side 1), coupled with highlights of the 1953 Sorcerer (side 2). The items included were as follows:

1. We sail the ocean blue
2. Hail men-o'-war's men
3. I'm called little Buttercup
4. A maiden fair to see
5. I am the Captain of the Pinafore
6. I am the monarch of the sea
7. When I was a lad
8. Never mind the why and wherefore
9. Pretty daughter of mine
10. He is an Englishman!
11. A many years ago
12. Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen

CD Review by Mel Moratti

A copy has now come my way of the Pearl release of the 1949 H.M.S. Pinafore, and so this was a good chance to do a track by track comparison to the 'Sounds on CD' version which appeared a few months back.

The Pearl release was remastered by Roger Beardsley with notes by Marc Shepherd. Technical notes are by Mr Beardsley. The Sounds on CD release was remastered by Chris Webster with notes by David Steadman. Technical notes are by Jim Craig.

Although both CDs offer quite extensive technical notes, it is Mr Beardsley who writes the more in-depth details regarding all the recording and transfer problems of the time. Both CDs are riddled by extensive pre-echo, and it is interesting that in both instances attempts have been made to remove it — often in completely different places. One CD you may hear it — the other you may not.

This was a good opportunity to give these CDs the blind-fold test. Calling them CD 1 & 2, I jumped between both. I started with the Overture. Although both CDs had distortion at the opening, there was a nice warmth to the oboe solo on CD1 which just wasn't there on CD 2. However, on CD 2, at the 'Allegro Vivace', the sound brightened continuing on to the end.

Interestingly, between the Overture and the opening number, CD 1 had silence, while CD 2 retained the low frequency surface noise. This also happened later in the CDs. I personally preferred the surface noise, as you become acclimatised to it.

During the timpani entry of the opening chorus, there was a slight distortion on CD 1 which was not present on CD 2. When the chorus finally enters, it was obvious that CD 1 was producing a very different sound to CD 2. By the time Ella Halman makes her first appearance, I was listening to two completely different recordings. Both had their pluses and minuses.

CD 1 was the "Sounds on CD" recording. CD 2 was the "Pearl".

The SOCD recording made the soloists shine — they had a vibrant round sound that filled the room. The Pearl recording found them recessed. Some may prefer this as a more natural ambience — it especially suited the recording of the chorus. The chorus is probably the most disappointing aspect of the recording, and to have them 'forward' did not suit my tastes.

I found no fault with the solo recording on the SOCD disc — this certainly brought them out far brighter than I could ever imagine. "Hail men o'wars men" just sends shivers down the spine. The best way to sample the two recordings is the "My pain and my distress" sequence. The SOCD was as near to perfection you could wish for while the solo voices on the Pearl disc kept breaking up.

While I am not intending to review these performances from a musical aspect, listening to these CDs again made me appreciate just how good some of the soloists were. Darrell Fancourt is striking as Dick Deadeye, Ella Halman is a superb Buttercup, and Joan Gillingham is a prim and proper Hebe.

You could certainly live with both versions, but if I had to choose one it would be the "Sounds on CD" recording with its full-bodied sound and some crafty editing.

Other CD Comments

Brendan Timins acquired the Pearl transfer, and he wrote:

I purchased H.M.S. Pinafore, and after listening to it, find it rather muddy sounding (perhaps due to over-CEDARing and adding too much reverberation?) in comparison with my old LPs.

It's not that I think Pearl's transfer is dreadful, it's just a shame it's not a clearer one. They've somehow made the recording sound older and murkier than it is. Green's "I am the monarch of the sea"/"When I was a lad" is one such example, which stands out in my mind. The sound is just lacking that bit of crispness and vibrancy. Again, I can only compare this CD to my old LPs. The booklet is very well done indeed, and it is one of the few Pearl booklets I've seen with a decent cover and a picture inside.

Robert Seletsky had this comment on the Naxos transfer:

I just thought I'd let you know that, as the HMV in Cambridge was having a sale on Naxos, I was curious enough to get the post-war Pinafore and Mikado. I only opened the Pinafore, thinking that if I were to keep only one of these, it would be this, as it conveniently reduces four LP sides to one CD. Well, I will not be keeping even this. It's an utter abomination. One obvious thing that the bad reviews on your site never mentioned is that the engineer did such horrible things with the EQing that while it's largely too bright, somehow the very top octave is missing altogether, and the triangle, xylophone, cymbals are no longer there!! The listener who did not know the original sound would never be aware of this distortion because the overall sound is so bright and hard. How could anyone manage this and think it was okay. The Decca ffrr (full freq. range recording) of which they were so proud (and rightfully so) has been made into a pfrr (partial...). This has to be the worst CD transfer of anything I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. I suggest that you mention this ghastly re-EQing on your site with a warning about this particular transfer. And one other thing that you might like to add to your site: the pitch is in outer space, much sharper—and hence the whole opera is about 5% faster—than the LPs. I checked with a tuning fork, and the LPs are correct. And again, "Ella Hallman" is credited. A disgrace. I can't even imagine what they did to Mikado, and don't want to find out.

Somewhat later, Mr. Seletsky added to his comment:

What I wanted to discuss was something I learned about LP-to-CD transfers in the last few months, having been involved in a Naxos project myself (not G&S). The big engineers, while eschewing CEDAR de-noising, are all still using CEDAR de-clicking. In the course of preparing this project, I noticed that no matter how the LPs were EQed by the engineer, there was always something missing, as compared to the LP source. We tried different phono cartridges, etc., but nothing helped. Then I realized: all high transients were gone! The engineer, who has done hundreds of such transfers, some of them award-winning (shows how much critics know) finally got to the root after we went back and forth with it many times: CEDAR "reads" transient musical gestures and overtones as "noise" and subtly erases them! That's what happened to the Naxos Pinafore. It explains how something can be EQed overly bright and still not have any upper-range musical material. Pearl also uses CEDAR, and I have alerted Roger Beardsley to this problem. He's actually a good musician so it's amazing that he didn't notice before.

CEDAR was designed for the de-clicking of 78s which have no top octave—over 10 kHz, so there was no problem. When you apply CEDAR to LPs however, it behaves the same way and makes them sound like 78s, erasing the top octave (10 kHz to 20 kHz). It does so in such a "musical" fashion that if you don't know the source, it sounds fine. Very insidious. The big engineers do not have a a replacement for CEDAR de-clicking as yet so LP-to-CD transfers should be scrupulously avoided, unless one knows for a fact that CEDAR has not be used. De-clicking can be handled with computer software, yielding fine results; or the clicks can be lovingly removed manually (as done brilliantly by DIVINA Records, devoted to the live performances of Maria Callas). But if there's a choice, always elect a CD version made from the tapes if they exist, as CEDAR doesn't enter into that equation, or one that was demonstrably mastered from LP without CEDAR de-clicking, if you want to hear all the music.

Issue History

Recording Details

1. For a discussion of the matrix numbers in these sets, see the matrix numbers discussion page.