The 1931 Pirates [abridged]

The 1931 D'Oyly Carte Pirates [abridged]

***Cast***
Major-General	George Baker
Pirate King	Darrell Fancourt
Samuel	Stuart Robertson
Frederic	Derek Oldham
Sergeant of Police	Sydney Granville
Mabel	Muriel Dickson
Ruth	Bertha Lewis

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company w/Orchestra
Conductor: Malcolm Sargent

Recorded in London,
April 13 - May 2, 1931

The Gilbert and Sullivan News — June 1931

***Related Pages***
Other Recordings of Pirates
The G&S Archive's Pirates Page
The D'Oyly Carte Abridged Recordings

EMI Music for Pleasure MFP 2143

This was the second of three abridged sets issued by HMV in 1931. The motivation behind this one, as the abridged Yeomen, was probably to capture the voices that were missed when the 1929 Pirates was recorded. The most significant of these were Darrell Fancourt (though he would record the role again), Sydney Granville and Bertha Lewis (although only the paradox trio and her lines in the finales are included). Baker, Robertson and Oldham reprised their roles from the complete set just two years earlier.

In addition, this and the other two abridged sets from 1931 were made just after the rival Columbia label made several similar recordings that, perhaps, were siphoning off business from the established D'Oyly Carte sets.

Sounds on CD VGS 247 [Cover by Matt Bland]

Issue History

Date	Label	Format	Number	Comments
1931	HMV	78rpm (10")	B3846-51 in Album 126	Manual side couplings
ca. 1940	HMV	78rpm	B7006/11	Drop auto side couplings
ca. 1970	EMI Music for Pleasure	LP	MFP 2143
1984	Arabesque	LP	8129-2L	With 1932 Ida
1984?	Arabesque	Cassette	9129-2L
198-?	Arabesque	CD	Z8129-2 (not verified)
2003	Sounds on CD	CD	VGS 247	Includes four HMV abridged sets: 1931 Pirates, 1931 Yeomen, 1931 Gondoliers, and 1933 Sorcerer
2003	78s2CD	CD	GS22	Includes four HMV abridged sets: 1931 Pirates, 1931 Yeomen, 1931 Gondoliers, and 1933 Sorcerer

Recording Details

Side Nbr	Matrix Number	Selection	Rec. Date
1	0B732-2	Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry	13 Apr 31
2	0B734-1	Oh, is there not one maiden breast	14 Apr 31
3	0B735-5	Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name	2 May 31
4	0B733-2	Hold, monsters!	13 Apr 31
5	0B731-1	Oh, men of dark and dismal fate	13 Apr 31
6	0B728-2	You may go, for you're at liberty	13 Apr 31
7	0B727-1	Then, Frederic, let your escort	13 Apr 31
8	0B730-1	When you had left our pirate fold	13 Apr 31
9	0B736-4	Stay, Frederic, stay!	2 May 31
10	0B729-2	When a felon's not engaged in his employment	13 Apr 31
11	0B737-2	Hush, hush, not a word!	14 Apr 31
12	0B726-2	To gain a brief advantage you've contrived	13 Apr 31

Recording Sessions

Side Nbr	Matrix Number	Selection	Rec. Date
12	0B726-2	To gain a brief advantage you've contrived	13 Apr 31
7	0B727-1	Then, Frederic, let your escort	13 Apr 31
6	0B728-2	You may go, for you're at liberty	13 Apr 31
10	0B729-2	When a felon's not engaged in his employment	13 Apr 31
8	0B730-1	When you had left our pirate fold	13 Apr 31
5	0B731-1	Oh, men of dark and dismal fate	13 Apr 31
1	0B732-2	Pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry	13 Apr 31
4	0B733-2	Hold, monsters!	13 Apr 31
2	0B734-1	Oh, is there not one maiden breast	14 Apr 31
	0B735-1....	Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name	14 Apr 31
	0B736-1....	Stay, Frederic, stay!	14 Apr 31
11	0B737-2	Hush, hush, not a word!	14 Apr 31
3	....0B735-5	Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name	2 May 31
9	....0B736-4	Stay, Frederic, stay!	2 May 31

Notes:

The table above shows the published takes in the order recorded. Where a session produced both unpublished and published takes for the same selection, the unpublished matrix numbers are shown in italics. Where none of a selection's takes from a given session were published, the entire row is shown in italics, and the side number is blank. Where it is not possible to make a likely guess about the number of takes recorded at a session, this is indicated with .... Where the published take was achieved without a make-up session being required, the unpublished takes for the same selection are not shown.