Discography of Sir Arthur Sullivan:
Recordings of Hymns and Songs

This page lists all Sullivan hymns and songs that have been recorded (aside from 78rpm-only recordings, which are out-of-scope). Background information on some of the better-known items is also given. Complete lists of all the composer's hymns, songs, and part-songs are also available.

For each song or hymn, the name in parentheses after the name of the item indicates the lyricist, while the date indicates when the item was composed. Each recording is then listed, indented, after the song name, with the name of the singer in parentheses.

The Absent Minded Beggar (Rudyard Kipling; 1899)

Donald Adams Sings Sullivan and Gilbert (Donald Adams)

Sullivan Without Gilbert (Ian Colquhoun)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

Sullivan wrote this song to raise money to help the families of soldiers who went off to fight the Boer War. Kipling's text gave Sullivan great difficulties: "It puzzled me to compose Gilbert's 'I have a song to sing, O', but that was child's play compared to the setting of Kipling's lines. If it wasn't for charity's sake I could never have undertaken the task."

The song was a huge hit, raising more than a quarter of a million pounds, and more than justifying the difficulty Sullivan had with it. As was typical during Sullivan's career, some critics sneered at the composer's condescension to popular tastes, to which he replied: "Did [they] expect the words to be set in cantata form, or as a developed composition with symphonic introduction, contrapuntal treatment, etc.?"

See also The Absent Minded Beggar March.

Arabian Love Song (P. B. Shelley; 1866)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Bid Me At Least Good-bye (Sydney Grundy; 1894)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

This song was incorporated in Grundy's An Old Jew, first performed at the Garrick Theatre, London, on 6 January 1894. Grundy was also librettist of Sullivan's Haddon Hall.

The Chorister (F. E. Weatherley; 1873)

Donald Adams Sings Sullivan and Gilbert (Donald Adams)

County Guy (Walter Scott; 1867)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

The Distant Shore (W. S. Gilbert; 1874)

Donald Adams Sings Sullivan and Gilbert (Donald Adams)

1980 An Evening with W. S. Gilbert: A Musical Biography (Lloyd Harris)

The Dove Song (W. Brough; 1869)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

This song was written for a Christmas pantomime (Thespis was in the same genre) at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester, in 1869. It is a fast polka in the style of Offenbach.

Edward Grey (A. Tennyson; 1880)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

Golden Days (Lionel H. Lewin; 1872)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Gone (A. Tennyson; 1871)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

See also: The Window

Guinevere! (Lionel H. Lewin; 1872)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Sullivan wrote at least six ballads to words by Lionel H. Lewin. Sullivan and Lewin became fast friends, and at one point they pursued writing an opera together on the subject of Guinevere. All that came of it, however, was a narrative poem, which Sullivan set to music.

It Came Upon The Midnight Clear (E. H. Sears; 1874)

That Glorious Song of Old (Choir of the Ely Cathedral)

This hymn, an adaptation of the traditional Noël, was part of a collection Sullivan edited in 1874. He also composed, in 1871, a part-song to the same text.

I Heard the Nightingale (Rev. C. H. Townsend; 1863)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

I Sing the Birth (B. Jonson; 1868)

The Church Music of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Keble College Chapel Choir)

This song was part of a group of Seven Part-Songs published in 1868, the most famous in the group being "The Long Day Closes."

I Would I Were a King (V. Hugo, trans. A. Cockburn; 1878)

Sullivan Without Gilbert (Robert Radford)

Sir Arthur Sullivan (Robert Radford)

The World of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Christopher Keyte)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Ich möchte hinaus es jauchzen a/k/a/ "I want to proclaim it aloud" (A. Corrodi; 1859)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton; perf. in English)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad; perf. in German)

If Doughty Deeds (Robert Graham; 1866)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Lead, Kindly Light (J. H. Newman; 1871)

That Glorious Song of Old (Choir of the Ely Cathedral)

The Church Music of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Keble College Chapel Choir)

The Hymnmakers: Nearer, my God, to Thee (Scottish Festival Singers)

This was originally published in Five Sacred Part Songs (1871) before being transferred to Church Hymns With Tunes, which he edited in 1874.

Let Me Dream Again (B. C. Stephenson; 1875)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

Sullivan (Helen Landis)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé)

A Life That Lives For You (Lionel H. Lewin; 1870)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Little Darling, Sleep Again (anon.)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

See also: The Young Mother

The Long Day Closes (H. F. Chorley; 1868)

The World of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Morriston Orpheus Male Choir, Ivor E. Sims cond.)

Kenilworth (Oxford Pro Musica Singers)

Topsy Turvy (instrumental arrangement)

This song is the most famous of a group of Seven Part-Songs published in 1868. Its plaintive harmonies have made it a frequent selection at events of mourning, and in particular it was often sung at funerals of D'Oyly Carte singers. The lyricist, H. F. Chorley, also collaborated with Sullivan on The Sapphire Necklace.

The Lost Chord (A. A. Procter; 1877)

Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sacred and Secular Music (Count John McCormack)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

The World of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Kenneth McKellar)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

Sullivan Salute (Band Arrangement)

British Music Collection: Arthur Sullivan (Ambrosian Singers et al)

Sullivan wrote this song while sitting vigil at his dying brother's bedside. It is arguably one of the most popular songs ever written, and it has spawned over the years innumerable parodies. But as a serious song, it fully justifies its popularity. It has gone somewhat out of fashion, but in the era of 78rpm records it was recorded by almost every tenor imaginable, including Enrico Caruso.

The song begins with a simple recitative on one note, builds tension gradually through the four verses, and ends grandly with a cataclysmic cadence for the organ (the instrument for which the accompaniment was originally written). In the hands of a capable singer, it cannot help but make a tremendous effect.

"The Lost Chord" came to be particularly associated with Sullivan's mistress, Mrs. Fanny Ronalds, who made a name for herself as a capable amateur singer, especially in this song. Sullivan bequeathed her the manuscript, and on her request it was buried with her.

Love Laid his Sleepless Head (A. C. Swinburne; 1874)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

Arthur Sullivan: Incidental Music (complete recording of Merry Wives)

This song was part of Sullivan's incidental music to The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was sung by the character Anne Page. Sullivan would later lampoon the song's author, Swinburne, in Patience.

The Love That Loves Me Not (W. S. Gilbert; 1875)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

This song, one of the few detached songs Sullivan wrote to Gilbert lyrics, was completed at about the time the two men worked together on Trial by Jury.

The Marquis de Mincepie (F. C. Burnand; 1873)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

1980 An Evening with W. S. Gilbert: A Musical Biography (Lloyd Harris)

This song was contributed to an F. C. Burnand drawing room extravaganza, The Miller and his Man.

Mary Morison (Robert Burns; 1874)

Sir Arthur Sullivan Sesquicentennial Commemorative Issue (John Harrison)

Sullivan (Donald Adams)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

The Moon in Silent Brightness (Bishop Reginald Heber; 1868)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé)

Morn, Happy Morn (W. G. Wills; 1878)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

My Dearest Heart, ded. Mrs. Osgood (1876)

British Music Collection: Arthur Sullivan (Felicity Palmer)

O Hush Thee My Babie (Walter Scott; 1867)

Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sacred and Secular Music (BBC Wireless Singers, Stanford Robinson, cond.)

O Fair Dove, O Fond Dove (Jean Ingelow; 1868)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

Sullivan dedicated this song to Miss Rachel Scott Russell, with whom he had an affair and had hoped to marry. His prospects were dashed, as Miss Russell's father would not hear of an itinerant musician/composer as a son-in-law. Sullivan's dedication to the relationship may be questioned, as he also had an affair with Rachel's sister Louise.

O Israel (Hosea 14, 1-2; 1855)

That Glorious Song of Old (Choir of the Ely Cathedral)

This song, set to a Biblical text, has the distinction of being Sullivan's first published composition, written when he was only thirteen years old.

O Mistress Mine (Shakespeare; 1866)

Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sacred and Secular Music (Francis Gleeson)

Sullivan (John Cartier)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

This is one of five Shakespeare songs that Sullivan composed early in his career and sold outright to Metzler — to his great regret, as the songs were among his most popular.

Oh! Ma Charmante (Victor Hugo; 1872)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Onward, Christian Soldiers (Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould; 1871)

Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sacred and Secular Music (Count John McCormack)

Sullivan Salute (Band Arrangement, under the title "The Battle of St. Gertrude")

British Music Collection: Arthur Sullivan (Ambrosian Singers et al)

The Hymnmakers: Nearer, my God, to Thee (Scottish Festival Singers)

Of Sullivan's seventy-or-so hymns, surely the most popular was "Onward, Christian Soldiers." The words by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould were first published in the Church Times in October, 1864. Sullivan set them to music during a weekend at the home of the Ker-Seymers. As his hostess was named Gertrude, Sullivan called the tune "St. Gertrude." The hymn was first published in December, 1874, and it became an almost instant success.

Once Again (Lionel H. Lewin; 1872)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Orpheus With His Lute (Shakespeare; 1866)

Sir Arthur Sullivan Sesquicentennial Commemorative Issue (Dora Labette)

Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sacred and Secular Music (Mavis Bennett)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Taken from Henry VIII, this was one of Sullivan's earliest published songs. He sold it to Metzler, the publishing house, for five guineas outright (thereby depriving himself of any future royalties). This proved to be a poor decision, and one the composer would not repeat, for the song proved immensely popular. It is still one of the more frequently performed of Sullivan's non-operatic songs.

Over the Roof (H. F. Chorley; 1866)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

Selection on Forgotten Victorian Theatre Music

This number, and "When Love and Beauty," are the only two surviving vocal numbers from The Saphhire Necklace.

The Sailor's Grave (H. F. Lyte; 1872)

Sullivan Without Gilbert (William Green)

Sir Arthur Sullivan (Ben Davies)

Donald Adams Sings Sullivan and Gilbert (Donald Adams)

This song was popular enough to be turned into a series of picture postcards. Sullivan evidently disliked it, as he once remarked, "Why, oh why, did I write that terrible song?"

St. Agnes' Eve (Tennyson; 1879)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé)

Composed just two years after The Lost Chord, this song was dedicated to Sullivan's mistress, Mrs. Ronalds, who had made such a success performing the earlier work. The setting of this song is, in many respects, similar, in that it starts with a single repeated note and ends with a grand fortissimo cadence.

She is Not Fair to Outward View (Hartley Coleridge; 1866)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Sigh No More, Ladies (Shakespeare; 1866)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

The Sisters (Tennyson; 1881)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

The Strain Upraise (J. M. Neale; 1868)

That Glorious Song of Old (Choir of the Ely Cathedral)

The Church Music of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Keble College Chapel Choir)

Sullivan wrote this hymn for his friend the Reverend Robert Brown-Borthwick, who published it in A Supplemental Hymn and Tune Book, in 1868. The words are from a ninth century Latin text.

Sometimes (Lady Lindsay of Balcarres; 1877)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

Sweet Day, So Cool (George Herbert; 1864)

Sullivan (Helen Landis)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Sweethearts (W. S. Gilbert; 1875)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

Donald Adams Sings Sullivan and Gilbert (Donald Adams)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé/Sanford Sylvan)

This song dates from 1875, the year in which Trial by Jury got the G&S partnership to a successful start. The song is basically a plot summary of Gilbert's play by the same name. There are two characters in the play. In the first act, a man comes to tell his sweetheart that he will be leaving England for an assignment in India; it is clear that she values the relationship far more than he does. In the second act, he returns many years later, and as the couple reminisce, the man gradually comes to understand the intensity of the love he left behind. The many layers of irony make the play one of Gilbert's most brilliant creations. The song had independent popularity, and when the collaborators came to America to present H.M.S. Pinafore, the New York Herald said that "Sweethearts" was "echoing in a thousand drawing rooms" across the land. It was published both as a solo and as a duet, and both versions have been recorded (see above).

Tears, Idle Tears (Tennyson; pub. 1900)

If Doughty Deeds (Jeffrey Benton)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

This was one of two songs that Sullivan set to lyrics from Tennyson's The Princess. (The other was "O Swallow, Swallow.")

Thou Art Lost To Me (Anonymous; 1865)

Guinevere (Richard Conrad)

Thou'rt Passing Hence (Felicia Hemans; 1875)

Sir Arthur Sullivan Sesquicentennial Commemorative Issue (Charles Santley)

Donald Adams Sings Sullivan and Gilbert (Donald Adams)

Sullivan wrote this song expressly for Charles Santley, who sings it on the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society's sesquicentennial commemorative CD.

To One in Paradise (Edgar Allen Poe; 1904)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

I'm not familiar with this song, but as the publication date was four years after the composer's death, it is either a very late work, or a younger work "discovered" posthumously.

The Troubadour (Walter Scott; 1869)

Sullivan (John Cartier)

What Does Little Birdie Say? (Tennyson; 1867)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé)

This song is a children's lullaby, which Steven Ledbetter describes as "utterly charming."

When Love and Beauty (H. F. Chorley; 1866)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

Included on Madrigals — and All That Jazz
     (Gregg Smith Singers, Newport Classics NPD 85524, 1993).

Selection on Forgotten Victorian Theatre Music

This number, and "Over the Roof," are the only two surviving vocal numbers from The Saphhire Necklace.

When Thou Art Near (W. J. Stewart; 1877)

Bonus Selection on Fulham Zoo

The Willow Song (Shakespeare; 1866)

Sir Arthur Sullivan: Sacred and Secular Music (Dame Clara Butt)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

Sweethearts (Jean Ommerlé)

This song, from Othello, tells of Desdemona's foreboding before going to sleep, where Othello will murder her.

The Window, or The Loves of The Wrens (Tennyson; 1871)

See also: Gone! and Winter

In 1866, Sullivan asked Tennyson to write a series of poems that would be suitable for a Schubertian-style song cycle. The verses the Poet Laureate produced tell, vaguely, the a story of unrequited love, longing, hoping, waiting, and finally rejoicing. Although the cycle does not measure up to the great song cycles of Schubert or Schumann, it is one of Sullivan's most ambitious efforts, and well worth listening.

Tennyson eventually regretted his verses—understandably, as on their own they are not great poetry—and he even offered to pay Sullivan to forget the whole project. Sullivan persisted, however, and the cycle eventually was published in a deluxe hard-bound book. Tennyson insisted on inserting a preface apologizing for his "puppet," which he said was published only because he was "bound by my promise."

Winter (Tennyson; 1871)

Sweethearts (Sanford Sylvan)

See also: The Window

The Young Mother (Various Poets; 1874)

The Songs of Sir Arthur Sullivan (Gretchen Chellson)

This work comprises three "simple songs":

1. Cradle Song ("The Days are Cold") (anon.)
   (a/k/a/ "Little Darling, Sleep Again")
2. Ay de mi, my bird (George Eliot)
3. The First Departure (Rev. E. Monro)