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Gilbert & Sullivan - Operettas / Pro Arte Orchestra ? Sir Malcolm Sargent
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CD DetailsEdition: Music CD Format: Box set CD Release Date: 2001-11-20 Music Label: EMI Classics Soundtracks: Music CD 1- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Overture
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: We sail the ocean blue
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Hail, men-o'war's men
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: I'm called Little Buttercup
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: But tell me, who's the youth
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: The nightingale sighed for the moon's bright ray
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: A maiden fair to see
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: My gallant crew, good morning
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: I am the captain of the Pinafore
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Sir, you are sad
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Sorry her lot who loves too well
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Over the birght blue sea
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: I am the monarch of the sea
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: When I was a lad I served a term
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: A British tar is a soaring soul
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Refrain, audacious tar
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Can I survive this overbearing
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Oh joy, oh rapture unforseen
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: This very night
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Let's give three cheers
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Entr'acte
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Fair moon to thee I sing
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Thing are seldom what they seem
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: The hours creep on apace
Music CD 2- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Never mind the why and wherefore
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Kind Captain, I've important information
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Carefully on tiptoe stealing
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Pretty daughter of mine
- H. M. S. Pinafore (The Lass that Loved a Sailor), operetta: Farewell my own
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Hark, the hour of ten is sounding
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Now jurymen hear my advice
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Is this the Court of the Exchequer?
- Trial by Jury, operetta: When first my old, old love I knew
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Silence in Court... All hail great Judge
- Trial by Jury, operetta: When I, good friends, was called to the Bar
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Swear thou the jury
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Where is the plaintiff?
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Comes the broken flower
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Oh, never, never, never
- Trial by Jury, operetta: May it please you, my Lud!
- Trial by Jury, operetta: That she is reeling is plain to me
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Oh, gentlemen, listen, I pray
- Trial by Jury, operetta: That seems a reasonable proposition
- Trial by Jury, operetta: A nice dilemma we have here
- Trial by Jury, operetta: I love him, I love him
- Trial by Jury, operetta: The question, gentlemen, is one of liquor
- Trial by Jury, operetta: Oh joy unbounded
Music CD 3- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Overture
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: When Frederic was a little lad
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Oh, better far to live and die
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Oh, false one, you have deceived me!
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: What shall I do?...
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Stop, ladies, pray!
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Oh, is there not one maiden breast?
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Poor wandering one
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: What ought we to do?
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Stay, we must not lose our senses
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Here's a first rate opportunity
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Hold, monsters!
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: I am the very model of a modern Major-General
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Oh, men of dark and dismal fate
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: I'm telling a terrible story
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: O master, hear one word
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Pray observe the magnanimity
Music CD 4- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Oh, dry the glistening tear
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Now, Frederic, let your escort lion-hearted
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: When the foeman bears his steel
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Now for the pirates' lair
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Young Frederic!
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: When you had left our pirate fold
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Away, away! my heart's on fire
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: All is prepared
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Stay, Frederic, stay!
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Ah, leave me not to pine
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: In 1940 I of age shall be
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: No, I'll be brave!
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Though in body and in mind
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: When a felon's not engaged in his employment
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: A rollicking band of pirates we
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: With cat-like tread
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Hush, hush! not a word
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Softly sighing to the river
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Now what is this, and what is that
- The Pirates of Penzance, operetta: Frederic here! Oh joy!
- The Sorcerer, operetta: Overture : The Sorcerer
- Cox and Box (The Long-Lost Brothers), operetta: Overture : Cox and Box
- Princess Ida (Castle Adamant), operetta: Overture : Princess Ida
- Overture (In Memoriam), for orchestra in C major: Overture in C (In memoriam)
Music CD 5- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Am I alone and unobserved?
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Long years ago, fourteen maybe
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Prithee pretty maiden
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Let the merry cymbals sound
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Now tell us, we pray you
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Your maiden hearts
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Come walk up and purchase with avidity
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: True love must single-hearted be
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: I hear the soft note... But who is this?
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Overture
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Twenty lovesick maidens we
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Still brooding on their mad infatuation
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: I cannot tell what this love may be
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: The soldiers of our Queen
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: In a doleful train... Twenty lovesick maidens we
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: When I first put this uniform on
Music CD 6- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: On such eyes as maidens cherish
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Sad is that woman's lot
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Turn, oh turn in this direction
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: A magnet hung in a hardware shop
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: Love is a plaintive song
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: So go to him and say to him
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: It's clear that medieval art alone retains its zest
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: If Saphir I choose to marry
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: When I go out of door
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: I'm a Waterloo House young man
- Patience (Bunthorne's Bride), operetta: After much debate internal
- Symphony in E major ('Irish'): I: Andante - Allegro, ma non troppo vivace
- Symphony in E major ('Irish'): II: Andante espressivo
- Symphony in E major ('Irish'): III: Allegretto
- Symphony in E major ('Irish'): IV: Allegro vivace e con brio
Music CD 7- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Overture
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Tripping hither, tripping thither
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Iolanthe!
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Good marrow, good mother
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Fare thee well, attractive stranger
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Good marrow, good lover
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: None shall part us from each other
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Loudly let the trumpet bray!
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: The Law is the true embodiment
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: my well-loved lord and guardian dear
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Of all the young ladies I know
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Nay, tempt me not
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Spurn not the nobly born
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: My Lords, it may not be
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: A sheperd I
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: When I went to the bar as a very young man
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: When darkly looms the day
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Oh, shameless one, tremble!
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: In babyhood upon her lap I lay
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: For riches and rank I do not long
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: To you I give my heart
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Tripping hither, Tripping thither
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: The lady of my love
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Go away, madam
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Oh, Chancellor unwary
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: With Strephon for your foe
Music CD 8- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: When all night long a chap remains
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Strephon's a Member of Parliament
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: When Britain really ruled the waves
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: In vain to us you plead
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Oh, foolish fay
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Though p'r'aps I may incur your blame
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: When you're lying awake with a dismal headache
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: If you go in, you're sure to win
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: If we're weak enough to tarry
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: My Lord, a suppliant at your feet I kneel
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: He loves! If in the bygone years
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: It may not be
- Iolanthe (The Peer and the Peri), operetta: Soon as we may
- Overture di ballo, for orchestra in E major: BBC Symphony Orchestra
Music CD 9- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Overture
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: If you want to know who we are
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Gentlemen, I pray you tell me
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: A wand'ring minstrel, I
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Our great Mikado, virtuous man
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Young man, despair
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: And have I journey'd for a month
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Behold the Lord High Executioner!
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: As some day it may happen
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Comes a train of little ladies
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Three little maids from school
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: So please you, sir, we much regret
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Were you not to Ko-Ko plighted
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: I am so proud
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: With aspect stern
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Your revels ceae
Music CD 10- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Braid the raven hair
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: The sun, whose raze are all ablaze
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Brightly dawns our wedding day
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Here's a how-de-do!
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Miya sama, miya sama
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: A mor humane Mikado
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: The criminal cried
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: See how the Fates their gifts allot
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: The flowers that bloom in the spring
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Alone, and yet alive
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Hearts do not break
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: On a tree by a river a little tom-tit
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: There is beauty in the bellow of the blast
- The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: For he's gone and married Yum-Yum
Music CD 11- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Overture
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Fair is Rose as bright May day
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Sir Rupert Murgatroyd
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: If someday there chanced to be
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: I know a youth who loves a little maid
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: From the briny sea
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: I shippd, d'ye see, in a Revenue sloop
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: My boy, you may take it from me
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: The battle's roar is over
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: In sailing o'er life's ocean wide
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Cheerily carols the lark
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: To a garden full of posies
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Welcome gentry for your entry
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Oh, why am I moody and sad?
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: You understand?
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Hail the bride of seventeen summers
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: When the buds are blossoming
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Hold, bride and bridegroom
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Oh, happy the lily
Music CD 12- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: I was once as meek as a new-born lamb
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Happily coupled are we
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: In bygone days I had thy love
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Painted emblems of a race
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: When the night wind howls
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: He yields! He yields!
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: I was once a very abandoned person
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: My eyes are fully open
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: There grew a little flower
- Ruddigore (The Witch's Curse), operetta: Oh, happy the lily
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: I: Introduction
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: IV: Prelude Act III
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: VI: Banquet Dance
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: VII: Overture Act IV
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: X: Dance of the Nymphs and Reapers
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: XI: Prelude Act V
- The Tempest, incidental music, Op. 1: XIIc: Epilogue
- The Merchant of Venice, incidental music: I: Introduction
- The Merchant of Venice, incidental music: III: Bourr?e
- The Merchant of Venice, incidental music: V: ? la valse
- The Merchant of Venice, incidental music: VII: Finale
Music CD 13- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Overture
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: When maiden loves
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Tower warders, under orders
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: When are gallant Norman foes
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Alas, I waver to and fro
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Is life a boon?
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Here's a man of jollity
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: I have a song to sing, O!
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: How say you maiden
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: I've jibe and joke
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: 'Tis done! I am a bride
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Were I thy bride
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Oh, Sergeant Meryll, is it true?
Music CD 14- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Night has spread her pall once more
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: A private buffoon is a light-hearted loon
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Here-upon we're both agreed
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Free from his fetters grim
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Strange adventure!
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Hark! What was that, sir?
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: A man who would woo a fair maid
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: When a wooer goes a-wooing
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Rapture, rapture!
- The Yeomen of the Guard (The Merryman and his Maid), operetta: Comes the pretty young bride
Music CD 15- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Overture
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: List and learn, ye dainty roses
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Good marrow, pretty maids
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: For the merriest fellows
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Buon'giorno, signorine
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: we;re called gondolieri
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: And now to choose our brides
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Thank you, gallant gondolieri
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: From the sunny Spanish shore
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: In enterprise of martial kind
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: O rapture when alone
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: There was a time
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: I stole the Prince
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: But bless my life
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Try we life-long
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Bridegroom and bride
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: When a merry maiden marries
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Kind sir, you cannot have the heart
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Don not give way
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Then one of us will be a queen
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Replying we sing
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: For everyone who feels inclined
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Come, let's away
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Then away they go to an island fair
Music CD 16- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Og happiness the very pith
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Rising early in the morning
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Take a pair of sparkling eyes
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Here we are, at the risk of our lives
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Dance a cachucha, fandango, bolero
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: There lived a King
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: In a contemplative fashion
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: With ducal pomp and ducal pride
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: On the day when i was wedded
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: To help unhappy commoners
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Small titles and orders
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: I am a courtier grave and serious
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Here is a case unprecedented
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: Now let the royal lieges gather round
- The Gondoliers (The King of Barataria), operetta: The Royal Prince
- Cello Concerto (orchestral part lost; reconstructed by C. Mackerras and D. Mackie): I: Allegro moderato
- Cello Concerto (orchestral part lost; reconstructed by C. Mackerras and D. Mackie): II: Andante espressivo -
- Cello Concerto (orchestral part lost; reconstructed by C. Mackerras and D. Mackie): III: Molto vivace
Music reviews of Gilbert & Sullivan - Operettas / Pro Arte Orchestra ? Sir Malcolm SargentMusic Review: The complete Sargent G&S Rating: 4 StarsActually, its not! But it is a complete edition of the last recordings he ever made of the operettas in question.
The evidence of pre-war Sargent recordings (for instance his earlier "Princess Ida") shows that when he was a little younger he appoached these works with vigour and a stong sense of musical humour. As he mellowed (or got older, anyway) his interpretation of G&S definitely became more personal and reverent (or, if you like, slower). Whether you like this or not is absolutely a matter of taste. There are times when those of us more used to other productions may find a mellow geniality in the music rather than the razor sharp wit we are used to. On balance it has to be said that Sullivan comes off better than Gilbert when you slow things down a bit.
My own personal opinion is that if you only want one performance of each operetta I would look elsewhere. If you love G&S enough to want several recordings of each one - then get these - if only to enjoy a "different" slant on the music.
Description of Gilbert & Sullivan - Operettas / Pro Arte Orchestra ? Sir Malcolm SargentThe advent of stereo brought forth two competing Gilbert and Sullivan cycles that retain their classic status in divergent ways. Seasoned Savoyards lean towards Decca's D'Oyly Carte recordings, where the use of singing actors and inclusion of dialogue add up to a palpable theatrical experience. By contrast, EMI's competing cycle featured some of Britain's finest operatic singers of the 1950s and '60s, who largely command both music and text on equal terms. The nine operettas in this series conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent--Trial by Jury, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, The Mikado, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard, and The Gondoliers--are repackaged in a budget-priced, space-saving box. True, some might contend that Sargent's stoutly moderate tempos downplay the authors' irreverent bite, but at least you can make out every blasted word. And that's important, since EMI includes no librettos, just a synopsis of each work. As a bonus, Sullivan's orchestral forays outside comic opera fill out the discs, including incidental music to The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice, the touching Overture in C ("In Memoriam"), an attractively tuneful Symphony in E, and a fascinating reconstruction of a Cello Concerto, whose autograph and parts perished in a 1964 fire. You simply cannot find a more comprehensive Gilbert and Sullivan bargain than this highly enticing set. Grab it while you can. --Jed Distler
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