Gilbert & Sullivan (1954)

The Savoy Players and Orchestra

There evidently were several records featuring the anonymous Savoy Players and Orchestra. They are listed below, but I have very little information about them.

According to the Varsity-GramophoneConcertone Discography, Gramophone 2061 consists of the following:

(2061A)
The Mikado parts 1 and 2
Gondoliers parts 1 and 2
(2061B)
Iolanthe (Sentry Song) parts 1 and 2
Iolanthe (vocal gems)
Yeoman [sic] of the Guard parts 1 and 2
Pinafore

According to correspondent Tony Dwyer, Halo 5061 contains the following excerpts from The Mikado:

  • Overture
  • A wandering minstrel
  • Our great Mikado
  • The Lord High Executioner
  • Taken from a county jail
  • I've got a little list
  • A more humane Mikado
  • The criminal cried
  • The flowers that bloom in the Spring
  • Tit-willow
  • There is beauty in the bellow of the blast
  • Finale

Tony added that "patriotic" has a long 'a' in "A wandering minstrel." In "The flowers that bloom in the spring," Nanki-Poo inserts a cadenza, and Ko-Ko imitates it. He added:

It would be presumptious of me to "review" this record; I'm nowhere near an expert on G&S. It strikes me as a budget recording, but I found the performances entertaining, although my copy of the record has definitely seem better days.

From Tony's report, this seems to be a fairly substantial recording of The Mikado, but I have elected to leave it listed here, with the other pressings that appear to come from the same series.

It is not clear whether the item I have listed as the Halo Pinafore is also part of the series. Another correspondent has alerted me to a further Halo issue, #50308, that seems to be a companion to the Halo Pinafore and has different contents to those Tony has described. A pretty mess indeed!

Issue History
DateLabelFormatNumberComments
1954 Gramophone Mono LP 2061 Contains highlights from Mikado, Gondoliers, Iolanthe, Yeomen
195-? Halo Mono LP 5061 Contains highlights from The Mikado
195-? Varsity 10" Mono LP 6987 Contains highlights from Mikado and Gondoliers
195-? Varsity 10" Mono LP 6913 Contains highlights from Iolanthe, Yeomen & Pinafore