Great Voices of the Century John McCormack

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Johnny Patterson, Traditional, George Frideric Handel, Dermot MacMurrough, Georges Bizet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Helen Selina, Countess of Gifford Dufferin, Ernest R Ball, Sergey Rachmaninov, Gaetano Donizetti, Alma M. Sanders, Walter Battison Haynes, Frederick Nicholls Crouch, Charles Marshall, Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Stephen Collins Foster

Label: Memoir Classics

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 66

Mastering:

Mono
Acoustic
ADD

Catalogue Number: CDMOIR418

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
(L')Elisir d'amore, 'Elixir of Love', Movement: Una furtiva lagrima Gaetano Donizetti, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
Gaetano Donizetti, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Semele, Movement: O sleep, why dost thou leave me? George Frideric Handel, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
George Frideric Handel, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Josef Pasternack, Conductor
Atalanta, Movement: Care selve, ombre beate George Frideric Handel, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
George Frideric Handel, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Don Giovanni, Movement: Il mio tesoro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
John McCormack, Tenor
Walter B. Rogers, Conductor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Ridente la calma Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
John McCormack, Tenor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
(Les) Pêcheurs de Perles, '(The) Pearl Fishers', Movement: ~ Georges Bizet, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
Georges Bizet, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
(La) traviata, Movement: ~ Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Lucrezia Bori, Soprano
(15) Songs, Movement: No. 10, Before my window (wds. Galina) Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
Fritz Kreisler, Violin
John McCormack, Tenor
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Goethe Lieder, Movement: Ganymed Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Spanisches Liederbuch, 'Spanish Songbook', Movement: Herr, was trägt der Boden hier (trans Heyse) Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
Hugo (Filipp Jakob) Wolf, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Jeanie with the light brown hair Stephen Collins Foster, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
John McCormack, Tenor
Stephen Collins Foster, Composer
(The) Garden where the praties grow Johnny Patterson, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
John McCormack, Tenor
Johnny Patterson, Composer
Macushla, your sweet voice is calling Dermot MacMurrough, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
Dermot MacMurrough, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
(The) Foggy, foggy dew Traditional, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Spencer Clay, Piano
Traditional, Composer
(The) Star of the County Down Traditional, Composer
Gerald Moore, Piano
John McCormack, Tenor
Traditional, Composer
Kathleen Mavourneen Frederick Nicholls Crouch, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
Frederick Nicholls Crouch, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Little Town in the Ould Country Alma M. Sanders, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra
Alma M. Sanders, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Josef Pasternack, Conductor
Barry of Ballymore, Movement: Mother Machree (Lyrics Young) Ernest R Ball, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
Ernest R Ball, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Terence's farewell to Kathleen Helen Selina, Countess of Gifford Dufferin, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
Helen Selina, Countess of Gifford Dufferin, Composer
John McCormack, Tenor
Off to Philadelphia Walter Battison Haynes, Composer
Gerald Moore, Piano
John McCormack, Tenor
Walter Battison Haynes, Composer
I hear you calling me Charles Marshall, Composer
Charles Marshall, Composer
Edwin Schneider, Piano
John McCormack, Tenor
Here, at all events, is a capital selection. ''To show the tenor, as it were, in the round'' is the delicately declared aim of the recital, and it certainly illustrates the many qualities of his art extremely well. Choice in Handel and Mozart is restricted anyway, Hugo Wolf too and Memoir Classics surely have the right songs here, with Herr, was tragt der Boden hier as probably the summit of McCormack's achievement in this field. Then the lovely ''Una furtiva lagrima'', with its deliciously sighed ''per poco a' suoi sospir'', is as fine an example as any in the bel canto repertoire. For Verdi, the ''Parigi, o cara'' does well, McCormack's singing highly attractive despite the odd disposition of some of the words, and of course the record proving irresistible at the entry of Lucrezia Bori's Violetta. French opera sung in Italian probably can't be helped (but why, incidentally, is the Romance from Les pecheurs de perles listed as Serenade?). Rachmaninov and the cherished association with Kreisler in Before my window are next, and then comes the real problem for a selector: what to have from among the hundreds of songs in English?
Jeannie, The garden where the praties grow and The star of County Down are necessities. Much gratitude is due for Terence's farewell and Off to Philadelphia. I'm not so sure about Mother Machree, in spite of the 'Ball', discreetly included among the begetters ('Ball' being Thalben of that name). Little Town in the Auld County Down is one of those that at first seems somewhat regrettable, but then McCormack sings the abominable verse (''like the black sheep of old I'll come back to the fold'') with such conviction that he wins converts even before his magical octave rise at the end. And, of course, I hear you calling me has some of the most heavenly placing of notes by any singer on record.
That record, however, normally plays in C rather than D flat as here. Better copies of ''Il mio tesoro'' and Ganymed might have been found; some others rattle a bit. Small points, perhaps, compared with the riches of so much fine singing.'

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