Sullivan's 'The Beauty Stone'

[albion]

Chandos and the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society have announced their intention to record Sir Arthur Sullivan's three-act 1898 Romantic Musical Drama The Beauty Stone, setting a libretto by Comyns Carr and Pinero. The autograph score (now at the Bodleian) only came to light fairly recently and was found to contain several substantial numbers which were cut after the opening night and hence not included in the published Chappell vocal score - all of these will definitely be included in the recording (a full orchestral score of the entire opera is also due for publication soon).

This is truly wonderful news as The Beauty Stone has claims to be both Sullivan's most misunderstood work and at the same time one of his most beguiling musical efforts:

http://www.sullivansociety.org.uk/projects.php

[Mark Thomas]

This is tremendously good news. Sullivan remains a seriously underrated composer. There's nothing wrong with the Savoy operas, but they have overshadowed the rest of his output very much to the detriment of his reputation.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Hear, hear! There was more to Sullivan than Gilbert!

[Alan Howe]

Quite so!

[JimL]

Sullivan often decried how the popularity of his works with Gilbert overshadowed his other accomplishments.  However, there were bills to be paid...

[Mark Thomas]

.. and they are models of their kind, still incredibly popular after 120+ years. The problem is that they have quite overshadowed his "serious" compositions. The early Symphony is a delight, the Macbeth Overture terribly effective and some of the choral works - The Golden Legend, Martyr of Antioch and Boer War Te Deum - are wonderfully done, to name but a few.

[albion]

High on the list of recording priorities are The Martyr of Antioch (1880) and the somewhat slighter cantata On Shore and Sea (1871), both of which could be accomodated on a double-CD set. The former has perhaps the most glorious opening choral section of any nineteenth-century British cantata and some wonderful writing influenced by Gounod (think long singing tunes and prominent writing for the harp). Anybody who has heard the 2000 Symposium recording will regret a chance missed - good soloists and a fine orchestra but a woefully underpowered chorus.

The irony of the supposed 'verbosity' of The Beauty Stone is that it's metrical irregularities sparked some of Sullivan's most richly romantic and imaginative writing. As with Ivanhoe, many people will be surprised by the strength of the score when it is heard as the composer intended - yes (and this is definitely not a criticism), there are a couple of numbers redolent of the familiar 'Savoy' pattern (such as the Devil and Jacqueline's duet in Act 1) but there is an absolutely stunning love duet in Act 2 for Philip and Laine, a bleak opening duet for Joan and Simon ("Click, clack") and some extended Scenas unusual in Sullivan's output (the highlight being the exotic "Though she should dance till dawn of day"). The deleted numbers (cut for reasons of length, rather than musical worth) are in no way inferior to the rest and include an extended version of the beauty pageant scene in Act 1, another rollicking duet for the Devil and Jacqueline, "Up and down and through the town" and an impassioned trio for Joan, Simon and Laine. In fact the whole score is of a quality that shames the complete oblivion into which it has fallen.

[albion]

The autograph score (now at the Bodleian) only came to light fairly recently and was found to contain several substantial numbers which were cut after the opening night and hence not included in the published Chappell vocal score - all of these will definitely be included in the recording (a full orchestral score of the entire opera is also due for publication soon).

I was a Patron of the Ivanhoe recording and intend undertaking the same commitment for this new pioneering effort.

More activity on The Beauty Stone leading up to the Chandos recording:

the full orchestral score and a new edition of the vocal score are now published, containing all the music excised from Chappell's 1898 edition - http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/html/rg-p/index1.html?subject=Beauty%20Stone%20Score. These are scholarly editions produced to an extremely high standard with extensive annotation and background notes.

In addition, the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive has been permitted to incorporate this 'new material' into one of their many enterprising 'web-operas' (Nos 8, 13b and 15b) -

http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/sullivan/beauty_stone/beauty_stone_home.html

[BerlinExpat]

The Sir Arthur Sullivan Society have announced that Chandos recorded The Beauty Stone during January and February 2013 and it should be released later this year

[Mark Thomas]

That's excellent news, Colin.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Heartily seconded.

[BerlinExpat]

I'm just back from the 20th International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton and while there discovered that The Beauty Stone has now been recorded using Sullivan's autograph full score. The 2-CD set is due for release by Chandos on 4 November 2013. It's available at a special pre-publication price of 22 pounds from Elaine Richardson. Fuschia Cottage, Main Road, Colwich, ST17 0XE or elaineatsass@aol.com