Electric - McCORMACK

Ward Marston, internationally renowned authority on early
recordings, has restored and remastered the recordings of
many legendary singers, such as Enrico Caruso, Fernando de
Lucia, Mattia Battistini, Feodor Chaliapin, Adelina Patti, Nellie
Melba, Rosa Ponselle, Tito Schipa, and Conchita Supervia.
Marston was awarded a Grammy in 1986 for work on recordings
by conductor Arturo Toscanini and has received two important
“Lifetime Achievement” awards for his contribution to the field
of audio preservation. In 1997 Marston and his partner, Scott
Kessler, formed their own CD label, Marston Records, devoted
to the preservation and dissemination of the great voices of the
“Golden Age”. With over 100 issues in their catalog, several of
their CD releases have won prestigious awards for “Best Historic
Recording of the Year”.
Subscriptions are invited from those wishing to be part of a historic event in the musical life
of Ireland: the issuing of the complete recordings of John McCormack in the period 19251942, which he made for His Master’s Voice (HMV), in restorations by the world’s leading
expert in this field, Ward Marston.
The John McCormack Electric Edition,
containing all of the 1925-42 recordings,
is scheduled for release in 2017/18
Now, he aims to complete what he has described as one of his life’s ambitions and a labour
of love by issuing the third and last part of John McCormack’s vocal legacy – recordings
made by the electrical process between 1925 and 1942. The original recordings used in this
ambitious undertaking have come from six of the world’s most comprehensive collections
of McCormack on 78 rpm discs, located in Ireland, the UK, Canada and the US, and including
records from John McCormack’s own collection. Every effort has been made to find original
source discs for each matrix in the best condition possible, including unique pressings of
unissued recordings and alternative takes. There are a very few extra takes which are known
to exist only as second generation re-recordings; these will also be included.
Other John McCormack Reissues by Ward Marston to Date
John McCormack’s recording career falls into four periods:
1904: His earliest records, made in London, before his vocal training in Italy in 1905
1906-09: Recordings for the Odeon Company of London, made by the acoustical process
1910-24: Recordings for Victor (US) and His Master’s Voice (UK), made by the acoustical process
1925-42: Recordings for Victor and HMV, made by the electrical process
The John McCormack sets below, engineered by Ward Marston, are already available:
The Odeon Edition
(4-CD box set)
contains all 91
of the 1906-09
recordings. Released
by Marston Records
in 2014.
The Acoustic
Edition (11 CDs,
sold individually)
contains all 260 of
the 1910-24 Victor
recordings. Released
by Naxos Records.
The John McCormack Electric Edition will be a limited-issue 16-CD deluxe box set
All 243 published recordings, 1925-42
The complete extant American and British radio broadcasts
Many unpublished recordings or variant takes
All advance subscribers acknowledged by name in the booklet
Advance subscriptions may also be made In Memoriam, or by a group or family, as a tribute to an individual
In addition to their copy of the set, all subscribers will receive an invitation to the special launch ceremony
The set will contain a comprehensive booklet of essays and notes on the recordings by the leading authority on John McCormack, Gordon Ledbetter, author of two books on the tenor
As a special 2-CD bonus, Ward Marston is including his new restorations of all 57 of John McCormack’s earliest recordings, made on cylinder and disc in London for the Edison and Gramophone & Typewriter Companies in 1904, following his victory in the
Dublin Feis Ceoil national singing competition in 1903. These fascinating, if primitive, vocal documents allow us to hear the artist before his sojourn in Italy in 1905, when he trained under Maestro Sabatini.
When the set is launched it will retail at €159.95. Advance subscribers, however, can
avail of a special price of €99.95 plus €12 p&p. As a very limited number of sets will be pressed worldwide, those wishing to be included should subscribe without delay. In
keeping with Marston Records’ normal practice, each issue is published only once.
Reserve your copy of The John McCormack Electric Edition
Online Subscription: Via PayPal at the project website www.johnmccormacktenor.com
Postal Subscription: Subscription form can be printed or downloaded from the site
Enquiries: Jeremy Meehan, Coordinator, The John McCormack Electric Edition, Summerville, Ballinora, Waterfall, Near Cork, T12 K0ED, Ireland;
Tel. 00-353-(0)86-360 1624; Email jeremy.meehan5959@gmail.com
Marston Records: Details of Ward Marston’s many other historical releases are available on the Marston Records website at www.marstonrecords.com
John McCormack
(1884 - 1945)
The
Electric
Edition
“The True Redeemer of Bel Canto”
Devotees of great singing the world over have a special place in their hearts for the peerless mastery of John McCormack (1884-1945). The natural beauty of his voice allied to his phenomenal
technique, unequalled breath control and eloquence of sentiment lead many to regard him as the world’s supreme lyric tenor. Like his friend, Enrico Caruso, John McCormack’s art was
captured by the gramophone while still in its infancy. His recording career spanned the years 1904-1942 and his records sold in great numbers. Ranging over many different musical genres,
from opera, classical song and German Lieder to folk song and popular music, his 650 recordings are sought by collectors and are used as object lessons in vocal masterclasses. This project
aims to ensure that there is a permanent record of his art, in the best quality sound, as captured during the earliest days of electrical recording, from 1925 until 1942, when declining health
drew to a close a performing career of almost forty years.
John McCormack (1884-1945) was a musical phenomenon. From humble beginnings
in the Irish midlands town of Athlone, he rose to international stardom as a concert artist
and left a treasure trove of recordings in opera, oratorio, popular and classical song.
Detail from portrait of
McCormack by Sir William
Orpen (National Gallery of
Ireland)
A recital given by John McCormack on 2 March 1924 in the San Francisco Civic Auditorium
The John McCormack Electric Edition is the third and final part of an endeavour that began in 1995: the issuing of the complete recordings of John McCormack, in chronological order, lovingly
and painstakingly restored and transferred to CD by the acknowledged world leader in this field, Ward Marston. Although many selections of the great tenor’s performances have been
issued in the past, much material of significance has appeared only very infrequently, if at all. Furthermore, earlier transfers have sometimes been of variable quality. For over 20 years, Ward
Marston has worked his way through each and every McCormack recording, both published and unpublished, using his considerable technical skill and musical expertise to lift the great
lyric tenor’s voice from the ancient shellac grooves and allow it to shine in its true beauty, capturing it as never before. What is revealed is a catalogue of great singing, with music that spans
several centuries and encompasses Irish melodies, popular American music of the 1920s and ’30s, religious music, and art song from Germany, Russia, France and England. This is crowned by
McCormack’s wonderful Indian summer of 83 recordings made for the Red Cross following the outbreak of World War II. As a subscriber to The John McCormack Electric Edition, you, or a family
member nominated by you, will play a part in the restoration and preservation of a musical treasury of national significance.
The John McCormack Electric Edition contains dozens
of songs well-loved by generations of Irish people –
especially the countless thousands who left Ireland
for America, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand
and many other countries, sometimes never to return.
The nostalgia conjured up here by McCormack’s
recordings of Irish airs is complemented by religious
compositions such as Panis Angelicus, favourites such
as his signature song I Hear You Calling Me or The Old
House, composed by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Frederick
O’Connor before McCormack’s 1938 farewell concert
tour, and contemporary music by composers as diverse
as Irving Berlin and Sergei Rachmaninov. Art songs
in German and English by composers from Schubert
and Wolf to Elgar and Vaughan Williams illustrate the
extraordinary breadth of McCormack’s artistry, while
the many recordings he made for the Red Cross in
the early years of the Second World War show that
his powers of interpretation remained undiminished
even in failing health in the last years of his life.
“He never stooped to small and modest things; he
invariably raised them, and with them the most
unsophisticated listener, to his own high level. I never
knew him, in his public or his private singing, to be
guilty of a lapse of taste, of making an effort for mere
effort’s sake. He was a patrician artist, dignified even
in apparent undress, with a respect for art that is rarely
met with among tenors. There is no one to take his
place.”
Sir Ernest Newman, from his obituary of McCormack in
The Sunday Times, September 23rd, 1945
“He was a great among greats – nothing less.”
Rob Cowan, BBC
McCormack’s favourite
photographic portrait of
himself, by Arnold Genthe, as
Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème