Broadway Through the Gramophone

Howard Talbot (Composer), Lionel Monckton (Composer), Karl L. Hoschna (Composer), Victor Herbert (Composer), Heinrich Reinhardt (Composer), Paul A. Rubens (Composer), Ivan Caryll (Composer), Franz Lehar (Composer), Silvio Hein (Composer), Jerome Kern (Composer), Jean Briquet (Composer), Leo Fall (Composer), Rudolf Friml (Composer), William F. Peters (Composer), Albert Sirmay (Composer), Jean Gilbert (Composer), Emmerich Kalman (Composer), Charles J. Gebest (Composer), Raymond Hubbell (Composer), Sigmund Romberg (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Howard Talbot, Lionel Monckton, Karl L. Hoschna, Victor Herbert, Heinrich Reinhardt, et al.
• Audio CD (June 26, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Pearl
• ASIN: B00005CELT
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,152 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Medley

2. Medley

3. Medley

4. Medley

5. Medley

6. Medley

7. Medley - The Light Opera Company, London

8. Medley

9. Medley

10. Medley

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Medley [Miss Caprice: the Wedding Be]

2. Medley

3. The Marriage Market: Medley

4. Medley

5. Medley

6. Medley

7. Medley

8. Medley

9. Medley

10. Medley

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BROADWAY: The formative years, September 29, 2004

By 

Mark Andrew Lawrence "Theatre Reviewer" (Toronto) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Broadway Through the Gramophone (Audio CD)

An essential collection for libraries and archives. Many of these shows have never been recorded in any other format but these light opera company medleys of "vocal gems." These antique 78-RPM discs are the predecessors of today's original cast recordings.

The years covered in this set show how European style operettas wer slowly giving way to a more jazz-oriented American musical comedy style. Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern, and Sigmund Romberg (among others) were setting the stage for the modern American musical.

Listeners should be aware that all the recordings in this set date from the "acoustic" period of recording and have limited range. The metal horns that collected the sound and cut it into wax discs were not ideal for soloists and worked best with brass and percussion. The shellac surfaces of the pressed records had a hissing sound and the steel needles often distorted the music. The few pressings that have survived in playable condition are gathered here, but be aware these are recordings nearly 100 years old!

Those I haven't daunted are in for a treat, for once you get past the antique sound you discover a wealth or musical material and a glimpse into a Broadway very different from what it would eventually become.