MUSICWEB (1):
As the informative sleeve-note relates, George Grossmith was born into a theatrical family with three uncles who were child prodigies on the stage. His father combined courtroom journalism with frequent forays into solo entertaining, a state of affairs in which his son, in his turn, followed. Father and son made their debut as a double act in Birmingham in 1873. This followed the commercial success of ‘I am so volatile’ (tr. 2) of 1871 that was taken up by other performers and concert party promoters. It was of course the period of the Victorian ballad, home entertainment, concert parties and the light operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. The inclusion of compositions by the latter rather stretches the sub-title of ‘The Songs of George Grossmith and Family’, but their appearance here provides a musical context and contrast with the Grossmith pieces. It can be argued too that their inclusion is fully justified by the involvement of George senior in original productions of the Savoy operas. I don’t doubt also that the support of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society helped in the recording of these works.

The performance of works such as those included here requires the singer to have exemplary diction even when the ‘patter’ flows swiftly from tongue and lips (tr. 4). Allied to this skill must be the capacity to switch to the spoken word, and back again (tr.5), as well as varying the weight of tone and vocal colour to convey the nuances of the words. These qualities are found in abundance in Leon Berger’s interpretations and characterisations. He is well known in Gilbert and Sullivan circles, having performed all the lyric and patter roles in the oeuvre. Britain is fortunate in its tradition of fine singers such as Berger who, whilst treading the boards of Covent Garden and other ‘serious’ opera stages, do not consider it beneath their dignity to lavish their skills on musically lighter works. It is interesting to compare and contrast the equally entertaining two ballad volumes of ‘Songs My Father Taught Me’ performed by the renowned operatic lyric baritone Sir Thomas Allen (Hyperion) in terms of diction and characterisation with that here; both are excellently realised.

Those Hyperions, and the present disc, complement each other in content and the juxtaposition of the two singers can be no greater recommendation of Berger’s performance. The two songs sung by Grossmith junior, recorded in 1909, also show how true to style these performances are (trs. 20-21).

The recording is clear and well balanced and when Berger duets with himself (tr. 10) this is managed without noticeable change in the acoustic. All in all, this issue is a very worthwhile addition to the recorded stock of Victorian songs and ballads - a genre whose qualities are slowly being re-discovered.
Robert J Farr

GILBERT & SULLIVAN ARCHIVE:
…Most recently, in 2003 Divine Art issued a sequel, The Grossmith Legacy. It includes nineteen more of the tracks Berger and Tillett recorded in 1995-96. As a bonus, the disc rounds off with two recordings that George Grossmith III himself made in 1909, "Bertie the Bounder" and "Yip-I-addy-I-ay." The liner notes are detailed and lavishly illustrated.

Even the pieces that lack any G&S connection are enjoyable and significant to an appreciation of the era when their operas were created. One caution: Set aside time when you can really listen to these numbers. This is not background music, but depends for its effect on listening carefully to every word: thankfully, all of the songs come across clearly, thanks to Leon Berger's superb diction, even in the patter songs. He is to be commended for getting his arms around some very difficult material, most of which was written by, and for, a man of unique talents the likes of which we may never see again.
Marc Shepherd

MUSICWEB (2):
This is the second of two CDs devoted to the songs of George Grossmith. This one also includes a few of the songs he used to sing when taking the comic roles in Gilbert & Sullivan operas.

Leon Berger is no newcomer to this genre and may be remembered from the excellent portrayal he gave of Bouncer in the only full-length recording of Cox & Box (Divine Art 2-4104). His remarkably versatile voice with wide compass provides much variety of character and colour from track to track. It is generally for this reason that this disc so successfully holds the listener's attention. In two of the tracks he doubles as two singers and achieves the multitracking most convincingly where the voices need to harmonise. Two vintage tracks of George Grossmith himself are also included on the disc.

Unobtrusive accompaniment is sensitively and competently provided by Selwyn Tillett who has much experience of studying and playing Victorian music. His light and nimble fingerwork is a joy to listen to and is always closely married to the voice. The piano sounds as one might expect it to in the intimate cosiness of a Victorian drawing room. The voice is nicely filled out with a small amount of reverberation, but not artificially so. Some tracks are provided with a spooky cave acoustic appropriate to the situation.

The songs are nicely varied in style and carry vivid portrayals of the numerous characters Berger musters. The opening number, The Gay Photographer [tk.1] (reminiscent of Grigg, a photographer from Sullivan's first operetta The Contrabandista) is lifted by its catchy decoration and good whistle accompaniment. A railway song, The Muddle Puddle Porter [tk.3] is not that far removed from the 'North South East West Diddlesex junction' song written by Gilbert in Thespis, his first stage collaboration with Sullivan. A patter song in nature the lyrics give an overview of topsy-turvy railway management during a time when they ran to time. A Juvenile Party [tk.5], written in 1879 at the time of HMS Pinafore is an excellent item to include and provides a contrast from the Grossmith songs. It is a descriptive sketch with dialogue and sections set to music. It gives an interesting overview of the direction such an event might take. (The Silver Wedding is another sketch written in a similar fashion and not yet recorded.) The nautical flavour of The Bay of Battersea [tk.9] is provided with a bright well-composed hornpipe tune to provide the atmosphere of a pseudo London port of Battersea and suitably amusing lyrics. A nice take-off of a mid 19 th Century ballad is found in Keep the Baby warm, Mother [tk.14], particularly with its Balfe-ian ending and phrases that could be a forerunner to Keep the home Fires burning. Grossmith's composition I've loved another Girl [tk.16] could well have provided Sidney Jones with a couple of ideas for numbers in his operetta, The Geisha (1896) written three years later.

The CD notes by Berger and Tillett are excellent: they contain much about the background of George Grossmith (GG) who came from a theatrical family and was well known for his one man stage shows in 1870s London. (He is easily confused because there was a GG 1 st, GG 2 nd, and GG 3 rd). Because diction is clear throughout the lyrics have been omitted from the booklet apart from the last two tracks that feature Grossmith himself in 1909 recordings.

Grossmith's humorous songs often describe events or the jobs of certain trades people, e.g. The Dismal Dinner Party, The Old Organ Man or The Autocratic Gardener and were published by J. Bath or Reynolds & Co. There are still enough published songs of Grossmith to fill a third disc if the artistes here have the inclination to further entice Britain's genuine collectors.

The disc is likely to be highly appreciated by those who know G&S well, principally because Grossmith was a founder actor for the D'Oyly Carte triumvirate since The Sorcerer (1877). As a largely untrained musician Grossmith is clearly influenced by exposure to the Savoy productions he knew so well. He is perhaps more gifted than many of his contemporaries writing at that time for London's Music Hall scene. His accompaniment, although simplistic and often following the vocal line with light harmony, is catchy and flows with good rhythm. At times he mimics Sullivan, at others he parodies the Christy Minstrels (a contemporary singing group). This said, the music is wedded nicely to the lyrics.
Raymond Walker

EAGLE TIMES (USA) & AMAZON.COM:
If you have seen the film “Topsy Turvy”, you will recall that George Grossmith was the lead comic who created the role of Ko-Ko in The Mikado. Before that, he had created the comic leads in The Sorcerer, HMS Pinafore, the Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe and Princess Ida. After that, he would do the same for Ruddigore and The Yeomen of the Guard. Then he broke with the D’Oyly-Carte Company and is now a fond memory in the history of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas.

So it is with special interest that I listened to two discs of songs that “GG” was famous for when he performed in other than G&S. A British company aptly named Divine Art has issued “A Society Clown – The Songs of George Grossmith” (24105) and “The Grossmith Legacy” (24109), holding between them 45 of the kinds of songs that show the Victorian and Edwardian ages at their most humorous. Only three of them are G&S. Interestingly enough, “My Name is John Wellington Wells” is sung in a “lower class” accent, which might have been used in the original. The other two are the only recordings of both stanzas of the duet that opens Act II of Ruddigore and of Ruthven’s patter song later in the act, “Henceforth all the Crimes” (G&S historians take note). The rest are bits that range form “well, maybe this was funny back then” to very funny indeed. Since human nature does not change, human foibles never change either.

Some of the titles are “His Nose was on the Mantelpiece”, “I’m tired of the Moon , my Love and Myself”, “How I became a Detective”, “The Muddle-Puddle Porter”, “Keep the Baby warm, Mother” and “Bertie the Bounder”. You can just guess what the words are like!

On both discs there is a baritone named Leon Berger as Grossmith and a pianist named Selwyn Tillett as accompanist. Since I have no idea of what the original man sounded like, I cannot comment on style. But it all seems to come from the same mold as the humorous G&S songs – sprightly tunes, funny lyrics and the need for excellent enunciation. Her, Berger excels. Listening to one of these recordings in my car, I found very few words I could not quite catch, a high recommendation indeed in these days of singers whose words are mush and not worth hearing to begin with.

All of this material originally appeared on tapes issued by the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society. The booklets give a good deal of information about the songs, but the lyrics are not included. Great fun from a bygone age when you could keep a stiff upper lip and still laugh.
Frank Behrens

FOR THE RECORD:
George Grossmith was born into a theatrical family in Islington, London in 1847. Like his father (also called George), he spent time early in his career as a courtroom journalist. However, he made his early fame performing humorous recitals, where he would sing songs of both his own and his father’s composition. Father and son made their debut as a double act in 1873 at the Masonic Hall, Birmingham.

During his lifetime, George Grossmith had at least two major claims to fame – first, he created and performed the chief comedy parts in most of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas; - second, he was joint author with his brother Weedon, of the best-selling Victorian novel, The Diary of a Nobody. He was also author of two other books, eighteen operettas, 100 musical sketches, and 600 piano pieces!

However, it is his comic songs that we are concerned with here. The Divine Art Record Company, in association with the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, has selected a range of songs from George Grossmith’s vast output for their latest release, The Grossmith Legacy. The material on this CD spans George Grossmith’s output from 1870 to 1895 with songs composed by George, some with his father, or in collaboration with others.

If you like Gilbert & Sullivan, then I am sure you will enjoy this CD (It also contains a few G & S numbers). The songs range from the lively and saucy, such as The Gay Photographer, to songs based on everyday events – I am so Volatile, for instance. There are the humorous, jolly and the very droll and innocent songs, for example, a railway worker in The Muddle-Puddle Porter doubles as a waiter, and consequently mixes up his station announcements. It is beyond the scope of this review to review all the songs that Leon Berger and Selwyn Tillett have recorded, but anyone with the slightest sense of humour will find much here to enjoy. Thanks to Leon Berger’s superb diction, every word comes across clearly and he does a wonderful job of infusing great personality into these songs. Selwyn Tillett accompanies on the piano with both sensitivity and virtuosity. The songs were recorded during 1995/6 at St Mary’s Rectory, Beddington, Surrey.

We don’t know what George Grossmith sounded like, but we may get an idea from the two vintage tracks included on this CD. Recorded by George Grossmith’s son (yes, you guessed it – also named George) in ca. 1909, they reveal a real sense of fun and energy. The songs are Bertie the Bounder and Yip-I-Addy-I-Ay from the show Our Miss Gibbs.

To me, these songs take you back to the Victorian world of gas lamps, hansom cabs, railway carriages and the homeliness of drawing rooms. Very nostalgic and enjoyable – go and buy this wonderful CD.
Colin Loffler

FEDERATION OF RECORDED MUSIC SOCIETIES BULLETIN:
Readers who are familiar with the history of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas or who have seen the film Topsy-Turvy will be aware of the importance of George Grossmith who was the mainstay of the D’Oyly Carte Company when the major operas were written and who introduced many of the original ‘patter songs’. However Grossmith was famous in his own right as a lyricist, composer and comedian.

The Gay Photographer was one of the early hits which Grossmith had when playing with his father and other hits followed including I am so Volatile and The Muddle-Puddle Porter, the latter being inspired by his experience with a late train and a monotonous station announcer. A mutual friend suggested to Sullivan that he would be a good player in his forthcoming opera The Sorcerer. Sullivan interviewed him and offered him the part. Grossmith hesitated because it would interfere with his blossoming concert career, however he accepted and was with the Company for 12 years (after he left, his parts were taken by Henry Lytton). After he left the Savoy he gave around 3000 recitals including visits to Canada and USA.

This disc contains renderings of the above-mentioned items together with songs from some of his Gilbert and Sullivan parts and with songs and sketches written after his Savoy years. The Savoy numbers include My name is John Wellington Wells from the Sorcerer and a curiosity, recorded for the first time, being the full-length version of I Once was as meek as a new born Lamb, this includes two verses which were removed after the first performance (to simplify the plot). Most of the songs and sketches have not been sung for nearly a century and not only are pleasant in their own light but also gives a fascinating insight into Victorian Concert Parties.

The final two items on the disc are not by the modern artists listed above, but are of two songs Bertie the Bounder and Yip-I-addy-ay sung by George Grossmith III (Grossmith’s son) recorded in 1909. Apart from the recording, one would have thought this was the same singer as the other items — a good illustration of how well Leon Berger has caught the Grossmith way of singing. The accompaniment is very important in this material and Selwyn Tillett’s playing sounds just right. The recording and notes are up to the usual high standard of Divine Art Records. An unusual disc, interesting and entertaining.
Arthur Baker