An 'Army of Stars' at Christmas, 1949

This program comes from the long-ago time - 1949 - when the greatest stars of opera gathered to raise funds and awareness of the Salvation Army at Christmastime.

On this one-hour special, taken from a mint copy of the 16-inch transcription disc, some of the greatest voices of the 20th century are heard in both seasonal fare and operatic material - Lawrence Tibbett, Kirsten Flagstad, Set Svanholm, Licia Albanese and Jussi Björling among them.

This special program was a gift to the blog from Ernie Haynes, the Christmas music maestro, who as usual is making merry on his blog Ernie, Not Bert. Today he is featuring a great number of other records in the Salvation Army Christmas series, but he sent this one to me to transfer because my equipment can handle the old, oversize transcription discs.

Thanks, Ernie! It's a fascinating show in remarkably good sound that gathered the stars in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco for the occasion. Here is a rundown of the proceedings.

Lawrence Tibbett

After an introduction by the busy radio announcer Jimmy Wallington, the popular baritone Lawrence Tibbett (1896-1960) is heard in "Adeste Fideles." At the time, Tibbett had been with the Metropolitan Opera for 26 years, along with making appearances on radio and in films. Tibbett's grandmother was a Major in the Salvation Army, and his first public performance was as a youngster at a Army meeting in Bakersfield, CA.

Kirsten Flagstad

The supreme Wagnerian soprano Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962) presents "Elsa's Dream" from Lohengrin. She is accompanied by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra under the company's director, Gaetano Merola. In 1949 the Norwegian singer appeared both at the Met and in San Francisco.

Jean Hersholt as Dr. Christian

In 1949, the Danish-American actor Jean Hersholt (1886-1956) was completing his twelfth year in the title role of the radio drama Dr. Christian, which would continue for five more years. He presents the story of the Nativity as related in the Gospel of St. Luke.

Winifred Heidt

Contralto Winifred Heidt (1906-90) had a varied career that took her from the Met to Broadway. That season she was appearing with the new NBC Television Opera Company. She presents a lovely version of "Silent Night" with organ.

Set Svanholm

Another eminent Wagnerian was the Swedish tenor Set Svanholm (1904-64), who at the time was in demand at the Met, the Vienna State Opera and Covent Garden. He presents the "Song to the Evening Star" from Tannhäuser. Gaetano Merola again conducts his San Francisco forces.

Licia Albanese and Jussi Björling

Following a message from Commissioner Ernest I. Pugmire of the Salvation Army, the program concludes with "O soave fanciulla" from Puccini's La bohème, a scene which is of course set on Christmas Eve. The operatic lovers are two great stars who often appeared together - Italian-American soprano Licia Albanese (1909-2014) as Mimi and Swedish tenor Jussi Björling (1911-60) as Rodolfo. The San Francisco Opera Orchestra is led by Karl Kritz, director of the Fort Worth Opera Company and staff conductor in San Francisco.

The "Army of Stars" series of programs lasted from the 1930s through the 1990s, bringing together some of entertainment’s brightest stars in support of the Salvation Army’s mission. The copy of the 1949 program that I transferred was broadcast in December of that year by WDHL in Bradenton, FL and WSPB in Sarasota, FL, as noted on the label.

Thanks again to Ernie for his generous contribution!

LINK

Birthday in Bethlehem, a Christmas Cantata

Each holiday season I share several LPs with you, and invariably one stands out as my favorite. (Last year it was Henri Tomasi's Noël en Provence.) This Christmas my choice is a brief Christmas cantata called Birthday in Bethlehem, a lovely 10-inch LP that surprised me with the quality of its music and performances.

Birthday in Bethlehem takes the form of a father telling his young son the story of Jesus's birth, with celebratory songs interspersed. Decca/London issued the work late in 1950, in the same set of releases as the Westminster Abbey carol collection that formed my last post.

The vintage cover is unhelpful about the provenance of the recording, its participants and its composers, so I delved into their backgrounds for my own edification.

Frank Kingdon

The song lyrics and connecting narrative are the work of Dr. Frank Kingdon, an American author, columnist, political figure and college president. The fine music for the songs is by the team of Gene Bone and Howard Fenton, Americans whose compositions ranged from art songs to pop music. 

Bone and Fenton apparently did not handle the underscoring for the narrative passages. That music appears to be the handiwork of the very young English composer Charles Dakin. His scoring, which is beautifully done, features the saxophone; Dakin later composed a number of works for that instrument.

Musical America Ad, circa 1950

None of these people are well known today. Perhaps the most recognizable name on the cover is the tenor Eugene Conley, who appeared at the Metropolitan Opera for several years in the 1950s. He is coupled with his then-wife, the mezzo Winifred Heidt, who was herself an artist of considerable stature. Their performances here are all that could be wished, combining elegant vocalism, excellent diction and complete sincerity.

Although Conley, Heidt, Kingdon, Bone and Fenton were Americans, the recording was made in London, very likely during the summer of 1950, when the principals were in Europe for appearances. The date is unclear - Birthday in Bethlehem does not appear in the English Decca discography. That document, however, does list Conley and Heidt as recording a set of operatic arias in September 1950, which came out in November as Decca/London LPS 280. That is the next recording in numerical sequence to the Christmas program, so it seems likely that the holiday album was taped at about the same time.

As for the production's provenance, my guess is that the singers brought the project to the record company. It may have called for spoken narration interspersed with the Bone-Fenton songs. The record company, thinking that the narrative required an underscore, then may have contracted with young Dakin to handle that task. But again, that is pure supposition.

However the project came together, the results are impressive. The fine orchestral playing was under the direction of the 31-year-old Norman Del Mar, an English music specialist who was the principal conductor of the Britten-centered English Opera Group. For this LP, he led the "New Symphony Orchestra," a name that Decca/London was applying to freelance ensembles it assembled for recording purposes.

Lionel Murton

I should also cite the highly effective narrator, the English-Canadian actor Lionel Murton, who radiates the appropriate warmth for this seasonal material. There is more information about the participants in the download, along with the usual scans and photos.

While this is not a major work, and despite appearances, is not really aimed at children, it is an affecting piece. It's a shame it has sunk into obscurity.