The conductor Malcolm Sargent's career as a recording artist began in the days of acoustic recording, shortly before the introduction of the microphone and electrical recording, and continued into the stereo LP era. He recorded prolifically from 1924 until 1967, the year of his death.
Description of Sargent's recordings Sargent's debut recording was Vaughan Williams's Hugh the Drover, in 1924, for His Master's Voice, with singers from the British National Opera Company, with whom he was then performing the work on tour.Reid, p. 133 Although he recorded for other companies, most of his records were made for His Master's Voice over the following four decades.Reid, p. 134
In the early days of electrical recording, he took part in pioneering live recordings with the Royal Choral Society at the Albert Hall. Subsequently, in the recording studio, Sargent was most in demand to record English music, choral works and concertos. He recorded and worked with many orchestras, but made the most recordings (several dozen major pieces) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In the recording studio, as in the concert hall, Sargent was known for his choral conducting and was in demand as an accompanist in concertos. A high proportion of the recordings listed below are in these categories.
Sargent's choral work was chiefly with the two choirs of which he was the principal conductor, the Royal Choral Society and the Huddersfield Choral Society. For his recordings with the latter, Sargent usually conducted the Liverpool Philharmonic (from 1957, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic); the pairing of the choir and orchestra became so familiar that the portmanteau word "Hudderspool" was coined for it.Sadie, Stanley. "Handel, Messiah. Gramophone, April 1980, p. 97, accessed 6 March 2010 Sargent's choral recordings included two versions of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, four of Handel's Messiah, two of Mendelssohn's Elijah, and complete sets of Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha's Wedding Feast and The Death of Minnehaha, Delius's Songs of Farewell, Handel's Israel in Egypt, Holst's The Hymn of Jesus, Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. Some of these have been reissued on compact disc, including both Gerontius sets, three of the Messiah recordings, one of the Elijahs, and Belshazzar's Feast.
As a concerto accompanist, Sargent recorded with, among many others, Fritz Kreisler, Artur Schnabel, Jascha Heifetz, Albert Sammons, Clifford Curzon, David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Paul Tortelier, and Jacqueline du Pré. His pre-war recordings with Schnabel of the Beethoven piano concertos have been reissued on compact disc. His association with Heifetz spanned the 78 r.p.m., mono LP and stereo LP eras, and many of their recordings are also available in CD transfers.
Throughout his career, Sargent remained devoted to Gilbert and Sullivan and made 21 recordings of their operas in four different decades. His earliest and last recordings of these works were with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for HMV in the 1920s and 30s and for Decca in the 1960s. In the 1950s and early 60s he conducted a series of Gilbert and Sullivan recordings for HMV, casting singers from opera and oratorio, rather than the D'Oyly Carte. All of his Gilbert and Sullivan recordings have been re-released on compact disc, and most remain in the catalogues.
Sources and abbreviations The sources for this discography are primarily The Gramophone, 1924 onwards; the discography published in Sir Malcolm Sargent: a tribute. (1967). London: Daily Mirror Newspapers, and .
The following abbreviations are used in this list. BBCSO – BBC Symphony Orchestra LPO – London Philharmonic Orchestra LSO – London Symphony Orchestra RPO – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra VPO – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Discography Arne Rule, Britannia! (arr Sargent): Royal Choral Society, Philharmonia, HMV 1953 Auber Zanetta Overture: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, HMV, 1931 Bach Double Violin Concerto: Jascha Heifetz, Erick Friedman, New Symphony Orchestra, RCA, 1962 H. Balfour Gardiner Shepherd Fennel's Dance: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1947 Bartók Violin Concerto: Max Rostal, LSO, Decca, 1951 Bax Coronation March: LSO, Decca, 1953 May-time in Sussex: Harriet Cohen, Orchestra, Columbia, 1947
Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1: Artur Schnabel, LSO, HMV, 1932 Piano Concerto No 2: Artur Schnabel, LPO, HMV, 1935 Piano Concerto No 3 Mark Hambourg, LPO, HMV, 1930 Artur Schnabel, LPO, HMV, 1933 Benno Moiseiwitsch, Philharmonia, 1952 Piano Concerto No 4: Artur Schnabel, LPO, HMV, 1933 Piano Concerto No 5: Artur Schnabel, LSO, HMV, 1932 Symphony No 3: RPO, HMV, 1961 Triple Concerto: David Oistrakh, Alexander Knushevitzky, Lev Oborin, Philharmonia, Columbia, 1959 (arr Weniger) Moonlight Sonata – first movement; Sonata Pathétique – slow movement: New Light Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1931 Berlioz Béatrice et Bénédict Overture: National Symphony Orchestra, Decca, 1947 Roman Carnival Overture: RPO, HMV, 1961 Bizet Carmen – Flower Song: Heddle Nash, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1945 L'Arlésienne Suite Hallé, Columbia, 1942 Philharmonia, Columbia, 1949 Patrie: New Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1932 Bliss Piano Concerto: Trevor Barnard, Philharmonia, HMV, 1962 Boccherini Minuet (arr from Quintet in E, Op 11/5): New Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1929 Borodin Nocturne for String Orchestra (arr Sargent): Philharmonia, Columbia, 1950 Brahms Academic Festival Overture: Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1948 Hungarian Dance No 5: Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1948 Variations on a Theme by Haydn: Hallé, Columbia, 1943 Britten Peter Grimes – Four Sea Interludes: LSO, Columbia, 1948 Simple Symphony: RPO, 1962 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell (The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra) Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1947 BBCSO, HMV, 1962 Bruch Scottish Fantasy: Jascha Heifetz, LSO, RCA 1954 Violin Concerto No 1: Jascha Heifetz, LSO, RCA, 1954 Chabrier Le roi malgré lui – Fête Polonaise: BBCSO, HMV, 1959 Chopin Piano Concerto No 1: Earl Wild, RPO, Reader's Digest, 1965 Les Sylphides (arr J Ainslie Murray and Felix White): LPO, HMV, 1941 Les Sylphides (arr Sargent): Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, HMV, 1963 Cimarosa Concerto for Oboe and Strings (arr Arthur Benjamin): Léon Goossens, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1943
Coleridge-Taylor Hiawatha's Wedding Feast Walter Glynne, Royal Choral Society, orchestra, HMV, 1930 Richard Lewis, Royal Choral Society, Philharmonia, HMV, 1962 – Onaway! Awake, Beloved!: Webster Booth, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1945 The Death of Minnehaha: Elsie Suddaby, Howard Fry, George Baker, Royal Choral Society, Orchestra, HMV, 1931 Delius A Song Before Sunrise: RPO, HMV, 1965 Cello Concerto: Jacqueline du Pré, RPO, HMV, 1965 On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring: Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1950 Songs of Farewell: Royal Choral Society, RPO, HMV, 1965 Violin Concerto: Albert Sammons, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1945 Dohnányi Suite for Orchestra LSO, Columbia, 1951 RPO, HMV, 1962 Variations on a Nursery Song Cyril Smith, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1945 Cyril Smith, Philharmonia, HMV, 1954 Dvořák Cello Concerto: Paul Tortelier, Philharmonia, HMV, 1956 Serenade in E major: RPO, HMV, 1966 Slavonic Dances Nos 1 and 3: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, HMV, 1933 Slavonic Dance No 10: BBCSO, HMV, 1959 Symphonic Variations: BBCSO, HMV, 1959 The Spectre's Bride – Where art Thou Father dear?: Isobel Baillie, Philharmonia, HMV, 1948 Violin Concerto: Ruggiero Ricci, LSO, Decca, 1961
Elgar Cello Concerto: Paul Tortelier, BBCSO, HMV, 1954 The Dream of Gerontius Heddle Nash, Gladys Ripley, Dennis Noble, Norman Walker, Huddersfield Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1945 Richard Lewis, Marjorie Thomas, John Cameron, Huddersfield Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV 1955 Enigma Variations LSO, Decca, 1953 Philharmonia, HMV, 1960 Imperial March: LSO, Decca, 1953 Nursery Suite – The Serious Doll: Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1943 Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 LSO, Decca, 1953 Philharmonia, Columbia, 1949 BBCSO, HMV, 1959 Pomp and Circumstance March No 4 Philharmonia, Columbia, 1949 LSO, Decca, 1953 The Kingdom – The Sun Goeth Down: Isobel Baillie, Philharmonia, Columbia, 1948 Violin Concerto: Jascha Heifetz, LSO, HMV, 1950 The Wand of Youth, Suite No 2 Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1950 BBCSO, HMV, 1953 Falla The Three-Cornered Hat – Suite: New Light Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1928 Fauré Pavane: Chorus, Philharmonia, 1947 German March Rhapsody: LSO, HMV, 1932 Merrymakers' Dance: New Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1929 Tom Jones orchestral suite: Orchestra, HMV, 1932 Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice – What is life?: Kathleen Ferrier, LSO, Decca, 1946 Gounod Faust – All hail, thou dwelling!: Heddle Nash, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1945 Grainger Handel in the Strand: New Light Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1931 Mock Morris: New Light Symphony Orchestra, HMV, 1931 Grieg Lyric Suite: National Symphony Orchestra, Decca, 1948
Handel Acis and Galatea – Would you gain: Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 – O Didst Thou Know? As When the Dove: Isobel Baillie, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1945 Alexander's Feast – Revenge, Timotheous cries: Trevor Anthony, LSO, Decca, 1949 – War, he sung: Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 Israel in Egypt: Elsie Morison, Monica Sinclair, Richard Lewis, Huddersfield Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1956 Jephtha – Deeper, and deeper still … Waft her angels: Webster Booth, Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1945 – Waft her, angels; For ever blessed: Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 Joshua – So long the memory … While Kedron's brook: Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 Judas Maccabaeus – Thanks to my brethren … How vain is man; My arms! … Sound an alarm!: Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 Messiah Isobel Baillie, Gladys Ripley, James Johnston, Norman Walker, Huddersfield Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1946 Elsie Morison, Marjorie Thomas, Richard Lewis, Norman Walker, Huddersfield Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1954 Elsie Morison, Marjorie Thomas, Richard Lewis, James Milligan, Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1959 Elizabeth Harwood, Norma Procter, Alexander Young, John Shirley-Quirk, Royal Choral Society, RPO, Reader's Digest, 1964 – And the Glory of the Lord; Glory to God; Behold the Lamb of God; Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs; All We Like Sheep; Hallelujah!; Amen: Royal Choral Society, Royal Albert Hall Orchestra, HMV, 1926 – Overture and Pastoral Symphony: LSO, HMV, 1931 – And the glory of the Lord; Hallelujah!: Royal Choral Society, LPO, HMV, 1932 – Behold the Lamb of God; Glory to God: Royal Choral Society, LPO, HMV, 1933 – Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion!; If God be for us, who can be against us?: Isobel Baillie, Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1945 – I know that my Redeemer liveth: Ada Alsop, LSO, Decca, 1949 Overture in D minor (arr Elgar): RPO, HMV, 1959 Rodelinda – Art Thou Troubled?: Kathleen Ferrier, LSO, Decca, 1946 Royal Fireworks Music (arr Harty): Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1948 BBCSO, HMV, 1954 RPO, HMV, 1959 Samson – Total eclipse: Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 Samson Overture: RPO, HMV, 1959 Semele – Where'er you walk Richard Lewis, LSO, Decca, 1949 Richard Lewis, LSO, HMV, 1958 Serse – "Ombra mai fu": Kathleen Ferrier, LSO, Decca, 1949 Solomon (arr Costa and Sargent) – From the censer curling rise: Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1959 Water Music (arr Harty) Hallé, Columbia, 1942 BBCSO, HMV, 1954 RPO, HMV, 1959 Zadok the Priest (arr Sargent): Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, HMV, 1959 Harty A John Field Suite: Liverpool Philharmonic, Columbia, 1943