No 45 Autumn 1997 Edited by Michael Walters
The problems facing the collator of the G&S operas are paltry compared with those facing the collator of English musical comedy. Most of these were altered radically during the course of the original run, and songs were added and deleted readily. Documentation of these changes is often difficult, if not impossible. The original production of The Arcadians ran from 28 April 1909 to 21 July 1911, a total of 810 performances, and it was revived on 20 May 1915. The modern score contains the following numbers:
Act 1.
1. Introduction & Opening Chorus "Arcadians are we"
2. Song (Time) & Chorus "I quite forgot Arcadia"
3. Quartet (Sombra, Chrysea, Strephon & Astrophel) "The Joy of Life"
4. Chorus of Fear "Look what hovers there above
5. Song (Sombra) "The Pipes of Pan"
6. Chorus "All a lie"
6a Song (Simplicitas) & Chorus "Sweet Simplicitas"
7. Finale "To all and each"
Act 2.
8. Opening Chorus "That's all over"
9. Song (Bobbie) & chorus "Back your fancy"
10. Song (Eileen) & chorus "The girl with a brogue"
11. Shower Chorus "This is really altogether"
12. Song (Sombra) & chorus "Arcady is ever young"
13. Song (Simplicitas) "Somewhere"
14. Duet (Eileen & Jack) "Charming Weather"
15. Finale "The horses are out"
Act 3.
16. Opening Chorus "Plant your posies"
17. Song (Chrysea) "I like London"
18. Duet *Eileen & Jack) "Half past Two"
19. Chorus of Belgravians "Cheer for Simplicitas"
20. Song (Simplicitas) & chorus "All down Piccadilly"
21. Quintet (Simplicitas, Jack, Bobbie, etc) "Truth is beautiful"
22. Song (Doody) "My Motter"
23. Valse Song (Sombra) "My heart flies homing"
23. Finale
The original score contains three songs not included in the modern score, and in addition two others, "My Motter" and "Half Past Three" are given in different positions. The deleted songs are "Fickle Fortune", sung by Jack (who doesn't have a solo in the modern edition), "Bring me a Rose" sung by Eileen, and "Light is my heart" sung by Sombra.
Act 1.
1. Introduction & Opening Chorus "Arcadians are we"
2. Song (Time) & Chorus "I quite forgot Arcadia"
3. Quartet (Sombra, Chrysea, Strephon & Astrophel) "The Joy of
Life"
4. Chorus of Fear "Look what hovers there above
5. Song (Sombra) "The Pipes of Pan"
6. Chorus "All a lie"
7. Song (Simplicitas) & Chorus "Sweet Simplicitas"
8. Finale "To all and each"
Act 2.
9. Opening Chorus "That's all over"
10. Song (Bobbie) & chorus "Back your fancy"
11. Song (Eileen) & chorus "The girl with a brogue"
12. Shower Chorus "This is really altogether"
13. Song (Sombra) & chorus "Arcady is ever young"
14. Song (Simplicitas) "Somewhere"
15. Song (Jack) "Fickle Fortune" *
16. Duet (Eileen & Jack) "Charming Weather"
15. Finale "The horses are out"
Act 3.
18. Opening Chorus "Plant your posies"
19. Song (Chrysea) "I like London"
20. Song (Doody) "My Motter" **
21. Chorus of Belgravians "Cheer for Simplicitas"
22. Song (Eileen) "Bring me a Rose" *
23. Quintet (Simplicitas, Jack, Bobbie, etc) "Truth is beautiful"
24. Duet (Eileen & Jack) "Half past Two" **
25. Song (Sombra) Light is my heart" *
23. Finale
[* = not in modern score. ** = In modern score but in a different position]
In addition to these, at least five additional numbers were formerly in the production at some stage; these were added during the course of the run, and were published as separate sheet songs, copies of which exist in the B.L. music library. "The only girl alive" dated 1910, is marked as being sung by Harry Welchman (Jack); "Come back to Arcady" also dated 1910, was sung by Florence Smithson (Sombra); there are two editions of this, in Eb and F. "I'll be sister to you all", dated 1911, was sung by Cicely Courtneidge who took over the role of Eileen. This was probably a replacement song put in specially for Miss Courtneidge. Another song "Love will win", dated 1911 was by Harry Welchman, but the last song "George Washington" also dated 1911, is something of a mystery, for the sheet music gives no indication as to who sang it.
These deleted songs are of particular interest in that of the seven numbers recorded for HMV by the original cast, three of them are now deleted numbers, "Bring me a rose", "Come back to Arcady" and "Light is my heart". The first of these was recorded on 11 June 1910, and the other two in May 1915, so presumably all were in the show at the time of recording. Another interesting point is that these extracts were not representative of the cast, of the seven items, four were sung by Florence Smithson and two by Phyllis Dare. The remaining song, "My Motter" was by Alfred Lester. Dan Rolyat, Harry Welchman and May Kinder, all of whom had leading roles, recorded nothing from the show. In addition, there was a contemporary recording of "Sweet Simplicitas" by Peter Dawson, which seems to be the only recording of this song. The original of this latter record is very rare indeed, but was reissued on LP by the Peter Dawson Appreciation Society. I regret I have not heard it.
Original cast recordings:
5. Song (Sombra) "The Pipes of Pan"Conversely, two numbers in the modern score were not in the original, Simplicitas's "All down Piccadilly", and Sombra's "My heart flies homing". The evidence of the sheet music indicates that the first of these was added in 1910, and the second in 1911. The now rather incomprehensible references in "All down Piccadilly" suggest it was a topical addition, and really ought to be deleted again - but it is one of the most popular and catchy numbers in the score. The numbers printed as sheet music also give further information on the evolution of the numbers. For instance, the sheet music of "Fickle Fortune" omits the chorus which is present in the original vocal score, though this may be simply a concession to a version being sold for solo performance. "Light is my heart" was published in two sheet music versions, Eb and F. It is in F in the score. "Arcady was ever young" was published in C and Eb, the latter being the key in the score. "The Pipes of Pan" was published in F and Ab, again the latter being the version used in the score.
There were a number of changes in the cast.
James Smith/Simplicitas: Dan Rolyat/Vincent Earne/Dan AgarMICHAEL WALTERS
Web page created 25 July 1998