| Label: EMI Catalog: 15586M Format: CD A 7-CD set!!
EMI Classics is proud to announce a release of major historical importance - the complete EMI recordings by the legendary American singer Paul Robeson.
Robeson, one of the towering figures of the 20th century, was active in many fields apart from music. In his youth he was an outstanding athlete and scholar, and he then went on to achieve fame as an actor, singer, recording artist and film star. Later in life he espoused a number of political causes, including the civil rights movement, and despite bitter opposition from the US authorities, he vigorously fought discrimination, not only against black people but also the under-privileged of all races and creeds.
In 1928 Robeson scored a huge personal triumph in London in the Kern-Hammerstein musical Show Boat at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in which he sang ‘Ol’ Man River’.
From 1928 to 1939 Robeson was based in London and recorded exclusively for EMI’s HMV label.
This 7 CD set of 170 tracks contains all the HMV recordings, as well as the 1928 Columbia recording of ‘Ol’ Man River’ from Show Boat with the Drury Lane chorus and orchestra that was not released until 1976 for contractual reasons. Also included are the two HMV recordings of ‘Ol’ Man River’, the first made in 1930 as a solo with Ray Noble’s Orchestra and the second in 1936 with chorus and orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood.
The wide-ranging repertoire includes American plantation songs and spirituals, British folk songs and popular hits of the day, as well as art songs like ‘Plaisir d’amour’ and ‘Songs my mother taught me’. Many of the popular titles like ‘Shortnin’ bread’ and ‘Mighty lak’ a rose’ were among the company’s best sellers at the time.
Robeson made a number of films in the 1930s and these provided some highly successful recordings such as ‘Canoe Song’ from Sanders of the River, ‘Deep River’ from The Proud Valley and ‘I still suits me’ with Elisabeth Welch from the 1936 film version of Show Boat.
The 1938 and 1939 sessions were supervised by one of EMI’s most distinguished classical recording producers, Walter Legge. It was probably due to Legge’s influence that the repertoire recorded at those sessions includes some more serious songs like ‘Now sleeps the crimson petal’, ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Sea Fever’ in addition to the usual mix of popular titles.
‘Rockin chair’, which Robeson recorded on 17 September 1931 at EMI’s newly-built Abbey Road Studios, was the first published recording made in that famous venue, which did not officially open until 12 November when Sir Edward Elgar and the London Symphony Orchestra recorded Elgar’s ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and Falstaff.
All tracks have been newly transferred and digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios from the best available source material in the EMI Archives by the award-winning audio restoration engineer Andrew Walter, using the most advanced technology. |