User:Antiquary/sandbox
The tenor aria known as "Then you'll remember me" from its refrain (less commonly[1] as "When other lips" or "When other lips and other hearts" from its first words) is one of the most noted and lastingly popular collaborations of the Irish composer Michael Balfe and the librettist Alfred Bunn. Different editions describe it variously as an air, a cavatina, a cavatine, a romance, and a ballad.[2][3] Marked andante cantabile,[2] it is sung by the character Thaddeus in Act 3 of the opera The Bohemian Girl (1843). It features an obbligato for the cornet, then a newly-invented instrument.[4] It has been recorded many times, both in its original form and in instrumental versions.
Genesis
[edit]William Harrison, the tenor who created the role of Thaddeus, later remembered that Balfe had taken the aria through six or seven versions before coming up with one that satisfied him.[5] This is confirmed by manuscript evidence, which shows that many things were altered in the process of composition, including the rhythm and the key.[6] The first performance of The Bohemian Girl took place on 27 November 1843 at the Drury Lane Theatre.[7] Harrison's performance of the aria produced a great uproar in the audience, favourable from the majority but unfavourable from others;[8] in the end it was encored twice.[9]
Reception
[edit]
The publishing rights for the songs in The Bohemian Girl were bought by Chappell & Co. for £500.[10] The score of "Then you'll remember me" was being advertised within weeks of the first performance,[11] and was an immediate bestseller, 80,000 copies being sold within a year.[12] It became a favourite of street musicians, whether barrel-organists or cornetists.[13][14] In 1885 George Bernard Shaw observed that as a duet for cornet and harp it could "draw tears from a crowd at the door of a gin-palace".[15] In 1898 George Du Maurier believed that it "seems destined to become immortal in this country",[16] and indeed in the 21st century, according to The Rough Guide to Opera, it has remained "justifiably famous".[17] It has been praised by the musicologist Nigel Burton, who considered that "Balfe's subtle use of accented passing notes perfectly expresses the genuine pathos of Bunn's lyrics."[18]
Legacy
[edit]The aria is performed by characters in Mrs Henry Wood's immensely popular novel East Lynne (1861),[19] and in George Bernard Shaw's play The Philanderer (1893).[20] The 1936 Laurel and Hardy film The Bohemian Girl features "Then you'll remember me" sung by Felix Knight.[21] The lines "When other lips and other hearts" and "Then you'll remember me" appear many times, variously transmuted, in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.[22] It is again sung in L. P. Hartley's novel The Go-Between.[23] For its 1974 reissue, Charlie Chaplin had the final scene of his 1919 film Sunnyside accompanied by an orchestral arrangement of "When other lips" made for him by Eric Rogers.[24]
Recordings
[edit]Singers who have recorded "Then you'll remember me" include Mario Chamlee, Richard Crooks, Charles D'Almaine, Ben Davies, Beniamino Gigli, Charles Hackett, Jerry Hadley, George Hamlin, Ruby Helder, John McCormack, James Melton, Heddle Nash, Patrick Power, Thomas Round, Rosalie Sorrels, Louise Terrell, the Opera Babes, and the Irish folk group De Dannan.[25][26][27][28] Instrumental versions have been recorded by, among others, Jesse Crawford, Charles Leggett, Fats Waller, Edna White, and the McKee Trio.[25][26][27]
Citations
[edit]- ^ Collins, William J. (1993). "The Bohemian Girl". In Larue, C. Steven (ed.). International Dictionary of Opera. Volume 1: A–K. Detroit: St James Press. p. 156. ISBN 1558621121. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ a b [Balfe, Michael] (1845). The Music of the Bohemian Girl, Consisting of Six Songs and Three Pieces. Philadelphia: E. Ferrett. Unpaginated. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Tyldesley, William (2016). Michael William Balfe: His Life and English Operas. London: Routledge. p. 28. ISBN 9780754605584. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Simpson, Harold (1910). A Century of Ballads, 1810–1910: Their Composers and Singers, with Some Introductory Chapters on "Old Ballads and Ballad-Makers". London: Mills & Boon. pp. 106–107. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Notebook 136/67
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=i8AlEAAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA112&dq=son+reported+the+difficulty+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKt5C-i8GLAxVhUkEAHZ_JL6UQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=son%20reported%20the%20difficulty%20balfe&f=false
- ^ Blom p. 786
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sZD_AAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+prodigious+uproar+occasioned+by+his+singing%22&dq=%22a+prodigious+uproar+occasioned+by+his+singing%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiAidCGi82LAxUtVEEAHffhMdoQ6AF6BAgFEAM
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2TADAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA158&dq=%22then+you%27ll+remember+me%22+chappell+1843&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwig_8rhy8aLAxVIa0EAHRYHAasQ6wF6BAgEEAE#v=onepage&q=%22then%20you'll%20remember%20me%22%20chappell%201843&f=false p. 158
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2TADAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA158&dq=%22then+you%27ll+remember+me%22+chappell+1843&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwig_8rhy8aLAxVIa0EAHRYHAasQ6wF6BAgEEAE#v=onepage&q=%22then%20you'll%20remember%20me%22%20chappell%201843&f=false pp. 158-159
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=b4dgHsI76fAC&pg=PA286&dq=%22lips+sung+by+mr+harrison%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZqvrdzcaLAxVnXUEAHR4pAq0Q6AF6BAgEEAM#v=onepage&q=%22lips%20sung%20by%20mr%20harrison%22&f=false
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=i8AlEAAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA112&dq=son+reported+the+difficulty+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKt5C-i8GLAxVhUkEAHZ_JL6UQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=son%20reported%20the%20difficulty%20balfe&f=false pp. 111-112
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=z2tfwnYzQuEC&pg=PA161&dq=%22when+other+lips%22+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS_5GRgcGLAxW7S0EAHROAEg0Q6AF6BAgMEAM#v=onepage&q=%22when%20other%20lips%22%20balfe&f=false
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mAkvAAAAIAAJ&q=%22then+you%27ll+remember+me%22+cornet&dq=%22then+you%27ll+remember+me%22+cornet&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFjfOWycaLAxUnWEEAHa4UOs84PBDoAXoECAwQAw
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=miEM1slGPSYC&pg=PA138&dq=%22draw+tears+from+a+crowd+at+the+door+of+a+gin-palace%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwwYLQmc2LAxU6UkEAHSxDAEEQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=%22draw%20tears%20from%20a%20crowd%20at%20the%20door%20of%20a%20gin-palace%22&f=false
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=auGsfg-eAwAC&pg=PA235&dq=%22when+other+lips%22+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS_5GRgcGLAxW7S0EAHROAEg0Q6wF6BAgLEAE#v=onepage&q=%22when%20other%20lips%22%20balfe&f=false
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bLDaqKzJF08C&pg=PA208&dq=%22when+other+lips%22+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPmt2Mg8GLAxVXSUEAHaUoNR84FBDoAXoECAUQAw#v=onepage&q=%22when%20other%20lips%22%20balfe&f=false
- ^ Notebook 136/522
- ^ https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/77578495/The_Victorian_Governess_Novel.pdf pp. 214-215
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P8KPThtQRcMC&pg=PA123&dq=%22when+other+lips%22+%22most+popular%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiTkY2VgsaLAxVNSEEAHc8OC34Q6wF6BAgGEAE#v=onepage&q=%22when%20other%20lips%22%20%22most%20popular%22&f=false
- ^ https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/item/?type=film&itemid=14418
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=a3FmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA56&dq=%22when+other+lips%22+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijqeGKgsGLAxWFaEEAHYRoIJg4ChDoAXoECAwQAw#v=onepage&q=%22when%20other%20lips%22%20balfe&f=false pp. 63-64
- ^ https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0185-30822016000100099
- ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2YBvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA398&dq=%22when+other+lips%22+balfe&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia3MmghcGLAxVVU0EAHUufAGo4MhDoAXoECAsQAw#v=onepage&q=%22when%20other%20lips%22%20balfe&f=false pp. 347-348
- ^ a b https://archive.org/search?query=%22When+other+lips%22
- ^ a b https://archive.org/search?query=%22Then+you%27ll+remember+me%22
- ^ a b https://www.discogs.com/search?q=%22Then+you%27ll+remember+me%22+Balfe&type=all
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/search?q=%22When+other+lips%22+Balfe&type=all
References
[edit]- Barrett
- Biddlecombe "English Opera from 1834 to 1864"
External links
[edit]
- Antiquary/sandbox: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project