Frederic Clay
Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for songs and his music written for the stage. Although from a musical family, for 16 years Clay made his living as a civil servant in HM Treasury, composing in his spare time, until a legacy in 1873 enabled him to become a full-time composer. He had his first big stage success with Ages Ago (1869), a short comic opera with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert, for the small Gallery of Illustration; it ran well and was repeatedly revived. Clay, a great friend of his fellow composer Arthur Sullivan, introduced the latter to Gilbert, leading to the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership. In addition to Gilbert, Clay's librettists during his 24-year career included B. C. Stephenson, Tom Taylor, T. W. Robertson, Robert Reece and G. R. Sims. The last of his four pieces with Gilbert was Princess Toto (1875), which had short runs in the West End and in New York. Clay's other compositions include cantatas and numerous individual songs. His last two works were both successful operas composed in 1883, The Merry Duchess and The Golden Ring. He then suffered a stroke that paralysed him at the age of 44 and ended his career. The historian Kurt Gänzl has called Clay "the first significant composer of the modern era of British musical theatre", but even his most successful stage works were soon eclipsed by those of Gilbert and Sullivan. During his lifetime he was best known for his parlour songs, which were familiar throughout Britain. Clay's music was widely regarded as not particularly original or memorable, but musicianly and pleasing. |
Birth and Death Data: Born August 3, 1840 (Paris), Died November 24, 1889 (Buckinghamshire)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1898 - 1928
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-42 of 42 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 48682 | 12-in. | 4/7/1916 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Harling Mixed Quartet | Mixed vocal quartet | composer | |
Columbia | 48885 | 12-in. | 8/9/1916 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Vernon Stiles | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 48940 | 12-in. | 10/4/1916 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | James Harrod | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 49731 | 12-in. | 1/7/1920 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | George Meader | Male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | 6037 | 12-in. | approximately 1909 or 1910 | The sands o' Dee | Edgar Coyle | Male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | 6187 | 12-in. | approximately 1911 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Morgan Kingston | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 75158 | 12-in. | 7/18/1922 | She wandered down the mountain side | Albert W. Ketelbey ; Dora Labbette | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 75956 | 12-in. | approximately 1917 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Ben Davies | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 76800 | 12-in. | 2/25/1920 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Hubert Eisdell ; Hamilton Harty | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Brunswick | 3291-3292 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1919 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Theo Karle | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 3090 | 10-in. | June 1914 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Paul Althouse | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 5264 | 10-in. | 1/4/1917 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Robert D. Armour | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 6507 | 10-in. | between 12/16/1918 and 12/23/1918 | Gipsy John | Charles F. Robinson | Bass vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 6549 | 10-in. | 1/6/1919 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Albert Lindquest | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 9364 | 10-in. | 2/4/1924 | The sands o' Dee | Arthur Middleton | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Gramophone | 1973f | 12-in. | approximately Aug. 1907 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Edward Lloyd | Tenor vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Gramophone | 4854h | 10-in. | 11/15/1906 | I'll sing thee songs of Araby | Evan Williams | Male vocal solo, with piano | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clay, Frederic," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103980.
Clay, Frederic. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103980.
"Clay, Frederic." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Frederic Clay
Discogs: Frederic Clay
Allmusic: Frederic Clay
Grove: Frederic Clay
IMSLP: Frederic Clay
RISM: Frederic Clay
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Clay, Frederic, 1838-1889 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82205494
Wikidata: Frederic Clay - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5497008
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/61731305
MusicBrainz: Frederic Clay - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b73951a7-0a75-4dc3-8e7b-df86a1d8775d
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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