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9 TREBLES Featured Boy Sopranos | All Trebles | Boy Altos | Soloist Recordings | Chorister of the Year | 78 RPM | Pop Singles

  Desmond Casey   [William Desmond Casey]    (b. 8 August 1918) Boy Soprano Soloist 
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Advertised as "The Phenomenal Australian Boy Soprano."
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Featured Recordings Compact | Full
no cover
Weatherly: Danny Boy / Molloy: Love's old sweet song (Parlophone R.1442 (10-inch), 78 RPM) March 1933
Featuring Desmond Casey  
A: Danny Boy (incipit: O Danny Boy, the pipes are calling.) (wds F.E. Weatherly (1848-1929), who in 1913 arr. the old Irish tune "Londonderry Air", which appears first to have been publ. in 1855)
B: Love's old sweet song (song, 1884: wds Graham Clifton Bingham (1859-1913) - music James Lynam Molloy (1837-1909))
Rec. late? 1932?

"[He] has a good voice and uses it very well, on the whole, perhaps with somewhat exceptional ease." (From review in "The Gramophone" March 1933, p. 399.)

"Desmond Casey certainly has an unusual voice, and Parlophone have brought it all the way from Australia. He is not of the ordinary 'piping' boy soprano type, for in addition to being clear and pure in his tones, there is a rich quality not often found in boys. Also he has a sense of interpretation." (Anonymous review in "The Sound Wave" [London], March 1933, p. 91.)

The accomp. is not given in either the review or advertisement in "The Gramophone", nor in Parlophone's 1934 catalogue.
  Side A -   Danny Boy (Weatherly)  
  Side B -   Love's old sweet song (Molloy)  
Other Recordings Compact | Full
Desmond Casey - The Better Land Volume 6
The Better Land Volume 6 (Amphion PHI CD 220, CD) May 2007
Featuring The Better Land Series   Frank Bird   Richard Bonsall   Master Vernon Carter   Desmond Casey   Thomas Criddle   John Evans-Pughe   Robin Fairhurst   John Gwilym Griffith(s)   Raymond Kinsey   Walter Lawrence   Michael Lumb   Billy Neely   Christopher Robins   Mansel Squire   The Choir of St. Nicholas' College, Chislehurst   Robert 'Bobby' Waddell  
The Better Land Volume 6, with Master Thomas Criddle's photo on the cover, features some previously unissued recordings and broadcasts from the days when 'bel canto' and 'Old Cathedral Tone' was taught to our finest soloists. In addition to a previously 'lost' recording of Billy Neely, this includes broadcast recordings of Master Robin Fairhurst (Temple Church) and an unpublished recording of Vernon Carter.

The choristers of St Nicholas' College Chislehurst feature by popular request in their famous 'Brother James' Air and O Lovely Peace. Master Thomas Criddle's amazing voice has excited much comment by reviewers and singing teachers.
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This disc is quite remarkable for the wide range of vocal qualities and styles displayed, spanning a period of nearly 60 years. The two tracks by John Gwilym Griffith (new to CD) are alone worth the price of the disc, being sung with exquisite tone, style and feeling. Walter Lawrence, the New York choirboy, shows us in a track from 100 years ago, an amazingly easy vocal mastery of coloratura in "Rejoice Greatly" (Messiah), despite the slightly hurried tempi necessary to fit the (abridged) aria onto a 4-minute disc. The French song on his other track is another example of excellent technique and breath control. Thomas Criddle again shows a very attractive, pure, clear voice and good style in his May 1943 items. Frank Bird (also newly on CD), sounding younger than his 15¼ years, is a fine example of the English parish choirboy between the wars. Other tracks are perhaps not quite as pleasurable, but rewarding in their own way as historically illustrative. Michael Lumb and John Evans-Pugh sing in an over-refined or "precious" manner now outdated and probably not to most tastes. Robin Fairhurst lacks the necessary "steel" in his voice and has less than ideal breath control, while Raymond Kinsey (so prized in volumes 4 & 5) here sounds tired in a laboured account of Gounod's "Ave Maria". Mansel Squire's rendering of "I know that my Redeemer liveth" (Messiah) is rather curious: worryingly hesitant and inexpressive, without the progress from conviction in the opening lines, through triumph to awe and wonder at Divine grace, which the very best singers bring to the piece. He is not helped by an uninspiring organ accompaniment. One can only assume that limited studio time precluded a re-take. In summary, with a total playing time of 76 minutes this is a valuable document for those interested in the singing styles of boy soloists (both choristers and entertainers) since the earliest days of recording and the disc bears repeated careful listening. BJP
  1.   That Old-Fashioned Mother of Mine (David / Nicholls)   Master Thomas Criddle
  2.   I give thanks for you (Linton / Young)   Master Thomas Criddle
  3.   Rejoice Greatly (Handel -- The Messiah)   Master Walter Lawrence
  4.   Come unto Him (Handel -- The Messiah)   Master Robert Waddell
  5.   How beautiful are the feet (Handel -- The Messiah)   Master John Gwilym Griffith
  6.   I know that my Redeemer liveth (Handel -- The Messiah)   Master Mansel Squire
  7.   Danny Boy (F.E. Weatherly / Old Irish tune Londonderry Air)   Master Desmond Casey
  8.   Drink to me only with thine eyes (Ben Jonson / traditional English air)   Master John Gwilym Griffith
  9.   Brother James' Air (Psalm 23 / Marosa by J.L.M. Bain, arr. G. Jacobs)   Masters Michael Lumb & John Evans-Pughe
10.   O lovely peace (Handel -- Judas Maccabeus)   Masters John Evans-Pughe & Michael Lumb and the Choristers of St. Nicholas' College, Chiselhurst, Kent.
11.   Song of Songs (Lucas / Moya)   Master Frank Bird
12.   Villanelle (The Lark's Song, sung in French) (F. van der Elst / Eva Dell'Acqua)   Master Walter Lawrence
13.   A Tragic Story (Thackeray / Britten)   Master Billy Neely. Recording issued for the first time.
14.   Sheep may safely graze (Bach BWV208)   Master Robin Fairhurst
15.   Where e'er you walk (Handel -- Semele)   Master Robin Fairhurst
16.   The Tailor and the Mouse (traditional)   Master Robin Fairhurst. Recording issued for the first time.
17.   Ave Maria (sung in English) (Gounod)   Master Raymond Kinsey
18.   Turn Thy Face from my Sins (Attwood)   Master Vernon Carter. Recording issued for the first time.
19.   Tell Me, Lovely Shepherd (E. Moore / W. Boyce -- Solomon)   Master Christopher Robins. Recording issued for the first time.
20.   Santa Lucia   Master Richard Bonsall
21.   Daddy (Mark-Lemon / Behrend)   Master Thomas Criddle
22.   I shall be there (Bowler / Haydn Wood)   Master Thomas Criddle
Email   Stephen Beet Order directly from Stephen Beet to avail of the special price: Each CD is £10 plus postage.
The Better Land set of six CDs is £55 plus postage. (This includes a copy of Mr. Beet's book "The Better Land - In search of the lost boy sopranos." Please contact Mr. Beet StephenRBeet@gmail.com. PayPal address: beetstphn@aol.com Prices quoted in Euro and other currency on request.
This page last modified on Sunday, February 18, 2007
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