News photo, Jan. 1910, Amy Evans, as she appeared in W.S. Gilbert's last production Fallen Fairies (music by Edward German)
Evans' only cataloged recordings were made prior to 1911 for Pathe and Edison Bell. Known details are listed below. In her personal notes, Evans mentions that she recorded a series of songs for U.S. Columbia during the 1920s, but the masters were destroyed in a traffic accident. Surviving copies of three of these recordings have recently surfaced.
MP3 samples
Judging by enthusiastic reviews of her oratorio performances from from English and American critics, it was during this last, unrecorded period that she developed into a performer of style and power.
In 1983, when she passed away in Baltimore at the age of 98, she was the last living person to have performed at the Savoy Theatre in an original W.S. Gilbert production--the last surviving Savoyard. (full story to be added to this page at a later date).
There have also been hints that she recorded for Victor (date unknown), and that she recorded the first synchronized sound for Pathé Freres (1908, Lo here the Gentle Lark by Bishop) We have not confirmed either of these rumors.
John Wolfson,
The Savoyards on record : the story of the singers who worked with Gilbert and Sullivan and the records they made (Chichester : Packard, 1985.)
- 14202 'Y Deryn Pur'
- 14208 Blodwen. 'Hywel a Blodwen' (w. John Roberts) (Joseph Parry)
- 14209 'Llam y Cariadau' (R.S. Hughes)
Vertical-cut Cylinders and Discs (London, 1971)
Marc Shepherd,
online Gilbert & Sullivan discography
Details of the original Yeomen recordings and the Art of the Savoyard LP
John W. N. Francis,
ARSC Journal Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 1989. Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas on 78s
- 60543 Theodora: Angels ever bright and fair (Handel)
- 60564 Faust: Then leave her (w. Alfred Heather [ten], Bantock Pierpoint [bar])
- 77114 Country Girl: Boy and Girl (Monckton) (w. Francis Ludlow [bar])
- 77115 Veronique: The donkey duet (Messager) (w. Francis Ludlow)
- 77116 Veronique: Swing song (Messager) (w. Francis Ludlow)
- 77117 Cingalee: You and I (Monckton) (w. Francis Ludlow)
with Emily Foxcroft [ms], Ben Ivor [ten], Francis Ludlow [bar],and Bantock Pierpoint [bar], recorded in 1907.
The Pathé Yeoman was privately reissued on an unnumbered cassette by the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society in 1987. Two of Amy Evans' cuts from the 1907 Yeoman were reissued on the LP set The Art of the Savoyard - Volume I, 1973 Pearl Mono LP GEM 118-120. These are the only known examples of Amy Evans singing to be issued on modern, commercial media.
Evans contributions to the set (* = reissued on Pearl LP)
- 76070 The prisoner comes Evans & Chorus
- 76072 A man who would woo a fair maid Evans, Foxcroft & Ivor *
- 76073 How say you, maiden? Evans, Pierpoint, Ludlow
- 76074 When a wooer goes a-wooing Evans, Foxcroft, Ivor & Ludlow
- 76079 I have a song to sing, O [Finale Act II] Evans, Foxcroft, Ludlow & Chorus
- 76080 Strange adventure Evans, Foxcroft, Pierpoint & Ivor *
(thanks to Tim Gracyk for this information)
- Matrix - The Last Rose of Summer (Moore) 12183 - issued Jul 1910
- Matrix - The Dawn (Guy d'Hardelot) - 13989 - issued Aug 1910
- Matrix - The Kerry Dance (Molloy) 12217 - issued Sep 1910 -
- Matrix - I Wish I Were A Tiny Bird (Lohr) - 14013 - issued Oct 1910 -
Columbia Master Book Discography (1999, Brooks, Rust, Greenwood Press).
In her personal notes, Amy Evans states that she made some recordings for U.S. Columbia during the 1920s, but the masters for these recordings were destroyed when the truck carrying them overturned.
In 2001, the following test pressings from that series surfaced, the first confirmation of Ms. Evans' notes. They were acquired in an estate sale in the Baltimore area and the name of Arthur Bergh was hand-written on the labels.
Bergh (1882-1962), who worked as a house pianist at Columbia during the 1920s, was also a violinist and composer. After his Columbia years (ca. 1941?) he migrated to Hollywood, where he worked for the rest of his life as a music librarian for film studios. It is not clear that Bergh actually played on these recordings, only that they were once his property. Bergh also accompanied Fraser Gange on several of his Columbia recordings.
These specific matrix numbers are not listed in the Columbia Master Book Discography and the 175000-176300 number series seems to have been used only for 10 inch trials, special and personal recordings made during the period 1926-1932. (Vol. 1, Appendix B, pg. 421)
- 175130-1 - My Dearest Heart - piano accomp. - August 27, 1926 - composer Arthur Sullivan (lyrics uncredited on sheet music) -
- 175213-1 - A Brown Bird Singing - recorded Nov. 22, 1926- piano accomp. - composer Hayden Wood, words Royden Barrie
- 175263-1 - I Wonder If Love is a Dream - recorded Jan. 10, 1927* - piano accomp. - composer Dorothy Forster, words Edward Teschemacher.