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Donald Macleod delves into Arthur Sullivan’s early musical inspirations and training.

Sir Arthur Sullivan became the most renowned composer of the Victorian era, with his fame spreading across Europe and America, too. His output spanned many genres including oratorios, a symphony, chamber music, hymns and anthems, but it was for his collaboration with the librettist W.S. Gilbert on operettas that he is best remembered today. He was a personal friend to royalty, and he was knighted when he was in his early 40s. He also had a liking for playing cards, buying race horses and gambling, frequently losing the substantial earnings from the stage works he’d composed. Sullivan became a pillar of the British musical establishment, so when he died, despite wanting to be buried with his family in Brompton Cemetery, he was laid to rest in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, with an additional service at the Chapel Royal in St. James’s Palace.

Sullivan caught the music bug early on in his life, inspired by the military marches he heard living with his family at Sandhurst where his father was a bandsman at the Royal Military College. The Sandhurst parish church also had a huge impact upon the boy, with its congregational singing, and he was soon composing anthems. At the age of 12, Sullivan was accepted as a chorister to the Chapel Royal, and within a few years began further studies at the Royal Academy of Music. His time in London must have had a significant impact upon him, widening his horizons. Sullivan’s musical education was expanded even further with a year-long period in Leipzig, where the music making of the Gewandhaus orchestra made a huge impression. Upon returning to England, Sullivan, at the age of 18, was determined to make his mark as a musician.

HMS Pinafore (Overture)
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Andrew Penny, conductor

HMS Pinafore (When I was a lad)
John Reed (Sir Joseph), baritone
D’Oyly Carte Opera Company
New Symphony Orchestra of London
Isidore Godfrey, conductor

O Israel
Mary Bevan, soprano
David Owen Norris, piano

Ich möchte hinaus es jauchzen
Ashley Riches, bass baritone
David Owen Norris, piano

Overture ‘In Memorium’
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Philharmonic
Richard Hickox, conductor

String Quartet in D minor
Yeomans String Quartet

Mikado (excerpt)
Marie McLaughlin (Yum-Yum), soprano
Janice Watson (Peep-Bo), soprano
Anne Howells (Pitti-Sing), mezzo-soprano
Felicity Palmer (Katisha), mezzo-soprano
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Nanki-Poo), tenor
Richard Suart (Ko-Ko), baritone
Richard Van Allan (Pooh-Bah), bass-baritone
Nicholas Folwell (Pish-Tush), baritone
Welsh National Opera Chorus
Welsh National Opera Orchestra
Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor

Produced by Luke Whitlock