"Of
Pleasures There are Many"

Many Gilbert
and Sullivan compilation albums have been issued over the years and these
largely consist of tracks taken from the complete recordings. However, on four
occasions D'Oyly Carte entered the Decca studios with the aim of specially
recording individual highlights from the operas. The first occasion was to
record excerpts from Utopia Ltd to pad out the 1963 recording of Trial,
while the other occasions were to specifically record three individual
'highlights' LPs; "G&S Spectacular", "G&S Choruses" and "Songs and Snatches".
This special jam-packed CD set, containing many items that have never been
reissued on CD, brings together ALL of these recordings and also captures
many important stage portrayals which were not otherwise recorded, such as Alan
Styler's Captain Corcoran, John Webley's Samuel, Philip Potter's Dick Dauntless,
etc. The cast is a Who's Who of a D'Oyly Carte golden age - John Reed,
Kenneth Sandford, Thomas Round, Donald Adams, Philip Potter, Alan Styler, Thomas
Lawlor, John Ayldon, John Webley, Clifford Parkes, Anthony Raffell, Ralph Mason,
Valerie Masteron, Christene Palmer, Peggy Ann Jones, Julia Goss, Ann Hood, Anne
Guthrie, Pauline Wales - who are led by three of the greatest G&S conductors of
their age, Isidore Godfrey, Sir Malcolm Sargent and James Walker, conducting two
of the world's leading orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic and Covent Garden.
Restored from the Decca master tapes, issued
under license from Universal (Decca) and with notes by David Steadman and Jim
Craig.
