Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Roger Wagner Chorale: Songs of Stephen Foster (1954)


Capitol P8267

I got turned on to Stephen Foster through Nonesuch Records' "Songs By Stephen Foster," so when I saw this LP in the dollar bin at an Austin, Texas record store, I picked it up.

According to wikipedia, "The world's leading conductors and musicians, among them Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer, [and] Serge Koussevitsky, hailed Wagner's incomparable genius in the field of choral music."

This LP is in good shape. A Japanese CD, "Home Sweet Home," was allegedly produced in 2003 containing the contents of this LP as well as the Wagner Chorale's "The Negro Spiritual," however, it appears to be out of print.

Old Black Joe

Some Folks

Beautiful Dreamer

7 comments:

  1. Hard Times Come Again No More is my favorite S. Foster song.

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  2. I have a soft spot for Beautiful Dreamer.

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  3. Ormandy, Klemperer and company are not speaking of THIS Wagner, but of Richard Wagner, a german composer. Only for the record ;)

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  4. You may be right, wikipedia is full of inaccuracies, however, these quotes are from therogerwagnerchorale.com:

    "...the finest chorus I have ever conducted."
    "Thank you for doing such a magnificent job for choral music in our great country." - Eugene Ormandy

    "I shall always remember your great art and the wonderful chorus you have created...it is second to none in the world." - Leopold Stokowski

    "...Roger Wagner, the great chorus master and genuine musician and to his excellent chorus." - Bruno Walter

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  5. Really enjoyed the 3 songs. They brought back a lot of fond memories from my high school days.

    My other favorite Stephen Foster songs are: My old Kentucky home, Old folks at home, De Camptown Race, I dream of Jeannie with the light brown hair, Oh Susanna.

    If these songs are on the LP, would love to see them posted.

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  6. This was one of my dad's favourite LPs, After he passed, we sorted thru all the LPs and kept the favourites, including this one. But somehow over the years, it has disappeared. I've been trying and hoping to find it on CD but no luck. But I keep trying.. hoping...

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  7. You might try buying a copy of the LP (there is one on Ebay in the US for $3 right now) and finding someone who can digitize it for you.

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