Everyone has heard of Gilbert and Sullivan and their comedic operettas. However, Arthur Sullivan was a successful composer in his own right, and indeed it was his independent compositions that won him his knighthood from Queen Victoria.
In 1877, Sullivan's brother Fred was on his death bed. Sullivan composed this music while sitting at Fred's bedside, using the poem "A Lost Chord" by Adelaide Anne Proctor. It became wildly popular, perhaps his most famous work outside of his operettas. Thomas Edison recorded this on his new fangled phonograph on this day in 1888, one of the first musical recordings ever made. Jimmy Durante recorded a song "I'm The Guy Who Found The Lost Chord" which inspired The Moody Blues to write "In Search Of The Lost Chord".
Amazing work and thanks for the history lesson today!
ReplyDeleteI called up the lyrics and followed along as they sung. What a powerful piece of music!
ReplyDelete(My eyes are leaking.)
Don't forget about "Onward Christian Soldiers".
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