{"id":1199,"date":"2017-11-22T17:23:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T17:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ripm.org\/cnc\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2017-11-22T17:23:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T17:23:40","slug":"ripms-illustrations-of-the-weekarthur-sullivan-in-the-musical-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnc.ripm.org\/?p=1199","title":{"rendered":"RIPM’s “Illustrations of the Week”Arthur Sullivan in The Musical World <\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

An amusing feature of the London journal The Musical World<\/em> is a series of illustrations by the English tenor Charles Lyall.\u00a0 One of his many subjects was English composer Sir Arthur Sullivan.\u00a0 Though he also composed serious choral, ballet, and orchestral works, Sullivan is best known for his fourteen \u201ccomic operas\u201d created with librettist W.S. Gilbert.\u00a0 They are often referred to as \u201cSavoy operas,\u201d named after the Savoy Theatre, a London venue built specifically to showcase Gilbert and Sullivan operas.\u00a0 Many of these works, like the Pirates of Penzance<\/em> and The Mikado, <\/em>continue to have broad international success.
\nOn<\/span> the 117th<\/sup> anniversary of his passing, we present these four illustrations.<\/p>\n

This depicts Arthur Sullivan after receiving an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University in 1876.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Musical World, <\/em>Vol. 54 No. 28 (8 July 1876): 467.<\/h6>\n

After traveling to Egypt in 1882, there was much speculation that Sullivan was composing a symphony on Egyptian themes.\u00a0 The symphony never materialized, but Lyall fueled the rumor with this illustration.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Musical World, <\/em>Vol. 60 No. 14 (8 April 1882): 212.<\/h6>\n

Sullivan\u2019s conducting was often criticized as being unenergetic and restrained.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Musical World, <\/em>Vol. 56 No. 39 (28 September 1878): 626.<\/h6>\n

He invariably sat in the usual high chair and seemed to keep his eyes always on the score in front of him.\u00a0 His beat was restrained and rather cramped, his baton moving across the top or up and down the sides of the score.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

David Bispham, A Quaker Singer\u2019s Recollections <\/em>(New York, 1920): 174-175.<\/p>\n

An illustration entitled, “In Purgatory,” depicts Sullivan tormented by Anton Rubinstein at the piano (left), Richard Wagner (upper right), and a variety of devilish gremlins.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Musical World, <\/em>Vol. 56 No. 33 (17 August 1878): 530.<\/h6>\n

A common, humorous trademark of Gilbert and Sullivan\u2019s operas is the patter song, featuring a rapid paced, tongue-twisting text sung by a comic bass or baritone.\u00a0 Here is a famous example: \u201cI am the Very Model of a Modern Major General,\u201d from Act I of the Pirates of Penzance.<\/em><\/p>\n

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