Soprano Elizabeth Wheeler ~ The Last Rose of Summer (1909)

American soprano Elizabeth Wheeler (1875-1971) / The Last Rose of Summer (Moore) / Recorded: July 15, 1909 --

THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER ~ Thomas Moore

The Last Rose Of Summer
Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flow'r of her kindred
No rosebud is nigh
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.

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The Last Rose of Summer is a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore, who was a friend of Byron and Shelley. Moore wrote it in 1805 while at Jenkinstown Park in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Sir John Stevenson set the poem to its widely-known melody, and this was published in a collection of Moore's work called Irish Melodies (1807-34).
Friedrich von Flotow uses the song in his opera "Martha," premiered in 1847 in Vienna. It is a favorite air ("Letzte Rose") of the character Lady Harriet. The interpolation works, and indeed the song helped popularize the opera. (According to the 1954 Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the opera grew from an 1844 ballet-pantomime, "Lady Henriette," for which Flotow wrote the music to Act One. Burgmuller and Deldevez wrote the rest of the music; "Lady Henriette" was produced in Paris.) It has been arranged into a set of extremely difficult variations by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst for the violin. The song is mentioned by James Joyce in Ulysses. As well as being a common phrase, the poem is alluded to in the Grateful Dead song "Black Muddy River". Clannad released a rendition of the song on their album Crann Úll. Sarah Brightman recorded the song for her album The Trees They Grow So High. It was made popular in the twenty-first century in a recording by Charlotte Church and the Irish Tenors. It is sung in the musical group Celtic Woman by Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Hayley Westenra. Chloë Agnew's solo version is recorded on her self-titled album. In the Celtic Woman: A New Journey tours, she sang duets with Ní Mhaolchatha, Westenra, and the vocalist-guitarist of the same group, Lynn Hilary. Agnew and Hilary are performing the same version in the Isle Of Hope tour. Ní Mhaolchatha's solo version is included in her Celtic Journey album. In the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan it is the character Joe Pendeltons inability to play The Last Rose of Summer on his saxophone anything other than badly which allows him to prove that he is alive in another mans body; all the other characters think he is the dead man from whom he got the body, but when he plays the sax for his old boxing manager, he uses the same wrong note in the melody as he always did, and which thus confirms his story of coming back from the after-life.
In the 16th (final) episode of the 6th season of the UK Channel 4 television show Shameless, the song was sung by Jamie Maguire (played by Aaron McCusker) at the funeral of his sister Mandy Maguire (Samantha Siddall).
In the 1995 film An Awfully Big Adventure, the song is used as P.L. O'Hara's theme tune and is a recurrent musical motif in the film's score. The song was featured in Rick Burns' documentary series, New York, broadcast on PBS in the USA. (wikipedia)

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Elizabeth Wheeler (pseudonym: Jane Kenyon)

Jim Walsh of Hobbies Magazine in1961 described Elizabeth Wheeler and William Wheeler as "the most successful husband and wife duet pair in the history of the phonograph." She was born Bess Nicholson in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1875; he was born in Shawano, Wisconsin in 1879. They married in 1904, and performed widely, doing standard ballads, light opera, and hymns. Mr. Wheeler made some solo recordings for Leeds & Caitlin, Edison and others, and then the two began their duet recordings in 1910, for Victor. "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere" was an early hit, though it did not reach the 1917 Victor catalog, where there were 17 other titles by the pair. Their final Victor recording was the most popular one, "What a Friend We have in Jesus." Mrs. Wheeler made many solo Victors beginning in 1909; she sang ballads and children's songs, and also "Elizabeth's Prayer" from Tannhauser. William Wheeler did some solo work for Pathe. They did not record after the acoustic period, and "What a Friend" was the only one of their titles to reach the 1927 Victor catalog. Elizabeth Wheeler died in 1971; William Wheeler died in 1967. (From "The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States" / edited by Guy A. Marco / Garland Publishing, Inc. - 1993)

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• American
• soprano
• Elizabeth
• Wheele
• Acoustic
• 78
• rpm
• CurzonRoad

[dantitustimshu]

Elizabeth Wheeler is a new name to me. Michael Scott's "Record of Singing" left her out altogether. A great pity, since she has an attractive lyric voice, pure and lovely in timbre and her phrasing is expressive. Among her recordings, this old favorite shows all her qualities to the best advantage. Many thanks, Doug, for introducing her to a wider audience.

[CurzonRoad]

@dantitustimshu

Dear Tim: Most welcome! Elizabeth Wheeler made numerous solo, duet and ensemble recordings, mostly on Victor's budget Black Label series which turn up regularly and at bargain prices. She also recorded for Edison, Zon-o-phone, and a number of other minor labels, including Sun. This long-forgotten singer is more than under-appreciated, thus my great pleasure in resurrecting her voice and artistry. Thank you!

[612Matthew]

This is one talented singer! Her breathing technique must be some of the world's best!

[CurzonRoad]

@612Matthew

Greetings... and thank you!

[SuperLuckydream]

Unfortunately, never heard Elizabeth Wheeler before. Love her,especially the delicate emotions, fine phrasing and lovely sound. Thank you,dear Doug, for this discovery.

[DBoneBreaker]

my soul is melting...beautiful

[ccdg1066]

Extraordinary! many thanks for uploading this.

[racheleleeba]

How lovely. Thanks, Doug.

[SandrineSoprano]

Thanks for educative video

[NancyValentino]

Thanks for posting this-such a lovely rendition.

[stuartliff]

Quite lovely! Thank you for this introduction to (for me) a hitherto unknown voice.

Vivian