1929 Edith Sitwell FACADE Constant Lambert William Walton HMV Model 1A Record Changer

Played on the superb 1929 HMV Model 1 Automatic Gramphone: The Famous first 1929 recording of Façade - An Entertainment with poet Edith Sitwell and Constant Lambert reciting, William Walton conducting.

The British poet Edith Sitwell created the cycled of poems in the 1920s, her protege, William Walton composed the music. Constant Lambert - a famous conductor and writer - was the reciter when Facade receive its first European performance at the ISCM Festival in Siena in September 1928.
Lambert "has a perfect instrument of this performance, a speaker sans pareil of the verse, clear, rapid incisive, tireless and commanding voally an extraordinary
range of inflection from menace to the threat of doom to the most debonair and jaunty inconsequence.
His unique performance was fortunately preserved when, on 28 November 1929, he and Edith made the celebrated recording of eleven number for the Decca Record Company in the New Chenil Galleries with William Walting conducting. Certainly no subsequent ecording - and one may dare suggest performance - has quite matched these performers and no-one has equalled Lambert's faultless delivery.
Walton himself considered it 'the best recording there is: "Lambert's performance is the best I've ever had or ever shall have."

The record is being played on the first British Record Changer, Hist Master's Voice Model 1 Automatic. This example in a unique Hepplewhite inlaid satinwood period cabinet was built in the summer of 1929, it is state of the art in high fidelity of its time, with a sophisticated No 5A soundbox and one of the largest internal Re-entrant horns ever built for a phonograph.

To learn more about the HMV Model 1 Automatic, check my website at:

http://myvintagetv.com/updatepages1/changer%20videos/changer_videos.htm

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[FCO0710]

historically this is cool, but goodness does it sound awful

[sanfranphono]

@FCO0710 It grows on you ...

[transformingArt]

Somewhat bizarre, but very, very interesting. Thanks for posting this record. The HMV instrument sounds superb, too - wish I could hear it by myself.

[sanfranphono]

@transformingArt This is the BRITISH Pierrot Lunair - 20 years later.

As to the sound - recordings made at the same time as the equipment always sound best

[Bootsandgloves68]

Thank you for posting this incredible record. Years ago I was given a record of Edith Sitwell's "Façade" spoken by herself. Since then, I was fascinated by the modernity and beauty of her poems and the music by Wiliam Walton. I did not know, however, that this sensational recording existed. And it sounds fantastic on your HMV Model 1 Automatic. What a clear sound.