NORMAN ALLIN (19 NOVEMBER 1884, ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE - 27 OCTOBER 1973, PONTRILAS)
He studied at the
Royal Manchester College of Music under John Acton (singing) and Walter Carroll
(theory). He wed the singer Edith Clegg in 1912 and went to London, where the
conductor Henry J. Wood heard him and planned to involve him in the 1914 Norwich
Festival. Unfortunately, the festival was interrupted by the outbreak of World
War One. However, Allin did sing the Handel aria "O ruddier than the
cherry", from Acis and Galatea, at a Promenade Concert for Henry Wood
during the war. (He was not called up for military service owing to the fact he
was classified in a low medical grade.) Sir Thomas Beecham auditioned him and
at once offered him the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, but Allin
felt a less challenging debut was needed. So, his first appearance for Beecham
was as the Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila on 15 October 1916. With the Beecham
Opera Company he appeared, too, in Verdi's Aida. He first sang at a Royal
Philharmonic concert, again under Beecham's baton, in 1918. He later appeared
as Boris, as Gurnemanz in Wagner's Parsifal, Hagen in Wagner's Götterdämmerung
and Baron Ochs in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at the Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden. In 1921, he became founder-member of the British National Opera
Company. Allin created the role of Sir John Falstaff in Holst's 1925 opera At
the Boar's Head. In 1934, he appeared in the initial Glyndebourne Festival
production under Fritz Busch and Carl Ebert of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro.
Henry Wood later wrote (in 1938) that had Allin not possessed such a retiring
disposition, he might have become one of the world's most celebrated operatic
basses, and that even so, his stage roles numbered almost 50. During the Second
World War (1939-1945), he was a member of the Carl Rosa Opera Company. This
company gave London seasons, during which Allin appeared alongside fellow
singers Joan Hammond, Gwen Catley, Heddle Nash, Dennis Noble, Parry Jones and
Tudor Davies. Allin's career was not restricted to opera, however, and he was
perhaps best known to contemporary music-goers as a concert recitalist and an
oratorio singer. He appeared before the Royal Philharmonic Society in a Royal
Choral Society Beethoven Missa Solemnis in 1927 under Sir Hugh Allen. In 1932,
after giving his 270th performance of Handel's Messiah, at a Halle concert, he
decided not to sing the part again. He always gave the greatest satisfaction
when he sang in music festivals, and Wood felt that he could trust him with
anything. He was one of the soloists in the original line-up for Vaughan
Williams's Serenade to Music on 5 October 1938. Allin's line goes down to low
D; the words set for his solo are 'The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.' He was also in the performance of it for
the Royal Philharmonic Society, on behalf of the Musicians' Benevolent Fund, in
February 1940. In 1934 he took part in a seven-month operatic tour in
Australia, appearing mainly in Melbourne and Sydney. On his return he was
offered a professorship of singing at the Royal Academy of Music, and took it
up in autumn 1935. Later he also accepted a similar appointment at the Royal
Manchester College, which he held jointly with the other, only resigning the
Manchester post in 1942 owing to pressure of work in London. Among Allin's
pupils were Jean Allister, Pamela Bowden, Richard Lewis, Norman Lumsden and Ian
Wallace (who followed his teacher into the role of Bartolo at Glyndebourne).
Allin's voice possessed a depth, authority and resonance rare in modern-day
British basses, the preferred style of voice now being lighter and less
magisterial. His singing technique was exemplary and his vocal production was
smooth and extremely attractive in tone, as his recordings verify.
TRACKLIST
Acis and Galatea
(Händel) I rage, I melt, I burn 747 76341 Columbia, London 1918
As I sit here
(Sanderson) DB1869 CA17498 Columbia, London 1938
Asleep in the deep
(Petrie) L1430 74349 Columbia, London 1922
At love's beginning
(Lehmann) (w. Labbette) 4739 WA6468 Columbia, London 1927
Blow, blow thou
winter wind (Ketelby) L1474 76865 Columbia, London 1923
Bound for the Rio
Grande (arr Terry) D1592 WA2813 Columbia, London 1926-01
Death and the maiden
(Schubert) 5019 WA7339 Columbia, London 1928-05
Edward (Loewe) 9874,
WAX4059 Columbia, London 1928-10
Edward (Loewe) L1466
75235 Columbia, London 1922
Entführung aus dem
Serail (Mozart) See the way you rogues D1525 A2109 Columbia, London 1925
Entführung aus dem
Serail (Mozart) When a maiden L1504 76877 Columbia, London 1923
Excelsior (Balfe) (w.
Eisdell) DX79 WAX5481 Columbia, London 1930
Father O'Flynn (arr
Stanford) 5356, WA8490 Columbia, London 1929-01
Faust (Gounod)
Serenade 747 76444 Columbia, London 1919
Fidelio (Beethoven)
Life is nothing without money D1592 WA5621 Columbia, London 1927
Genevieve de Brabant
(Offenbach) Gendarmes duet (w. Mullings) L1735 WAX1262 Columbia, London 1926-01
Götterdämmerung
(Wagner) Hagen's call L1488 AX88 Columbia, London 1923
Götterdämmerung
(Wagner) Hagen's watch L1488 AX87 Columbia, London 1923
Holy city; Nearer my
God to Thee; Abide with me... The better land; The Lord is my light; The lost
chord (w. Baillie, Serena & Russell) DX296, DX296, CAX6163, CAX6164 Columbia,
London
In a Persian Garden
(Lehmann) Myself when young L1466 75236 Columbia, London 1922
In springtime
(Newton) (w. Labbette) 4739 WA6467 Columbia, London 1927
Invictus (Huhn) 2669
WA3378 Columbia, London 1926-06
Judas Maccabaeus
(Händel) The Lord worketh wonders D1505 A24 Columbia, London 1923
Juive (Halévy) Tho'
faithless men L1996 WAX2518 Columbia, London 1927
King Charles (White)
DB300 WA9947 Columbia, London 1929
Love and war (Cooke)
(w. Mullings) L1735 WAX1261 Columbia, London 1926-01
May Queen (Bennett)
Tis jolly to hunt L1790 WAX1271 Columbia, London 1926-01
Messiah (Händel) But
who may abide L1453 75192-1 Columbia, London 1922-09
Messiah (Händel) The
people that walked in darkness L1446 75182-2 Columbia, London 1922-09
Messiah (Händel) The
trumpet sjall sound L1446 75181 Columbia, London 1922-09
Messiah (Händel) Why
do the nations L1453 75191-1 Columbia, London 1922-09
Nazareth (Gounod)
L1455 74278 Columbia, London 1922
Passing by (Purcell)
(w. Eisdell, Nash & Noble) 5579 WA9339-1 Columbia, London 1929-07-19
Philémon et Baucis
(Gounod) Vulcan's song Columbia 713 76069
Reine de Saba
(Gounod) She alone charmeth DX125 WAX5663 Columbia, London 1930-08
Rocked in the cradle
of the deep (Knight) 5356, WA7985 Columbia, London 1928-10
Roll on, thou deep
and dark vlue ocean (Petrie) L2006, WAX2519 Columbia, London 1927
Samson (Händel)
Honour and arms DX125 WAX5664 Columbia, London 1930-08
Scipione (Händel)
Hear me, ye winds and waves L1790 WAX1553 Columbia, London 1926-05
Serenade to Music
(Williams), pt 1, 2, 3, 4 (w. Desmond, Brunskill, Jarred, Baillie, Allen,
Suddaby, Turner, Balfour, Nash, Widdop, Jones, Titterton, Henderson, Easton,
Williams & chorus) LX757, LX757, LX758, LX758, CAX8367, CAX8368, CAX8369,
CAX8370 Columbia, London 1938-10-15
Simon the cellarer
(Hutton) L2006, WAX2622 Columbia, London 1927
Simone Boccanegra
(Verdi) The broken spirit L1553 AX280 Columbia, London 1924
Sleep my Saviour,
sleep (Hedgcock) (w. Baillie, Brunskill & Nash) DB976 CA13155-2 Columbia,
London 1932-10-20
Son and Stranger
(Mendelssohn) I am a roamer D1505 A138 Columbia, London 1923
Song of Hybrias the
Cretan (Elliott) L1414 74279 Columbia, London 1922
Song of the Volga
boatmen (Koenemann) L1504 AX140 Columbia, London 1923
Tavern song (Fisher)
D1525 A2134 Columbia, London 1925
Tempest (Purcell)
Arise, ye subterranean winds 9929 WAX4858 Columbia, London 1929-0304_992
Tempest (Purcell)
Arise, ye subterranean winds L1414 74280 Columbia, London 1922
Tempest (Purcell) See
the heavens smile 9929 WAX4691 Columbia, London 1929-0304
The battle eve
(Bonheur) (w. Eisdell) DX79 WAX5482 Columbia, London 1930
The diver (Loder)
L1430 74362 Columbia, London 1922
The Erlking
(Schubert) L2038 WAX2806 Columbia, London 1927
The midnight review
(Glinka) 9874, WAX2945 Columbia, London 1927
The midnight review
(Glinka) L1474 76866 Columbia, London 1923
The midshipmite
(Adams) DX106 WAX5609 Columbia, London 1930
The mighty deep (Jude)
5398 WA8494 Columbia, London 1929-01
The organ grinder
(Schubert) 5019 WA7340 Columbia, London 1928-05
The palms (Faure)
L1455 75203 Columbia, London 1922
The powder monkey
(Watson) DX106 WAX5610 Columbia, London 1930
The storm fiend
(Roeckel) 5398, WA8495 Columbia, London 1929-01
The two beggars
(Wilson) (w. Mullings) L1774 WAX1260 Columbia, London 1926-01
The Wolf (Shield)
DX450 CAX6646 Columbia, London 1933-01
There is a green
hill; Ave Maria; O for the wings of a dove... As pants the hart; Ave Maria (w. Baillie,
& Nash) DX373, DX373, CAX6359, CAX6360 Columbia, London 1932-03-24
Tommy Lad (Margetson)
DB300 WA9946 Columbia, London 1929
Vêpres Siciliennes
(Verdi) O fair Palermo L1553 AX279 Columbia, London 1924
Watchman, what of the
night (Sargeant) (w. Mullings) L1774 WAX1259 Columbia, London 1926-01
When the king went
forth to war (Koenemann) L2038 WAX1528 Columbia, London 1926-05
Where be you going
(Holbrooke); Old clothes and fine clothes (Shaw) 5140 WA7347 Columbia, London
1928-05
Zauberflöte (Mozart)
O Isis and Osiris L1384 74088 Columbia, London 1920
Zauberflöte (Mozart)
Within this hallowed dwelling 9802 WAX1266 Columbia, London 1926-01
Zauberflöte (Mozart)
Within this hallowed dwelling L1384 74087 Columbia, London 1920