TRAILER WITH MUSIC FROM THE LOST CHORD

Austin Macauley made a trailer for my book Mary Copeland – Victorian Detective Book One. The trailer shows the book and broadly explains what it is about. Interesting is the music placed underneath. I chose to use a recording from 1888. It is one of the first recorded pieces. In 1888, Thomas Edison (Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931), the famous inventor, sent his Phonograph to Mr. George Gouraud in England. George Edward Gouraud (June 30, 1842 – February 20, 1912) was a veteran of the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honour. He introduced the Phonograph in England. There he recorded a song written by Arthur Sullivan: The Lost Chord. The song was recorded with a piano and a cornet. On August 14, 1888, the recording was presented to the press.

As said, the music for The Lost Chord was written by Arthur Sullivan (Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (May 13, 1842 – November 22, 1900). He was already a well-known composer at the time. However, he was not satisfied with the result of the song which he had written five years earlier. He took the lyrics from a poem by the also famous poet Adelaide Anne Procter (30 October 1825 – 2 February 1864). On his brother’s deathbed, however, Sullivan was inspired to complete the song to his own satisfaction. The song was published in January 1877, five days before Sullivan’s brother’s death. It quickly became extremely successful, especially during the 1870s and 1880s. Many artists have performed the song, and it is still played and sung to this day.

Sullivan himself was there when a speech he gave for Edison was recorded on October 15, 1888. However, the recordings of The Lost Chord and the speech were lost (the irony is not far away) and it was not until the 1950s that they were found again in the Edison Library in New Jersey.

Arthur Sullivan became famous for his collaboration with Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911). Gilbert & Sullivan’s musicals were legendary.

Mary Copeland’s stories begin in December 1888, and I thought it would be nice to play the music from that time. She must have heard it, though she’s a fictional character, of course, but the people I’ve featured in the book who actually lived will certainly have known it. The fact that the quality leaves something to be desired and sounds like an LP that has been played too often only adds the charm of the history and colours the stories.

This article includes a link to the trailer (it will open in YouTube), as well as a portrait of Arthur Sullivan from 1888. I may just feature him in one of the upcoming stories. Time will tell.

With kind regards,

Robbert Jan.

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