The Haydn Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Haydn Quartet was one of the most popular recording close harmony
quartets in the early twentieth century.
Originally Samuel Holland Rous (who recorded as S. H. Dudley, but is not to be confused with the black vaudeville performer Sherman H. Dudley
) formed a vocal quartet in 1896 to record for Edison’s studios. After replacing the two tenor singers the quartet sang as the "Edison Quartet." The name Haydn Quartet was used to allow them to record elsewhere. The name Haydn was a homage to the classical composer; the spelling was later revised to Hayden, which reflects the way it was pronounced.
Recording both a cappella
and with some of the day's biggest solo stars, including Billy Murray
and Corinne Morgan, they were one of the most successful acts of the century's first decade. They produced several American best-sellers, including perennial favorites "Bring Back My Bonnie To Me" (1901), "Sunbonnet Sue" (1908), and "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" (1910).
Before 1910, they also performed on vaudeville and minstrel show records, one of which, "The Camp Meeting Jubilee", released in 1904 as Victor Records no. 4003, includes a very early recorded use of the phrase "rocking and rolling", albeit used with a spiritual rather than secular connotation.
Close harmony
Close harmony is an arrangement of the notes of chords within a narrow range. It is different from open harmony or voicing in that it uses each part on the closest harmonizing note , while the open voicing uses a broader pitch array expanding the harmonic range past the octave...
quartets in the early twentieth century.
Originally Samuel Holland Rous (who recorded as S. H. Dudley, but is not to be confused with the black vaudeville performer Sherman H. Dudley
Sherman H. Dudley
Sherman Houston Dudley was an African American vaudeville performer and theatre entrepreneur.-Career:Born in Dallas, Texas, he became involved in medicine and minstrel shows in his youth. By the early 1890s he was a popular performer in troupes such as the Dudley Georgia Minstrels and the McCabe...
) formed a vocal quartet in 1896 to record for Edison’s studios. After replacing the two tenor singers the quartet sang as the "Edison Quartet." The name Haydn Quartet was used to allow them to record elsewhere. The name Haydn was a homage to the classical composer; the spelling was later revised to Hayden, which reflects the way it was pronounced.
Recording both a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
and with some of the day's biggest solo stars, including Billy Murray
Billy Murray (singer)
William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
and Corinne Morgan, they were one of the most successful acts of the century's first decade. They produced several American best-sellers, including perennial favorites "Bring Back My Bonnie To Me" (1901), "Sunbonnet Sue" (1908), and "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon" (1910).
Before 1910, they also performed on vaudeville and minstrel show records, one of which, "The Camp Meeting Jubilee", released in 1904 as Victor Records no. 4003, includes a very early recorded use of the phrase "rocking and rolling", albeit used with a spiritual rather than secular connotation.
Members
From 1898 through their popular period the members were:- John Bieling — TenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
- Harry MacdonoughHarry MacdonoughJohn Scantlebury Macdonald was a Canadian singer and recording executive. Under the pseudonym Harry Macdonough, he was one of the most prolific and popular tenors during the formative years of recorded music....
— TenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... - S. H. Dudley — BaritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
- William F. Hooley — BassBass (voice type)A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
External links
- The Edison Quartette (1902?) "Annie Laurie" No. 2201 Edison Gold Moulded Record
- Meloware's Antique Phonograph Record Archive
- Songwriters Hall of Fame
- Discography of the Haydn Quartet on Victor RecordsVictor Talking Machine CompanyThe Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR)