Isidore Godfrey

Speaker 10:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Disc's archive. For rights' reasons we've had to shorten the music. This is a recording as it was being broadcast, rather than the studio recording.

Speaker 10:14

and for that reason you may hear some interference.

Speaker 10:17

And some degradation in the sound quality. The programme was originally broadcast in 1970.

Speaker 20:39

As usual, the castaway is introduced by Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:43

Our castaway this week is a musician, a conductor whose whole professional life was devoted to one job, the ex-musical director of the Doilycard Opera Company, Isidore Godfrey.

Presenter0:53

Mr Godfrey, what would you want music to do for you on a desert island?

Isidore Godfrey0:57

Well, I I should say I wanted to entertain me, keep me interested.

Isidore Godfrey1:02

and uh keep me amused as well.

Isidore Godfrey1:05

And otherwise I keep my mind occupied.

Presenter1:08

As a musician, would you rather have scores than records?

Isidore Godfrey1:10

No, I don't think so. No, I'd rather have the back hold.

Presenter1:12

Did you find it difficult to choose your aid?

Isidore Godfrey1:15

Yes, I did, because there are so many I'd love to have.

Isidore Godfrey1:19

I have to

Isidore Godfrey1:20

One by one I've eliminated them. I mean it's not enough just to um

Isidore Godfrey1:24

enjoy them or like them and I because I have to have better to really have over and over again and live with them and that that's why I picked these eight I think.

Presenter1:31

What's the first one?

Isidore Godfrey1:32

Well the first one is the symphony in D minor, A State of Facts.

Presenter1:36

Why do you choose that?

Isidore Godfrey1:37

When I do it because I heard it first at a prom concert.

Isidore Godfrey1:41

When I was a student, it was under Sir Henry Wood many, many years ago, of course. And the passage I I wanted to play, one I always remember, it's sort of like a flash of light to me. And I I've always adored Frank ever since. And even when I was um with the company, after I'd changed many performers, I'd hum to myself, you know, pump, pom, pom, pom, pom. And people say, oh, that's all my humming is faint and it would be a good show tonight.

Presenter2:09

Oh, we're not using the Henry Wood recording. You've chosen a later one. Who's conducting on this record?

Isidore Godfrey2:13

Oh, it's it's the Philadelphia Orchestra and Omonday.

Presenter3:18

An excerpt from the first movement of César Frank's Symphony in D minor, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormondy. What's your second choice?

Isidore Godfrey3:26

My second choice is a poem of ecstasy by Scrabbin.

Isidore Godfrey3:30

And I want it particularly conducted by Svetlanov.

Isidore Godfrey3:33

Because, um well, first of all

Isidore Godfrey3:36

As a student I was always very keen on the Masham school. I played a a great deal of scrapbook.

Isidore Godfrey3:42

And um I always felt a sort of uh an affinity for him. And just recently I uh went to a concert at Festival Hall and heard this work under Svetlanovan.

Isidore Godfrey3:52

It was absolutely terrific. He built it up to such a tremendous climax. You couldn't realize that the forty corps could go on, on, on, on until everybody was almost out of their seats. And something I always remember.

Presenter5:04

The closing passage of Scribine's poem of ecstasy

Presenter5:07

The U. S. S. R. Symphony Orchestra conducted by Speplanov.

Isidore Godfrey5:12

You're a Londoner, aren't you? I am, yes. Musical family? Uh my father played the violin. My mother she didn't play any instrument, but she was very dramat dramatically inclined.

Presenter5:19

Major m

Presenter5:21

Did you show any exceptional musical talent as a as a child?

Isidore Godfrey5:24

Well, I don't know if it was exceptional, but I did um play the piano when I was about five.

Presenter5:28

Yeah.

Isidore Godfrey5:28

And also I had a great inclination to conduct it, like what all kids do. They wear a bit of paper and beat time with any bandwidth, but I I always was very keen on becoming a conductor.

Presenter5:38

You started at the Guildhall School of Music and you did rather well there.

Isidore Godfrey5:41

Yes, I uh

Isidore Godfrey5:44

got my associateship with the with the gold medal and I also won the uh

Isidore Godfrey5:48

The Chapel Scholarship, I think I was the first winner of that and I d I or several other things and uh

Isidore Godfrey5:53

And then

Isidore Godfrey5:55

It was decided by Sir Leonard Monroe whose principal that we should have a conducting class. At this time.

Presenter5:59

At this time your role set for a career as a concert pianist.

Isidore Godfrey6:01

Well that was the idea.

Presenter6:02

Yeah.

Isidore Godfrey6:03

But somehow or other I I don't know what it was, whether I got stale, I I was been too long with my professor, what it was, I I didn't get on as well with the with the piano as I really

Isidore Godfrey6:12

Should have done, I suppose. I had done one or two concerts. I had played down at Brighton with a Lyle Taylor, who I don't suppose anybody remember now.

Isidore Godfrey6:20

But um

Isidore Godfrey6:21

When this conducting class came up, I thought, well, this is it, this is what I wanted.

Speaker 16:26

Uh

Isidore Godfrey6:27

Julius Haverson was appointed as a teacher and there were about a half dozen of us all told. Then during the second term

Isidore Godfrey6:34

We all had a chance of conducting the school orchestra.

Isidore Godfrey6:38

And it's my good fortune.

Isidore Godfrey6:39

That on the day that I conducted, and Sidney Harrison, who's very well known now and about the BBC, of course, and also as a professor of piano.

Isidore Godfrey6:47

playing the piano format and uh he he played part of the Greek concerto and during that time, as I might refer to Salenoma came in to see

Isidore Godfrey6:56

How the talks are getting on.

Isidore Godfrey6:58

And although he said nothing at the time, a few days later he called me into his office and said there was a job going with the Doyle Schwartz Company as assistant conductor and chorus master. And what did I think about it?

Presenter7:08

Had you at this time any particular affection for Gilbert and Sullivan?

Isidore Godfrey7:12

Um, not really. I

Presenter7:12

Well yeah

Isidore Godfrey7:14

I'd never seen the offer company. I had seen two of the offers performed at the Guild Hall.

Isidore Godfrey7:18

That's all, I think.

Presenter7:19

But you said yes.

Isidore Godfrey7:20

I yes, I did said definitely said yes, and then so Landon

Isidore Godfrey7:24

arranged an interview with um mister Rupert Dwelly Hart.

Isidore Godfrey7:28

And that seemed to go off quite well and then I watched the letterbox for days and days until letter came through and I got my job. I've been appointed.

Presenter7:35

When did you conduct your first performance?

Isidore Godfrey7:37

In the autumn of 1925, it was a McCarthy.

Presenter7:42

And the last performance you did for the

Isidore Godfrey7:43

The last performance

Isidore Godfrey7:46

was February 1968. Nearly 44 years.

Presenter7:51

Yes. So you joined as conductor of the second company. Quite soon you became musical director of the whole company

Isidore Godfrey7:55

Yes, well it is well actually uh in in um nineteen twenty nine I became musical back.

Presenter8:01

So in in nineteen twenty-nine you'd gone about as far as you could come.

Isidore Godfrey8:05

Well, position wise, yeah.

Presenter8:06

Yeah.

Isidore Godfrey8:07

But uh I just went on. I I always enjoyed doing the shows. I they never pulled on me. I always thought that the H Balls was the first one.

Presenter8:14

Splendid. Let's have record number three.

Isidore Godfrey8:15

Well this is just to throw back.

Isidore Godfrey8:18

to what I said before, before I joined the company, is that the piano concerto in A minor breed?

Isidore Godfrey8:24

But

Isidore Godfrey8:25

The Griff, who in my day

Isidore Godfrey8:28

played it almost every one of the promenade seasons.

Isidore Godfrey8:32

And also its conductor is Sir Lando Ronald, who was much worse by principal in those days.

Presenter9:34

The opening of the Greek piano concerto, Arthur de Grief, with the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra conducted by Sir Landon Ronald.

Presenter9:40

Now the Doly Cart has always been a touring company, has never had a permanent home.

Isidore Godfrey9:44

We've almost

Isidore Godfrey9:45

Caudell's old turn company, of course.

Isidore Godfrey9:47

We rather regard the Savoy Theatre London as our permanent home because it was built for the offers.

Presenter9:52

But you're never there.

Isidore Godfrey9:53

Well, not recently. We have been there in the past. We we did open the theatre.

Presenter9:57

Of course.

Presenter9:58

And you kept going right through the war.

Isidore Godfrey10:00

Oh yes. Uh we we closed down to when war broke out. I remember driving from I think it was Bournemouth to the South Sea and the first thing I heard when the war broke down in Rotten House, I got my pitfall tank full up up to the brim. But then it was we closed down, but we opened up again, I think it was Boxing Day.

Isidore Godfrey10:17

At Edinburgh with a a brand new Yeoman of the Guard, which of course could have gone on earlier. And of course, we did lots of concerts at aerodromes.

Isidore Godfrey10:27

Hospitals

Isidore Godfrey10:29

Every almond all that factory, all that sort of thing. And of course, we always knew felt that

Isidore Godfrey10:34

At little Harry Arturist, because wherever we went he came too.

Presenter10:38

So you were virtually on tour non-stop for 44 years.

Isidore Godfrey10:42

Pretty well, yes, is my one.

Presenter10:44

Playing not only in this country, but in North America.

Isidore Godfrey10:46

Uh yes, in Canada and in the United States.

Presenter10:49

How many times have you been across the United States?

Isidore Godfrey10:51

Well, I've been over there eleven times, although the first time was Canada only. After it was always

Presenter10:55

Yeah.

Isidore Godfrey10:57

Do you have a London season every year?

Isidore Godfrey10:59

Well, mornings every other year.

Presenter11:02

How many operas are there in the usual repertoire?

Isidore Godfrey11:05

But I should say ten.

Isidore Godfrey11:06

That includes Princess Ida, which we do occasionally.

Presenter11:09

And then there are a few rarities like the sorcerer.

Isidore Godfrey11:12

Well the source movie last played in 1939.

Isidore Godfrey11:15

I like to see that revived, but I always think you should enjoy that. And then of course Utopia and the The Grand Duke had never been revived by the company, although they've played a lot by amateurs.

Presenter11:24

Yeah.

Presenter11:25

Well, you virtually devoted your musical life to one composer. You must know very well how Sullivan's mind worked. Did you ever find yourself getting obsessed by him? Have you done any research into his life?

Isidore Godfrey11:37

I'd done a lot of reading on his life, yes, but the more I admire Solomon, the more I admire Gilbert.

Isidore Godfrey11:43

I'm a great Dilbert enthusiast, but I think after all he did write the Libretti and he was a very fine lyric writer. At the same time, I do feel that Sullivan set his words so well. I mean, they make the English language sound musical.

Isidore Godfrey11:56

And Ruth McClear, I I think that maybe if he'd lived he would have restored some of the works in Israel. I don't know.

Speaker 111:56

And

Isidore Godfrey12:03

But um they were a wonderful combination.

Presenter12:06

Let's have record number four.

Isidore Godfrey12:08

Well number four, the Omar of the Guard, which is probably one of my favorites, some of the old principles that we had.

Isidore Godfrey12:14

Some years ago.

Isidore Godfrey12:16

And I like to quote it when a war goes a wooing for Mac Two.

Presenter12:26

Made and hushing all his suing

Speaker 112:32

Yeah.

Speaker 112:37

Do we have

Presenter12:37

Gloss. But

Speaker 112:38

Hey.

Presenter12:39

Yeah.

Speaker 112:39

Uh

Speaker 112:39

Uh

Presenter12:40

Yeah.

Speaker 112:40

Boy, bravely cloud.

Presenter12:45

Hold me.

Presenter12:54

For the happy days of glory, for the soil and of sure.

Speaker 112:54

Oh, the happy days of

Presenter13:03

When the warm, all those streets were famous.

Presenter13:15

When a Wooer goes a wooing from Act Two of The Omen of the God. Now a few years ago the operas came out of copyright which meant that anybody could put them on.

Presenter13:25

The doily cart monopoly was broken. What difference did this make?

Isidore Godfrey13:30

Really it made very little difference. In fact, the uh if it made any difference at all, it made the offers more popular because other companies were

Presenter13:36

Yeah.

Isidore Godfrey13:38

able to do them and then when they suddenly realized the fa their fans suddenly realized there wasn't such a company as the Toilet Art and when they ceased to do them they came to see us. They saw notices of our records in their programmes and uh I think it's done nothing but good.

Presenter13:55

Who have been the great personalities of the company during your day?

Isidore Godfrey13:58

Well it was when I joined, there was um Henry Lytton, Bertha Lewis, uh Leo Sheffield, uh Winifred Lawson, Elsie Griffin, any I mean, Danzer, there were any number of them, and they I found them awfully easy, even in in my green state, uh to uh get on with them. I I they got on awfully well with me.

Presenter14:17

I don't suppose anyone has anything like equalled your record, but do artists stay with the company a long time?

Isidore Godfrey14:22

Some do, yes.

Presenter14:23

Yeah.

Isidore Godfrey14:23

But uh perhaps on the whole not as long as they used to that applies to the core of us too.

Presenter14:28

Hmm.

Isidore Godfrey14:29

Yeah.

Presenter14:29

Uh

Isidore Godfrey14:29

Uh they they feel now there's all that urge to move on to other things.

Presenter14:34

Let's have record number five.

Isidore Godfrey14:35

The number five

Isidore Godfrey14:37

I'd like to have the slow movement of the violin concerto of L Dan. This is a conc concerto which has all been very dear to me because I worked at this concerto with William Fimrose, who everyone knows is a very fine viola player, but in my day when we were students together,

Isidore Godfrey14:51

He was a violinist and we learnt this work together and ever since then of course I I think it's most wonderful work.

Presenter16:00

The beginning of the slow movement of Elgar's violin concerto with the composer conducting and Yehudi Menhuin as soloist. Let's have record number six now.

Isidore Godfrey16:09

For number six, I'd like to have Sir Roderick's song from Ruddy Door.

Presenter16:15

The cows in the chimney cows, And the beds in the moonlight lights, And in the clouds like funeral sprouts,

Speaker 116:26

Uh

Presenter16:26

Say no.

Speaker 116:26

Oh god.

Isidore Godfrey16:26

For the midnight sky when the footpads wanna

Presenter16:27

Yeah.

Speaker 116:28

I

Speaker 116:31

Let the night birds wail

Presenter16:33

When that dogs be

Speaker 116:35

It is the spectral holy day.

Presenter16:40

Here is the ghost eye move!

Presenter16:58

Donald Adams singing Sir Roderick's song from Rattigore.

Presenter17:02

mister Godfrey, what would be your mental approach to loneliness?

Isidore Godfrey17:06

Well, I don't mind being on my own for a little time, but I

Isidore Godfrey17:09

For anything that I I I think I'd hate it.

Isidore Godfrey17:11

Having travelled about so much and being on tour, packing and unpacking, I have come to rely upon

Isidore Godfrey17:18

my wife and other people to do so much for me, I think I'd be completely

Isidore Godfrey17:22

Hopeless anyhow?

Presenter17:23

Uh I usually find that musicians are pretty hopeless with their hands.

Isidore Godfrey17:28

Pretty well, yeah. I'm all all right with electoral things, I didn't fiddle about with plaguing, but anything to do with I almost envied other people who can do things, but never know how to do it myself.

Presenter17:36

We can't think of anything more useless on a desert island than being handy with electrical beats.

Isidore Godfrey17:40

But

Presenter17:41

You're only good at gardening or cultivating.

Isidore Godfrey17:43

Not really, but my wife does the garden, I just call the bird bath.

Presenter17:44

Not very.

Presenter17:48

Would you try to escape?

Isidore Godfrey17:49

I think I'd have to before I stop to death.

Presenter17:51

Okay. Any good with boats, small craft, and navigation.

Isidore Godfrey17:54

I don't know, I guess I I'm just hoping that whatever I came on I could put to use on the island and probably get away on too. I don't know.

Presenter18:02

All right.

Presenter18:04

Let's get onto record number seven.

Isidore Godfrey18:06

Number seven is the uh symphony in C major of Schubert.

Isidore Godfrey18:11

A slow movement, and I shall let Barbo alleged conducting it.

Isidore Godfrey18:15

Some years ago.

Isidore Godfrey18:17

I went to Voell.

Isidore Godfrey18:18

Hear one of his transits and they said, Oh, go on and see Barbara and I was too shy I didn't.

Isidore Godfrey18:23

But I wrote him a little note and he was so kind. He wrote me this charming letter back and said, you must come around any time and see me.

Isidore Godfrey18:30

Always been very silent, they always have done that. And also, the um

Isidore Godfrey18:34

Oboe solo.

Isidore Godfrey18:36

If it's the Halley Orchestra, play by I presume Philip Hillwood was my over player for quite a long, long time, so

Isidore Godfrey18:42

I had that personal contact.

Presenter19:41

The opening of the slow movement of Schubert's C Major Symphony, Sir John Barbie Rowley conducting the Halley Orchestra.

Presenter19:47

And now your last record.

Isidore Godfrey19:49

Well for my last record I'd like to have the chorus singing Hail Perthway from Act One, Powers of Penzance. I always feel the chorus such an important part of the office. In fact

Isidore Godfrey20:01

J.M. Gordon, who was the producer of the company before the war, always called them the backbone of the offers. And I feel I should like to have something sung by them. Also, rather turns full circle, but I can go back to 1927, I think it was, when we were in Canada. And outside Calgary, we met the Sarsi Indians on the prairie and we sang Hell's Persia to them. I don't think they knew what it was all about, but we enjoyed it.

Speaker 121:01

Going from stand.

Presenter21:30

Hail Poetry from The Pirates of Penzance. If you could take only one disc of the eight that you played us, which would it be?

Isidore Godfrey21:37

I think I'd take the sensor flat.

Presenter21:39

Yes.

Presenter21:40

And one luxury to take with you?

Isidore Godfrey21:42

Well, I'm just wondering if you've had so many costs away that suddenly left a piano behind.

Presenter21:45

No, the island is inspected every week, but we can have one put on for you, some smart uniformed B B C chaps.

Isidore Godfrey21:51

Oh, jolly good. And and would I have a cha uh a seat with it too?

Presenter21:54

A stool, yes.

Isidore Godfrey21:55

Oh, that's wonderful. Keep me off the wet sand. Be fine.

Presenter21:58

Be fine. And one book apart from the Bible and Shakespeare.

Isidore Godfrey22:02

What now?

Isidore Godfrey22:03

Would it be possible if we have a book of a full score?

Presenter22:05

Yes?

Isidore Godfrey22:06

Well that'd be good also. I have some metals and I have a say some scrolls of the uh Tastrosi Symphony.

Presenter22:12

Tchaikovsky Symphonies. So you'll be when you come back, you'll be all ready to start another career.

Isidore Godfrey22:17

That that would really be marvelous.

Presenter22:20

Well, thank you, Isidore Godfrey, for letting us hear your Desert Island Disc.

Isidore Godfrey22:23

Delighted. Thank you very much.

Presenter22:25

Goodbye everyone.

Presenter22:36

The guest in today's programme was Isidore Godfrey.

Presenter22:40

The interviewer was Roy Plumley.

Presenter22:42

And the producer, Ronald Cohen.

Speaker 122:48

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Islandists Archive. For more podcasts, please visit bbc.co.uk/slash radio four.