Remembering the Great Irish Tenor

Portrait of John McCormack, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Sometimes it’s hard not to get lost in our collections here at the Library, and when the National Jukebox launched about a year ago, I had a whole new resource full of wonderful early 20th-century recordings to explore. After writing a blog post last month on popular music in World War I-era England, I featured a recording of “Roses of Picardy” by the Irish Tenor John McCormack (1884-1945). McCormack has turned into my latest obsession and, after reading more about him and listening to recordings in the National Jukebox (many on repeat!), I knew that I had found my 2012 St. Patrick’s Day blog post!

Born in Athlone, Ireland, McCormack was exposed to little in the way of classical music as he grew up, though singing was a common activity in his house and he did exhibit a natural talent for it as a schoolboy. At 19 years old, McCormack won a tenor competition in Dublin and within a year he began recording for recording companies in London. After earning enough money from making these recordings, the tenor traveled to Milan to study with Maestro Vincenzo Sabatini who, upon first hearing McCormack sing, pronounced, “I cannot place your voice, God has done that.”

McCormack made his operatic debut in 1906 in Savona with the title role in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz; however, his career did not start out with immediate success. His stage presence lacked confidence and while his range and technical finesse was remarkable, he was incapable of producing the kind of volume his contemporary opera singers were producing. That said, he garnered favorable reviews after his first two performances at Covent Garden in 1907 at the age of 23. His musicality was immediately recognized and lauded by critics and the public. Soon after his first successes with the Royal Opera he began an artistic partnership with Luisa Tetrazzini, one of the greatest sopranos of her time and a significant influence on McCormack’s career.

John McCormack with his wife, Lily, and two children, Cyril and Gwen. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

McCormack eventually came to America to perform in Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Opera House. In addition to performing opera roles, McCormack also began programming recitals in the opera house where he showcased arias along with Irish ballads. The public loved hearing him sing the ballads, and he made waves by reaching a far wider audience than he could with just the opera house regulars. Recitals were also where McCormack could truly shine, for his character acting was one of the most criticized aspects of his opera performances (by critics and by himself!). John McCormack’s career is a fascinating story that I can only begin to relay in a blog post; if you’re interested in reading more, I suggest reading Pierre Key’s transcription of John McCormack: His Own Life Story and Gordon T. Ledbetter’s The Great Irish Tenor: John McCormack.

The National Jukebox is filled with over 150 recordings of McCormack singing a mix of arias and ballads. You can hear Nora Bayes sing Jean Schwartz’s “When John McCormack Sings a Song” (and see the sheet music, too!). The Performing Arts Encyclopedia also features sheet music by African-American composer Henry Thacker Burleigh that was dedicated to and/or sung regularly by John McCormack on his concert tours. Check out the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog to browse photographs of McCormack – there’s so much to see and hear online!

And now, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, I leave you with John McCormack’s lovely rendition of an old Irish favorite, “Mother Machree.” Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

Sheet Music of the Week: Aching Heart Edition

The past couple of years we’ve taken time out on Valentine’s Day to highlight love songs and love letters from the Music Division’s collections; however, Valentine’s Day is not exactly everyone’s favorite day of the year. I scoured our digitized sheet music for a selection that might speak to those who are not in love, the …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: The Midnight Whirl Edition

2012 is almost upon us! The Music Division certainly had an exciting year with many accomplishments from digital projects such as the launch of the Music Treasures Consortium last February, to two successfully curated exhibits (Coast to Coast: The Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939 and I Love Lucy: An American Legend), to the continued production of …

Read more »

Pic of the Week: Deck the Halls with Koussevitzky Edition

Head of Acquisitions and Processing Denise Gallo recently pointed out the ingenuity of her staff’s  Christmas tree, festively adorned with photocopied highlights from the Music Division’s deep coffers. The elves who assembled this holiday centerpiece were the music specialists and technicians who work in the archival processing section.  Gallo notes that the tree is also constructed …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: Thanksgiving Edition

Last year In the Muse celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with Geo. W. Morgan’s “National Thanksgiving hymn“, from the Historic Sheet Music, 1800-1922 collection in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia. This year the same collection gives us our featured holiday sheet music.  As I noted last year, “The turkey gobbler’s ball” is not actually about Thanksgiving but is …

Read more »

Sheet Music of the Week: “God Bless America” on Veterans Day

Seventy-three years ago today, Irving Berlin’s patriotic song “God Bless America” was premiered by singer Kate Smith on her CBS radio show in recognition of what was then called Armistice Day. November 11th is now known as Veterans Day, but the power and popularity of Berlin’s song endures. Would you believe that the song was …

Read more »

Opera Goes to the Bastille

The following is a guest post from Senior Cataloging Specialist Sharon McKinley. Ah, Bastille Day! It’s a holiday that has such a nice, dramatic ring to it.  It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. And for some reason, über-French though it may …

Read more »