Billy Neely, Boy Soprano

Master Billy Neely

As a collector dedicated to preserving our recorded choral heritage, I'm delighted to host a page on my website for this important new release of recordings by Billy Neely.

The name of Stephen Beet will be familiar to many for the seminal set of CD's 'The Better Land' in which he gathered together rare and priceless recordings from the great Boy Sopranos of the first half of the 20th century.

This latest triumph from Stephen Beet is a double CD set of the complete recordings of Billy Neely, probably the finest boy soprano of them all.

DUE TO EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH DEMAND FOR THE CD, THE SPECIAL PRICE HAS BEEN
EXTENDED UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER

Click for booklet notes

Click on the cover to read the booklet notes and for more photographs of Billy. There will also be a full feature on him in the summer issue of the Evergreen magazine.

This CD has been generously sponsored by Christopher Morris

Listening Post

Christopher Robin is saying his prayers : H. Fraser-Simpson

Unpublished HMV Recording : 1950

Billy with Gerald Moore

Features all but one of the HMV recordings newly restored and the recently discovered 'Lost' Broadcasts. A double CD with 42 tracks, this will be the definitive volume of Billy's great work which should firmly re-establish his name as one of the finest boy sopranos of all time. On track for a launch to celebrate his 75th birthday the lost archive includes Billy's HMV discs transferred from mint condition 'white label' pre-production pressings (previous releases of Billy's recordings in the Better Land series were taken from tapes copied from production discs or made by HMV from vinyl pressings of the unissued items).

In addition there are Billy's private recordings from c.1946 and broadcasts charting his career from his first appearance at the microphone in 1947 in the BBC's Northern Ireland Children's Hour, through his spectacular career all over the UK and the Republic of Ireland (sponsored by Arthur Martin and the famous Irish tenor James Johnston) to his farewell broadcast in the BBC Light Programme on Christmas Eve 1950. These include items recorded for programmes such as Grand Hotel & Henry Hall's Guest Night.

"Lost" tracks include: Mowing the Barley, Cherry ripe!, Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod), plus some Irish traditional and "Patter" songs, Smilin' Through, Where e'er you walk, Allelulia (Mozart), & Art thou troubled?.

The HMV tracks have been spectacularly processed by Roger Beardsley and the acetate discs restored by Ted Kendall using a new process imported from the US.

CD 1
1. Trad.: The Lark in Clear Air   :   HMV 1950
2. Schubert: Serenade   :   Private recording 1946?
3.   Horn: Cherry ripe!   :    Date & source unknown
4.   O'Brien: The Fairy Tree   :   BBC 1949
5. Britten: A Tragic Story   :   BBC 1949
6. Gibbs: Five Eyes   :   BBC 1949
7. Mozart: Allelujah   :   BBC 1949
8.   Arensky: The Robin   :   HMV 1950
9. Arensky: The Fable   :   HMV 1950
10. Arensky: The Sad Little Bird   :   HMV 1950
11. Arensky: The Child and the Butterfly   :   HMV 1950
12. Arensky: Cradle Song   :   HMV 1950
13. Arensky: Easter-Day   :   HMV 1950
14. Fraser-Simson: Christopher Robin is saying his prayers   :   HMV 1950
15. Merikanto: A Fairy Story by the Fire   :   HMV 1950
16. Parry: The Child and the Twilight   :   HMV 1950
17. Trad.: The ninepenny fidil   :   HMV 1950
18. Marcello: Il mio bel foco :   HMV 1950 (unissued)
19. Durante: Vergin tutt' amor   :   HMV 1950
20. Britten: The Birds :   HMV 1950
21. Trad.: Coventry Carol   :   HMV 1950
22. Warlock: The First Mercy   :   HMV 1950

CD 2
1.    Gounod: Ave Maria    :    BBC 1950
2.    Penn: Smilin' Through    :    BBC 1950
3.   Arensky: The Sad Little Bird    :    BBC 1950
4.   Trad.: The Lark in Clear Air    :    BBC 1950
5.   Mendelssohn: Hear my prayer    :    BBC 1950
6.   Handel: Art thou troubled?    :    BBC 1950
7.   Hughes (arr.): A Ballynure Ballad    :    BBC 1950, introduced by Billy himself
8.   Ulster folksong: Kitty, my love, will you marry me?    :    BBC 1950
9.   Woodgate: Here lies a most beautiful lady    :   (baritone) Concert 1960
10. Handel's largo: Now daylight fades   :    Private recording 1946
11. Baynon: Give me Wings    :    Private recording 1946
12. Handel: How beautiful are the feet   :    Private recording 1946
13. Thiman: I hear Spring calling    :    BBC 1948
14. Sharp (arr.): Mowing the barley    :    BBC 1948
15. Tate: Somewhere a voice is calling    :    Date unknown, probably BBC broadcast
16. Horn: Cherry ripe!    :    Date uncertain, probably BBC broadcast
17. Offenbach: Barcarolle    :    Duet with Arthur Martin, probably RÉ 1950
18. Mendelssohn: Greetings   :    Duet with Arthur martin, probably RÉ 1950
19. Marcello: Il mio bel foco    :    HMV 1950 published take
20. Brahms: Röslein dreie in der Reihe    :    BBC 1950

Listening Post

The First Mercy : Peter Warlock

HMV Record : 1950

ORDER THE DOUBLE CD WITH OR WITHOUT THE MAGAZINE

Order your Double CD at the special price of £9.99 (+£1.00 P&P)

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Order your double CD set, plus Evergreen Magazine with feature on Billy, at the special price of £13.99, post free

By clicking the 'Buy Now' button, you may use either Credit/Debit card or log into to your Paypal account. If you have any problems, click here to email.