Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise". Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter, and Blithe Spirit, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues), screenplays, poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel Pomp and Circumstance, and a three-volume autobiography. Coward's stage and film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works, as well as those of others. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama In Which We Serve and was knighted in 1970. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride", and "I Went to a Marvellous Party". Coward's plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. He did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward's diaries and letters, published posthumously. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006. |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 16, 1899 (Teddington), Died March 26, 1973 (Firefly Estate)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist, baritone vocal, speaker
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 76-91 of 91 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gramophone | Cc17230 | 12-in. | 7/24/1929 | Bitter sweet : Selection | Jack Hylton Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal soloist | composer, lyricist | |
Gramophone | Cc20202 | 12-in. | 9/15/1930 | Private lives : Scene (Act 2) | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male vocal duet, with instrumental | composer, lyricist, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc20203 | 12-in. | 9/15/1930 | Private lives : Love scene (Act 1) | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male vocal duet, with piano and violin | vocalist, baritone vocal, composer, lyricist | |
Gramophone | 2EA2667 | 12-in. | 1/15/1936 | Scene from "Shadow play," part 1 | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, lyricist, composer | |
Gramophone | 2EA2667 | 12-in. | 5/25/1940 | Scene from "Shadow play," concluded | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, lyricist, composer | |
Gramophone | 2EA2668 | 12-in. | 1/15/1936 | Scene from "Red peppers," part 1 | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, lyricist, composer | |
Gramophone | 2EA2669 | 12-in. | 1/15/1936 | Scene from "Red peppers," concluded | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, lyricist, composer | |
Gramophone | 2EA2670 | 12-in. | 1/16/1936 | Scene from "Family album," part 1 | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male duet, with orchestra | composer, lyricist, vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | 2EA2673 | 12-in. | 1/16/1936 | Scene from "Family album," part 2 | Noel Coward ; Gertrude Lawrence | Dramatic scene and female-male duet, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal, lyricist, composer | |
Gramophone | 2B5925 | 12-in. | 2/27/1934 | Conversation piece : Selection, part 1 | Reginald Burston ; His Majesty’s Theatre Orchestra (London, England) | Orchestra | composer | |
Gramophone | 2B5926 | 12-in. | 2/27/1934 | Conversation piece : Selection, part 2 | Reginald Burston ; His Majesty’s Theatre Orchestra (London, England) | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor (Canada) | 8633 | 10-in. | before 7/26/1940 | I'll see you again | Art Hallman ; Mart Kenney Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer, lyricist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2165 | 10-in. | 4/7/1930 | Ne serait-ce pas l'amour? | Jane Marnac ; Fred Mélé | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2166 | 10-in. | 4/7/1930 | Je vous reverrai | Max Bussy ; Jane Marnac ; Fred Mélé | Vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2167 | 10-in. | 4/7/1930 | Le petit café | Max Bussy ; Jane Marnac ; Fred Mélé | Vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2168 | 10-in. | 4/7/1930 | Tzigane | Jane Marnac ; Fred Mélé | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coward, Noël," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102403.
Coward, Noël. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102403.
"Coward, Noël." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Noël Coward
Discogs: Noël Coward
Allmusic: Noël Coward
Grove: Noël Coward
RILM: Noël Coward
IMDb: Noël Coward
Britannica: Noël Coward
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Coward, Noel, 1899-1973 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79071142
Wikidata: Noël Coward - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q298388
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/39375533
MusicBrainz: Noël Coward - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6aa4bb26-36f8-4a96-8328-4810a4e9a617
Getty ULAN: Coward, Noël - http://vocab.getty.edu/ulan/500073529
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