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11 Apr 22 - 08:55 PM (#4138811) Subject: Wallace House From: Thomas Stern Some may be familiar with WALLACE HOUSE, longtime professor at New York University, also at Columbia. He recorded 10 albums on FOLKWAYS, and a directed a number of dramatic works read by “the University Players” issued by PHONOTAPES. He appeared in a handful of Broadway shows in the 1920’s. IMDB lists 2 credits, but not sure if this is the same Wallace House: Nash Airflyte Theatre (1950) CBS-TV Thursday evening 10:30pm. ANYONE HAVE DETAILS OF THE SHOW(S) on which he appeared\????? Death Tide (1955) - a not very good copy is on YouTube – perhaps someone with sharp eyes can spot him or verify if it is the same person. The NY Times obituary states “made many recordings in the early 1930's.” We are aware of TWO 78rpm albums featuring Wallace House: c.1940 ASCH 202 FOLK SONGS OF THE UNITED NATIONS (3-10” 78rpm) Sung by Wallace House, self-accompanied on guitar and lute. CAN SOMEONE PROVIDE ACCURATE DATE FOR ABOVE ALBUM ????? c.1941 MUSICRAFT album 55 [262-265) ENGLISH BALLADS and SONG (4-10” 78rpm) Sung by G. Marston Haddock, accompanied by Wallace House on guitar, lute, cithern. Does anyone have information on other 78rpm recordings with House ????? THANKS! Thomas. |
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11 Apr 22 - 09:28 PM (#4138814) Subject: RE: Information: Wallace House From: Joe Offer Hi, Thomas - can we use this thread as a broader discussion of Wallace House? I've listened to most of his Folkways Recordings. I've been intrigued, but I haven't had the opportunity to dig very deep into his story. On the notes for the English Folk Songs album, Folkways says:
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11 Apr 22 - 10:28 PM (#4138817) Subject: RE: Info: Wallace House (NYU prof & Folkways Artist) From: Thomas Stern Always eager to widen the discussion. The ASCH (78rpm) album is available on the Internet Archive: Wallace House - Songs of the United Nations In the 1950's one of the albums we enjoyed was his ENGLISH FOLK SONGS, wonderful dialect performances. He also recorded the legendary Marriott Edgar monologues (Albert and the Lion, Sam Small eetc.) which were made famous in 1920/30's recordings by Stanley Holloway - these were available in the USA on an Angel (65019) LP, so overshadowed House's album. Perhaps those who own the Folkways albums can supply catalog numbers - Folkways started c.1948 issued some early albums on 78rpm as well as mostly 10-inch LP, with an FP XX or xxx number. After some years the catalog was re-arranged with prefixes to indicate the type of music, and the numbers expanded to 4 digits. When SCHOLASTIC took over the label, the prefix was changed from Fx to Sx. In addition, some albums were issued as ASCH, with a change of the prefix to Ax. In the list below I give the various numbers I am aware of - if anyone has these albums with different numbers, please provide the information. THANKS! 1952/1960 FP 823 FP/FW 6823 ENGLISH FOLK SONGS 1953 FP 839 FW 6839 ROBIN HOOD BALLADS 1853 FP 48-1/FP 48-2 FP 5001 SH 2151/2152 FH/SA 2151 BALLADS OF THE REVOLUTION 1954 FP 99 FL 9899 SAM SMALL, ALBERT RAMSBOTTOM and Uthers-English Dialect Stories 1954 FP 48-3/FP 48-4 FP 5002 FA 2164 BALLADS OF THE WAR OF 1812, 1791-1836 1956 FP 3002 IRISH SONGS OF RESISTANCE- The Great Rebellion 1956 SP 8110 Sounds of Spoken English: English Speech Instruction 1958 FH 5710 The Patriot Plan: Growth of Human Rights in Colonial America 1958 FL/SL 9750 READINGS FROM WALT WHITMAN 1970 FL 9110, AH 9110 UNDERSTANDING & APPRECIATION OF THE ESSAY by Morris Schreiber Additions, corrections ????? Thomas. |
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12 Apr 22 - 11:12 PM (#4138924) Subject: RE: Info: Wallace House (NYU prof & Folkways Artist) From: Thomas Stern Ray M. Lawless: Folksingers and Folksong in America (book) has entry for Wallace House, from Folkways noted above. The notes for the ASCH United Nations album add little, but discuss his approach to folk music. I will copy and post later. A couple of additions to the recordings: SOUNDBOOK #1020 10"-LP 1956 [CAEDMON CB 1 10"-LP 1966 CAEDMON TC 1399 LP c.1972 HARPER AUDIO ISBN: 9780898451047 CS 1996 (LP and cassette add tracks by Oscar Brand) GOLDEN SLUMBERS A Selection of Lullabies from Near and Far Record research and editing: Sam Eskin Jean Ritchie, Frank Cooke, Juanita Cascone, Peter Seeger, Ruth Welcome, Elizabeth Knight, Wallace House, Robin Roberts. Wallace House and Peter Seeger appear on this record through the courtesy of Folkways Records 10" 12" B4 B7 Lullay(Lalo) (Wallace House) 1960 FH 5801 American History in Ballad and Song, Vol.1 3-LP various performers, 3 tracks by Wallace House. C1 Hail Africa Band Wallace House 1:53 E4 Old English Forty Years Ago Wallace House 6:02 E5 The Hunters of Kentucky Wallace House 3:02 Thomas. |
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20 Apr 22 - 09:01 PM (#4139698) Subject: RE: Info: Wallace House (NYU prof & Folkways Artist) From: Thomas Stern ASCH 340 [201-203] UNITED NATIONS - FOLK SONGS Folk Songs of the United Nations Wallace House was born in Saint Peter Port, Guernst, in the Channel Islands. When he was nine years old his family migrated to Toronto, Canada where he began his musical education as a boy soloist in the Anglican Cathedral choir. He studied with Franxis Coombs of the Toronto Conservatory of Music and during this pereiod, sang in many grand opera choruses and in productions of operetta under the baton of Reginald Stewart. He became interested in the theatre and joined the acting company at Hart House of the University of Toronto where he was leading performer for some years before coming to New York. Broadway found much use for his talents as actor, didrector, stage manager and music consultant. Mr House had learned many beautiful English, Scottish and Welsh ballads from his parents and during his life in Canada he added the songs of that country to his repertoire. At the same time, he was making extensive research in other fields of folk music. Upon coming to the United States, he collected many cowboy, mountain and Negro ballads among numerous other American folk songs, both in New York and while travelling around the country. One night Mr. House was in the home of a friend where people from many countries had gathered together. National differences showed strongly, and a certain reserve seemed to permeate the whole group. Then someone started to play a guitar and sing in his native tongue. In a few minutes they were a mass of friendly people. The guitar passed from hand to hand and the men of Mexico shouted for the songs of Greece, and the men of Russia cheered for the songs of the Scots. The friendly soul of man emerged in the songs of the people. From that day on Mr. House was determined to learn the songs of other nationalities-to find out why those men and women became happy, sympathetic and understanding all at once. He began to collect songs from friends and acquaintances who had come to this country from far away lands and amassed an amazing collection of folk songs which now number the the thousands and represent over thirty-six different countries. Mr. House has performed these songs in concert, on the radio, in theatre and for educational institutions. He has accompanied many famous dancers and is now teaching at Columbia and New York Universities. He is considered authentic among national groups and an authority from the educational standpoint. As staff instructor at New York University on the subject of Folk Song he inaugurated the first course of its kind in this country. Using the guitar as a basic accompanying instrument because of its universal minstrel quality and its value as a support as opposed to the competitive character of the usual melodic instruments. Mr. House made accompaniment an integral part of the interpretation and performance of Folk Song. From the guitar it was only a short step to all other stringed instruments of the same family, and to the many interesting and varied native percussion instruments which are a colorful part of the presentation of nearly all folk music. Folk songs, contrary to belief are composed. This doesn't mean that the composer is known or remembered or was one person. But they did have to possess an origin, a beginning, either with one person or with a group of people. Of course they have been changed in transmission from one person or generation to another. They are built around the life of the people. The songs of the people are outbursts of creative emotions. hey have something to say and say it as directly as possible. The importance of this music lies in the meaning, its power for emotional enthusiasm, its establishment of courage. Cleverness plays but a small part in its native performance, sincerity a very large one. In performance the singers always stress spirit and color and the dramatic element. They are more closely allied to actors than to vocalists, they have no thought for correct tonal qualities, except as they apply to the dramatic needs or mood of a song. The type of voice used for each national division of song is determined by the needs of that particular people. A great part of the beauty of any folk song is the speech quality of the language. In the construction of folk songs, words and music are interdependent and usually composed together. Therefore, it is most important that the songs should be sung in their native language or dialect. This is not as difficult as it would appear. One doesn't have to speak the language to sing it. However the English translations are arranged to be sung to the recorded melodies, retaining as much as possible the spirit of the original native songs. Twelve United Nations are represented in this Asch Record album. These songs were chosen for their most typically international qualities, good melody and rhythm and story; irresistible even to those not familiar with the language. These are the songs people fight for. WALLACE HOUSE ASCH set 340 [201, 202, 203] 3x10" 78RPM notes, text/translation on covers and bound-in FOLK SONGS OF THE UNITED NATIONS WALLACE HOUSE, GUITAR AND SINGING UN-201 A (243) RUSSIA - SONG OF THE BLACKSMITHS-kuznitze UN-201 B (238) GREECE - BY THE SEA=Katou Sto Yalo UN-202 A (240) POLAND - LET'S ALL DRINK-Pyi M Vshistsi CZECH - TOVACOV UKRAINE - ANN THE BEAUTIFUL-Honja Moladitchka UN-202 B (242) MEXICO - LITTLE NIGHT OWL-Tocolote UN0203 A (241) ENGLAND - AN ACRE OF LAND WALES - HOB Y DERI DANDO SCOTLAND - THE BRASS O' BELQUHIDDER UN-203 B (239) AUSTRALIA - WALTZING MATILDA CANADA - BOAT SONG NEW ZEALAND - MAORI FAREWELL. |
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12 May 22 - 09:22 PM (#4141535) Subject: RE: Info: Wallace House (NYU prof & Folkways Artist) From: Thomas Stern some additional information from Carolyn Hester: "briefly. A friend of mine told me about him and I had music classes with him. He was a Professor at NYU at the time and I got to learn some folk songs from his collection. He lived at Washington Square Mews and was married with one young child. I would see them as my lesson hours were at the Mews. The only song of his I recorded was “I Saw Her.” Elizabethan. Karla & Amy and I have it on “We Dream Forever.” Wallace House had a terrific talent for folk music of Mexico as well." Anyone else study with him or part of the theater work ?? Thomas. |
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15 May 22 - 04:27 PM (#4141752) Subject: RE: Info: Wallace House (NYU prof & Folkways Artist) From: Joe Offer I'm enjoying this, Thomas. I know Wallace House only from his Folkways recordings. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPgikUXITo5_g5lvhh9TyPg |