Assorted Recordings of Edward Johnson

Edward Johnson’s recordings are few. The first 10 (which include excerpts from Andrea Chénier and Parsifal) were European Columbias generally supposed to have been made in Italy about 1915.(*) He made many 1919-28 for American Victor, mostly of trivial ballads of the moment, but also arias from Carmen, Pagliacci, La Bohème, and Fedora and (among his very best) ‘If, with all your hearts’ from Mendelssohn’s Elijah, recorded in 1920. (A discography can be found in The Tenor of His Time.) In recent years, off-the-air transcriptions of complete performances of Pelléas, Peter Ibbetson, and Hanson’s Merry Mount have received limited circulation. His recordings are reissued on Met Stars in the New World (MET 216CD, 1992), RCA/Met Singers, 100 Years (RCA Red Seat 09026-61580-2, 1984) and Great Voices of Canada, vol 2 (Analekta AN2 7802, 1993).A plaque commemorating Johnson’s life and career has been mounted in Guelph, Ontario. In 1992 his archives were deposited at the University of Guelph Library.

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