There is only one John Harrison biography available, but it's way too good to just summarize it; I'm reproducing it here
in its entirety: © Charles A. Hooey, Musicweb-International
The first English tenor of note to record extensively was John Harrison. His many quick-selling 78 rpm discs for a time exceeded sales by a certain
Italian tenor of the day, a phenomenon known as Enrico Caruso.
John was born at Broach Farm in Foulridge near Colne on 27 February 1868, the first child of Joseph Harrison and wife
Martha née Brown. In time, the Harrison household at 81 Albert Road would fairly throb as more children arrived,
each with music in their blood. After John came Joseph Henry in 1871, then Sarah Ellen in 1873, William in 1878, Jane in
1880 and Albert in 1886. As a youngster, perhaps to escape the cacophony of noise at home, the ever-inquisitive John took
to breeding canaries in a nearby loft as he found their sweet sounds relaxing.
As his father before him, he began at age ten to work in the local textile mill, a task he didn't much relish. He did excel
at cricket but realized this lacked career potential. What then? Perhaps, a small manufacturing business would make him
rich? In the end, he chose singing. Once his voice broke, he was without a singing voice for four years and when it
returned he sang as a lightish, mellifluous baritone. Soon he was deemed one of the best in the country. At eighteen, he
had his first major opportunity as a soloist in Colne when a well-known artist took ill. The conductor called him from the
chorus to sing Messiah.
He continued to sing in various venues attracting attention while he took lessons from Mrs. Schofield Clegg and F. H. Dale.
This led to appearances in Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Huddersfield and Blackpool. When Mr. Hugo
Gorlitz became his agent, he convinced John to switch to tenor to enhance his prospects for ultimate success. He moved to
London and with great diligence worked over the next two years to reset his voice. At age 28, he debuted at Queen's Hall at
a Boosey Ballad concert, impacting to a point where he was recalled four times. Undoubtedly these concerts helped him along
the trail to total acceptance. Choral societies throughout England began to clamor for his services, many hailing him as
the successor to Edward Lloyd.
Suddenly a recording contract worth £1000 was thrust into his hands. This was an opportunity too good to miss so on 16
December 1902 he and a baritone named Bartell visited the studios of The Gramophone Company to record eight popular duets
of the day, including "The larboard watch", "Tenor and baritone" and "All's well". Five were accepted for release to the
public. Not bad for an initial effort. In 1903 he waxed "Nirvana" and "Drink to me only with thine eyes", a pair of hits
that were amongst the first 12" discs to be recorded. Before long, with brother Joseph, an excellent basso, he recorded
more duets, two for release being "All's well" by Braham and "The two beggars" by Wilson. After he recorded the latter with
Robert Radford in 1907, it was decided their voices blended nicely, and several other duets and concerted pieces
materialized.
In 1903, John came close to eternal glory singing Elgar's music. As described in the Elgar Society's "The best of me", he
had a role, albeit a small one, on 6 June when Elgar's Dream of Gerontius was introduced to London audiences at the
still unfinished Westminster Cathedral. Ludwig Wüllner, an accomplished lieder and opera singer, had come from
Düsseldorf to sing the title role, but he balked at singing the dress rehearsal on the morning prior to the
performance that afternoon. Gorlitz, agent for both Wüllner and Harrison, perceived this as an opportunity to advance
his "new English tenor" so John sang the dress rehearsal, after being told to be ready in case the star faltered. But
Wüllner rehearsed on Friday afternoon and duly appeared for the performance. His singing was rough and anything but
beautiful but Elgar admired his intellectual approach... Alice Elgar in her diary wrote, "Wüllner finer than anyone".
Delightful Muriel Foster, the Angel, might have disagreed. Having schooled himself in this complex music, John Harrison no
doubt sang Gerontius later though details have yet to surface.
Harrison made his initial appearance with the London Symphony concert series on Monday, 23 April 1904 with Hans Richter
conducting. The programme included Wagner's "Am stillen Herd", "Fanget an" and the Preislied from Wagner's Die
Meistersinger and Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire music from Die Walküre. Fellow artists at this concert
were Marie Brema and Frederic Austin.
He also became a frequent guest on a Henry Wood Proms concerts in Queen's Hall. At one occasion, 9 September 1905, he
appeared with soprano Stella Maris and sang "Salve, dimora" from Faust while Stella contributed Elizabeth's Prayer
from Tannhäuser.
In August 1906, he took part when The Gramophone Company recorded The mikado as its first Gilbert and Sullivan
recording. Apparently he was called in only to record Nanki-Poo's main aria, "A wand'ring minstrel" while Ernest Pike sang
the character's other music. In his analysis of recordings of The mikado in For the Record, Spring 2007, Michael
Walters wrote, "Harrison sings 'A wand'ring minstrel' sensitively, and for a recording of the time it is exemplary ... he
is in full control of his voice and glides easily through the song. It is an exquisite performance."
Then on 19 November 1906, he joined the London Symphony, the Sheffield Choir and fellow singers Alice Lakin and David
Ffrangçon-Davies in a concert that included Singet dem Herrn, a motet by Bach and Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
Hans Richter conducted most of the music but Henry Coward led the Bach.
On 17 December 1906 he joined Australian soprano Amy Castles in an early gramophone promotion that had record enthusiasts
flocking from afar to pack the Royal Albert Hall, London. With his interest in the gramophone, John no doubt was happy to
be involved. The Daily Mail commented, "John Harrison sang Leoncavallo's 'Tis the day and his encore by the
gramophone created as much applause and appreciation as when he sang in person a few moments before."
A handsome chap, often referred to as "The English Caruso," John found his way to Covent Garden where he stayed on the
roster for the summer seasons of 1905, 1906 and 1907 but his name does not appear in individual cast lists prepared by
Harold Rosenthal for his book, Two centuries at Covent Garden. This suggests he was signed to sing minor roles, a
theory that is borne out by a pair of programmes that show he was on stage on 16 May 1907 as Balthasar Zorn, one of the
Meistersingers and again on 5 June as Heinrich in Wagner's Tannhäuser. Heinrich Knote sang the title role with
Frau Knüpfer-Egli (Elisabeth), Cicely Gleeson-White (Venus), Clarence Whitehill (Wolfram), Frederic Austin (Biterolf),
Caroline Hatchard (ein Hirt) and Hans Richter, conductor. He excelled in romantic leads in such operas as The Tales of
Hoffmann, Faust, La traviata and La bohème but never at the Garden.
In the autumn and following winter of 1907, Percy Grainger made an extended tour of over eighty cities and towns in Great
Britain and Ireland with vocalists Evangeline Florence, Ada Crossley and John Harrison with Leon Sametini (violin) and S.
Little (piano) as accompanists. The tour, though exhausting, was but a prelude to another Australian tour the following
season with practically the same personnel.
All this activity had given John confidence in the future and so on 8 October that year he married his childhood sweetheart
Margaret Capstick at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Albert Road, Colne. Good friend bass Charles Knowles was upstanding
as his best man. John was 39, Margaret 35.
In 1908 he set out, likely with Margaret, to enjoy that tour of Australia with the famous contralto Ada Crossley. They
appeared in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. After one concert the Sydney Morning Herald noted there were "ten uproarious
recalls" due to Mr. Harrison's "confident, delicious zest".
Back in England late in 1909, he began to acquire a reputation for excellence in oratorio in chapels throughout the
country, while at home, as his youngest daughter Barbara recalled "he sang ... up against the fireplace ... everyone had a
piano in those days, didn't they?" That year he had an auspicious appearance at the Birmingham Festival on 6 October to
perform Dvořák's Stabat mater with Maud Perceval Allen, Louise Kirkby Lunn and Robert Radford.
For another London Symphony Concert on 21 March 1910, the programme included the closing scene from Wagner's Die
Götterdämmerung and a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Maud Perceval Allen, Ada Crossley, John
Harrison, Charles Knowles and the London Choral Society with Hans Richter conducting.
Late in 1911, he cast his lot with Irish impresario Thomas Quinlan for a tour of the British Isles. Thus, he had the honor
of singing Siegmund in their first performance of Wagner's Die Walküre in English in Liverpool on 2 October.
Then, after singing Hoffmann, he assumed the title role of Tannhäuser a couple of nights later on 18 October
with Bettina Freeman, Vera Courtenay, Robert Parker, Allen Hinckley and Spencer Thomas. Cuthbert Hawley conducted.
The following year with Quinlan he was able to broaden his field considerably. Stops in Britain included Hull where on 16
December, he sang the title role in Tales of Hoffmann with Nora d'Argel, Rosina Beynon, W. J. Samuell and Charles
Magrath. Then on the 19th, he sang Siegmund in Die Walküre with Agnes Nicholls, Gladys Ancrum, Edna Thornton
and Robert Parker. After this segment ended in Dublin, it was on to South Africa and Australia. After his earlier time
"down under", John would have received a hero's welcome although another English tenor, John Coates, was more often in the
spotlight. John Harrison had to contend with three very different, difficult roles. In Tannhäuser, he was
regarded as a fine natural tenor, full of appropriate feeling and refinement but lacking somewhat in the dramatic element.
In Sydney, he sang Siegmund in Die Walküre again to a mixed reaction. One critic felt he offered "an incomplete
study" while another praised his passion and strength. In both cities, "Harrison was a convincing, even a poetic and
dashing Faust". Agnes Nicholls was pleasing as Marguérite, a role not usually associated with this gifted Wagnerian.
Back in Britain, Quinlan finished up in Dublin on 13 January 1913. Later that year, he returned to Australia but Harrison
elected to stay in England, his place on the roster being taken by another English tenor, Maurice d'Oisly.
During World War I, although in his forties, John passed "A1" for war service but authorities paused when they realized who
he was. They decided he could do much for morale by singing for the troops and that he did in a series of frontline tours.
Although he preferred the excitement that opera generated, he became best known as a ballad singer with the accomplished
Madame Adami as his accompanist. When HMV suggested he team with their rising keyboard genius, Gerald Moore, John declined
and remained faithful to the steady Adami.
In Liverpool on 15 December 1914, he appeared in the English premiere of Gabriel Pierné's epic, The children's
crusade with the composer conducting. Caroline Hatchard sang Alain, the principal female character. The work concerned
the devastating travails of children during the Middle Ages as they toiled to reach the Holy Land.
During a short season of opera organized by Robert Courtneidge at the Shaftesbury Theatre in April 1915, John appeared in
Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann when it was presented in English with Nora d'Argel, Gladys Ancrum, Edith Clegg,
Frederick Ranalow and Frederic Austin with Hamish MacCunn conducting.
Later that year when Sir Thomas Beecham oversaw his first season of grand opera in English, again at the Shaftesbury,
Harrison sang Hoffmann on 2 November with virtually the same cast as in April. Nora d'Argel was both Olympia and Antonia
with Gladys Ancrum as Giulietta while the villainy was assigned to Ranalow as both Coppelius and Dr. Mirakel [sic] and to
William Samuell as Dapertutto. MacCunn again conducted.
For his New Year's Day celebration he journeyed to Edinburgh to sing that afternoon in Messiah with Caroline
Hatchard, Catherine Mentiplay and Frederic Austin. As a finale to a splendid day of music, the artists that evening
re-assembled to present a choice selection of ballads.
The following summer he returned to opera when he joined the Harrison Frewin Opera Company. A high point came on 12 May in
Liverpool when he sang the part of Dominique in the first presentation of The attack on the mill by Alfred Bruneau.
Based on an incident in the Franco-Prussian War, the opera also featured the voices of Raymonde Amy, Lewys James and
Kingsley Lark.
Early in 1917, while associated with H. B. Phillips Opera Company, John visited Liverpool again on 16 February to sing
Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohè:me with Nora d'Argel as Mimì,
Kingsley Lark as Schaunard and Charles Moorhouse as Colline. Soon thereafter the Frewin and Phillips companies were
absorbed by the Carl Rosa organization. At this time a proposed trip to sing in the United States failed to materialize,
thanks to a bungling agent, much to the tenor's disgust and long lasting disappointment.
In addition to a flood of song and ballad records, John made splendid duet recordings with England's premier bass, Robert
Radford, as well as concerted selections with Perceval Allen, Edna Thornton, Alice Lakin, Alice Esty, Evelyn Harding and
Stuart Gardner. His records include a second attempt to record for HMV The mikado, this time a more complete version
than eleven years earlier. Walters, writing of his work in the new recording, stated: "The opening is slow, Harrison blasts
and is coarse and open, particularly on the top notes, with intrusive H's. Yet he sings with considerable feeling, and is
at his best in the quiet passages. He sings with iron-toned voice, but is capable of subtle pianos when required...it is
clear from this recording why he was a sought after tenor in the acoustic era. He certainly has more élan and heroic
tone than Pike and comes over much better than Hyde." Two years later he participated in recording The gondoliers
and in the interim joined some of the same artists to record a condensation of Edward German's Merrie England with
the composer conducting.
When Harrison's recording of Hermann Lohr's "Margharita" was released on 78 rpm, HMV described it as: "A well-remembered
ballad of a decade or so ago which held a high place among tenor songs of the day. The singer gives it in his most tasteful
manner, the second verse being charmingly vocalized, effective use of the mezza-voce on the lines, Oh dancing waves, oh
light divine, oh dark blue eyes that looked in mine, oh lips that whisper soft and low, long ago Margharita.
Harrison's final recording came in 1920 just prior to his retirement. He had arrived on the scene too early and retired
before he could benefit from advances the electrical process brought to recording. Nor did he sing on radio. His youngest
daughter remembered him as "always very kind, very genial, jolly ... he always came home with stories to tell, liked to go
on walks, to smoke cigars and his pipe." Another daughter, Phyllis, in carrying on the family tradition, became an
accomplished soprano who sang with Beecham and Sir Adrian Boult.
In 1929 at age 61, he suffered a massive stroke and collapsed in his dressing room. After lingering for ten days he
succumbed on 19 March. He was accorded a huge funeral with horse-drawn carriages that passed along a route lined by hordes
of admirers and pallbearers, every one a sturdy Harrison nephew. "I've never seen such a handsome lot of pallbearers!"
someone remarked. For music, they played and sang "Salutations", a hymn of the tenor's creation.
SOURCES: OPERA FOR THE ANTIPODES by Alison Gyger, Currency Press, 1990
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The late Jim McPherson in Toronto read an early draft and provided corrections and encouragement while
Dennis Foreman helped with Quinlan data and Paul Campion in London did splendidly in uncovering family background.
