The Sorcerer - Cramer Score Errata

ERRATA LIST FOR THE SORCERER

(Piano/Vocal Score, J.B. Cramer edition)

This list was originally compiled from the score which was current before 2003 when Cramer re-engraved it.
Errata for the new score have now been added.

Key to measure indications:
A/B/C = Page/System/Measure
L.H. = Left hand (piano part)
R.H. = Right hand

Note: This list was put together in 1996 during the rehearsal period for the Lamplighters production, for which I served as accompanist. Strictly speaking it shouldn't be called an errata list. Mostly what I've noted here are suggestions for dynamics which worked well in performance. However, I have no access to an orchestra score, so I'm not able to check those suggestions against what Sullivan actually wrote.

Compared to the Schirmer scores, the Cramer edition is remarkably error-free.

— Steven Lichtenstein

VOCAL ERRATA:

36/3/1: Forte marking on final "They deliver it" should probably be a piano.

57/4/4: Perhaps the tenors should sing an A instead of a B on "Sally," going to G-sharp as written on "Lunn." Dr. Daly sings it this way on page 132.

83/2/5: The word "dews" is missing from the chorus part on the third beat.

92/1/5: Alexis's note on "are" ("And all are now united") should be C-sharp, not a repeated C-natural. This correction is based on an older score kindly faxed to me by Philip Sternenberg, showing the melodic line written this way in its original compositional form, which was in G Major rather than B-flat Major. This was because "Dear Friends Take Pity On My Lot" was originally composed in E Major, before being brought down to D-flat Major for Jessie Bond! The recitative had to be altered (to its considerable detriment, alas!) in order to connect to the C Major "Oh Bitter Joy" chorus. The raised pitch on "are" clearly creates a better melodic line, and the omission of the sharp sign is obviously an error in the revised score.

93/1/1 Aline's not should be F not E, (same as the chorus sopranos).

95/2/3 Alexis's note should be G, (same as the chorus tenors).

109/2/1: In this section, I wouldn't worry about the rests in the vocal part. It seems to me that the editor made the proper alignments, and then filled in the rest of the bar with whatever seemed like a good idea to him at the time. It's a very sloppy job of work.

The main thing to remember is that it's a recitative, not a measured melodic passage, beginning from from the marking "RECIT" at "But stay! What is this fairy form..." That measure, for instance has eight beats in the voice part compared with the four notated beats in the accompaniment. From there on it's a metrical free-for-all: 7.5 beats in JWW's bar (my guess is that an eighth-rest was accidentally omitted after "horrible," which would make it come out to eight full beats and put the "go" of "going" onto a strong beat instead of an offbeat), followed by three regular 4/4 bars accompanied by tremolo strings and of a more melodic nature than the surrounding recitatives (hence the more regular rhythm), followed by another unmeasured recitative for Lady Sangazure with 6.75 beats in the first bar (this is clearly an error: either the first syllable of "visage" should be a dotted eighth, or the second syllable should be an eighth rather than a sixteenth, making seven beats in all -- I'd opt for two even eighths myself).

Short answer: I would ignore the first-beat quarter rests in the vocal line in the bars of "Oh horrible" and "For pity's sake," but observe the first quarter rest in "Why do you gaze at me with visage low'ring" (as the rhythm of that line clearly suggests that it begins on a downbeat).

PIANO ERRATA:

7/1/1: In the Lamplighters production I accompanied, we had four measures of bells preceding the first bar, these consisting of eight quarter-notes on the notes D/A D/A D/A D/A (D just above middle C, A just below middle C). I'm not certain whether this was reflective of the actual orchestra score or not, but it worked very well.

9/2/1-2: A hairpin crescendo-diminuendo is effective in these two bars, climaxing on "Joys" in the second bar. Many dynamic and tempo marks are omitted from this score, only a few of which I will touch on.

20/5/9: This is not an erratum, strictly speaking, but there should really be a courtesy C-natural in the right-hand chord for the sake of the pianist! There are many instances of left-out courtesy accidentals in the Cramer edition -- again, only some of which I will mention.

21/2/7: Courtesy F-natural in R.H.

30/2/2: Courtesy D-natural in R.H. on 3rd beat.

44/2/3: I don't have a recording, but I've always remembered the little passage in the R.H. (echoing JWW's phrase "for a nativity") to have been played by the bassoon an octave lower than indicated in the score. Perhaps it's doubled an octave higher by the clarinet or something, I don't know... but I've always reversed the staves at this point, playing the melody an octave lower in the left hand, and the chords an octave higher in the right hand. The same applies at 46/3/3.

53/2/3: The chord on "Discharge your loathsome loads" should be piano, not forte. The chords are a bit louder on each succeeding phrase, with a diminuendo on the last two ("noisome plenty yield").

66/4/1: Courtesy A-natural in L.H.

75, last bar: Fortissimo marking should be at the same place the chorus has it, not on the downbeat of the bar.

82/1/4-5: There should be a crescendo after "...waken one by one," and a subito piano on the downbeat at "...spell has worked."

97/3/4: The top note of the last four right-hand chords in this bar should be B-flat, not A. The same applies to 99/3/3.

108/1/1: At the beginning of the JWW/Sangazure duet, the orchestra chords are short and staccato (presumably pizzicato strings, though I could be wrong). The dynamic should be forte on the first bar, with a diminuendo to piano on the third bar.

122/2/3: Courtesy G-natural in L.H.

125/4/1: Sforzando/subito-piano on downbeat ("Be HIS, false girl..."), with a crescendo to the end of the page.

129/2/3: There should be a dynamic mark of piano here.

Errata for 2003 Edition

This list was compiled from notes made whilst sequencing the MIDI files for the "Web Opera". It is not the result of a careful proof-reading. I have not commented on courtesy accidentals which I consider superfluous, nor those which could usefully be added. Additions and amendments are should be sent to Paul Howarth.

Page	Bar	Part	Notes
8	27	Lyrics	For “threats” read “throats”.
16	7	RH	Final note should be a third lower (B instead of D).
17	21	Lyrics	For “fine” read “fair”.
22	66-7	Vocal	Quavers should be marked staccato.
29	23	RH	Last note should be quaver, not semi-quaver. Same in bars 24 & 25.
31	42	LH	Octave F on third beat (not G).
32	57	LH	Natural missing from A in last chord.
37	18	Alto	First note should be E.
38	44	Bass	Old scores have unison B flat through to first beat of bar 45.
48	108	Lyrics	Barring spelt incorrectly.
61	46	Sop.	The second crotchet should not be dotted. The sopranos should sing “The” in unison with the altos.
61	52	LH	The first three quavers should be C B A, not C A A.
62	65	RH	First quaver chord on second beat should have E at the top, not F.
66	116	Ten. & Bass	Note values should be the same as in all other vocal parts.
81	295	LH	All the notes are missing. There should be octave Gs for 3 quavers followed by G and B (4th space and above stave) on 4th quaver.
84-5	54-5	Pno	The previous edition of the Cramer score had the rhythm of the RH in bar 54 the same as the rhythm in bar 53 (that is the second group of four quavers should be quaver, semi-quaver rest, semi-quaver, quaver, quaver.) The new score agrees with the old in bar 55. Cramer is probably correct to amend the RH in bar 54 to be the same as bar 55, but should surely have amended the LH as well.
97	165	Alexis	This is a "non-error". The words “all are” should both be sung on C as printed. This is the way it is sung on both D'Oyly Carte recordings. Steven Lichtenstein suggested above that they should be C, C sharp.
102	16	All	Earlier editions put the change to 3/4 time before the last beat of this bar.
103	37	RH	The “con” should be disregarded. (This error is inherited from the previous edition.)
108	22-3	LH	The notes should be E flat (as printed) E flat (octave down) E flat (as first note) D flat (second down) C natural each one a quaver on the beat followed by a quaver rest according to all earlier scores. (Notes missing and bars filled with rests)
120	128	RH	The chord should fall on the first quaver of the second beat.
120-1	140-149	Pno	Note values in tremolos incorrect.
136	9	JW & SIR. M	Fermatas missing. Should apply to third beat of the bar.
137	30	LH	Note should be E, a third lower than printed.
141	82	Cons.	F sharp on “gay” to match Act 1 finale. This error is inherited from earlier editions.
144	94	Ten. & Bass	First beat should be three quavers rather than dotted rhythm
144	95	Aline & Cons.	Notes should be dotted crotchet tied to crotchet! (not the other way round.)
157	13	LH	B missing from 3rd quaver chord.
159	75	Alto	The new score follows the first edition Metzler score. A C19 Ditson score keeps the Altos on E as in bar 71.
160	85	Ten. & Bass	Rhythm on second beat should be quaver, quaver rest, quaver as in Sop & Alto rather than crotchet quaver.
166	162	Alexis	This is a "non-error". The words “all are” should both be sung on A as printed. Both words are sung on the same note on both D'Oyly Carte recordings. Steven Lichtenstein suggested above that they should be A, A sharp. The sharp is absent from the first edition Metzler score. The only score to have A, A sharp is the C19 Ditson score.