Twice-lost orchestration of Gilbert and Sullivan opera Thespis to be recreated

Pitch Perfect Music Services is set to recreate the orchestration of Thespis, a lost Gilbert and Sullivan opera, which was later arranged by Garth Morton and Terence Rees. The original orchestration, as created by Gilbert and Sullivan, was lost over a century ago; since then, several partnerships have revived it in various forms, using works taken from lesser-known Gilbert and Sullivan works (as well as some of Sullivan’s own solo compositions) and setting them to the libretto text, which survived. Since Rees and Morton were given unprecedented access to the D’Oyly Carte archive, and used what they found to recreate Thespis, it is acknowledged amongst experts and authorities in the field that the Rees/Morton version is the most authentic and accurate reworking of the opera. After a run of successful performances of this version in the 1960s, this orchestration was sadly lost due to damp and poor storage conditions. By remaking the orchestration in digital form, this musically historical and cultural work will be resurrected and preserved for generations to come.

In 2019, Garth Morton contacted Pitch Perfect Music Services to enquire about creating a typeset version of the piano and vocal score from his amended manuscript; this was successfully completed, however sadly in 2020, Morton passed away before a printed version was produced (his son Charles Morton has since overseen the final creation, which includes a tribute page to his father). Prior to his passing, he asked that if there was interest in putting on full-scale theatrical performances from this, Pitch Perfect was to re-orchestrate it: now that there is indeed that interest that has come about from the publication of that piano/vocal score, this is to become a reality. To bring this lost work back to life, and make future performances a possibility, Pitch Perfect will use recordings taken from a performance in 1969, combined with the music notation files already in existence from creating the piano/vocal score, as well as scores from the British Library, to remake the orchestration and parts. 

As such, Pitch Perfect is currently running a crowdfunding campaign in order to fund this work, which also offers rewards ranging from a copy of the piano/vocal score, to the rights to put on a performance of the opera; you can find it here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/OnvroQ5n?utm_campaign=sharemodal&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shortlink