During his tenure as music director of the Durham Savoyards, Ltd., Alan Riley Jones developed a collection of audio tracks to be used as learning aids for the performers. A genuine Renaissance Man, he adapted an audio player system and constructed this website himself to provide those files for public use.
Following Alan's retirement, the site was offline for a time due to a domain expiration. After some detective work, members of the Savoyards resurrected the website at this new URL, naming it SavoyARJ to honor Alan Riley Jones' hard work, creativity, and generosity.
The refreshed website is now operated and maintained by the Durham Savoyards, Ltd., and continues to be free of charge as part of our mission to educate and entertain through the topsy-turvy melodies of Gilbert & Sullivan. Donations are welcome via PayPal using the button below!
For each show listed below, you may click on the Chorus Practice button to access and play the audio files for that show. The Range Analysis button links to a page listing the vocal ranges for roles in each operetta. In preparation for auditions, the solo singing for each principal role has been analyzed to determine the highest and lowest note needed for each role.
| Princess Ida | Trial By Jury | ||||
| The Mikado | The Sorcerer | ||||
| Ruddigore | H.M.S. Pinafore | ||||
| The Yeomen of the Guard | The Pirates of Penzance | ||||
| The Gondoliers | Patience | ||||
| Utopia Limited | Iolanthe | ||||
| The Grand Duke |
Words by W. S. Gilbert, Music by Arthur Sullivan
Each Durham Savoyards performance begins with "God Save the Queen" to salute the Queen's entrance into her royal box, and ends with "Hail Poetry!" sung during the curtain call. The study pages for these anthems offer sheet music and parts recordings for anyone interested in singing along.
In 1988, Savoyards Music Director Benjamin Keaton created the four-movement choral symphony Places Please! A Savoyard Symphony in celebration of the Durham Savoyards, Ltd., 25th Anniversary. Click the link above to find embedded YouTube videos created in 2013, in which you may listen to the symphony, read the lyrics, and view program cover art from the Savoyards' first 50 years of productions.
Three of Sullivan's part songs for SATB voices were selected for a 2017 concert featuring a variety of pieces by Gilbert and/or Sullivan. These three part songs represented Sullivan without Gilbert. (More part song practice materials may be added over time.)
Feel free to listen to the audio files directly online using the audio player on each Chorus Practice page. Or if you prefer, you may download the files for your choral part (and the Tutti files) to use them locally on your computer or smart device, or to burn them to an audio CD. Look for the Download section at the bottom of each operetta's Chorus Practice page. For recommendations about organizing your downloaded practice files, see Tips for Downloading the Practice Files. If you are a Windows 7 user, we also have Tips for Burning an Audio CD using Windows Media Player.
