Lyrita Recorded Edition
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| Lyrita Recorded Edition | |||
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| Parent company | none | ||
| Founded | 1958 | ||
| Founder(s) | Richard Itter | ||
| Distributing label | Nimbus Records | ||
| Genre(s) | classical music | ||
| Country | UK | ||
| Web address | [1] | ||
Lyrita Recorded Edition is a classical music record label, specialising in the works of British composers.
Lyrita began issuing LPs by mail subscription in October 1959 as Lyrita Recorded Edition. The founder of the company, Richard Itter of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, was a businessman and record collector. Having heard many bad records, he determined to make good records only.
Lyrita devoted itself to the works of composers of the United Kingdom. At first this consisted of piano music of Arnold Bax, Gordon Jacob, E.J. Moeran, Michael Tippett and others. The earliest recordings were made in the music room of Itter’s home. Itter was responsible for the engineering, production, and editing. If he sold 100 copies he was able to break even. RCS.2 was the first catalog number, and Gordon Jacob wrote a composition specifically for this album, "Elegy for Piano and Cello", to fill out the program on the disc.
In time, the bulk of Lyrita's catalog became orchestral and symphonic works, including otherwise neglected composers at that time, including William Alwyn, Malcolm Arnold, Havergal Brian, Gerald Finzi, John Foulds, Edmund Rubbra, Arnold Bax, Arnold Cooke, Humphrey Searle, and George Lloyd. Many Lyrita LPs became regarded as demonstration discs, suitable for showcasing the sonic qualities of high-end hi-fi equipment. Nearly all of Lyrita’s recordings were produced by Decca Records and pressed by either Decca or Nimbus Records. When Decca joined Polygram, the relationship with Lyrita ended.
The only non-British music to be recorded and issued on Lyrita was Brazilian piano music performed by Elizabeth Powell on RCS.22. However, works by Paul Hindemith, Edward MacDowell, and Francis Poulenc were also recorded but not issued.
Lyrita issued monaural records in the RCS series, and stereophonic records in the SRCS series beginning at SRCS.31 (which corresponded with monaural RCS.31). The stereo series ran to SRCS.131. Lyrita issues compact discs in the SRCD series.
Lyrita’s stereophonic LPs from the SRCS series were also issued in the U.S. by HNH (1978-79) and Musical Heritage Society (1972-77). Lyrita began importing their records into the U.S. in 1980. The first digital productions were made in June 1982, and LP production was discontinued in 1988.
In 1990 Lyrita began issuing compact discs featuring a small selection of the back-catalog, a few newly-recorded items and recordings licensed from other sources.
As of summer 2006 Wyastone Estate Ltd (proprietors of Nimbus Records) reached an agreement with Richard Itter to distribute the company's entire cataloge over an eighteen month period. The first discs to appear will be those CD transfers that had appeared in the 1990s; the remaining original analogue masters will subsequently be digitized and transferred to CD, making all of Lyrita's recordings available on CD for the first time, hopefully in time for the company's Golden Jubilee in 2009.
