Audiobook · read by volunteers
Bab Ballads
W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911)
Read by Graham Redman · 44 chapters · 3 h 01
About the book
Before he became famous for his collaborations with Arthur Sullivan, W. S. Gilbert was a young writer sketching comic verses and illustrating them himself. The Bab Ballads collect those early rhymes, and they already show the mischievous logic that would later define the Savoy operas. Gilbert starts from an utterly ridiculous premise, such as a captain who gives away everything his crew could wish for, a pair of rival curates competing over who is more humble, or a general with a very odd record, and then follows the consequences with a perfectly straight face. The result is a gallery of absurd characters, topsy-turvy morals and sly digs at Victorian society, all in bouncing verse that is made for reading aloud. This recording gathers forty-four ballads in just three hours, voiced by a single reader. Expect quick laughs, lively rhythms and a good deal of delightful nonsense.
Introduction
William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) was an English dramatist, poet and illustrator. Long before the comic operas that made his name, he contributed humorous verses and drawings to magazines under the nickname Bab, and the first collection of these appeared at the end of the 1860s. The ballads that gave the volume its title are the work of a young man who was still finding his voice, and they are all the more fun for it.
What Gilbert developed in these pages is often described as his topsy-turvy style. He sets up an outrageous situation and then works out its logical consequences without flinching, however absurd they become. Beneath the nonsense there is also a satirical streak: officers, clergymen, aristocrats and respectable citizens are all fair game, and the cheerful cynicism of these pieces would carry straight through into his later stage works. Several of the ballads supplied characters, plots and songs that the author reused when he began writing librettos. Many of the poems are small stories with a beginning, a middle and a wonderfully deflating end, which makes them ideal listening.
This LibriVox recording is read by Graham Redman and lasts about three hours. It is split into forty-four short tracks, so you can dip in for a single ballad or listen straight through. Titles such as Captain Reece, The Rival Curates, Only a Dancing Girl and General John give a taste of the variety on offer. For anyone who loves light verse, or who already knows Gilbert only through the stage, the Bab Ballads are the natural place to discover where his sense of humour came from.
Public domain
W. S. Gilbert died in 1911: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text