Walter Malcolm Neil McEachern (1 April 1883 – 17 January 1945) was an Australian

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

who enjoyed a successful career in the United Kingdom, both as a concert soloist and as one half of the comic musical duo

Flotsam and Jetsam In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are terms for various types of property lost or abandoned at sea. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A ...

Personal life

McEachern was born in

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

, New South Wales, the sixth of 13 children of Archibald Hector McEachern and his wife, Rebecca Mary. On 2 February 1916, McEachern married pianist Hazel Hogarth Doyle, who later became his accompanist and provided the musical direction for his career. Hazel came from a musical family: her mother Florence was a pianist and the violinist Bessie Doyle was a sister. He was a Freemason, and a member of the Savage Club Lodge in London.

Career and death

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, McEachern went on a tour of Australia with the great Australian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

. Also in the touring company were Ella Caspers,

Ada Crossley Ada Jemima Crossley (3 March 1871 – 17 October 1929) was an Australian contralto notable as the first Red Seal recording artist engaged in the US by the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1903. Born at Tarraville, Gippsland, Victoria, she ...

and Marie Narelle. In 1921 McEachern went to England with his wife, where he was hailed as one of the world's best bass vocalists. He was especially acclaimed as an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

singer although his voice was equally well suited to the demands of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

; but unlike his finest contemporary rival among English-language basses,

Norman Allin Norman Allin CBE (19 November 1884 – 27 October 1973) was a British bass singer of the early and mid twentieth century, and later a teacher of voice. Early studies Allin was born in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1884. He studied at the Royal Man ...

, he elected not to pursue a career in that particular art form. McEachern did appear, however, in an array of staged

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

Savoy operettas under the batons of the famous conductors

Sir Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...

and Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 ...

. In early 1926, McEachern forged a light-entertainment collaboration with Bentley Collingwood Hilliam, a pianist from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Their act proved to be a great success with British audiences and they became famous as Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam. McEachern was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

of the

oesophagus The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus ( archaic spelling) ( see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), colloquially known also as the food pipe, food tube, or gullet, ...

and died after an operation in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 17 January 1945. His name is commemorated in Australia by McEachern Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Melba.

Recordings

McEachern made a total of 187 studio recordings, including pieces of music from

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

and

as well as a number of popular songs of the day. These records display the impressive depth, power and tonal richness of his voice and the excellence of his technique. One of his English-language 78-rpm discs, made with his countryman Harold Williams, of "The Gendarmes' Duet" from

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

's ''

Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' () is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-ar ...

'', is considered to be a classic recording. Produced in 1933, it has been re-issued many times since and is available on CD. In 1983 EMI Records Australia together with The National Library of Australia released 49 of McEachern's recordings as a 3

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

compilation transferred from 78 rpm pressings manufactured in Australia."Malcolm McEachern Basso Supreme", Malcolm McEachern, 3 LP box set with 8 page set of notes released by EMI Records Australia and The National Library of Australia, Sydney, 1983, Music Publisher Numbers OXLP7677-9 http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21748560?selectedversion=NBD2984435

Bibliographies

* B. and F. Mackenzie, Singers of Australia (Melb, 1967); 'Death of Mr. McEachern', Times (London), 18 Jan 1945, p 6; Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Jan 1945; 'Obituary', Times (London), 19 Jan 1945, p 8. * Print Publication Details: Peter Burgis, 'McEachern, Walter Malcolm Neil (1883–1945)', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 264–265.

References

External links

Malcolm McEachern‘s video recording
(Link broken.)

National Library of Australia digital recording listing for "The Changing of the Guard"

Sound recording of Flotsam & Jetsam presenting "Is 'e an Aussie, Lizzie, is 'e?"

1931 filmed recording of McEachern singing "In Cellar Cool"
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEachern, Malcolm 1883 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Australian male opera singers Operatic basses People from Albury