Saga Records was a British

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

first established in 1958. It pioneered budget-priced light classical music and jazz LPs.

Origins

The Saga Records label emerged from Saga Films Ltd, a venture established by the British pianist Leonard Cassini (1913–1999) who had studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and broadcast frequently on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

from 1939 to 1974, including an appearance at the Proms in 1957. From 1955 he made films such as ''Watch the Music'' for

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

, and having performed in Eastern Europe he had the contacts to create BBC TV documentaries using state film units in

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and Budapest. He registered Saga Films in October 1955, apparently with the intention of making films about composers, but lacked financial backing.

'Saga Records' initial releases

Cassini attracted investment from Wilfred Alonzo Banks, ACCA (1913–1983), a major in the

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where he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, and who had subsequently developed a business to import and distribute toys and decorations. He backed Cassini's proposal to create a new classical music label, but felt that neither he nor Cassini knew how to run such a business, so in March 1958 employed

William Barrington-Coupe William H. Barrington-Coupe (born William Halford Barrington Coupe, 1931 – 19 October 2014 and known as Barry) was a British record producer and music impresario. Married in 1956 to concert pianist Joyce Hatto, he was jailed for a year in 196 ...

, whose own

Concert Artists Concert Artist/Fidelio Recordings was a British classical music record label, situated in Royston, Hertfordshire, England, and owned and operated by William Barrington-Coupe. It is best known for selling unauthorized copies of commercial recordi ...

label had recently collapsed, as his A&R manager. Saga XID 1001

Until the late 1950s, with very few exceptions, British recording studios were owned by major record companies. Orchestral recording was subject to strict union rules and the margin on record sales was small. Quality 12in LPs cost c. 30/- (£1.50: equivalent to £30 in 2020) of which half went in manufacturing and purchase tax, and distribution and dealers took much of the rest.

Tape recording An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

had been developed in Germany in the 1930s, but only became available in the UK when German tape machines, captured at the end of the war, were reverse-engineered. By 1958, tape recording had become affordable and portable, making it possible to record on location with a minimum of staff. Through their European connections, Barrington-Coupe and Banks approached producer Paul Lazare in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

who had access to a studio and session musicians at low cost, some of whom were attached to the

Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra (german: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester) is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the ''Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Ge ...

. Saga sent pianists

Sergio Fiorentino Sergio Fiorentino (22 December 1927 – 22 August 1998) was a 20th-century Italian classical pianist whose sporadic performing career spanned five decades. There is quite a bit of footage of his playing that survives, in addition to audio record ...

and

Joyce Hatto Joyce Hilda Hatto (5 September 1928 – 29 June 2006) was an English concert pianist and piano teacher. In 1956 she married William Barrington-Coupe, a record producer who was convicted of Purchase Tax evasion in 1966. Hatto became famous ver ...

, both of whom were on Barrington-Coupe's books, to recording sessions Hamburg in 1958, and the orchestra was mostly directed by

Erich The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ai ...

Riede Riede is a municipality in the district of Verden, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and th ...

. James Lock, Barrington-Coupe's recording engineer at this time, would go on to make around five hundred recordings for Decca.They also recorded the

Royal Danish Orchestra The Royal Danish Orchestra (''Det Kongelige Kapel'') is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The Danish name for the orchestra indicates its original function as an ensemble geared to supplying the music for court events. The Royal Danish Orch ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

under John Frandsen with

Eileen Joyce Eileen Alannah Joyce CMG (died 25 March 1991) was an Australian pianist whose career spanned more than 30 years. She lived in England in her adult years. Her recordings made her popular in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly during World War II ...

and

Alan Loveday Alan Raymond Loveday (29 February 1928 – 12 April 2016) was a New Zealand violinist. A child prodigy, he became leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in Londo ...

. Some Russian tapes were procured, possibly through Cassini's Soviet contacts, so the public was offered quite a substantial selection of LPs, EPs and tapes when the first catalogue was published in September 1958. They were initially released by ''Saga Films Ltd'' and some of the discs were pressed by

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

. The discs arrived in record shops in October priced at 25/- (£1.25) and competed with the major record companies' re-release labels. "High fidelity" tape releases were marketed by ''Elizabethan (Tape Recorders) Ltd'' branded as "Saga-Elizabethan" at 35/- (£1.75). At this stage, they were all

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese ...

recordings.

Collapse and sale of the business

The major British labels started releasing stereo LPs in mid 1958, but continued to press mono releases for some years. In October 1959 Saga advertised a short-lived Stereo Multi-Play offering “for perfect reproduction on either monaural or stereo record players, thanks to a special cutting technique” at the challenging price of 45/- (£2.25). By then, with further expensive recording sessions in Germany and loss-making promotional concerts in London, Saga's capital was running out. A licensing deal for distribution of Saga's tapes in the USA was struck with

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, who created the ''Forum'' label specially for its classical releases. Barrington-Coupe was advertising recordings that had not yet been made, including a Beethoven symphony cycle. In February 1960, Barrington-Coupe and record producer

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

formed Triumph (Superfi) Sound Ltd, targeting a teenage market was just emerging in the UK. Following a clash of personalities, largely due to the different markets addressed by Saga and Triumph, Meek walked out in September. He took his artists with him to a new independent production company, ''RGM Sound Ltd'', again backed by Wilfred Banks. Whilst other independent labels relied on budget releases of well-known orchestras hiding behind a pseudonym, Saga traded on its recognised artists. A recording of items from

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

was conducted by

Lawrence Leonard Lawrence Leonard (22 August 1923 – 4 January 2001) was a British conductor, cellist, composer, teacher, and writer. Early life and education Leonard received his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music and the École Normale de Musiq ...

, who had been chosen by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

to conduct the London premiere. Concert promotions of Saga recording stars at the Royal Festival Hall and elsewhere were scheduled to promote the label in early 1960. The

London Philharmonic Choir The London Philharmonic Choir (LPC) is one of the leading independent British choirs in the United Kingdom based in London. The patron is Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Sir Mark Elder is president. The choir, comprising more than ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

with soloists

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Robertson
and Stalman under Frederic Jackson were engaged to record

Handel's Messiah ''Messiah'' (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 ...

in May 1960, and further Hamburg sessions led to a cash crisis. Barrington-Coupe arranged to sell about fifty unissued master tapes to Marcel Rodd, but creditors foreclosed in July. The

Official Receiver An officer of the Insolvency Service of the United Kingdom, an official receiver (OR) is an officer of the court to which they are attached. The OR is answerable to the courts for carrying out the courts' orders and for fulfilling their duties ...

held Barrington-Coupe responsible for the company's collapse. Barrington-Coupe walked away, taking his artists with him, and Wilfred Banks was left with the master tapes and the Saga name. With no staff, facilities or artists on his books, Banks traded the business and its rights in over 300 master recordings to Marcel Rodd of Allied Records/Classics Club for 1,000 bargain "''Lyrique"'' LPs, a deal completed in March 1961 once he had established that Barrington Coupe had no copyright claim over the tapes.

Expansion under Allied Records

The tapes that Rodd's Allied Records had acquired from Saga Saga Films included musicals, "light classical" releases, dance and jazz bands, theatre organs and popular singers as well as classical favourites.There were over three hundred Saga titles, fifty that had belonged to Barrington-Coupe plus another hundred mono Russian recordings that had originally been imported in 1954 by the ''James Quality Recording Company'' and partially released under the ''Monarch'' label between 1954 and 1956. Saga had not used them, possibly because they were not stereo. In March 1961 Rodd hired Ted Perry (who was later to establish

Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...

) as label manager. Perry created a new full-price ''Celebrity'' sub-label which featured the

Fine Arts Quartet The Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music ensemble founded in Chicago, United States in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin. The Quartet has recorded over 200 works and has toured internationally for 77 years, making it one of the longest en ...

and made John Shirley-Quirk's debut recording. Barrington-Coupe by now had set up a new budget label, ''Fidelio'', retailing at 12/6 (62½p) and Rodd responded with ''Fidelity''. He reused some of the ''Lyrique'' masters which he had previously sold to Banks and acquired tapes from the French budget label ''Guilde Européene du Microsillon'' ''(GEM),'' many without documented attribution''.'' Perry was left to sort out the details, including inventing artists for unattributed tapes and deleting tapes which had deteriorated, such as the Urania catalogue. Rodd was a difficult employer and Perry left Saga within eighteen months. In February 1962 Marcel Rodd moved to a large Victorian house near

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. ...

where he converted the basement ballroom into a recording studio and set up Saga's offices on the ground floor. He and his family lived above. The disk cutting and record pressing was done at a factory in

North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green and in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The names North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove describe the same area. North Kensington is wh ...

. Robin O'Connor was recruited to replace Perry and recalled his job interview in April 1964 with Marcel Rodd:

" ... where the man himself was propped up in bed, resplendent in black pyjamas ... papers strewn all over the bed, the man's piercing gaze, the gruff voice barking out sharp questions."

Rodd acquired two more failed record businesses in May 1963; the ''Record Society'', which had promoted a specialist catalogue, and ''Associated Recordings'' which had imported Czech

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. ...

discs and licensed USSR

Melodiya Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...

recordings as well as

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

's quality classical catalogue from the USA. Rodd's Classics Club label was wound up in mid 1964 and the enlarged Saga Records moved into a former paint factory at 326, Kensal Road. The non-classical repertoire was shifted onto the ''Society'' and ''Presto'' labels and the ''Celebrity'' series discontinued. Choral and organ repertoire arrived with the acquisition of
Alpha Records
', Oxford in 1966 and some baroque and classical chamber music was licensed from ''

Amadeo Amadeo is a Spanish and Portuguese name derived from the Latin name Amadeus. It may refer to: People * for people with the first name Amadeo * Amadeo I of Spain (1845–1890) * Amadeo Bordiga (1889–1970), founder of the Communist Party of Ital ...

'' on condition that pseudonyms concealed the musicians’ identities. Label managers came and went over the next few years.

Stereo LPs introduced

By 1965 it was clear that the market wanted only stereo recordings and mono tapes were "remastered" to create a stereo effect. Saga engineers used a

phase splitter A phase splitter is a device that separates a signal into multiple phases (or polarities). The term is most often applied to amplifiers that produce two "balanced" voltage outputs: of equal amplitude but opposite polarity (i.e. 180 degrees phase ...

and a couple of equalisers to split the signal into two, adding top frequencies to the 'A' channel (where most of the orchestral strings are usually placed) and a bit of bass to 'B' to emphasise the cellos and basses. However, the rise of budget re-release labels, such as Classics for Pleasure backed by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

, made it difficult to market these older pseudo-stereo recordings and by the end of the decade new releases were so sparse that regular advertising in ''Gramophone'' dried up in 1971.

Investment in artists and repertoire

Rodd re-hired Ted Perry as Artists and Repertoire Manager in March 1973 and gave him scope to make the sort of recordings he wanted to make. Martin Compton, a music graduate, was already on Saga's staff and became studio producer and John Shuttleworth, a teacher at Eltham College was recoding engineer. recording venues with better acoustics also helped to restore Saga's reputation. Perry placed an advertisement in Gramophone claiming that new equipment produced LPs pressed “to the highest standards”, though Saga's reputation for poor quality pressing persisted. Perry launched three remastered series; SAGA 5000 budget LPs with re-released Shirley-Quirk and

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ...

records costing 71p, SAGA 6000 jazz LPs at £1.25, and SAGA 7000 'immortals' featuring Caruso,

Melba Melba may refer to: * Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931), Australian soprano opera singer ** ''Melba'' (film), a 1953 musical biopic drama film about Nellie Melba ** ''Melba'' (miniseries), a 1988 Australian mini series about Nellie Melba * Melba M ...

, etc. at 95p. In 1977, Perry moved on again to set up

Meridian Records Meridian Records is a British independent record label based in London. Having been founded in 1977, Meridian has celebrated more than a third of a century of recording classical music in its well regarded 'natural sound'. Meridian has tradit ...

before creating

. Martin Compton continued producing releases and the last new titles produced by Nicholas Dicker were added in 1984. From 1979 Saga's discs were pressed by

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

in Germany.

Legacy

Saga's master tapes at the suggestion of Nicholas Dicker were donated by Marcel Rodd to the

British Library Sound Archive The British Library Sound Archive, formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound; also known as the National Sound Archive (NSA), in London, England is among the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including music, spoken word a ...

in March 1989, with licence fees passed to the Saga Trust. The Trust supports the British Library Edison Fellowship programme, designed to encourage scholarship devoted to the history of recordings or western art music and music in performance.

Saga Classics

In 1990 ''Sound-Products Holland B.V.'' licensed the tapes for transfer to CD and began to issue the discs in 1992, but ceased trading year later. The series was taken over by ''Emergo Classics'' until 1997, who released 46 CDs. Half of these titles originated in the 1970s, and another quarter from earlier Saga or Classics Club sessions. The balance were 1950s recordings from various sources, four of Russian origin.

Catalogue numbers

{, class="wikitable" , +Series and catalogue number summary !Label !Series !Range !From !To ! , - , Saga , XID , 5001-80 , 1958 , 1962 , Original 12in LP Mono , - , Saga , EFID , 1001-25 , 1958 , 1959 , 7in 45rpm EP , - , Saga , STA-STG , , 1958 , 1962 , 'Saga Sound" tapes , - , Saga , AAA ST , 4000-12 , 1959 , , "Stereo Multi-Play" , - , Saga , STM , 6001-40 , 1959 , 1961 , Mainly light music , - , Saga , STP , 1013- , 1961 , , 7in 45rpm EP , - , Saga , RGJ , 7002 , 1960 , , 7in 45rpm EP , - , Saga , EFD , 1501 , 1961 , , 7in 45rpm EP , - , Saga , EFP , 2501 , 1961 , , 7in 45rpm EP , - , Lyrique , HPG , 1001-70 , 1964 , , Mainly GEM recordings , - , Saga , XIP , 7001-15 , 1961 , 1963 , Celebrity Series , - , Saga , XID , 5101-84 , 1961 , 1964 , Budget Classics Club re-issues , - , Saga , XID , 5201-5338 , 1963 , 1971 , Budget re-issues of XIP series , - , Octave , OC , 1-16 , 1962 , , 7in 33rpm , - , Octave , ARC , 1-100 , 1963 , 1965 , 7in 33rpm , - , Saga Heritage , XIG , 8001-18 , 1963 , , Opera Society 78rpm transfers , - , Fidelity , FDY , 2001-85 , 1963 , 1964 , Ultra budget Lyrique re-issues , - , Society , SOC , 901-1057 , 1963 , 1967 , SCALA (XIL) re-issues , - , Presto , PRE , 601-90 , 1964 , 1965 , STUDIO (XIC) re-issues , - , Opus , TW , 801-45 , 1964 , , Re-issued Lyrique/Fidelity , - , Pan , SPAN , 6001-10 , 1966 , , Licensed from Amadeo , - , Pan , SPAN , 6200-22 , 1966 , 1968 , New and re-issued recordings , - , Eros , , 8000-8157 , 1966 , 1970 , Non-classical , - , Boulevard , , 4000-4182 , 1967 , 1974 , "Middle of the road" , - , Fidelity , FDY , 1900-8 , 1967 , , Fake stereo reissues , - , Fidelity , FDY , 2086-2175 , 1967 , 1969 , Fake stereo reissues , - , Psyché , PSY , 30001-10 , 1968 , 1969 , Full priced music, drama & poetry , - , Pan , PAN , 6300-30 , 1971 , 1972 , Eros continuation (and Alpha) , - , Opus , OPUS , 1001-12 , 1972 , 1979 , Re-issued late 50s stereo recordings , - , Saga , SAGA , 6900-32 , 1973 , 1975 , Jazz "Immortal Sessions" , - , Saga , SAGA , 7001-30 , 1973 , 1974 , "Heritage" series reissues , - , Saga , SAGA , 5336-5492 , 1973 , 1983 , Perry recordings and later re-issues , - , Saga , HAYDN , 1-2 , 1981 , 1982 , Aborted Haydn complete symphonies , - , Psyché , PSY , 1-17 , 1984 , 1986 , Final Saga recording sessions

References

British record labels Classical music record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom