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Christopher Plummer
Discography
Audio recordings & audiobooks
--> Notes
--> A Sense of Sin
--> J.B.
--> Romeo and Juliet
--> Shakespeare at Stratford
--> Great Moments from Hallmark Hall of Fame
      (Cyrano & Captain Brassbound's Conversion)
--> A Tribute to John F. Kennedy from the Arts
      (audio from the TV program)
--> The Elizabethan Appeal
--> Cyrano (Broadway musical)
--> The Happy Prince
--> The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
--> Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
--> Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur
--> Gertrude The Governess
--> Around the World in 80 Days
--> The Book of Merlyn
--> Goodbye Mr. Chips
--> In the Dawning
--> The Nutcracker
--> Alice in Wonderland
--> An American Tail
--> High Spirits
--> The Little Crooked Christmas Tree
--> Winnie the Pooh
--> Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
--> Rock-a-Doodle
--> Park Your Car in Harvard Yard
--> Fanfare
--> Zoe Caldwell Reads Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales
--> Henry V
--> Star Trek VI - Klingon Academy
--> Ivan the Terrible
--> Peer Gynt
--> A Midsummer Night's Dream
--> Must Love Dogs


The 1985 recording of "The Nutcracker" narrated by Christopher Plummer was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children.

Live radio broadcasts of concerts featuring Christopher Plummer as narrator include:
1. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Aug. 22, 2003 with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, Neville Marriner cond. (WAMC-FM Albany NY and WCRB-FM Waltham MA).
2. Henry V. May 2, 2003 with the Minnesota Orchestra, Neville Marriner cond. (Minnesota Public Radio.)
3. Peer Gynt. February 1995 with Toronto Symphony, Michael Lankester cond. (CBC radio.)

NOTES:
Some of the audio recordings are in-print and listed at
Amazon. However, many are out-of-print. The out-of-print audios can sometimes be found at eBay, Half.com, Amazon's US and UK used listings; or in libraries through interlibrary loan. Among the best of the commercial recordings:
• Henry V
• Jacob Two Two (both)
• Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Coleridge Poems
• The Book of Merlyn
• Around the World in 80 Days
• Goodbye Mr. Chips
• Cyrano the Musical
• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
• High Spirits: A Selection of Six Ghost Stories
• An American Tail
• Ivan the Terrible
Most of the audiobooks were issued on cassette tapes. Some of the earlier ones were also issued on vinyl 12" LP phonograph records. Some of the titles were printed / published multiple times, so there may be varying ISBN numbers, and other information associated with different editions. He sings on Cyrano the Musical and An American Tail.

"George Dibden Pitt's Sweeney Todd (The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) Plus! A Sense of Sin Starring Christopher Plummer" 2 cassette tape set from the archives of CBC Radio. Christopher Plummer stars in the radio play A Sense of Sin, by Andrew Allen (1953) ("Aspiring pianist Peter Nairs returns from New York upon the untimely death of his mother, only to find that she has died under very suspicious circumstances.") This is in print & available from CBC & Amazon. Amazon.

"J.B." 2 LP set (1959) RCA L.D.B. 6075, with the cast of J.B. including Raymond Massey, Christopher Plummer, James Daly. This is an audio recording of the Broadway play J.B. (Dec 11, 1958 - Oct 24, 1959) written by Archibald MacLeish; directed by Elia Kazan. Christopher Plummer received his first Tony Nomination for Best Actor in a Play in 1959. The production won the 1959 Tony Award for Best Play. Archibald MacLeish won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The album has a booklet with many photos. More photos
here.
Audio in Windows Media Player
Side 1
Side 2
Side 3
Side 4


Romeo and Juliet - The Stratford Festival Shakespearean Company T-49646 / T-49647; produced by The Toronto Star. The LP includes excepts from the 1960 Stratford Festival of Canada production and was recorded in the Festival Theater. The cast included:
Christopher Plummer ..... Mercutio
Julie Harris ..... Juliet
Bruno Gerussi ..... Romeo
Kate Reid ..... Nurse
William Needles ..... Benvolio
This is a rare LP purchased on ebay. It probably is available in some Canadian libraries.
Audio in Windows Media Player:
2 Excerpts from the LP:
Side 1, Band 1 = Act 1, Scene 4
(Christopher Plummer as Mercutio, Bruno Gerussi, William Needles) (04:30 min./ 2.09 MB)
Side 1, Band 3 = Act 2, Scene 2
Balcony scene (Julie Harris, Bruno Gerussi) (13:02 min./ 6.04 MB)
**

"Shakespeare at Stratford" LP (Royal Shakespeare Company 1960, 1961) London/Argo 5770; also released as "The World of Shakespeare" LP Argo SPA 4068; also released on 1982 Argo cassettes titled "World of Shakespeare". Christopher Plummer is on one track with Geraldine McEwan, an excerpt from Much Ado About Nothing- Act 4, Scene 1 ("Benedict confesses his love to Beatrice, who asks him to prove it by killing Claudio.").
Audio in Windows Media Player:
An excerpt from the LP:
Side 2 track1 of the LP:
Much Ado About Nothing Act 1 Scene 1 1.254 (3:44 min./ 1.31 MB)



"Great Moments from Hallmark Hall of Fame" 2 LP set PRM - 202. Includes excerpts from the TV productions of Cyrano (1962) and Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1960).
Audio in Windows Media Player:
Excerpt from the LP:
Scene with Greer Garson and Christopher Plummer:
Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1960) (6:58 min./ 2.43 MB)
Balcony scene with Christian (Donald Harron), Roxanne (Hope Lange), and Cyrano (Christopher Plummer):
Cyrano (1962) (9:33 min./ 3.33 MB)


A Tribute to President John F. Kennedy from the Arts
This record contains audio from the ABC-TV special that aired Nov. 24, 1963. The program was a quickly organized live tribute to President Kennedy, following his assassination on Nov. 22, 1963 and honoring his interest and encouragement of the arts. It featured an impressive list of actors in dramatic readings as well as performances by classical artists. (
Variety's TV review) This is a rare recording with a limited pressing, distributed privately by ABC-TV to commemorate the program.
Audio in Windows Media Player:
These are the two Christopher Plummer tracks, plus some other highlights from the album:
Christopher Plummer (02:30 min./ 2.31 MB) - Poem by Stephen Spender; and lines from Hamlet.
Christopher Plummer & Albert Finney (03:29 min./ 3.23 MB) - scene from Hamlet
St. Thomas Men and Boys Choir (02:18 min./ 02:14 MB)
Marian Anderson, vocal (05:26 min./ 5.03 MB/ min)
Jerome Hines, vocal (02:26 min./ 2.27 MB)
Isaac Stern, violin (09:25 min. / 8.69 MB)
Albert Finney, poems (03:12 min./ 2.97 MB)
Nathan Milstein, violin (07:26 min./ 6.87 MB)


The Elizabethan Appeal - St. George's Elizabethan Theatre
Excerpts from works of Shakespeare performed by Paul Scofield, John Neville, Alec McCowen, Eric Porter, Christopher Plummer, Dorothy Tutin, Richard Hampton, George Murcell. Recorded on The Argo Record Co. UK IMPORT ZPL 1154 (1970)
Audio in Windows Media Player:
Much Ado About Nothing excerpts - Christopher Plummer and Dorothy Tutin
track 1 (1:13 min./ 1.15 MB)
track 2 (0:49 min./ 800 KB)


Cyrano (Broadway musical) - Original Cast Recording CD - Christopher Plummer received his first Tony award in 1974 for Best Actor in a Musical for this role. The 1973 original cast recording of Cyrano was released for the first time on CD on March 1, 2005. It's listed at Amazon and some other CD sites. Some CD sellers (Walmart's download page) offer an MP3 download. Walmart also has some excerpts on the site.

From the 2 LP set A&M 0798 released in 1973:
Click image for liner notes.



Photo from an eBay auction
The Happy Prince 1974 soundtrack LP featuring the voices of Christopher Plummer & Glynis Johns from the animated short film of Oscar Wilde's story. Music composed & arranged by Ron Goodwin & performed by the Ambrosian Boys' Choir. Capitol / Readers Digest SQ 6426

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner & Other Coleridge Poems - Published in 1974 by Listening Library, Inc. on one cassette CX 399; also on LP AA 3399. Christopher Plummer reads four poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", "Frost at Midnight", "Kubla Khan" and "Dejection, an Ode". Later republished with:The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Great Poems (2 cassettes; Listening Library CB 112; published in 1987 and 1990) ISBN: 0807234729 Author: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, Robert Burns. On Cassette 1, Christopher Plummer reads the four Coleridge poems. On Cassette 2, Bramwell Fletcher reads other poems.
Amazon (out-of-print)

Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang by Morecai Richler (audiobook; 1 cassette) 1976 Caedmon CPN 1525 ISBN 0-89845-169-8

Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur by Morecai Richler (audiobook; 1 cassette) 1976 Caedmon CPN 1825 ISBN: 0898457726 Amazon (out-of-print)



Gertrude the Governess and other Works by Stephen Leacock (audiobook) 1977 Caedmon TC 1559 (LP) / CDL 51559 (cassette)

Around the World in 80 days by Jules Verne (abridged audiobook on 1 cassette) Caedmon CDL 51553; published in 1977. Amazon (out-of-print). Later republished with: Jules Verne Collection HarperAudio CPN 3102; ISBN 0-69451-537-X (March 1995) (3 cassettes with 2 cassettes read by James Mason). Amazon (out-of-print)

The Book of Merlyn: King Arthur and Merlyn's Animal Council by T.H. White.
Released on LP's (1978 Caedmon TC 1582; 1980 Caedmon TC 1630)
and on cassette (Caedmon CDL 51582).
Amazon (out-of-print)

The Book of Merlyn is a conclusion to T.H. White's The Once and Future King . After his death it was found among his papers and first published in 1977. The Once and Future King was a "quartet of novels by T.H. White published in a single volume in 1958. The quartet comprises The Sword in the Stone (1938), The Queen of Air and Darkness--first published as The Witch in the Wood (1939)--The Ill-Made Knight (1940), and The Candle in the Wind (published in the composite volume, 1958) The series is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, from Arthur's birth to the end of his reign, and is based largely on Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur." [Info. from Amazon.]


Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton 1979 Listening Library ISBN 0-88690-008-5 audiobook unabridged on 2 cassettes 20085; and on LP AA 3397/98. Amazon (out-of-print)

In The Dawning - A Story of Canada.
This was a 2 LP set manufactured by Denali Music in 1981. Narration by Christopher Plummer with music by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz. Includes songs by Marc Jordan, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, The laurie Bower singers, Bill Misener, Connie Kaldor, The Canadian Children’s choir of Toronto, Carl Banas, Haunak Mikkigak and Timangiak Petuaulassie, Dillys Dix. This recording was reissued on CD (
www.canada.com/inthedawning).


The Nutcracker by ETA Hoffman (1985). This recording was issued on a 2 CD set Caedmon Z128-2 and on 3 cassettes Caedmon SBC 128. This recording was nominated for a 1985 Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. Amazon (out-of-print)



Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (audiobook unabridged on 4 cassettes) 1985, 1986 Harper Children's audio ISBN 1-55994-806-X Amazon

An American Tail - film soundtrack CD 1986 MCA MCAD-39096. Christopher Plummer had a voiceover role (Henri the pidgeon) in this 1986 animated hit movie. He has one track on the CD where he sings. It's also a great soundtrack score by James Horner who later won an Oscar for "Titanic." Also on the CD is "Somewhere Out There" sung by Linda Ronstadt, which won a Grammy and received an Oscar nomination for Best Song. Amazon

High Spirits: A Selection of Six Ghost Stories, by Robertson Davies (audiobook unabridged; 2 cassettes) 1988 Listening Library, Inc. ISBN 0-945353-42-1 Amazon (out-of-print)



The Little Crooked Christmas Tree by Michael Cutting (audiobook; 1 cassette) 1989, 1990 ISBN 0-590 73674-4 (out-of-print)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Dove Audio 30130, 1988 on 1 audio cassette ISBN: 022917301308 Amazon. "Based on the book written by A.A. Milne and the animated films by Disney" (Winnie the Pooh 'And Tigger Too'; ...'And Honey Tree'; ... 'And Blustery Day'); narrated by Christopher Plummer; published in various editions and titles on cassette and CD by Disney. Amazon

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, by Edgar Allan Poe (audiobook; 2 cassettes) 1991 Durkin Hayes Publishing ISBN 0-88646-269-X Amazon

Rock a Doodle - 1992 film soundtrack CD; Liberty Records CDP-7-98911-2 Amazon

Park Your Car in Harvard Yard (1994 LA Theatre Works; CD ISBN 1-58081- 196-5) Live theatre performance on CD with Jason Robards and Judith Ivey. The play was directed by Zoe Caldwell. Plummer is heard intermittently in the play as the recorded voice of a public radio station announcer "Byron Weld". (In-print) Amazon

"Fanfare - The Stratford Music of Louis Applebaum" CD 2000 Marquis Classics 7747 181269 2 4 (Plummer is heard very briefly on this CD, just a few lines).
Zoe Caldwell Reads Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales 1999 audiobook unabridged New York State Theatre Inst ISBN 1892613042; 2000 Audie Award Nominee. Zoe Caldwell reads The Nightingale & the Rose; The Selfish Giant; The Happy Prince; The Birthday of the Infanta. Includes a brief introduction by Christopher Plummer. Amazon(possibly out-of-print

Star Trek Klingon Academy video game (2000 ISBN 1-57629-355-6.) Featuring Christopher Plummer as General Chang and David Warner as Chancellor Gorkon.
Amazon has some reviews. There are also comments at IMDB.com.

"Sir William Walton's Film Music Vol. 3: Henry V" Chandos 8892 CD - Recorded in 1990, Christopher Plummer narrates the great speeches from Shakespeare's Henry V, with music from William Walton's film score to the 1944 Laurence Olivier film. Amazon

Photos from the Henry V CD: Cover photo; Recording Henry V CD in St. Jude's Church, London, 14-15 May 1990.


"Prokofiev: Ivan the Terrible (Michael Lankester version) & Alexander Nevsky" CD Sony Classical S2K 48 367. 2 CD set. Christopher Plummer, narrator (for Ivan the Terrible), Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Recorded in 1991, "Ivan the Terrible" is an arrangement by Michael Lankester of Prokofiev's film score, with an accompanying script for narrator. In print but hard to find. Amazon.de (Germany).
Photo from the Ivan the Terrible CD

About Peer Gynt and A Midsummer Night's Dream (no commercial recordings.):

"Peer Gynt" - This was a concert version created by Michael Lankester and Christopher Plummer. Music of Edvard Grieg / Text by Henrik Ibsen. Christopher Plummer, narrator (in the role of Peer Gynt), Michael Lankester, conductor. A February 1995 concert with the Toronto Symphony was broadcast live on CBC radio in Canada. [According to a reader of this web page from Connecticut, the May 1993 concert with the Hartford Symphony was broadcast on Connecticut Public Radio.]

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - This is a concert version created by Michael Lankester and Christopher Plummer, with music of Felix Mendelssohn and Plummer performing several roles from Shakespeare's play. The Aug. 22, 2003 concert with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, Neville Marriner cond was broadcast live on public radio (WAMC-FM Albany NY and WCRB-FM Waltham MA).


Must Love Dogs movie soundtrack CD (2005) Amazon
Epic/Sony Music EK 96403 UPC 82796964032.
On track 1, Christopher Plummer reads Brown Penny by William Butler Yeats.

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