Archibald Joyce

Archibald Joyce (25 May 1873 – 22 March 1963) was an English light music composer known for his early waltzes.

He first came to prominence with the publication of his Waltz Songe d'Automne (1908) which fast became a hit. The piece is in a minor key, with the melody in a relatively low tenor register.

The following year he repeated this success with his Waltz Visions of Salome (1909) also in the same low-pitched minor-key style. He was billed by his publishers, Ascherberg Hopwood and Crew, as the "English Waltz King".

His music was immensely popular with dance orchestras of the period together with amateur pianists. The piano solo sheet music for his waltzes sold in very large quantities in the UK. He continued primarily with his distinctive waltzes until the start of the WW1 period. His other principal hits during this period were Dreaming waltz (1911), Charming and The Passing of Salome waltzes (1912), 1000 Kisses and Always Gay waltzes (1913) and Remembrance waltz (1914).

He co-wrote the musical Toto with Merlin Morgan (musical director of Daly's Theatre in London). After a try-out in Plymouth it opened at London's Duke of York's Theatre on 19 April 1916. Despite good initial reviews it did not take off and was withdrawn after only 77 performances.

He was credited as conducting "the first modern dance band in Britain"; with it he recorded for HMV in 1912. He continued conducting his own orchestra for a number of years until the early 1920s. During the early 1920s, his orchestras recorded material for the Aeolian Company's Vocalion Records label in London. He had recorded for the Gramophone Company HMV-label in London as early as 1912 previously.

His music was familiar worldwide during its period. His waltz "Dreaming" was provided with lyrics by Earl Carroll and introduced in the US by Miss Kitty Gordon in Oliver Morosco's comedy with music, Pretty Mrs Smith (1913). "Songe d'Automne" ("Autumn Dream") and "1000 Kisses" were incorporated into Charlie Chaplin's latter-day sound track added to his The Gold Rush. In the US a conventional method of gaining public exposure for a song was to arrange to have it included a revue: in this way Joyce's "Vision of Salome" (1909) was included in Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.'s Follies of 1910.

Harold Bride's recollection that the orchestra was playing "Autumn" as the RMS Titanic foundered in 1912 has led to speculation by Walter Lord that he was in fact referring to Songe d'Automne, which was part of the repertory of the White Star Line orchestras and with which he would undoubtedly been familiar.

After the early 1920s, there was a small trickle of material for many years. His last composition of any note is his Bohemia - concert waltz for piano (1942) which finishes off his career with a hefty hat-tip to both the waltz and to the piano which effectively made him.

The music of Joyce has been transcribed for the balalaika and is still recorded in Russia.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1873, Died March 22, 1963

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1909 - 1936

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, conductor

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 38 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-9467 10-in. 9/20/1910 Vision of Salome Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-10112 12-in. 3/30/1911 A vision of Salome Vessella's Italian Band Band composer  
Victor C-13094 12-in. 4/8/1913 Dreaming Victor Military Band Band composer  
Victor C-14596 12-in. 3/20/1914 Passing of Salome United States Marine Band Band composer  
Victor C-14791 12-in. 5/4/1914 The passing of Salome Victor Military Band Band composer  
Victor B-22694 10-in. 4/17/1919 Jesienne marzenia Józef Kallini Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-25021 10-in. 3/22/1921 Love and life in Holland Harry Wisser Accordion solo composer  
Victor B-26829 10-in. 8/15/1922 Vision of Salome Pietro Accordion solo composer  
Victor B-29908 10-in. 4/18/1924 A thousand kisses (Waltz) International Novelty Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-39603 10-in. 6/28/1927 Dream of autumn Jos. Szigeti Hungarian Orchestra Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BVE-46106 10-in. 6/21/1928 Vision of Salome Victor Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-49061 10-in. 1/15/1929 Song d'automne Motion Picture Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-75219 10-in. 2/14/1933 Vision of Salome Isham Jones Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor LBS-75220 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) 2/14/1933 Vision of Salome Isham Jones Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BAVE-93185 10-in. May 1936 Charming Feliciano Brunelli Orquesta Característica Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor [Trial 1917-11-19-04] Not documented 11/19/1917 Charming Earl Fuller's Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 78271 10-in. 1/24/1919 Aloma Jockers Brothers Violin and piano duet composer  
Columbia 30345 12-in. 1/31/1910 Vision of Salome Prince's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 36822 12-in. ca. 1913 Dreaming Prince's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 36833 12-in. 12/3/1913 Dreaming Prince's Band Band composer  
Columbia 37092 12-in. ca. 1914 Passing of Salome Joan Sawyer's Persian Garden Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Columbia 49004 12-in. 11/20/1916 Charming Prince's Orchestra ; G. Hepburn Wilson Orchestra composer  
Columbia 6826 12-in. approximately May 1916 I take after your father Mabel Russell Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 75043 12-in. 1/24/1922 Gabrielle waltz Century Dance Orchestra ; Archibald Joyce Orchestra composer, conductor  
Columbia 76777 12-in. approximately January 1920 Reincarnation "Salome" London Dance Orchestra ; Corelli Windeatt Orchestra composer  
(Results 1-25 of 38 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Joyce, Archibald," accessed June 2, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106831.

Joyce, Archibald. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 2, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106831.

"Joyce, Archibald." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 2 June 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106831

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