The Bab Ballads (version 2)
W. S. Gilbert
Lu par LibriVox Volunteers
The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings. Gilbert wrote the Ballads before he became famous for his comic opera librettos with Arthur Sullivan. In writing the Bab Ballads, Gilbert developed his unique "topsy-turvy" style, where the humor was derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd. The Ballads also reveal Gilbert's cynical and satirical approach to humor. They became famous on their own, as well as being a source for plot elements, characters and songs that Gilbert would recycle in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The Bab Ballads take their name from Gilbert's childhood nickname, and he later began to sign his illustrations "Bab".
Nothing else quite like the Ballads has ever been produced in the English language. They contain both satire and nonsense, as well as a great deal of utter absurdity. The Ballads were read aloud at private dinner-parties, public banquets and even in the House of Lords. Summary by Wikipedia and Phil Chenevert (2 hr 50 min)
Chapitres
| Captain Reece | 5:02 | Lu par Phil Chenevert |
| The Rival Curates | 3:35 | Lu par Lisa Reichert |
| Only A Dancing Girl | 2:18 | Lu par Ken Masters |
| General John | 2:26 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| To A Little Maid—By A Policeman | 1:35 | Lu par Ken Masters |
| John And Freddy | 2:45 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| Sir Guy The Crusader | 3:49 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| Haunted | 2:37 | Lu par Chris Pyle |
| The Bishop And The `Busman | 2:57 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| The Troubadour | 4:34 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| Ferdinando And Elvira; Or, The Gentle Pieman | 5:53 | Lu par Lisa Reichert |
| Lorenzo De Lardy | 3:47 | Lu par readread |
| Disillusioned—By An Ex-Enthusiast | 3:41 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| Babette’s Love | 6:11 | Lu par Ezwa |
| To My Bride—(Whoever She May Be) | 3:35 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| The Folly Of Brown—By A General Agent | 3:29 | Lu par Chris Pyle |
| Sir Macklin | 2:51 | Lu par Chris Pyle |
| The Yarn Of The “Nancy Bell” | 3:40 | Lu par Chris Pyle |
| The Bishop Of Rum-Ti-Foo | 3:28 | Lu par Chris Pyle |
| The Precocious Baby. A Very True Tale | 4:03 | Lu par John Kellow |
| To Phoebe | 1:36 | Lu par Ken Masters |
| Baines Carew, Gentleman | 4:36 | Lu par Lisa Reichert |
| Thomas Winterbottom Hance | 4:54 | Lu par NoelBadrian |
| The Reverend Micah Sowls | 3:49 | Lu par KDMoore |
| A Discontented Sugar Broker | 4:16 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| The Pantomime “Super” To His Mask | 2:31 | Lu par Ezwa |
| The Force Of Argument | 5:00 | Lu par Ruth Golding |
| The Ghost, The Gallant, The Gael, And The Goblin | 4:53 | Lu par Diana Schmidt |
| The Phantom Curate. A Fable | 4:18 | Lu par NoelBadrian |
| The Sensation Captain | 4:17 | Lu par Newgatenovelist |
| Tempora Mutantur | 3:16 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| At A Pantomime. By A Bilious One | 4:32 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| King Borria Bungalee Boo | 4:24 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| The Periwinkle Girl | 4:44 | Lu par Shakira Searle |
| Thomson Green And Harriet Hale | 4:11 | Lu par Ezwa |
| Bob Polter | 4:57 | Lu par Lisa Reichert |
| The Story Of Prince Agib | 4:13 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| Ellen McJones Aberdeen | 4:46 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| Peter The Wag | 3:34 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| Ben Allah Achmet;—Or, The Fatal Tum | 3:51 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| The Three Kings Of Chickeraboo | 3:31 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| Joe Golightly—Or, The First Lord’s Daughter | 3:56 | Lu par MikeStanich |
| To The Terrestrial Globe. By A Miserable Wretch | 1:33 | Lu par Ken Masters |
| Gentle Alice Brown | 6:26 | Lu par Shakira Searle |