The Hours creep on apace

Valerie Masterson as Josephine sings the Act 2 song "The hours creep on apace" from H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan.

Valerie Masterson is simply the best Josephine on record, but the 1971 D'Oyly Carte recording was so busy showing off it's 'Phase 4 Stereo' credentials that the performances didn't always come off.
Valerie sounds far more at ease in this track from the 1982 EMI album 'Valerie Masterson and Robert Tear sing Gilbert & Sullivan' with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta conducted by Kenneth Alwyn. She shades perfectly the contrasts between high and lowly living in the first part of the song and then rises to a thrilling finish with glorious top notes and glowing tone.

Annoyingly, this is one of the tracks from that album that has never been released on CD, so for those of you who don't play vinyl, enjoy!