27 May

A Trip To The Library

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GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5164

A Trip To The Library

1 Livin’ It Up (Harry Rabinowitz)
THE CONNAUGHT LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Conroy BM 153-B 1958
2 The Girl From Corsica (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2316 1958
3 Jacaranda Melody (Paul Dubois, real name Clive Richardson)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
(on 78 label as ‘Melodi Light Orchestra Conducted by Ole Jensen’)
Chappell C 544 1956
4 Popsy (Bruce Campbell)
THE GROSVENOR STUDIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by DOLF VAN DER LINDEN
Synchro FM 177 1958
5 Helicopter Journey (Jack Beaver)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD
(on 78 label as ‘The Crawford Light Orchestra’)
Josef Weinberger Theme Music JW 163 1958
6 Country Canter (Ivor Slaney)
HUDSON ENSEMBLE Conducted by WALTER WARREN (real name MEYER DE WOLFE)
De Wolfe DW 2581 1956
7 Dinner At Chasons (Norrie Paramor)
THE CONNAUGHT LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Conroy BM 146-B 1958
8 Stardom (Robert Farnon)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
(on 78 label as ‘Melodi Light Orchestra Conducted by Ole Jensen’)
Chappell C 547 1956
9 Fiddlers’ Frivol (Kurt Rehfeld)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD
(on 78 label as ‘Lansdowne Light Orchestra’)
Impress IA 155-B 1956
10 Tele-Ski (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
Chappell C 517 1955
11 Sunday Driver (Peter Dennis, real name Dennis Alfred Berry)
SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by THEO ARDEN
CBL 356 1954
12 Children’s Hour (Ronald Hanmer)
L’ORCHESTRE DEVEREAUX Conducted by GEORGES DEVEREAUX
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 078 1952
13 Serenade To The Moon (Henry Croudson)
THE LOUIS VOSS GRAND ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1239 1950
14 Remembrance (Pat Lynn)
BOSWORTH’S DANCE ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1248 1950
15 Dance Of The Dew Fairy (Edward White)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 448 1948
16 Bromsgrove Fair (Leslie Bridgewater)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 013 recorded 29 October 1946
17 Come Landlord Fill The Flowing Bowl – Juke Box Fantasy (Trad. arr. George Melachrino)
MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
EMI Mood Music EPX 014 1947
A short vocal section has been edited out of this recording
18 Overture To An Italian Comedy (Arthur Benjamin)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by STANFORD ROBINSON
Boosey & Hawkes O 2080 1946
19 A Love Song (Haydn Wood)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 243 1945
20 Clown With A Tambourine (Montague Ewing)
LONDON CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1165 1943
21 The Invaders (Charles Williams)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 101 1942
22 Ten Days Leave (Charles Williams)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 131 1942
23 Fighter Command (Frank Tapp)
WEST END CELEBRITY ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1133 1942
My Native Heath – Suite (Arthur Wood)
24 Knaresboro Status
25 Ilkley Tarn
26 Barwick Green
REGENT CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILLIAM HODGSON
Boosey & Hawkes BH 1928 1939
27 In Buddah’s Realm (José Armandola, real name Willi Lautenschläger)
REGENT CLASSIC ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1060 1938
28 Life’s Laughter - Overture (Lachendes Leben) (Friedrich Wilhelm Rust)
LOUIS VOSS GRAND ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1025 1937

All tracks mono

For many people a trip to their local library is a pleasurable experience, full of eager anticipation as to what might be waiting for them on the shelves. However the ‘library’ in this collection is not concerned with books but music of a very special kind, often created by talented composers who were masters of their craft. For decades their work remained virtually unknown, although its influence on daily lives was enormous.

Regular collectors of Guild’s "Golden Age of Light Music" series will not need reminding that London publishers operating libraries of pre-recorded background music were a fertile source of Light Music during the middle years of the last century. Indeed there were also publishers in many other countries who established their own collections of music aimed specifically at radio and television broadcasters, film companies and — particularly during the 1940s and 1950s — cinema newsreels.

With the notable exceptions of Paxton, Bosworth and Boosey & Hawkes, few of these publishers ever permitted private enthusiasts to acquire their recordings, which were initially issued on 78 rpm discs, although some did experiment with sound film for a while. The result is that this area of the music business remained shrouded in secrecy as far as the general public was concerned. Only when a particular piece of music became popular (usually when chosen as a signature tune) did a commercial record company decide to make it generally available. However it was rare for the original recording to be issued: more often the record company would engage its own ‘house’ orchestra to make the recording, which sometimes resulted in a degree of disappointment if keen collectors decided that the commercial release sounded inferior, or too different from the original.

Recorded music libraries still thrive today, with literally thousands of new CDs being made available each year. Even more music (the modern term is ‘production music’) is being offered through the latest technology, with professional users being able to download what they require direct from the publishers through the Internet. But it was rather different back in the 1930s, when two leading publishers in England (Bosworth and Boosey & Hawkes) took the first steps to establish their own mood music libraries on records, thus making it convenient to use and easy to license. The spur had been pressure from commercial record companies to charge exorbitant fees for the use of their discs for other than home entertainment. The new mood music libraries provided the perfect answer that the entertainment profession was seeking.

Of course, early silent films were sometimes screened to the accompaniment of music specially composed for them, so the notion of ‘background music’ was not exactly new. However the use of 78s to deliver the music was a big step forward and it provided publishers with a valuable additional source of income at a time when sheet music sales were in decline.

Initially there was a temptation to make recordings of established repertoire, drawing upon the vast resources of published scores already held. Some of this music did fulfil the needs of the profession, but soon it became apparent that new material was required in order to provide a wide range of moods and styles. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 meant that newsreels needed vast amounts of ‘action’ music, not previously available.

Research by leading authorities in this niche of the music business suggests that Bosworth issued the first of its 78s early in 1937 (the Guild CD "Highdays and Holidays" GLCD 5115 includes several of the earliest discs). Boosey & Hawkes probably launched their Recorded Music Library very late in 1937, but it was five years before perhaps the most famous source of mood music appeared on the scene with the arrival of Chappell & Co. in 1942. Although Bosworth and B&H remained important players, it was Chappell that dominated the market for mood music for the next three decades using top composers such as Charles Williams, Robert Farnon and Sidney Torch.

Alongside these three publishers were Paxton, Francis Day & Hunter, Harmonic (later known as Charles Brull), Josef Weinberger, Impress, Conroy and Synchro. EMI operated a short-lived library in the 1940s which evolved into their "Q" Library then the EMI Photoplay Library. But one of the biggest, De Wolfe, celebrated its centenary in 2009, being able to trace its roots back to 1909 when its founder, Meyer de Wolfe, started supplying sheet music to accompany silent films.

Often it was possible to identify the publisher by the style of the music, and the sound of the orchestra. For many years the recordings were made in England, using the finest session musicians available. They were familiar with playing light music in concerts and radio broadcasts, and ‘names’ such as the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra (Chappell), London Promenade Orchestra (Paxton), the New Concert Orchestra (B&H) and the New Century Orchestra (FDH) frequently employed the same musicians and studios (most likely EMI Abbey Road or Levy’s Studios at 73 New Bond Street).

At the end of the 1940s a dispute between the Musicians’ Union and the publishers prohibited its members from making mood music recordings in Britain. This is not the place to rake over the reasons for this sorry state of affairs, but the result is that for many years the publishers were forced to employ orchestras in Europe to record their music. A few of these recordings were noticeably sub-standard at first, but very soon the technical quality improved and the performances achieved by musicians such as Dolf van der Linden’s Metropole Orchestra in Holland were among the best in the world.

This collection concentrates on the publishers that were active during the years 1937-1958. Thereafter other big names would get involved, but the style of music they offered drifted into different areas as the general music scene changed, and it remains the 1940s and 1950s that contain some of the finest examples of light music in what might be termed its purest forms.

Among the special highlights on this CD is the original, full-length version of Trevor Duncan’s Girl From Corsica. Ron Goodwin’s best-selling version on Parlophone was abridged, but here we can enjoy the full sensual beauty of a work inspired by a young lady from the Auvergne, C. Gurrieri. She also moved the composer (real name Leonard Charles Trebilco 1924-2005) to write his tone poem St Boniface Down around the same time – it is featured on Guild GLCD5157.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was not the most prolific of light music composers, but he also created some lovely pieces as ‘Paul Dubois’. Possibly Shadow Waltz (on GLCD 5111) was the most familiar by his ‘alter ego’, but equally charming is the lesser-known Jacaranda Melody.

Mood music catalogues were often sub-divided into separate sections to assist users to locate more easily the kind of themes they required. Among the many categories were Animals, Children, Comedy, Dance, Dramatic, Industrial, Light Atmosphere, Pastoral and numerous others. Many of these are represented in this collection, and always in demand were pieces relating to dramatic subjects and industry – particularly for documentary films. Composers able to combine the atmosphere of machinery and transport with a strong theme were welcomed by publishers, and Jack Beaver (1900-1963) was pre-eminent in this field. Helicopter Journey is a good example and it was used in a 1958 film "Skyhook" about the use of helicopters to transport an oil-drilling rig to a prospecting site deep in the Papua New Guinea jungle. It was frequently screened by the BBC from September 1959 until October 1971 as a colour demonstration film.

Norman William (Norrie) Paramor (1914-1979) would have made regular visits to EMI’s Capitol subsidiary in Los Angeles during his period as A&R Manager of the Columbia label. No doubt he dined at the famous Chasen’s restaurant in Beverly Hills, frequented by the top stars and show-biz executives. Hardly surprising, therefore, that he penned a piece of music in its honour, but somehow the publishers Berry Music Co. Ltd. (Conroy) managed to spell the name incorrectly. So Chasen’s became ‘Chasons’ and the music - Dinner at Chasons - is now all that remains: the original restaurant closed in April 1995, and the building was eventually demolished to make way for a grocery store.

The tune Remembrance by Pat Lynn is an unashamed attempt by Bosworths to cash in on the popularity of Victor Silvester. In addition to being a pianist, during the 1960s Pat Lynn looked after the Chappell Recorded Music Library, and he had the unenviable task of trying to salvage many scores that were damaged in the tragic fire on 6 May 1964. As already mentioned, the Chappell library was launched in 1942, and the very first title in the catalogue was The Invaders by Charles Williams (1893-1978 - real name Isaac Cozerbreit). This coincided with some of the darkest days of the Second World War, and music of this nature was required all the time for cinema newsreels. But occasionally there were happier moments to dispel the gloom, and another Williams piece Ten Days Leave was also cropping up regularly. For many years Williams worked closely with Edward Cecil Milner (1905-1989) and recent research has revealed that Milner frequently orchestrated Williams’ compositions. It is possible that he may have helped to create the distinctive sound on both of these titles, and more of these historic recordings can be found Guild GLCD5107 containing 28 tracks by Charles Williams and the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra from 1942 to 1945.

Still in the realms of musical history, one of the main competitors for the title ‘most recognisable signature tune’ has to be Arthur Wood (1875-1953). When the BBC launched its ‘everyday story of country folk’ on the Midlands Home Service in the summer of 1950 (transferred to national radio from 1 January 1951) it made the composer of the theme tune a very happy man. The previously neglected Barwick Green was one of the movements in his 1924 suite "My Native Heath" published by Boosey & Hawkes, and several recordings have been used by the BBC during its long run – still continuing in 2009. Wood was a busy theatrical conductor (like many of his fellow composers at that time), and at the age of 28 had the distinction of being the youngest musical director in London’s West End. For a while he was a staff composer with Boosey and Hawkes, creating dozens of short suites, but it is probably true to say that he might have been forgotten today if a BBC employee in 1950 had not chosen a certain piece of music for that famous radio serial. Happily the composer lived just long enough to relish the fame that ensued.

The final track is the work of a prolific German composer, Friedrich Wilhelm Rust (1902-1972), who – much to the confusion of researchers – had exactly the same name as another illustrious German composer from two centuries earlier (1739-1796 to be exact). But the Overture – Life’s Laughter was created by the 20th Century Herr Rust who was born in Gera and received his musical education in Stuttgart. In 1925 he became conductor of Berlin’s Comic Opera and enjoyed a particularly busy period writing light, show and film music during the 1930s, when it seems likely that our final track was written. Following war service he moved to Hamburg where he continued to compose until his death.

The Guild "Golden Age of Light Music" series of CDs already contains many recordings from the recorded music libraries, previously unavailable to private collectors. There is still a vast amount of music awaiting rediscovery, and no doubt there will be many more "trips to the library" in future.

David Ades

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About Geoff 123
Geoff Leonard was born in Bristol. He spent much of his working career in banking but became an independent record producer in the early nineties, specialising in the works of John Barry and British TV theme compilations.
He also wrote liner notes for many soundtrack albums, including those by John Barry, Roy Budd, Ron Grainer, Maurice Jarre and Johnny Harris. He co-wrote two biographies of John Barry in 1998 and 2008, and is currently working on a biography of singer, actor, producer Adam Faith.
He joined the Internet Movie Data-base (www.imdb.com) as a data-manager in 2001 and looked after biographies, composers and the music-department, amongst other tasks. He retired after nine years loyal service in order to continue writing.