Childhood Memories – Volume 2

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"CHILDHOOD MEMORIES – Volume 2"

1 Popgun Patrol (Frank Perkins)
FRANK PERKINS AND HIS ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA
2 Dance Of The Marionettes (Gilbert Vinter)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by DOLF VAN DER LINDEN
3 Jack-in-a-Box (Alan Perry, real name Ernest Tomlinson)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by DOLF VAN DER LINDEN
4 Hunt The Slipper (Il Court Le Furet) (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
5 Dance Of The Pirate (José Fontaine)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (VAN LYNN on LP label)
6 Ourselves When Young (Robert Docker)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
7 The Magic Garden (Horace Shepherd)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
8 Teddy Bears’ Picnic (John W. Bratton)
BARNABAS VON GECZY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
9 A Fairy Ballet (Cecil White)
BOURNEMOUTH MUNICIPAL ORCHESTRA Conducted by Sir DAN GODFREY
Cello by Ernst Slaney; Trumpet by Phil Ledington
10 Doll Dance (Nacio Herb Brown)
NAT SHILKRET AND HIS ORCHESTRA
"Tales From A Fairy Book" Suite (Josef Engleman)
11 Babes In The Wood
12 Rumpelstickins
13 Cinderella
14 Ali Baba
WEST END CELEBRITY ORCHESTRA
15 Parade Of The Imps (Callo Ecklebe)
GEORGE GROHROCK-FERRARI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
16 Sleepy Marionette (Charles Williams)
CHARLES WILLIAMS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
17 Whipper-Snapper (Peter Yorke)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
18 Toyland Tattoo (Robert Farnon)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
19 See-Saw (Douglas Brownsmith)
INTERNATIONAL RADIO ORCHESTRA
20 Nine Naughty Gnomes (Hans May, real name Johannes Mayer)
THE HARMONIC ORCHESTRA Conducted by HANS MAY
21 Drummer Boy (Charles Williams)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
22 Marionette March (Dolf van der Linden)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
23 Pirouette (Henry Croudson)
LOUIS VOSS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
24 Paper Hats And Wooden Swords (Walter Collins)
HILVERSUM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANTON DUREM
25 Golliwog On The Loose (Len Stevens, full name Herbert Leonard Stevens)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
26 Pinocchio March (Julius Steffaro, real name Jan Stoeckart)
HILVERSUM RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUGO DE GROOT
27 Scherzetto For Children (Fred Hartley)
BBC TELEVISION ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC ROBINSON

Guild GLCD 5144

The opening paragraph of Guild’s first volume of "Childhood Memories" (GLCD 5125) stated: "The carefree years of childhood have for centuries provided inspiration for writers and composers, often conjuring up happy memories that seem remote from the realities of everyday life. At times we all need to escape into a world where problems seem non-existent, and it is hoped that the music in this collection will provide just that welcoming refuge."

Clearly these sentiments were shared by many purchasers of this series of Guild Light Music CDs, because there have been numerous requests for a second volume of similar compositions. So once again we offer a mixture of well-known favourites alongside some catchy offerings from the production music libraries which would have been heard many times on radio, television and films (especially newsreels) during the middle years of the last century.

The composers represented in this collection include some legendary names in Light Music circles. Equally there are some less frequent contributors to ‘The Golden Age of Light Music’ who also deserve their share of the limelight. Our opening track features such a musician as both conductor and composer of Popgun Patrol: Frank Perkins (1908-1988) gained a degree in Economics at university, but he soon discarded the idea of a financial career for his first love, music. After studying in both America and Europe, he became noticed in 1934 following a successful collaboration with lyricist Mitchell Parrish which resulted in Stars Fell on Alabama and Emmaline. In 1937 he was engaged as an arranger by Warner Bros. in Hollywood, where he remained until the mid-1960s. Although much of his work failed to get acknowledged (such as some piano improvisations in the legendary 1942 movie "Casablanca") his name can still be spotted in the music credits for many Warner Bros. pictures particularly during the war years. Later he tended to concentrate more on light orchestral works for concert performance producing some catchy novelties with intriguing titles such as Kentucky Trotter (on GLCD 5114), The Frustrated Floorwalker, Barbara (GLCD 5119) and The Deserted Patio. One of his biggest hits was Fandango (GLCD 5103) which also became a song with the benefit of an added lyric by John Bradford. In 1962 Frank received an Oscar nomination for his work scoring the musical "Gypsy".

Lincoln-born Gilbert Vinter (1909-1969) is probably best remembered in Britain as the conductor of the BBC Midland Light Orchestra when it was one of the foremost contributors of quality light music on the BBC. However he also excelled as a composer, both in light music and the brass band world. He was a chorister at Lincoln Cathedral, then studied bassoon at the Royal Academy of Music, later becoming a Professor and Fellow of the Academy. As a young man he played bassoon in the BBC Wireless Military Band and the London Philharmonic. During World War II, he was a member of the Royal Air Force Central Band and later led several RAF bands including the RAF Coastal Command Band. After the war Vinter joined the BBC as a staff conductor where he also developed his skill as a composer. Many of his works were for brass band and among his finest is The Trumpets, scored for the unusual combination of a large brass band, chorus, and bass soloist. When Inter-art Music Publishers launched their new production music library Impress in the mid-1950s he was commissioned to write several pieces of mood music. Perhaps the best-known was Portuguese Party in 1956 (on Guild GLCD 5141); it was well-received, and enjoyed many broadcasts and eventually a commercial recording on HMV. Also for Impress, Air Display (Guild GLCD 5131) showed how an ‘ordinary’ piece of mood music could still grab the listener’s attention, which equally applies to his contribution this time – Dance Of The Marionettes for the Boosey & Hawkes library, which is scored for woodwind. An example of Gilbert Vinter’s arranging and conducting skills can he heard on the Guild Light Music CD "Musical Kaleidoscope – Volume 1" (GLCD 5139) which includes his arrangement Music of the People – England played by the BBC Midland Light Orchestra under his baton in 1952. It is a clever work which incorporates some of the street cries of old London as well as traditional English airs.

Ernest Tomlinson(b.1924) is one of Britain’s most talented composers, working mainly in light music, but also highly regarded for his choral works and brass band pieces. During a very productive career he has contributed numerous titles to the recorded music libraries of many different publishers, often under the pseudonym ‘Alan Perry’ (one of Ernest’s amusing quotes is that "this fellow Alan Perry is a more successful composer than I am!"). One of his best-known numbers is Little Serenade, developed from a theme he wrote as incidental music for a radio production ‘The Story of Cinderella’ in 1955; from the same source comes his charming Fairy Coach on Guild GLCD 5142. His suites of English Folk Dances have also become part of the standard light music repertoire. As well as writing many bright and breezy works (such as Jack-in-a-Box on this CD) Ernest can also turn his hand to portrayals of natural beauty, witness Great Panorama on GLCD 5145.

Robert Docker (1918-1992) was a regular broadcaster, mainly as a pianist, but also through his activities ‘behind the scenes’ as a composer and arranger, working closely with people such as Sidney Torch. His best-known compositions include Tabarinage (Buffoonery) and Legend, although it is probably for his many skilful arrangements that he is best remembered. They were often included in BBC Radio’s "Friday Night is Music Night" although the selection on this CD – Ourselves When Young – was created several years before that long-running programme was first heard on the BBC Light Programme in 1952. Docker has cleverly woven a tapestry of many familiar (and some less well-known) nursery rhymes that used to be a part of growing up.

Horace Shepherd (1892-1960 – also known as Hugh Kairs) was musical director and composer of the score for at least ten British films from the 1930s to 1950s, perhaps the best-known being "Hatter’s Castle" (1942) based on the A.J. Cronin novel. He also seems to have been active in Europe – the 1930 French film "Prix de Beauté" being just one example. He is listed as the director of "Making The Grade" (1947), a short film about actors becoming stars which featured Jessie Matthews. "The Flamingo Affair" (1948) credits him with producing and directing as well as composing the score; it might be interesting to see today, since the famous violinist Stephane Grappelli is listed as ‘appearing as himself’. Although Horace Shepherd did not contribute a vast amount to mood music libraries, his music was of a high standard as demonstrated in his sensitive The Magic Garden on this CD, and Winter (GLCD 5138).

Joseph (Josef) Engleman (d. 1949) was an English pianist who also composed a large amount of light music. His works (particularly his suites) found favour with the many municipal and theatre orchestras that existed until World War 2 and he is credited with helping to found the Bosworth Mood Music Library in 1937, for which he contributed numerous pieces. He continued his involvement with light orchestras in the Midlands after the war, although it has to be acknowledged that his son, Harry Engleman (b. 1912) became better known as a pianist and dance band leader. Joseph’s Children’s Playtime Suite has already been featured in Guild’s first volume of "Childhood Memories".

Hans May (real name Johannes Mayer, 1891-1959) was a Viennese-born composer and music director who devoted much of his musical life to composing for the screen and stage. Initially he worked in the German film industry, but in the mid-1930s the developing political situation forced him to relocate briefly in France before eventually settling in England, like so many other mid-European musicians at that time. His numerous films included scores for the Boulting Brothers, Gainsborough Films and the Rank Organisation, and he conducted many early 78s for the Harmonic Music Library which was established in the mid-1940s. He also wrote many songs, perhaps the best known being Throw Open Wide Your Window. His Rippling Down The Mountain was included in the Guild CD "Reflections of Tranquility" (GLCD 5112) and here we have the wonderfully titled Nine Naughty Gnomes which finds him as both composer and conductor. In his later career he concentrated more on stage productions, including "Carissima" in collaboration with Eric Maschwitz.

The final track on this CD comes with an apology for the fact that the sound of it is not up to our usual high standards. Indeed, there was much soul searching and discussion before the decision to include it was made.

So let us explain that it is a piece of British Television history which should be instantly familiar to children of the early 1950s who watched the BBC's programmes especially made for them on the small black and white screens that seemed such a scientific miracle at the time. The problem we faced was that the original recording could not be located and the only copy available was one which had been dubbed to optical film soundtrack and then transferred to videotape before being copied to CD for restoration work to be attempted. Despite considerable efforts, the final result is far from perfect, but the rarity of this piece of music, and the fact that it is unlikely ever to appear on another commercial recording, persuaded us to include it.

It was made long before the days of 24-hour TV, when broadcasts were scheduled in segments through the day and in-between there could be test cards or promotional films, although often the screens were left blank. When broadcasting was due to re-start familiar symbols such as clocks would appear, together with a piece of music which became familiar through its sheer repetition.

For several years from 21 May 1951 onwards the children’s segment was introduced by "Scherzetto For Children", specially commissioned by the BBC, and recorded by Eric Robinson (b. 1908) and The Television Orchestra. Its composer, Fred Hartley (1905-1980), was a familiar name in British broadcasting for many years, having made his first appearance on the BBC as a solo pianist as early as 1925. He was then employed as an accompanist, and founded his famous Novelty Quintet in 1931. In 1946 he was appointed the BBC's Head of Light Music. We are grateful to Andrew Emmerson and Tony Clayden (both enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable collectors of old radio and television memorabilia) for so readily allowing Guild to issue this precious recording.

David Ades

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