THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
User Rating: 3 / 5
THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
An introduction
Whether you happen to know it as Easy Listening, Middle-of-the-Road, Concert Music, Mood Music - or simply Light Music, there is no doubt that these are the sounds that will rekindle some happy memories. Because Light Music has been around all our lives, and not so long ago it was heard regularly on radio stations around the world.Some broadcasters may no longer realise just how much their listeners would like to hear this kind of pleasant, easy-on-the-ear music, but thankfully record companies like Guild are aware that Light Music is currently enjoying a revival.This CD is intended as a ‘taster’ to illustrate the different styles that will be found in this new series, featuring many of the great composers and conductors who were once household names. Their vintage recordings have been digitally processed to the highest standards, ensuring that you only hear the music - sounding better today than it did when originally released.
GLCD 5101
THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
The 1940s
If the names Robert Farnon, David Rose, Sidney Torch, Percy Faith, Eric Coates, Stanley Black, Morton Gould and Andre Kostelanetz already mean something to you, then you will need no further encouragement to go back in time to a period when ‘popular music’ was simply a term that meant it was enjoyed by millions. Light Music is tuneful music, you hear the melody and you feel better for it. Although the world was blighted by war, the 1940s nevertheless managed to produce an amazing outpouring of many musical styles. In retrospect it can be seen that Light Music was at the crossroads: would the genteel sounds of the early years of the 20th century be swept away by a brash tide of mediocrity, or would new talents emerge to adapt and even improve upon what had gone before? Happily for us, Light Music would survive, and reach even greater heights.
GLCD 5102
THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
THE 1950s
With the new decade came a revolution in the way in which music would be heard in the home, thanks to the arrival of high fidelity sound and the long-playing record. Both were ideally suited to the requirements of light orchestras, and before long their albums were selling in millions. But for a while 78 and 45rpm singles still dominated the market, and Light Music featured regularly in the lists of latest releases from the record companies. New names such as Ray Martin and Ron Goodwin emerged to challenge the past masters, but there was plenty of room for everyone and the record-buying public were the main beneficiaries.This third CD in Guild's new Light Music series provides a ‘snapshot’ of a world that was determined to start enjoying itself once again, and the bright and breezy sounds produced by so many orchestras world-wide undoubtedly contributed towards those happy feelings.
GLCD 5103
Tracklistings:
GLCD 5101 - An introdcution
1. Gateway To The West (Farnon) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:57
2. Going For A Ride (Torch) - SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA 2:47
3. With A Song In My Heart (Rodgers, Hart) - ANDRE KOSTELANETZ & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:30
4. Heykens' Serenade (Heykens, arr. Goodwin) - RON GOODWIN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:30
5. Martinique (Warren) - RAY MARTIN & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:13
6. Skyscraper Fantasy (Phillips) - CHARLES WILLIAMS & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA 3:53
7. Dance Of The Spanish Onion (Rose) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:53
8. Out Of This World - theme from the film (Arlen, Mercer) - MANTOVANI & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:06
9. Paris To Piccadilly (Busby, Hurran) - L'ORCHESTRE DEVEREAUX/GEORGES DEVEREAUX 3:04
10. Festive Days (Ancliffe) - LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA/ WALTER COLLINS 3:15
11. Ha'penny Breeze - theme from the film (Green) PHILIP GREEN & HIS ORCHESTRA 4:10
12. Tropical (Gould) - MORTON GOULD & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:28
13. Puffin' Billy (White) - DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA/HUBERT CLIFFORD 3:00
14. First Rhapsody (Melachrino) - MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA/GEORGE MELACHRINO 4:15
15. Fantasie Impromptu in C Sharp Minor (Chopin, arr. Farnon) KINGSWAY SO/CAMARATA 3:25
16. London Bridge March (Coates) - NEW LIGHT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/JOSEPH LEWIS 3:59
17. Mock Turtles (Morley) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:14
18. To A Wild Rose (MacDowell, arr. Peter Yorke) - PETER YORKE & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA 3:21
19. Plink, Plank, Plunk! (Anderson) - LEROY ANDERSON & HIS 'POPS' CONCERT ORCHESTRA 2:24
20. Jamaican Rhumba (Benjamin, arr. Percy Faith) - PERCY FAITH & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:07
21. Vision in Velvet (Duncan) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/JACK LEON 3:14
22. Grand Canyon (van der Linden) - DOLF VAN DER LINDEN & HIS METROPOLE ORCHESTRA 2:33
23. Dancing Princess (Hart, Layman, arr.Young) - FRANK CHACKSFIELD & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:15
24. Dainty Lady (Peter) - REGINALD KING & HIS LIGHT ORCHESTRA 2:43
25. Bandstand ('Frescoes' Suite) (Haydn Wood) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/SERGE KRISH 3:55
GLCD 5102 - 1940s
1. Music In The Air (Lloyd, arr.Torch) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/SIDNEY TORCH 3:07
2. Just One Of Those Things (Porter) - BILLY TERNENT & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:34
3. Melody On The Move (Richardson) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 2:45
4. Out Of My Dreams (Rodgers, Hammerstein II) - THE GERALDO STRING ORCHESTRA 3:11
5. Linda Chilena (Orefiche, Connelly) - THE STANLEY BLACK ORCHESTRA 3:17
6. Laura (Raksin) - MORTON GOULD & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:24
7. Golliwog's Cakewalk (Debussy, arr. Douglas) - MAYFAIR ORCHESTRA/WALTER GOEHR 2:27
8. Manhattan Square Dance (Rose) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:22
9. Runaway Rocking Horse (White) - ORCHESTRE RAYMONDE/ROBERT PRESTON 3:05
10. Woodland Revel (Melachrino) - MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA/GEORGE MELACHRINO 3:09
11. Music for Romance (Sherwin, Maschwitz) - ALBERT SANDLER & HIS PALM COURT ORCHESTRA 2:52
12. Canadian Caravan (Farnon) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 2:50
13. Waltz from "TheThree Bears" (Coates) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ERIC COATES 3:09
14. Metropolis (Brown) - NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA/SIDNEY TORCH 2:31
15. Gorgeous Hussy (Gray) - THE HARMONIC ORCHESTRA.HANS MAY 2:53
16. Ascot Enclosure (Yorke) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 3:00
17. Ten Green Bottles (Trad. arr. Hanmer) - BBC VARIETY ORCHESTRA/CHARLES SHADWELL 3:04
18. Wagon Lit (Torch) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/SIDNEY TORCH 3:02
19. Roving Fancies (Wood) - THE REGENT CLASSIC ORCHESTRA 3:04
20. "The Way To The Stars" - Film Themes (Brodszky) - TWO CITIES SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 6:38
21. Theatreland (Strachey) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/JAY WILBUR 3:06
22. Dancing Tambourine (Polla, arr. Gould) - ROBIN HOOD DELL ORCHESTRA/MORTON GOULD 2:58
23. "Blue Skies" - Selection (Irving Berlin) - Blue Skies,Always, Heat Wave, Getting Nowhere,A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody,You Keep Coming Back Like A Song, Blue Skies -LOUIS LEVY & HIS MUSIC FROM THE MOVIES 8:03
GLCD 5103 - 1950s
1. Liza (I & G Gershwin, Kahn) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:27
2. Caravan (Ellington) - PHILIP GREEN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:35
3. Marching Strings (Ross) - EDMUNDO ROS & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:21
4. Fandango (Perkins, Bradford) - HUGO WINTERHALTER & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:48
5. Heart-O-London (Williams) - CHARLES WILLIAMS & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA 2:42
6. Hey Presto! (Wilson, arr. Duncan) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/FREDERIC CURZON 2:46
7. The Melody Maker (Gay) - ROBERTO INGLEZ & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:01
8. Proud Canvas (Farnon) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:07
9. Festival (Addinsell) - MANTOVANI & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:55
10. Blue Moon (Rodgers, Hart) - PAUL WESTON & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:55
11. Dancing Bells (Martin) - GROSVENOR CONCERT ORCHESTRA/PEDER VAN ZUIDER 2:47
12. Granada (Lara) - MONTY KELLY & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:42
13. Petite Waltz (Heyne) - BILLY COTTON & HIS BAND 3:04
14. Shortcake Walk (Torch) - SIDNEY TORCH & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:16
15. Flirtation Waltz (Heywood) - FRANK CHACKSFIELD & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:03
16. Angel Cake (Morley) - DOLF VAN DER LINDEN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:45
17. Waltz Of The Bubbles (Rose) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:15
18. Sportsmaster (Busby) - DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:50
19. Paris Interlude (White) - MUSIC BY CAMARATA 3:05
20. At Last,At Last (Trenet) - RAY MARTIN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:50
21. Roller Coaster (Busch, Delugg) - HENRI RENE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:54
22. The Moon Was Yellow (Ahlert) STANLEY BLACK, HIS PIANO & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:37
23. Piccadilly Spree (Watters) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/R. de PORTEN 2:34
24. Champagne March (Henman) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:48
25. Jungle Fantasy (Esy Morales) - PERCY FAITH & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:13
26. Parade of the Film Hits - Broadway Melody, Laura,Wedding Of The Painted Doll, Please, Over The Rainbow, A Fine Romance, Be My Love, La Ronde,The Trolley Song - MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA/GEORGE MELACHRINO 9:22
