There are two more Guild Light Music CDs now available, each containing some rare recordings to complement the previous 14 CDs already on offer in this landmark series

Highdays and Holidays
Spotlighting the Bosworth Mood Music Library 1937-1953

1 The Playful Pelican (Peter Yorke)
Peter Yorke and his Orchestra or Louis Voss and his Orchestra (record labels differ)
2 Buddha’s Festival of Love (Heini Kronberger & Mary Marriott)
The West End Celebrity Orchestra
3 Wedgewood Blue (Albert Ketèlbey)
Louis Voss Grand Orchestra
4 Neapolitan Serenade (Gerhard Winkler)
Regent Classic Orchestra
5 In a Chinese Temple Garden (Albert Ketèlbey)
Louis Voss Grand Orchestra
6 Wedding March in Midget Land (Siegfried Translateur)
London Concert Orchestra
7 Sparrows’ Concert – Intermezzo (Erich Börschel)
Louis Voss Grand Orchestra
8 April Day (Barry Tattenhall)
London Concert Orchestra
9 Busy Business (Frederick George Charrosin)
International Radio Orchestra
10 The Ballet Dancer (Wilfred Burns)
Bosworth’s String Orchestra
11 Tequila – Paso Doble (Philip Green)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
12 Wild Goose Chase (George Crow)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
13 Cutty Sark (Charles Williams)
National Light Orchestra
14 Serenade to a Mannequin (Charles Williams)
Bosworth’s Symphonic String Orchestra conducted by Louis Voss
15 Highdays and Holidays (Peter Yorke)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
16 Salute to Speedway (Charles Williams)
The West End Celebrity Orchestra
17 Jack and Jill – Miniature Overture (Henry Croudson)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
18 Palace of Variety (Claud Vane)
National Light Orchestra
19 Sportsman’s Luck (John Bath)
The West End Celebrity Orchestra
20 Sabre Jet (David Hart) The West End Celebrity Orchestra
21 Big Dipper (Claud Vane)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
22 Sketch Of A Dandy (Haydn Wood)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
23 Flight of the Toy Balloon (Art Strauss & Robert Dale)
National Light Orchestra
24 Travel Centre (Kenneth Essex)
West End Celebrity Orchestra
25 Sleepy Grasshopper (Ray Hartley)
Regent Classic Orchestra
26 Typical Teenager (Gerald Crossman)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
27 Harlequin’s Flirtation (Louis Mordish)
London Bijou Players

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5115

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.

Very 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 hundreds 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 (Boosey & Hawkes and Bosworth) took the first steps to establish their own mood music libraries on records, thus making it convenient to use and easy to license. 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.

This collection focuses upon the output of Bosworth & Co who operated from premises in Heddon Street, just off Regent Street in London. They also had offices in Europe, which explains why they published so much music from Germany and Austria (obviously this source dried up during the war). Some of their composers were household names in the 1930s, while others were better known only to their colleagues.

Peter Yorke (1902-1966) worked with many leading British bands during his formative years, some of the most notable being Percival Mackey, Jack Hylton and Henry Hall. In 1936 he began a fruitful collaboration as chief arranger with Louis Levy, one of the pioneers of music for British films, who employed several talented writers such as Clive Richardson, Charles Williams and Jack Beaver, but seldom gave them any credit on-screen. Later on Peter Yorke conducted one of Britain’s most popular broadcasting orchestras from the 1940s until the 1960s. He was also a gifted composer and he created many stunning arrangements that brought out some fine performances from the top musicians he always employed.  The opening track on this CD, The Playful Pelican, was one of the very first specially recorded for the Bosworth library, although there is conflicting evidence on the labels of different pressings as to who conducted the performance.  Another popular piece – Highdays and Holidays – provides the title for this collection. Later, several different London publishers including Chappell were happy to accept his work for their background music libraries.

Albert William Ketèlbey (1875-1959) was a highly successful composer, who earned the equivalent of millions of pounds during the peak of his popularity. Pieces such as In a Monastery Garden, The Phantom Melody, In a Persian Market and Bells Across the Meadows brought him international fame, no doubt assisted by his enthusiastic participation in the rapidly growing business of producing gramophone records. As well as also being an arranger and conductor, he was an accomplished pianist and organist, and was proficient on oboe, cello, clarinet and horn. Once he had achieved his fame, and a style that became closely associated with him, he seemed unwilling to adapt to the new rhythms and influences that were gaining popularity – particularly during the 1930s. His own music gradually went out of vogue, and the previous age of romance, that had its roots in the self-confidence of the Edwardian age, seemed to be in terminal decline. But Ketèlbey was far from forgotten, and the LP era of the 1950s resulted in a renewed interest in his beautifully crafted melodies. He was able to spend his later years in comfortable retirement on the peaceful Isle of Wight.

Gerhard Winkler (1906-1977) was a highly respected composer and arranger on the German light music scene, and occasionally his charming melodies reached an international audience. Neapolitan Serenade will probably sound familiar to many people who might find it difficult to remember the title, but most music-lovers would be able to name his biggest success – Answer Me – thanks to an English lyric by Carl Sigman and several hit records including the Nat ‘King’ Cole version in 1954.

Frederick George Charrosin (d. 1976) was a prolific composer of mood music, with many titles to his credit. He also created many arrangements for various ensembles broadcasting regularly on the BBC.

Wilfred Burns has over 200 published titles to his credit. He seemed able to create incidental music to suit almost any kind of mood, and he achieved possibly his greatest success when his piece Saturday Sports was chosen by BBC Television for its "Sportsview" programme which began in 1954.

Philip Green (1910-1982) began his professional career at the age of eighteen playing in various orchestras. Within a year he became London’s youngest West End conductor at the Prince of Wales Theatre. His long recording career began with EMI in 1933, and he is credited with at least 150 film scores. A compulsive worker, he appeared in countless radio programmes and also composed numerous pieces of mood music for major London publishers including Chappell & Co., Francis Day & Hunter, Paxton and EMI’s Photoplay Music, where he ultimately became the only contributor to the catalogue.

Charles Williams (1893-1978) (real name Isaac Cozerbreit) began his career accompanying silent films, then played violin under the batons of Beecham and Elgar. Right from the start of the ‘talkies’, he provided scores for numerous British films, and his Dream Of Olwen is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared – "While I Live". In 1960 he topped the American charts with his theme for the film "The Apartment", although in reality the producers had resurrected one of his earlier works Jealous Lover which itself originated in a British film "The Romantic Age" (1949) starring Mai Zetterling and Petula Clark. By far the greatest volume of his composing skills was employed in mood music, providing hundreds of works for Chappell & Co. alone, many of them also conducted by him. Devil’s Galop will forever remind schoolboys of the 1940s of "Dick Barton – Special Agent", while early television viewers became familiar with Girls in Grey, the theme for BBC newsreels, and The Young Ballerina which accompanied the famous ‘Potter’s Wheel’ TV interlude. However Williams also contributed to other publishers’ mood music libraries, such as those on this CD which were recorded by Bosworth & Co.

Henry Croudson (1898-1971) began his musical career in 1925 as an organist playing for silent films at the Majestic Cinema in his home town of Leeds. He became one of England’s foremost players, eventually working at the top cinemas including the famous Gaumont State, Kilburn, and the Dominion, Tottenham Court Road, London. Henry also wrote many tuneful and well constructed pieces of light music, including the Miniature Overture Jack and Jill on this CD.

David Hart was a pseudonym for W. Granville Chapman, who published over 50 works. His contribution to this collection – Sabre Jet – was written to describe an American fighter aircraft, but it became familiar to millions of British television viewers during the 1950s when the BBC used it in a short film (screened many times) called "London to Brighton in Four Minutes", shot from the driver’s cab of a train.

Claud Vane and Kenneth Essex hide the true identity of Rufus Isaacs, who also used other pseudonyms such as Derek Dwyer and Howitt Hale. His many short works often had a ‘show business’ or holiday feel.

Haydn Wood (1882-1959) enjoyed much success during the early years of the last century with ballads, before concentrating on full scale orchestral works and suites. Roses of Picardy has been in the repertoire of most singers of the 20th century (even Frank Sinatra!), and that alone could justify Haydn Wood’s place among the great popular composers. Recent recordings of his works have demonstrated the depth and wide scope of his composing abilities, especially in suites. This native Yorkshireman often dedicated such works to London, and one can imagine the subject of his Sketch of a Dandy visiting the fashionable places in the capital city.

The German composer and conductor Erich Börschel (1907-1988) received his musical education at the Conservatory in Mainz, then became repetiteur and conductor at the local Staatstheater from 1927 to 1931. For the next four years he worked as a pianist at the broadcasting house in Königsberg (today part of Poland), before forming his own dance band and light orchestra in 1935. During this time he made various commercial recordings for the Telefunken label and in 1938 he composed the charming Sparrow’s Concert heard on this CD. From 1946 to 1962 he was leader of the Grosses Unterhaltungsorchester in Frankfurt, before completing his career as a freelance musician.

Gerald Crossman (b. 1920) came from a musical family, with three cousins playing in leading British dance bands such as Lew Stone, Jack Hylton and Ambrose. He studied the accordion and became proficient on the saxophone, clarinet and trumpet. His recording and broadcasting career was interrupted by war service in the Royal Air Force, although he soon found his niche as the RAF Central Band Sergeant Music Instructor; when hostilities ceased he was posted to India, where he fulfilled a similar role with the Royal Indian Air Force Band. Back in civilian life, Gerald became fully employed with broadcasting, recording and film music sessions, as well as performing at venues such as holiday camps and fashionable hotels, and on ocean going liners. His composing career gradually developed, resulting in over 100 titles – Typical Teenagerbeing a catchy example.

Louis Mordish (1908-1996) was a distinguished cinema organist, pianist, Musical Director and prolific composer. Although he played piano in many different ensembles during his long career, radio listeners in Britain will recall broadcasts by Louis Mordish and his Players for programmes such as "Morning Music" and "Music While You Work". He was also heard regularly on the cinema organ and continued to give occasional recitals until shortly before he died.

The orchestras performing on Library Music recordings often contained some of the finest session players, and Bosworth was fortunate in being able to employ Louis Voss (1902-1980). He possessed a wide experience as a conductor, starting with silent films then specialising for a while in café and restaurant work providing gypsy, Hungarian and Viennese music. He formed the Louis Voss Grand Orchestra during the 1930s, which made many records for Bosworths; they also recorded under the pseudonym ‘The West End Celebrity Orchestra’. The leader was the famous violinist Alfredo Campoli. Eventually Louis Voss became one of the BBC’s regular broadcasters, and he combined this with theatrical engagements. Towards the end of his long career he was actually the anonymous conductor of the Sydney Thompson Old Time Orchestra.

Bosworth & Co. was one of the British pioneers of recorded music, and it is hoped that this small selection from their considerable output will illustrate the high quality of the music they provided to the entertainment industry during the last century. This famous name still exists as part of the Music Sales group.

David Ades

The second new Guild Light Music CD revisits the 1930s. Of special interest is the final ‘bonus’ track, which features a rare experimental recording from 1934 when EMI engineers were discovering that stereo recordings were possible. It took another 23 years, before they reached the record buying public.

The Golden Age of Light Music : the 1930s – Volume 2 "In Town Tonight"

1 Down The Mall (John Belton, alias Tony Lowry & Douglas Brownsmith)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
2 Bitter Sweet Waltz (I’ll See You Again) (Noel Coward)
PARAMOUNT THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANTON with AL BOLLINGTON (Organ)
3 Pony (Josef Rixner)
BARNABAS VON GÉCZY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
4 ‘Happy’ – Selection intro: I Want To Be Happy, Happy Days Are Here Again, Happy Feet, Back To Those Happy Days, Many Happy Returns Of The Day, Spread A Little Happiness, I Want To Be Happy.
COVENTRY HIPPODROME ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES SHADWELL (piano soloist: Jack Wilson)
5 La Paloma (Sebastian de Yradier)
REGAL VIRTUOSI Conducted by EMANUEL STARKEY with SIDNEY TORCH, Organ.
6 Chinese Street Serenade (Ludwig Siede arr. Crook)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS MARIMBA TANGO ORCHESTRA
7 Badinage (Victor Herbert)
HARRY HORLICK AND HIS ORCHESTRA
8 Squirrel Dance (H. Elliott Smith)
MAREK WEBER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
9 Kismet (Erich Börschel)
INTERNATIONAL RADIO ORCHESTRA
10 ‘Ice Rink Selection’ intro: Skaters Waltz, Wine Women And Song, Casino Tanz, Artist’s Life, Count Of Luxembourg, Valse Septembre, Nights Of Gladness, Amoretten Tanz, Gold And Silver Waltz, Wiener Blut, Espana.
DEBROY SOMERS BAND
11 In Town Tonight ("Knightsbridge" from "London Suite") (Eric Coates)
BBC DANCE ORCHESTRA Directed by HENRY HALL
12 Chinese Legend (Hermann Schulenburg arr. Etlinger)
RICHARD CREAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
13 Fingerprints (Harry Engleman)
HARRY ENGLEMAN’S QUINTET
14 ‘A Bouquet Of Flowers’ intro: Won’t You Buy My Pretty Flowers, Valse Des Fleurs, Roses Of The South, Hearts And Flowers, Wedding Of The Rose, Dear Little Shamrock, Won’t You Buy My Pretty Flowers, Pas Des Fleurs, Narcissus, Last Rose Of Summer, Valse Des Fleurs.
GAUMONT STATE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ALFRED VAN DAM
15 Donna Juanita – Paso Doble (Wilhelm Gabriel)
ROBERT RENARD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
16 Shadowsplay (Schattenspiele) (Herbert Küster)
HERBERT KÜSTER’S PIANO ORCHESTRA
17 Ecstasy Waltz (Sidney Baynes)
EDITH LORAND AND HER VIENNESE ORCHESTRA
18 Procession Of The Sirdar (from ‘Caucasian Sketches’) (Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov, arr. Herman Finck)
COMMODORE GRAND ORCHESTRA Conducted by JOSEPH MUSCANT
19 "Mr. Whittington" – Selection (John W. Green, Jack Waller, Joseph Tunbridge) intro: Oceans Of Time, Whoops For The Derby Day, Weep No More My Baby, Who Do You Think You Are, The Sun Is Round The Corner, What A Pleasant Surprise, Finale.
NEW MAYFAIR ORCHESTRA Conducted by RAY NOBLE
20 BONUS TRACK: RARE EXPERIMENTAL STEREO FROM 1934
Excerpt from "Mr. Whittington" intro: The Sun Is Round The Corner, What A Pleasant Surprise, Finale.
NEW MAYFAIR ORCHESTRA Conducted by RAY NOBLE

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5116

The first Guild Light Music collection from the 1930s (GLCD5106) received such a warm reception from aficionados of the period, that a second helping from this tuneful era became a ‘must’. Recognising some constructive comments about the earlier CD, this time some additional famous continental ensembles have been included, resulting in a truly international feel. After all, music knows no boundaries, and whatever the politicians may have been doing during those troubled times, musicians were simply intent upon supplying first-rate entertainment for their grateful audiences.

Henry Hall [1898-1989] takes pride of place in these notes for providing the CD’s title. "In Town Tonight" was a popular British radio programme for 27 years, and its signature tune Knightsbridge from Eric Coates’ "London Suite" firmly established the composer as the leading figure in pre-war light music. Several different versions appeared on record, and while purists may blink at Henry Hall’s dance band version, the superb playing of his musicians has to be admired.

Barnabas Von Géczy [1897-1971] was born in Hungary. He had arrived in Berlin in 1922 and by the 1930s he had one of the best known hotel orchestras in Germany.

‘Robert Renard’ is one of several pseudonyms adopted by Otto Dobrindt [1886-1963] - others included Odeon Dance Orchestra, Piano Symphony, Dobbri and Frank Sandlers. He was also respected as a conductor for classical music, and some of his recordings accompanying noted singers of the time are still available on CDs.

Edith Lorand [1898-1960] was born in Hungary, but spent most of her early career in Germany where she became world-famous as a violinist. She made numerous recordings, mostly light classical and ‘salon’ works, but the changing political situation forced her to return to Hungary in the mid-1930s. Even in her homeland she felt unsafe, so in 1937 she went to the USA, where she spent the rest of her life.

Debroy Somers [1890-1952] could almost be described as a recording phenomenon of the 1930s. For a while his 78s occupied more space in the EMI Columbia catalogue than any other artist. Intriguingly, unlike other artists who were catalogued by surname, he was always listed under "D" rather than "S" and, whether fronting a small ensemble or conducting a large orchestra, the labels said "Debroy Somers Band". The vast majority of his records were medleys of popular songs, such as the Ice Rink Selection chosen for this CD. Somers was the son of an Army band-master from the 1^st Gloucestershire Regiment, and was born in Dublin in 1890 – the names on his birth certificate were William Henry – ‘Debroy’ came later. He could play virtually every instrument in the orchestra or the military band and mastered the oboe, cor anglais, piano, harp, clarinet, saxophone and xylophone. He was one of the first dance band leaders to broadcast, and was the originator of the Savoy Hotel Orpheans in 1923 – he remained their musical director until 1926. A prolific broadcaster, he remained an important figure on the British musical scene until he died suddenly at the age of 62 from a stroke.

Harry Horlick was the conductor of one of early American radio’s most popular salon orchestras, largely due to his regular appearances on the long-running "A & P Gypsies" show from 1924 to 1936. When this series ended, Decca signed him for almost twenty sets of 78s featuring what has been described as ‘musically sturdy, if somewhat careful, albums, with a number devoted to popular and theatre music’. From this period comes the Victor Herbert cameo Badinage.

The Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn opened on 20 December 1937, and soon afterwards its own orchestra was making records, under its London-born conductor Alfred Van Dam [1902-1973]. He began a twelve-year association with the Gaumont-British organisation when aged only nineteen, and made his first broadcast in 1931. Immediately prior to his appointment at the flagship State cinema, he had been musical director at the Trocadero, Elephant & Castle in south London. During his later career he contributed no less than 140 broadcasts to the BBC’s famous ‘Music While You Work’ programme, his last broadcast taking place in 1958.

For decades the Far East inspired many artists from poets to painters and composers. The word ‘Chinese’ appears in numerous song titles, as evidenced by the two tracks in this collection. The first comes from Alfredo Campoli [1906-1991], one of the finest violinists working in Britain, whose brilliant playing enhanced numerous recordings, often unbeknown to the public since he was always in demand as a leader from the top orchestras. However he did get his own fair share of the limelight, through his recordings and broadcasts with the various groups he formed. His expertise is hardly surprising, since his father was a violin professor and orchestral leader, while his mother – the operatic soprano Elvira Celi – had toured with Caruso. The family moved to England from Rome while Alfredo was still a child, and he made his début at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1923. After enjoying great success in Britain for many years, he was widely praised when he appeared at the Carnegie Hall in New York in 1953, and other overseas tours took him twice to the Soviet Union.

Probably the best known British theatre orchestra during the 1930s was that of the world famous London Palladium which is featured on "British Cinema and Theatre Orchestras" (Guild GLCD 5108). In recording terms it was also the most prolific, with almost 150 recordings made between 1927 and the early 1940s, most of them conducted by Richard Crean who was in charge from 1930 to 1937. He also made recordings with his own orchestra and Chinese Legend is yet another classic example of the pseudo-oriental music that seemed to fascinate many music-lovers of that era.

The German composer and conductor Erich Börschel composed the charming Sparrow’s Concert which is included on the Guild Light Music CD "Highdays and Holidays" (GLCD5115). This was just one of a number of successful light pieces he wrote in the 1930s, and Kismet is another of the pieces specially recorded for the early Bosworth Mood Music Library.

Russian-born Joseph Muscant is credited with making the Commodore Grand Orchestra into one of the finest ensembles playing light music at that time. It was formed when the Hammersmith cinema opened on 14 September 1929, and soon became popular throughout Britain thanks to its regular BBC radio broadcasts.

Finally it is important to mention "Mr. Whittington" - a London show which, thanks to Ray Noble and EMI, formed an important landmark in the history of recorded sound. London-born Ray Noble (1903-1978) was one of the leading British bandleaders of the 1930s and, as well as being a talented pianist and arranger, he also composed several popular songs which have since become standards. Among his biggest successes were Goodnight Sweetheart, Love Is The Sweetest Thing, The Touch Of Your Lips, and The Very Thought Of You - all of them first introduced by singer Al Bowlly, who was a valued member of the Noble orchestra - called The New Mayfair (Dance) Orchestra on its numerous HMV 78s.

Alan Blumlein joined the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1929 with a brief to improve the then fledgling electrical recording process, which he did with notable success. By 1931 Columbia had merged with The Gramophone Company to form EMI (Electrical and Musical Industries) and Blumlein began experimenting with stereophonic recording (then known as "binaural") at their Hayes research laboratories. By 1934 these experiments were proving so successful that a complete binaural cutting system was installed in one of the studios at Abbey Road to enable recordings of orchestral and other music to be made and assessed.

Most of the results of these experiments – the "walking and talking" and classical music recordings - have already appeared on various LPs and CDs but it is not generally known that some light music was also recorded. In fact the very first Abbey Road binaural recording was made on the 11^th of January 1934 by Ray Noble and The New Mayfair Orchestra (called "Ray Noble’s Dance Band" in the documentation). The music chosen was part of a selection from the musical "Mr. Whittington" and the complete mono recording, made at the same time, is featured on track 19 while the binaural version forms the finale of this CD.

The sound is rather distant as the microphones were placed approximately 45 feet from the orchestra and the lack of additional ‘spot’ microphones (and the absence of a stereo mixing desk to accommodate them), means that certain instruments do not have the same prominence as on the mono recording. Even so, the resulting sound is quite exciting, perhaps giving the impression of sitting near the rear of a concert hall or theatre.

It is a pity that the economic climate and the obvious problems of playing such recordings domestically at that time meant that the experiments were abandoned, and the introduction of stereo discs into the home had to wait another 23 years. However Alan Blumlein was responsible for developing the disc cutting principles eventually adopted by the recording industry, although his patents expired in 1952, having never been commercially exploited by EMI. His system was "re-invented" by Westrex, and became the universal standard for stereo LPs.

David Ades

LIGHT MUSIC WAS STILL FLOURISHING IN AMERICA OVER FIFTY YEARS AGO, AS PROVED BY THIS NEW COLLECTION FROM 1948 to 1954

Great American Light Orchestras Volume 2 : Travellin’ Light

1 Travellin’ Light (Victor Young) WALTER SCHARF AND HIS ORCHESTRA
2 Blue Tango (Leroy Anderson) HUGO WINTERHALTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
3 Laura (from the film "Laura") (Johnny Mercer & David Raksin) DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
4 Limehouse Blues (from "Andre Charlot’s Revue of 1924") (Douglas Furber & Philip Braham) MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
5 Mine (from "Let ‘Em Eat Cake") (George & Ira Gershwin) ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
6 The Grasshopper (Bernard Landes) CONDUCTED BY CAMARATA
7 The Very Thought Of You (Ray Noble) RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
8 The Girl With The Spanish Drawl (Wow! Wow! Wow!) (Fausto Curbelo & John A. Camacho) PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
9 The Continental (from film "The Gay Divorcee") (Herb Magidson & Con Conrad) BOSTON ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER
10 I Love Louisa (from "The Band Wagon") (Arthur Schwartz & Howard Dietz) THE PITTSBURGH STRINGS arranged and conducted by RICHARD JONES
11 Joyride (Billy Vaughn) BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
12 I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me (Clarence Gaskill & Jimmy McHugh) NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
13 New York In A Nutshell (Nicholas Acquaviva & Ted Varnick) ACQUAVIVA AND HIS ORCHESTRA
14 The Little Toy Shop (Kermit Leslie & Walter Leslie) KERMIT LESLIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
15 Calico Square Dance (Meredith Willson) MEREDITH WILLSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
16 All The Things You Are (from "Very Warm for May") (Oscar Hammerstein II & Jerome Kern) GORDON JENKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
17 Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Leon Jessel, arr. Morton Gould) ROBIN HOOD DELL ORCHESTRA Conducted by MORTON GOULD
18 Kentucky Trotter (Frank Perkins) FRANK PERKINS AND HIS "POPS" ORCHESTRA
19 Tambourine Chinois (Fritz Kreisler) DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
20 Little Jumping Jack (Ralph Maria Seigel) CONDUCTED BY CAMARATA
21 I Concentrate On You (from film "Broadway Melody of 1940") (Cole Porter) ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
22 My Silent Love (Jazz Nocturne) (Edward Heyman & Dana Suesse) MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
23 The Flying Horse (David Rose) DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
24 The Piccolino (from film "Top Hat") (Irving Berlin) THE PITTSBURGH STRINGS arranged and conducted by RICHARD JONES
25 Tropical (Morton Gould) DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
26 Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo (from the film "Lili") (Helen Deutsch & Bronislau Kaper) VICTOR YOUNG AND HIS SINGING STRINGS
27 What’s Good About Goodbye? (from film "Casbah") (Leo Robin & Harold Arlen) DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5114 Readers of this magazine will need little introduction to many of the famous orchestras included in this collection, but it is hoped that there will be some pleasant surprises among the ‘old friends’. Camarata’s records were not widely distributed worldwide, and how many people can boast a recording by Kermit Leslie on their shelves? When enthusiasts talk about ‘The World of Light Music’ they often intend that their words should be taken literally, because there was a time – mainly during the middle years of the last century – when pleasant, tuneful melodies could be heard regularly emanating from radio loudspeakers in many parts of the world. This was reflected in commercial recordings, because listeners often wanted to be able to hear their favourite music and orchestras at times of their own choosing. Commercial pressures eventually forced changes as younger generations acquired more disposable cash for items such as records, but in countries where there was a strong public broadcasting ethos (mainly Europe and former British colonies) the commercial pressures were less keenly felt, resulting in radio orchestras surviving longer than in the ‘new world’. In America conductors such as Andre Kostelanetz, David Rose and Percy Faith built a strong following as a result of their radio work in the 1930s and 1940s, which translated into healthy record sales well into the LP era of the 1950s. Some of them managed to survive the arrival of Elvis Presley and The Beatles on the entertainment scene, but others simply could not afford the high expense of keeping an orchestra together for the diminishing radio and recording work on offer. There was also the ‘problem’ of adapting to changing musical tastes: orchestras were forced to play pop songs with a beat, and echo chambers and other electronic gadgets certainly didn’t help. The end result was that the pop-fed youngsters were totally unimpressed and disinterested, and the traditional fans of the orchestras hated the ‘new modern sounds’. Happily there was a ‘golden age’ for a while when music was more important than gimmickry, and recording managers were prepared to trust the good musical sense of conductors, arrangers and composers. Such a period in America is recreated in this Compact Disc. The selection takes its title from a sparkling composition by Victor Young (1900-1956). He excelled as a violinist, arranger, film composer, songwriter, conductor and record producer. This wide experience in all forms of music, from his first hit song, Sweet Sue, Just You in 1928 to his tremendous score for "Around the World in 80 Days" in 1956, was exceptional even by Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood standards, all the more so because his international reputation was achieved in such a short lifetime. Like so many of his contemporaries, he found work with various dance bands of the 1920s and 1930s, before eventually ending up in Hollywood, where he discovered the ideal outlet for his melodic gifts. Walter Scharf (1910-2003) was mainly a film score composer and arranger, who received ten Academy Award nominations. He also worked extensively in US television with stars like Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Hugo Winterhalter (1909-1973) created arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Claude Thornhill and others before several record companies recognised his true potential. Between 1948 and 1963 he was musical director at MGM, Columbia, RCA and Kapp, with several big sellers to his credit. Leroy Anderson’s Blue Tango was one of the first. David Rose (1910-1990) was born in London, England, and the family moved to the USA when he was just four-years-old. He began working in movies in 1941 and is credited with scoring 36 films. In 1943 he had a big hit with his own composition Holiday For Strings which firmly launched him as a light music composer in the eyes of the public. In total he won five Grammy awards and six gold records. Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers, and his distinguished career was crowned with a Pulitzer Prize (for his Stringmusic, commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich for the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington) just a year before his death at the age of 82. Among his best-known works were the ballet Fall River Legend and American Symphonette No. 3,which became better known as Pavanne (the mis-spelling was deliberate). From 1986 to 1994 Gould was President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) was one of the biggest names in American light orchestral music during the middle years of the 20th century. He created a rich symphonic style of scoring that was to transform many popular melodies into minor masterpieces, and there is little doubt that he influenced many of his contemporaries. Born in Russia, in 1928 he became a naturalised American, and in the same year he began a long association with the Atlantic Broadcasting System (later CBS) which resulted in a series of very popular radio programmes which lasted from the early 1930s right through to the 1950s. His arrangements favoured light and shade, with extremely loud passages being followed (sometimes quite abruptly) by quieter phases, often involving only a few instruments. Early 78 discs found it difficult to cope, especially when the softer moments were aggravated by the hisses and crackles inherent in the poor quality pressings that were around in the 1940s due to war conditions. But that didn’t stop people from buying them: during the 1940s Columbia calculated that his sales had topped 20 million records in the USA alone. In 1950 his record company confirmed that he was their best-selling Masterworks artist, further adding to his prestige. Salvatore (‘Tutti’) Camarata (1913-2005) was an accomplished trumpet player, but he found his true musical niche during the 1930s as arranger for top bands such as Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Paul Whiteman. For a number of years he was musical director of ABC and Decca Records, and was a co-founder of London Records (the US arm of Britain’s Decca). He also worked for the Disney Studios and helped to establish Disneyland Records. During one of his periods based in England, in 1948 he recorded Robert Farnon’s arrangement of the famous Chopin work Fantaisie Impromptu in C sharp minor (Decca F8885 – recently reissued on Guild GLCD5101). An updated version, featuring Jane Pickles on flute, is included in the Vocalion CD "Hey There" (CDSA 6811). As well as being a respected arranger and conductor, Richard Hayman (b. 1920) was also a harmonica virtuoso, and he sometimes adapted his scores of popular melodies so that he could perform on his favourite instrument. This formula brought him two chart successes in the early 1950s, with 78s of Ruby and April In Portugal. He followed Leroy Anderson as an arranger for the Boston Pops Orchestra over a period of more than 30 years, and also served as Music Director of Mercury Records. He was regularly in demand to orchestrate Broadway shows and film soundtracks, and notable among his own compositions are No Strings Attached and Skipping Along. Percy Faith (1908-1976) was born in Toronto, Canada, and originally he expected that his musical career would be as a concert pianist. But he injured his hands in a fire, which forced him to turn to composing, arranging and conducting. During the 1930s his programme "Music By Faith" was carried by the Mutual network in the USA, which prompted offers of work south of the border. He eventually succumbed in 1940, leaving Robert Farnon (previously his lead trumpeter) to conduct his Canadian orchestra. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Faith arranged all his own material, and his exciting and vibrant scores made his work stand out among the rest. For many years Arthur Fiedler (1894-1979) was always linked in the mind with The Boston ‘Pops’ Orchestra, although in Britain its records were released under the name Boston ‘Promenade’ Orchestra, which seemed more in keeping with its repertoire. It took quite a long while before the American term ‘Pops’ Orchestra finally gained acceptance elsewhere. At the time when The Continental was recorded, Leroy Anderson was the full-time arranger, so it seems most likely that he was responsible for this inventive score. During the post-war years, Anderson enjoyed considerable fame with his own compositions, especially Blue Tango played on this CD by the Hugo Winterhalter orchestra. During the 1950s and 60s many record companies became obsessed with albums featuring strings.  Recordings by the Victor Young Singing Strings (featured in Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo), The Castaway Strings, The San Sebastian Strings, The September Strings, The Knightsbridge Strings, The Clebanoff Strings, The Living Strings, 101 Strings and many others were released in abundance.  Capitol had the famous Hollyridge Strings created by Stu Phillips in 1964 but, like most "string" ensembles, they often included brass and woodwind, either as solo instruments or, a contradiction in terms, as complete sections of the orchestra. However, Capitol had first ventured into this genre some 11 years earlier when they commissioned Richard Jones to arrange for, and conduct, the complete string section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by their famous concertmaster Samuel Thavin, in several albums which were 100% strings. Our two tracks come from their second album, "Moonlight And Violins". Billy Vaughn (1931-1991) began his career playing piano and singing baritone in the group ‘The Hilltoppers’, before joining Dot Records as musical director where he accompanied many of the label’s top singers. He became one of the most successful orchestra leaders during the rock’n’roll era, and from 1955 to 1970 he managed to get 36 titles into the USA Top 200 charts, including No. 1 in 1960 with Theme from ‘A Summer Place’. Nelson Riddle (1921-1985) was a trombonist during his early career, which could explain why that particular instrument was featured in some of his most inventive arrangements for Frank Sinatra. Riddle’s scores also enhanced the recording careers of many top stars, from Nat ‘King’ Cole and Dean Martin to Judy Garland and Peggy Lee. He made a few instrumental albums on his own, but one is left with the impression that he could have achieved more in this area, had he not been so successful accompanying the finest singers around. Nicholas Acquaviva was not a frequent visitor to the recording studios, but he gained recognition in the USA through his involvement with the Symphony of the Air orchestra and as conductor of the New York ‘Pops’ Symphony Orchestra. Kermit Leslie (real name Kermit Levinsky)was born in New York City, and was working as a professional musician by the time he was fourteen. In 1939 he joined Alvino Rey’s band as saxophonist and arranger, until he was conscripted during the Second World War. Later he studied harmony and counterpoint, and for a while became an arranger with Tommy Dorsey. He was a prolific composer (often with his brother Walter) with over 50 published titles to his credit, although Walter’s total is even higher. Meredith Willson (b. 1902) achieved his biggest success as composer of the Broadway musical "The Music Man" which was also turned into a popular film starring Robert Preston. Willson originally played the flute in John Philip Sousa’s band, then in the New York Philharmonic. A busy career in radio and films followed, punctuated by a spell as a major in the Armed Forces Radio Service during World War 2. Calico Square Dance is unusual in that it is actually in two keys at once. There are two basic melodies in the piece – one of them the familiar Old Joe Clark, while the other was Willson’s own creation. Gordon Jenkins (1910-1984) arranged for many of the top bands in America during the two World Wars, and he soon carved out an impressive career in radio and films. He signed with US Decca in 1945, and eventually became their managing director. Under his guidance the label had several big hits, although it has to be said that his own instrumental records sometimes disappointed. Far better were his arrangements for Nat ‘King’ Cole (especially Stardust) and Frank Sinatra (the album No One Cares). All The Things You Are comes from a collection of Jerome Kern Melodies, indicating that Jenkins could have created a far greater amount of tuneful orchestral scores, given the chance. Frank Perkins (b. 1908) has written some catchy novelties, including Kentucky Trotter, althoughone of his biggest hits was Fandango (with the benefit of an added lyric by John Bradford). David Carroll (b. 1913) was musical director of Mercury Records from 1951 to the early 1960s, during which time he accompanied many of the label’s contract singers as well as making some instrumental recordings of his own. Several of his LPs had a ‘dance’ theme, often including his own compositions, and he employed the cream of Chicago’s session musicians. Sometimes he used the solo voice of Betty Gilchrist to add an extra special dimension. For much of the 20^th century the USA acted like a magnet for numerous people facing oppression in their own homelands. Many creative artists and musicians discovered a welcome refuge where their talents could be freely expressed, and the result was a flowering of popular culture such as had never been witnessed previously. The world of light music certainly shared in this Golden Age, fuelled by emerging technologies such as radio, the cinema and eventually television. Sound recordings played a major role in the enjoyment of the masses, and they allow us to participate again in the tuneful music of that unique period in history. David Ades

Two more CDs have been added to the GUILD "Golden Age of Light Music" series. The first is a scintillating collection of recordings, mainly from 1954. The second concentrates on quiet, reflective melodies for enjoying during the less hectic times of the day.

The 1950s – Volume 2 : Midnight Matinee

1 Midnight Matinee (Len Stevens)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
2 Postman’s Knock (Leslie Julian Jones)
WALLY STOTT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
3 The Magic Touch (Bernie Wayne)
HUGO WINTERHALTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
4 Moonlight Fiesta (Cyril Ornadel)
WINIFRED ATWELL, piano with CYRIL ORNADEL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
5 Simonetta (Belle Fenstock, Irving Caesar)
RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
6 Tales of Munich (Münchner G’Schichten) (Theo Mackeben)
HAMBURG RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by HARRY HERMANN
7 Holiday Funfair (Jack Beaver)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
8 Shadow Waltz (Paul Dubois)
NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
9 Veradero (Bernie Wayne)
GEOFF LOVE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
10 On Fifth Avenue (Ronnie Pleydell)
RONNIE PLEYDELL AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
11 BOULEVARD WALTZ (Hillier, Hillier, Newman)
REG TILSLEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
12 Frenchman’s Creek (Laurie Johnson)
LAURIE JOHNSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
13 Ecstasy (Jose Belmonte)
EDMUNDO ROS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
14 Bahama Buggy Ride (Steggerda)
HUGO WINTERHALTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
15 Poodle Parade (Robert Farnon)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
16 Ballet of the Bells (Ray Martin)
JOHNNY DOUGLAS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
17 A Girl Called Linda (David Greer)
JEFF MORLEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
18 Park Plaza (from the film) (Philip Green)
PHILIP GREEN and THE CAMEO PLAYERS
19 Ditto (Charles Strouse)
MICHAEL FREDERICKS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
20 Follow Me Around (Philip Green)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
21 Panoramic Splendour (Trevor Duncan)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by R. de PORTEN
22 Carefree (Charles E. Henderson, Edward Heyman)
AXEL STORDAHL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
23 Palsy Walsy (George Siravo)
GEORGE SIRAVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA
24 Midnight Blue (Eric Spear)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
25 With Emma To Town (Anthony Collins)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANTHONY COLLINS
26 Limelight – Theme and Incidental Music (Charles Chaplin)
WALLY STOTT AND HIS ORCHESTRA

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5111

Names such as Wally Stott, Laurie Johnson, Ron Goodwin, Trevor Duncan, Dolf van der Linden and, of course, Robert Farnon, will immediately alert readers to the fact that this is a very special collection. 1954 seems to have been a vintage year for light music on 78s & 45s, and LPs were gradually starting to make a real impact, although their high prices did tend to make collectors think twice before buying. As well as the commercial discs, the mood music companies were releasing numerous pieces that have since become miniature masterpieces of light music. It all represents a far off period when light music seemed to be so plentiful, yet you could not always purchase what you really wanted.

The first track in this collection is a case in point. Midnight Matinee was heard countless times in cinema newsreels, and its sheer exuberance sums up the carefree atmosphere of the mid-1950s, when people were finally starting to believe that the days of wartime austerity were behind them at last. The composer, Len Stevens (d. 1989), was a master at composing this kind of music; in this instance his work was recorded by Chappell & Co. but he also contributed to many other leading publishers’ mood music catalogues. Essentially a ‘backroom boy’ of the music business, Len rarely came to the public’s attention, yet he was highly regarded by his colleagues and arranged (usually anonymously) for the biggest names, including many stage musicals.

Other prime examples of quality mood music on this CD include Holiday Funfair by Jack Beaver (1900-1963) and Follow Me Around by Philip Green (1910-1982) – both played by Dolf van der Linden and his Metropole Orchestra based in Hilversum, The Netherlands. Another Chappell 78 features a catchy cameo Poodle Parade by Robert Farnon (b. 1917), who also conducts the Danish State Radio Orchestra in this, and the afore-mentioned Midnight Matinee.

The other piece of production music comes from the pen of Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard Trebilco b. 1924) who was also responsible for The Girl From Corsica and the theme for BBC TV’s "Dr. Finlay’s Casebook" – his March from A Little Suite. According to the composer himself, Panoramic Splendour was one of his most successful pieces for his publishers, Boosey & Hawkes, but it is believed that this is the first time that it has been available on a commercial recording. RFS members still recall, with great pleasure, meeting Trevor at the Bonnington Hotel last April.

Angela Morley (b. 1924) is today regarded as one of the finest arrangers and film composers. In more recent she has worked on several big budget movies (one example is the "Star Wars" series assisting John Williams), but in her early career she made numerous recordings under her former name, Wally Stott, also providing the priceless musical backings for "The Goon Show". Actually Angela appears on three tracks in this collection: she conducts Postman’s Knock, and her own arrangement of Charlie Chaplin’s music for his film "Limelight" – and using the pseudonym ‘Jeff Morley’ she arranges and conducts A Girl Called Linda by David Greer. The composer of Postman’s Knock, Leslie Julian Jones (b. 1910), does not appear to have been a prolific writer, although he is credited with having composed songs (You’ll Never Know a Love Like Mine is one example) and a revue.

The 1950s seems to have been a very busy period for the American Bernie Wayne (1919-1993). In the USA he is best known for his "Miss America" Beauty Pageant theme, and the hit song Blue Velvet. His string of instrumental successes included Vanessa, Port-au-Prince and Veradero (played on this CD by Geoff Love). The Magic Touch didn’t attract quite the same attention, maybe because there were so many good tunes around at that time. Hugo Winterhalter (1909-1973) started out writing arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Claude Thornhill, Will Bradley and others. His prestigious appointments included a spell as Musical Director at MGM in 1948, followed by similar positions with Columbia, RCA and Kapp Records. During his spell at RCA he arranged hits for Eddie Fisher, Dinah Shore and The Ames Bros. He also made his own instrumental recordings, and his disc of Canadian Sunset (with its composer Eddie Heywood on piano) sold two million copies in 1956. Another of his hits was the American version of Ray Martin’s Blue Violins (included on Guild GLCD5105 – Great American Light Orchestras). Another Winterhalter 78 is featured here – the catchy Bahama Buggy Ride, composed by Johannes Steggerda who appears to be a Belgian writer; the American Bob Mellin added a lyric and also published the tune.

Cyril Ornadel (b. 1924) rose to prominence in Britain during the 1950s, largely due to his weekly appearances conducting the orchestra for the popular television series "Sunday Night at the London Palladium". He was MD for numerous top musicals in London’s West End, and his composing credits include the hit show "Pickwick" and the song Portrait of my Love which gave Matt Monro an international hit. Moonlight Fiesta provided pianist Winifred Atwell (1914-1983) with a fine showcase for her talents, this time on the concert grand, rather than her better known "other piano". She hailed from Trinidad and enjoyed tremendous success, topping variety bills with her records regularly reaching the top twenty. Readers are reminded that Cyril Ornadel looked back on his career in a special article in our last issue.

Belle Fenstock (b. 1914) has no less than 28 compositions listed by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), yet very few seem to be remembered today. Simonetta was very popular during the 1950s, with recordings by several top orchestras. Irving Caesar added lyrics for the vocal version. Another Fenstock creation – Safari – is featured on the Guild collection "Reflections of Tranquility" GLCD 5112. Conductor Richard Hayman (b. 1920) started at the age of 18 as a harmonica player in Borrah Minevitch’s Harmonica Rascals, but he wisely decided to concentrate more on arranging and conducting. He worked on the MGM musical "Meet Me In St. Louis" and was put under contract by Mercury Records in 1950, for whom he made many singles and albums, the best-seller being his version of Ruby from the film "Ruby Gentry". He also arranged for the Boston Pops, serving as back-up conductor for Arthur Fiedler.

Britain and America certainly did not have a monopoly of superb light orchestras during the 1950s. Germany was also blessed with many, usually tied to regional radio stations, and Harry Hermann (1899-1961) at Nord-West Deutsche Rundfunk in Hamburg fronted a large concert orchestra – as heard on the Philips 78 in this collection. At times the orchestra personnel included players of the calibre of ‘Toots’ Thielemans, Helmut Zacharias and James Last. Unfortunately it has not proved possible to identify who was responsible for the superb arrangement of Theo Mackeben’s delightful waltz Münchner G’schichten. Harry Hermann (full name Harry Hermann Spitz) often used Ulrich Sommerlatte during this period, but other strong candidates include Rudolf Kühn, Rudolf Maluck and Kurt Wege. RFS member Alexander Schatte kindly provided this information on the arrangers who were working with Harry Hermann at that time.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) has already been featured on previous Guild Light Music CDs (his Melody on the Move from Guild GLCD 5102 is one of the finest pieces of light music ever written) but he also composed under the pseudonym ‘Paul Dubois’. Partly due to its use by the BBC as the theme for the television series "The Teckman Biography" in 1953-54, it quickly caught the public’s attention, and even achieved fame in the USA, where Nelson Riddle (1921-1985) made it one of his earliest singles for Capitol.

During the post-war years, Ronnie Pleydell (d. 1994) at one time fronted the resident band at the Hotel Bristol in Newquay, and also worked as a session musician. His recording of On Fifth Avenue comes from a rare Melodisc 78 and proves that he could also compose catchy tunes. Also from Melodisc (a label which issued very few orchestral recordings as it tended to specialise in West African music) comes Boulevard Waltz featuring Reg Tilsley, a highly respected composer, arranger and conductor. He was active in arranging and recording music library tracks (notably for De Wolfe); he also worked for a while with the pop group The Pretty Things and made a number of LP albums for Philips under the "Sounds Orchestral" banner.

Laurie Johnson (b.1927) has been a leading figure on the British entertainment scene for 50 years. A gifted arranger and composer, Laurie has contributed to films, musical theatre, radio, television and records, with his music used in many well-known productions such as "The Avengers" and "The Professionals". Frenchman’s Creek was inspired by the Daphne du Maurier novel, set in Cornwall and the subject of a Hollywood movie filmed by Paramount in 1944.

‘Jose Belmonte’ is one of a number of pseudonyms adopted by Philip Green, possibly to disguise the fact that he was one of the most prolific composers on the British music scene for around five decades. Radio, television, films, library music and numerous recordings gained him the reputation of being a workaholic – even before the term was invented. Three of his compositions are featured in this collection, each quite different in nature, but all bearing the stamp of quality that was his trademark. Ecstasy was very popular, at a time when tango music was enjoying a mini-revival, and the Edmundo Ros version is one of the best.It is among the very few recordings he made utilising a full concert orchestra rather than his normal Latin-American ensemble – two others are available on earlier Guild CDs in this series.

Ray Martin (1918-1988) has already been mentioned in these notes – in fact it would be difficult to ignore him in any survey of British light music of around 50 years ago. His tuneful pieces were often recorded by fellow conductors on other labels, and it is good to hear the alternate versions for a change, especially when they are as bright and refreshing as the Johnny Douglas (1920-2003) recording of Ballet of the Bells for Decca – although to be precise it must be stated that Martin never actually recorded this number himself.

The track Ditto is something or a rarity for several reasons. Firstly, it was issued by Polygon, a small British record company founded in 1949 by Alan Freeman: early successes included Petula Clark and Jimmy Young 78s. In 1955 it became part of the Pye label, which had been established in 1953 when it acquired 51% of Nixa. Polygon issued quite a large number of orchestral 78s, but few of them (apart from early Ray Martin and Ron Goodwin titles) ever attracted much attention. The conductor Michael Fredericks is also largely unknown, having managed to escape the reference books. But some light can be shed upon Ditto itself; it appears that the composer was Charles Strouse, and this catchy little piece was the first movement in his short suite entitled Three American Pieces for Piano.

The name Axel Stordahl (1913-1963) will be familiar to many collectors of American popular music, mainly through his backing for Frank Sinatra during a period known as the singer’s ‘Columbia years’. In 1936 he joined Tommy Dorsey as a trumpet player, and was encouraged to develop his arranging talents. He realised that his style was more suited to slow, sentimental ballads, which became his trademark. In partnership with Paul Weston, he composed Day by Day, but during his later career he tended to concentrate on leading studio bands for radio and television.

George Siravo (1916-2000) played clarinet with many of the big bands of the swing era, and he was also in demand as a free-lance arranger for the likes of Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw and Gene Krupa. In recent years he has been credited with helping to revive Frank Sinatra’s flagging career, when he provided some of the orchestrations for the singer’s first major album ‘Songs for Young Lovers’, although the kudos went to Nelson Riddle who was brought in when the project was already partly completed. George Siravo’s contribution to this CD represents one of the rare novelty numbers that he both composed and recorded himself.

Eric Spear will forever be associated with the theme for "Coronation Street", but this was only one of many light music works he composed. Midnight Blue was intended as the ‘B’ side for a Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) 78, and this arrangement is probably by the maestro himself.

Anthony Collins (1893-1963) had already established a successful conducting career in England, before he went to the USA in 1939 where he began writing film scores for RKO in addition to conducting assignments in New York and Los Angeles. In 1944 he returned to England and worked on several British films, and concentrated on conducting classical music for concerts and recordings, including a series of Sibelius symphonies and tone poems. In the light music sphere his most enduring work has been Vanity Fair, but since this is already well represented on CD the decision has been made to feature the other side of the composer’s own Decca record - With Emma To Town.

Reflections of Tranquility

1 Shangri-La
(Carl Sigman, Matty Malneck, Robert Maxwell)
Monty Kelly and his Orchestra
2 Starry Night
(Joyce Cochrane)
Danish State Radio Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon
3 Deserted City
(David Rose)
David Rose and his Orchestra
4 Primrose Dell
(Cecil Milner)
Harmonic Orchestra conducted by Hans May
5 Lotus Land
(Cyril Scott)
Conducted by Camarata
6 In a Calm
(Robert Farnon)
Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
7 Linden Grove
(Walter Collins)
London Promenade Orchestra conducted by Walter Collins
8 Starlight Rendezvous
(Kenneth Essex)
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
9 Beyond The Next Hill
(Bob Haymes)
Acquaviva and his Orchestra
10 Rippling Waters
(Donald Thorne, arr. Robert Busby)
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon
11 Bali H’ai
(Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers)
Monty Kelly and his Orchestra
12 Under the Stars
(Eric Coates)
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra conducted by Charles Williams
13 Packet Boat
(Peter Dennis)
Dolf van der Linden and his Orchestra
14 Dreaming
(Archibald Joyce, arr. Sidney Torch)
Sidney Torch and his Orchestra
15 Lizard Point
(Charles Williams)
Danish State Radio Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon
16 La Brilliante
(Bob Haymes)
Acquaviva and his Orchestra
17 Adrift in a Dream
(Angela Morley)
Danish State Radio Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon
18 Autumn Sunshine
(Reginald King)
London Promenade Orchestra conducted by Walter Collins
19 Moon Magic
(Trevor Duncan)
New Concert Orchestra conducted by Dolf van der Linden
20 A Night of Stars
(Al Hoffman)
Richard Hayman and his Orchestra
21 Rippling Down the Mountain
(Hans May)
Harmonic Orchestra conducted by Hans May
22 How Are Things In Glocca Morra
(E.Y. Harburg, Burton Lane)
Monty Kelly and his Orchestra
23 Mid Ocean
(Robert Farnon)
Danish State Radio Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon
24 Safari (Belle Fenstock)
David Carroll and his Orchestra

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5112

Early last year I spent an enjoyable few days relaxing in Cornwall, staying in a charming hotel right on the seafront in a small harbour town – St. Mawes. Music was often played in the hotel lounge, but it didn’t always suit the idyllic scene in the harbour outside. It didn’t help that the hotel only seemed to have two or three CDs, which kept getting repeated! It made me think that there must be many similar situations where people would enjoy relaxing, yet tuneful music that could be appreciated if you listened carefully, but which would not be intrusive if you were doing other things. So I decided that I would try to compile a selection featuring the kind of music I would have liked to have heard during that holiday, and the result is the new Guild CD "Reflections of Tranquility". I should add that it is not essential that you need to be on holiday to enjoy the music: hopefully it will be enjoyed at any time of the day when some peaceful moments seem appropriate.

The opening melody Shangri-La was composed by two talented Americans – harpist Robert Maxwell (b. 1921) and jazz violinist Matty Malneck (1904-1981). Although written in 1946, the tune didn’t attract much attention until Monty Kelly recorded it in 1954, followed by The Four Coins; Robert Maxwell’s own disc – plus a vocal version by The Lettermen – gave it a fresh lease of life a decade later. Maxwell’s biggest hit was Ebb Tide (for which Carl Sigman [1909-2000] also wrote the lyrics), which took Frank Chacksfield to No. 2 in the US charts, an unusual event for an instrumental record. Malneck already had a string of successes to his name, notably Goody Goody, I’m Through With Love and Stairway To The Stars.

Joyce Cochrane composed several popular melodies during the 1940s and 1950s, one of her biggest successes being Honey Child which enjoyed a vocal recording by Gracie Fields as well as an orchestral version arranged by Robert Farnon (on Guild GLCD5104). In 1950 her song You’re Only Dreaming was included in the Ealing film "Dance Hall" which featured the Ted Heath and Geraldo orchestras on screen.

David Rose (1910-1990) was born in London, England, and the family moved to the USA when he was just four-years-old. In 1943 he had a big hit with his own composition Holiday For Strings which firmly launched him as a light music composer in the eyes of the public. By the late '40s he was a regular on Red Skelton's radio show, moving with him into television. He later wrote scores and themes for over 20 television series and won Emmy awards for his 14 year stint on "Bonanza", 10 years with "Little House On The Prairie" and his work on three much-acclaimed Fred Astaire specials. Rose had a worldwide smash hit in 1962 with another of his own tunes, a humorous and satirical piece called The Stripper. He had actually composed this four years previously for a television show called "Burlesque", and it gathered dust on his record company’s shelves until they needed a ‘B’ side for Ebb Tide. A Los Angeles disc jockey picked it up, and the rest – as they say – is musical history.

Cecil Milner was a respected backroom boy in London music circles, arranging for many top orchestras such as Mantovani, for whom he supplied around 220 scores. He was also an accomplished composer, with his works willingly accepted by background music publishers such as Harmonic, who issued Primrose Dell on one of their mood music 78 discs in 1949. In the cinema he worked on the 1938 film "The Lady Vanishes". Cecil Milner’s nephew Timothy Milner is a member of our Society, and we met him at our London meeting last November.

Cyril Scott (1879-1970) was highly praised for his composing talents during the early part of the twentieth century, and was often compared with Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax, Percy Grainger and Claude Debussy who described him as "…one of the rarest artists of the present generation". George Bernard Shaw apparently once told Elgar that he had become "… quite daring in your harmonies of late", to which Elgar is supposed to have replied: "Yes, but don’t forget it was Scott who started it all". It is therefore somewhat surprising that he is relatively little known today, and the sheer beauty of Lotus Land makes one wish that there were dozens of similar orchestral works still being performed. Scott is reputed to have been an infant prodigy on the piano, and in addition to music (he also lectured and wrote extensively) he displayed a keen interest in poetry and philosophy. Happily he lived long enough to enjoy the respect accorded to his music: in 1969 Chicago Conservatory of Music gave him an Honorary Music Doctorate.

Robert Joseph Farnon (b. 1917) had a distinguished career in Canadian Radio during the 1930s, eventually taking over Percy Faith’s CBC Orchestra when Faith went to the USA in 1940. During World War II, as Captain Robert Farnon, he was posted to Britain in 1944 as conductor of the Canadian Band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, working alongside Glenn Miller and George Melachrino, who fronted the American and British bands. After the war, Farnon remained in Britain where he quickly established himself in radio, records, films and television. His gift for composition resulted in hundreds of his works being accepted for the background music library operated by the London publishers Chappells, and many of his catchy themes (notably Jumping Bean and Portrait of a Flirt) became instantly recognisable worldwide. In his later career he has been in demand to arrange and conduct for major international starts such as Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne and George Shearing. His compositions embrace many musical styles, from classical to jazz, but it is perhaps his beautifully crafted light orchestral cameos that have gained him the greatest public acclaim.

Walter R. Collins is remembered for his days as the distinguished Musical Director of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, and also for conducting the London Promenade Orchestra for the Paxton Recorded Music Library during the 1940s. Earlier, in 1928, his own orchestra was sufficiently well respected to undertake a tour in Germany, and during his long career he was a prolific composer and arranger.

Kenneth Essex (real name Rufus Isaacs) seemed to have a gift of being able to composer numerous bright and frothy numbers, and his works were published by many mood music companies. Some of his other pseudonyms include Derek Dwyer, Howitt Hale and Claude Vane.

Bob Haymes (b. 1922) appeared as an actor in films during the 1930s and 1940s, and he also had a famous older brother – the singer Dick Haymes. Bob dabbled in songwriting, his biggest hit being That’s All. Clearly he was also adept at light music, and the American conductor Nicolas Acquaviva recorded several of his works.

Donald James DeanThorne (1901-1967) spent his early musical career as a pianist for dances at the Savoy, Berkeley and Claridges hotels in London, as well as providing arrangements of popular tunes to leading bands such as Jack Hylton, Henry Hall, Jack Payne, Roy Fox, Debroy Somers and Carroll Gibbons. In 1934 he joined Granada Theatres at Tooting and Maidstone as a theatre organist, and thereafter spent much of his time at various venues on the circuit. Following war service he continued playing on electronic organs, one of his prestige bookings being aboard RMS Queen Mary. Rippling Waters was chosen by the BBC as one of its interludes in the early days of television (fish in an aquarium), but his other compositions (including a suite "Lights of London") are rarely heard. He wrote a few pieces for military band, and also composed under the pseudonyms Eric Denville and August Leserve.

Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) really needs no introduction to music lovers. As one of America’s foremost composers of the 20^th century, his music ranges from top musicals such as Carousel and The Sound Of Music, to highly regarded documentaries like NBC Television’s "Victory At Sea".

Eric Coates (1886-1957) was a successful composer of ballads in the early years of the last century, before devoting all his energies to light music. He was particularly adept at writing catchy melodies that appealed as BBC signatures tunes, the most famous being Knightsbridge from "London Suite" (used as the opening and closing music for "In Town Tonight"), By The Sleepy Lagoon ("Desert Island Discs") and Calling All Workers ("Music While You Work"). In 1954 he provided the memorable march for the war film "The Dam Busters", and his vast body of work is still attracting the attention of the new generation of conductors, resulting in welcome performances in the concert hall and on disc.

Peter Dennis hides the true identity of Dennis Alfred Berry, who also composed (sometimes in collaboration with others) under names such as Frank Sterling, Charles Kenbury and Michael Rodney. For part of the 1950s he ran the Paxton library, but also contributed titles to other publishers. Eventually he formed his own companies Berry Music and the Conroy Recorded Music Library, now part of KPM Music.

Archibald Joyce (1873-1963) learned the piano and violin as a child, and much of his life as a professional musician involved playing in ballrooms, theatres and the concert hall, especially before and after the First World War. Indeed his own orchestra was held in such high esteem that it played for Royalty and at major state occasions, and through his many compositions Joyce became known as ‘The English Waltz King’. He was also adept at writing marches, no doubt partly due to the influence of his father, who was a band sergeant with the Grenadier Guards. Unlike his contemporaries Eric Coates and Haydn Wood, Archibald Joyce did not allow his composing style to move with the times, preferring instead to believe that his music was intended for dancing, rather than listening. The millions who recognise his melody Dreaming (even if they do not know the name) would surely disagree.

Charles Williams(real name Isaac Cozerbreit, 1893-1978) began his career accompanying silent films, then played violin under the batons of Beecham and Elgar. Right from the start of the ‘talkies’, he provided scores for numerous British films, and his Dream Of Olwen is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared – "While I Live". In 1960 he topped the American charts with his theme for the film "The Apartment", although in reality the producers had resurrected one of his earlier works Jealous Lover which originally came from a rarely-seen 1949 British movie "The Romantic Age". By far the greatest volume of his composing skills was employed in mood music, providing hundreds of varied works for the London publishers Chappells alone, including the evocative Lizard Point.

Angela Morley (b. 1924) originally played alto sax with bands such as Geraldo (under her former name, Wally Stott), and her orchestra was an essential ingredient in the overwhelming success of BBC Radio’s "Goon Show" starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. The positive reaction to her distinctive arrangements encouraged her to start composing, and one of her first was A Canadian In Mayfair dedicated to Robert Farnon. She recalls that it was just intended as a piece of fun, but Farnon insisted that it should be shown to his publishers, Chappells, who added it to their mood music library – appropriately conducted by Farnon himself.

Angela quickly developed her own distinctive style which has won her so much praise, and numerous light pieces have since flowed from her pen. In her later career she has been much in demand for film scores, and has also assisted leading composers on major projects – working with John Williams on "Star Wars" being a prime example.

Reginald Claude McMahon King (1904-1991) was an accomplished pianist, who performed under the baton of Sir Henry Wood at the Proms soon after he completed his studies at London’s Royal Academy. In 1927 he took an orchestra into Swan & Edgar’s restaurant at their Piccadilly Circus store, where they remained until 1939. During this period he also started broadcasting regularly, and he made numerous recordings, often featuring his own attractive compositions. He made his last broadcast in 1964, but during a long retirement he continued composing until shortly before his death. One of his major works, the concert overture The Immortals, was featured on Guild GLCD5106 spotlighting music of the 1930s.

Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard Trebilco, b. 1924) was working as a BBC sound engineer when one of his first compositions, High Heels, made the light music world sit up and take notice. Eventually his successful and prolific output mushroomed to such an extent that he had to give up his ‘day job’ at the BBC, and also find several different publishers simply because he was writing too much for just one to handle. Girl From Corsica and his March from "A Little Suite" (used as the theme for BBC TV’s "Dr. Finlay’s Casebook") were two more big hits with the public, but a vast amount of his work still remains undiscovered, and Moon Magic is just one such piece.

American pop composer Al Hoffman (1902-1960) wrote hit songs and scores for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1930s until he died. His early hits included Heartaches, I Apologize, Auf Wiedersehen My Dear, I'm in a Dancing Mood and I Saw Stars. Hoffman came to England in 1934 to write for the stage and cinema, staying until 1937. He collaborated with Mack David on the score of Disney's "Cinderella" (1949).

Hans May (real name Johann Mayer, d.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 1935 relocated to France, before eventually settling in England in 1937. His numerous films included scores for the Boulting Brothers, Gainsborough Films and the Rank Organisation, and he conducted numerous 78s for the Harmonic Music Library which was established in the mid-1940s. In his later career he concentrated more on stage productions, including "Carissima" in collaboration with Eric Maschwitz.

American composer Burton Lane (real name Burton Levy, 1912-1997) wrote numerous hit songs for Broadway musicals and Hollywood movies. In 1934 he is supposed to have discovered 11-year-old Frances Gumm, who later changed her name to Judy Garland.

The final track in this collection features Safari by the American Belle Fenstock (b. 1914). Her best-known number Simonetta was very popular during the 1950s, with recordings by several top orchestras, and Richard Hayman’s version appears on Guild GLCD5111 – "The 1950’s Volume 2".

David Ades

Light Music CDs. Some highly recommended releases.

Light Music is ignored by most Record Stores and Radio Stations, yet it is enjoyed by millions of people around the world.

You may know it as Easy Listening or Concert Music ... or maybe Middle-of-the Road. Whatever you happen to call it, Light Music offers relaxing enjoyment at any time of the day or night, and we hope that you will return regularly to this page in the Robert Farnon Society website to keep fully informed on the latest releases.

There was a short period when filmgoing was so profitable to cinema owners that they could afford to employ both organists and orchestras to entertain patrons between the films. This new CD in the Guild "Golden Age of Light Music" series captures those days … and much more.

British Cinema and Theatre Orchestras 

1 The Juggler (G. Groitzsch)
COMMODORE GRAND ORCHESTRA Conducted by JOSEPH MUSCANT
2 Grasshoppers’ Dance (Ernest Bucalossi)
PARAMOUNT THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR ANTON featuring AL BOLLINGTON, Organ
3 "Show Boat" – Selection : Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man; Why Do I Love You; Ol’ Man River (Jerome Kern)
COVENTRY NEW HIPPODROME ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILLIAM PETHERS
4 Nola (Felix Arndt)
REGAL CINEMA ORCHESTRA Conducted by EMANUEL STARKEY
5 Doll Medley: Dainty Doll (Barnes), Lonesome Little Doll (Phil Boutelje), Rag Doll (Nacio Herb Brown), Little Dutch Doll (Ravel), Doll Dance (Nacio Herb Brown), Wedding Of The Painted Doll (Nacio Herb Brown), China Doll Parade (John S. Zamecnik).
PARAMOUNT THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR ANTON featuring AL BOLLINGTON, Organ
6 Bal Masque – Valse Caprice (from Two Parisian Sketches) (Percy Fletcher)
PLAZA THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by FRANK TOURS
7 "Conversation Piece" – Selection : Brighton Parade; Danser, Danser; I’ll Follow My Secret Heart; There’s Always Something Fishy About The French; Regency Rakes; Nevermore; Dear Little Soldiers; English Lesson; Lady Julia’s Theme; Melanie’s Aria (Finale Act II); I’ll Follow My Secret Heart (Noel Coward) Recorded 17^th January 1934
HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by REGINALD BURSTON
8 Speakeasy (Lewis Gensler)
TROXY BROADCASTING ORCHESTRA Conducted by JOSEPH MUSCANT
9 Ye Merry Blacksmiths (John Belton)
GRANADA WALTHAMSTOW ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES MANNING
10 "The Cat And The Fiddle" – Selection : Entr’acte; She Didn’t Day "Yes"; Dance; Try To Forget (Jerome Kern)
PALACE THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by HYAM GREENBAUM
11 Bells Across The Meadow (Albert W. Ketèlbey)
LONDON PALLADIUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by RICHARD CREAN
12 Babylonian Nights (John S. Zamecnik)
GAUMONT STATE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ALFRED VAN DAM
13 "The Vagabond King" – Selection : Only A Rose; Huguette Valse; Song Of The Vagabonds (Brian Hooker / Rudolf Friml)
COVENTRY NEW HIPPODROME ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILLIAM PETHERS
14 Fifinette – Intermezzo Gavotte (Three Light Pieces Suite) (Percy Fletcher)
PRINCE OF WALES PLAYHOUSE ORCHESTRA Conducted by FRANK WESTFIELD
15 Fairies In The Moon – Intermezzo Entr’acte (Montague Ewing)
TROXY BROADCASTING ORCHESTRA Conducted by JOSEPH MUSCANT
16 "The Fleet’s Lit Up" – Selection: They’ve A Way Of Doing It In The Navy, Guess It Must Be The Spring, Little Miss Go-As-You-Please, How Do You Do Mr. Right?, It’s d’Lovely*, Change Of Address, I’m A Dictator, Hide And Seek, The Fleet’s Lit Up (composed by Vivian Ellis, except ‘It’s d’Lovely’* by Cole Porter)
GERALDO AND HIS LONDON HIPPODROME ORCHESTRA
17 Scarf Dance (Cecile Chaminade)
PLAZA THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by FRANK TOURS
18 In The Sudan (Gabriel Sebek)
GAUMONT STATE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ALFRED VAN DAM
19 "King Of Jazz" – Selection : Ragamuffin Romeo (Harry de Costa/Mabel Wayne), It Happened In Monterey (Billy Rose/Mabel Wayne), I Like To Do Things For You, Happy Feet, A Bench In The Park, Song Of The Dawn (all by Milton Ager/Jack Yellen)
REGAL CINEMA ORCHESTRA Conducted by EMANUEL STARKEY with QUENTIN MACLEAN, Organ

Guild Music GLCD5108  

Considerable research has revealed that, although cinema and theatre orchestras undoubtedly existed in various countries around the world, it was only in Britain that record companies seemed to consider them worthy of inclusion in their catalogues.

Possibly this is because the owners of major cinemas and theatres in Britain wanted to engage conductors ‘of note’ to front their orchestras, thus adding some additional prestige. This, in turn, resulted in radio broadcasts, which further added to their status in the eyes (and ears) of the general public. Whatever the reasons, these ensembles offered record buyers a wide choice of light music from leading composers in Europe and America, as well as nearer home.

Several tracks in this collection feature the short-lived phenomenon of a theatre organ accompanying a light orchestra. In the early years of the last century, silent films were often shown to the accompaniment of music provided by a pianist or a small group of musicians. The larger cinemas gradually engaged bigger musical ensembles, until by the 1920s a decent-sized orchestra would often perform music specially composed to accompany the film being screened. However the arrival of talking pictures towards the end of the 1920s heralded the gradual demise of the orchestras, but the general public had become accustomed to an element of live musical entertainment on their frequent visits to the cinema. Partly as a cost-cutting exercise, most orchestras were replaced by theatre organs, but in some cases the change-over was gradual, and for a few years both organs and orchestras co-existed. Some of the tracks on this CD reflect this temporary transformation.

Things were different in theatres (not to be confused with movie theatres, where films were screened): technology was not the enemy of musicians – the culprit was changing tastes in entertainment. The once ubiquitous variety theatres in provincial towns and cities have become just a memory, and today it is noteworthy when more than a handful of players support a musical stage performance.

It may be of interest to mention a few of the cinemas and theatres where some of the orchestras featured in this collection were based. The stories of some are unfortunately typical of most: from being wonderful escapist venues for the masses in the 1930s, they eventually became too large to sustain financially, with very few exceptions. Many names are now just memories, although others are still very familiar.

‘Paramount’ still crops up at the start of films, and the original Paramount Pictures opened their third London movie theatre (after the Plaza, Lower Regent Street, and the Carlton in the Haymarket) in Tottenham Court Road in 1936, with a capacity of 2,568 seats. The organ installed was a Compton with ten units of pipes, together with one of the recently developed Melotone units, which produced a variety of voices together with carillon, chimes and other effects produced by electrostatic tone generation. The first resident organist, Reginald Foort (heard on Guild’s 1930s CD with the BBC Variety Orchestra – GLCD5106) was keen to exploit this new feature, and it was used to even greater effect by his successor, Al Bollington (1904-1991). The cinema was taken over by Odeon in 1942, and eventually closed by the Rank Organisation in 1960 and largely demolished. Four years later the site was used as a ‘temporary’ car park, and the lower sections of the auditorium’s walls could be seen, still showing traces of the original peeling and crumbling plasterwork. Sadly the final remains of the Paramount were being obliterated in mid-2004 as this CD was nearing completion.

Russian-born Joseph Muscant is credited with making the Commodore Grand Orchestra into one of the finest ensembles playing light music at that time. It was formed when the Hammersmith cinema opened on 14 September 1929, and soon became popular throughout Britain thanks to its regular BBC radio broadcasts. The resident pianist was Louis Mordish, who is probably featured on our opening track The Juggler. Long after the second World War, Mordish was still broadcasting regularly on the BBC with his own ensemble in programmes such as ‘Music While You Work’.

The Regal Cinema Orchestra, under its conductor Emanuel Starkey gained a fine reputation, and is remembered today partly through its early recordings of Eric Coates’ music. That great light music composer Sidney Torch (1908-1990) was at one time a pianist in Starkey’s orchestra at this famous Marble Arch movie theatre, and for a while he served as assistant to the first resident organist, Quentin Maclean (1896-1962), who is featured in the superb "King of Jazz" selection which closes this CD. This scintillating 78 is reputed to be the very first orchestral arrangement by Sidney Torch, and gives an exciting foretaste of the wonderful sounds he would create for his own orchestra in the years to come. The Regal Cinema opened in November 1928, and the organ was the largest in Europe, with an amazing 36 ranks. It was eventually removed from the cinema in 1964, and today it is apparently rotting away in a barn in Cornwall, and it is highly unlikely that it will ever play again.

Probably the best known British theatre orchestra was that of the world famous London Palladium. In recording terms it was also the most prolific, with almost 150 recordings made between 1927 and the early 1940s, most of them conducted by Richard Crean who was in charge from 1930 to 1937. Bells Across The Meadow, one of Albert Ketèlbey’s descriptive pieces which formed a staple part of the British musical scene in those days, clearly demonstrates what a fine orchestra this was. Crean’s deputy was William Pethers who moved on to conduct The Coventry Hippodrome Orchestra, featured on tracks 3 & 13 and one of the few provincial theatre orchestras to make recordings.

Many of the orchestra leaders and soloists in this collection were ‘household names’ in their day. Arthur Anton (who died in 1980) conducted for many light music broadcasts over the years, and he later made some recordings of library music for London publishers Boosey & Hawkes. In 1959 he conducted the orchestra at the Astoria, Charing Cross Road, London, during the run of Mike Todd’s epic "Around The World In 80 Days". Frank E. Tours (1877-1963) combined his conducting and arranging with occasional compositions for the musical stage, although his most successful work was not a show number but his setting of Rudyard Kipling’s Mother o’ Mine. Geraldo (Gerald Bright, 1904-1974) was a major figure on the British entertainment scene for four decades, having fronted just about every kind of ensemble and influenced the successful careers of numerous top singers.

It is slightly surprising (given the technical problems that must have been involved) that many recordings from this period proudly state that the orchestra was actually recorded in the theatre or cinema where it usually performed. Of course, this was necessary if the organ was to be featured, but in other cases it would have been a simple matter to get the orchestra into a studio, and in fact there are instances where a studio-based orchestra and a cinema organ were recorded together via what used to be known as a land line.

One of the most famous to have been recorded on-site was the afore-mentioned Commodore Grand Orchestra (also known as the Commodore Gold Medal Orchestra) at Hammersmith, conducted by Joseph Muscant. He then moved to Stepney, in East London, where the Troxy Cinema’s orchestra was labelled the ‘Troxy Broadcasting Orchestra’ to reflect its national importance. Another example of the kudos attached to these orchestras is evident on the label of Ye Merry Blacksmiths by the Granada, Walthamstow Orchestra. Sidney Bernstein, creator of the Granada chain of cinemas, was obviously very proud of his orchestra, as the top line above the title proclaims: ‘The Bernstein Theatres Present’. The name ‘Granada’ still lives on: Sidney Bernstein used it when he formed one of Britain’s leading commercial television companies in the 1950s.

The Gaumont State in Kilburn opened on 20 December 1937, and it was the largest cinema ever built in England, with a capacity of over 4,000 seats. As well as screening films, the cinema also mounted lavish stage shows featuring the top stars and bands of the time, and Sidney Torch appeared on the opening night playing the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ which had been designed by Quentin Maclean. The Gaumont State’s own orchestra soon began making records, under its London-born conductor Alfred Van Dam (1902-1973) who embarked upon a twelve-year association with the Gaumont-British organisation when aged only nineteen. He made his first broadcast in 1931, and immediately prior to his appointment at the flagship State cinema he had been musical director at the Trocadero, Elephant & Castle in south London. During his later career he contributed no less than 140 broadcasts to the BBC’s famous ‘Music While You Work’ programme, his last broadcast taking place in 1958 at a time when so many small light orchestras were disbanding.

Turning to the composers, keen collectors will recognise several distinguished names. Jerome Kern (1885-1945), Cole Porter (1891-1964), Noel Coward (1899-1973), Vivian Ellis (1903-1996), Albert W. Ketèlbey (1875-1959) and Rudolf Friml (1879-1972) are all among the finest from the 20^th century, with their achievements well documented. Space only permits brief notes on some of the others, but pride of place must surely go to Ernest Bucalossi (1859-1933). His greatest success (indeed, one of the most memorable pieces of light music from the last century) was The Grasshoppers’ Dance which he composed in 1905, and it has since been performed and recorded by numerous ensembles of every kind throughout the world. Ernest followed in the footsteps of his father, Procida, conducting in various establishments (including leading West End theatres) as well as composing.

Felix Arndt (1889-1918) was an American pianist and composer who is reputed to have once given the young George Gershwin a job. Nola was his best-known piece, dedicated to his sweetheart, Nola Locke, whom he married ten months after he wrote it. Sadly he did not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of his talents, having died while still a young man during an influenza epidemic in New York.

The American John S. Zamecnik (1872-1953) appears to have been a very prolific composer, but his name means very little today. The same comment almost applies equally to Lewis E. Gensler (1896-1978), although during a long career he collaborated with some of the best writers and lyricists in the USA. Speakeasy was the name coined for the illegal drinking clubs that sprang up in response to prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, and succeeded in spawning a breed of world-famous gangsters.

Percy Eastman Fletcher (1879-1932) is probably best remembered today for his Bal Masque, although he was also active as a writer of band music. ‘John Belton’ hides the true identities of Tony Lowry and Douglas Brownsmith. Their biggest early success as Down The Mall, but each went on to compose independently for some years. Lowry was also one half of ‘Four Hands in Harmony’ with celebrated composer Clive Richardson.

Herbert Carrington was a prolific British composer, who used several different pseudonyms, his preferred ones being Sherman Myers and Montague Ewing. As the latter he is featured in this collection with Fairies in the Moon – apparently one of his popular subjects because he also had considerable success with Fairy on the Clock.

Cecile Chaminade (1857-1944) is reputed to have started composing when only eight, although her first public performance as a pianist took place ten years later. She became very popular in her native France, and in 1908 she repeated her success in the USA. Her Scarf Dance (Pas des Echarpes) was one of her best-known works, which included numerous songs as well as instrumental pieces.

Hopefully this collection of memorable selections from films and shows, plus a good helping of novelty pieces and popular tunes of the day, will serve as a fitting tribute to the high standard of musicianship displayed by all of the once-famous orchestras featured here.

David Ades  

Many of the best films have benefited from a soundtrack featuring light music, and this new Guild Music collection in the ‘Golden Age of Light Music’ series reminds us of some gems from a little over 50 years ago.

Light Music From The Silver Screen

1 Early One Morning (trad., arr. Robert Farnon) featured in "Spring In Park Lane"
Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
2 Song of the Mountains (La Montanara) (Ortelli, Pigarelli) from film "The Glass Mountain"
Sidney Torch and his Orchestra
3 Dancing in the Dark (Arthur Schwartz) soundtrack recording from "The Band Wagon"
MGM Studio Orchestra Conducted by Adolph Deutsch
4 Adoration (Bronislau Kaper) soundtrack recording from "Lili"
MGM Studio Orchestra Conducted by Hans Sommer
5 Call of the Faraway Hills" (Victor Young) from film "Shane"
Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra
6 The Beggar’s Theme (Francis Chagrin) from film "Last Holiday"
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra
7 Seascape (Clifton Parker) from film "Western Approaches"
London Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Muir Mathieson
8 Theme from the film "The Man Between" (John Addison)
Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra with Dave Shand, saxophone
9 Dedication (Mischa Spoliansky) from film "Idol Of Paris"
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra Conducted by Sidney Torch with Mischa Spoliansky, piano
10 La Violetera (José Padilla) from film "City Lights"
Philip Green and his Orchestra
11 Theme from the film "This Man Is Mine" (Allan Gray)
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra Conducted by Charles Williams
12 Men of Arnhem – March (Guy Warrack) from film "Theirs Is The Glory"
London Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Muir Mathieson
13 Romance (Philip Green) from film "The Magic Bow"
Louis Levy and his "Music From The Movies" with Reginald Leopold, violin
14 Quebec Concerto (Andre Mathieu) from film "Whispering City"
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra with Arthur Dulay, piano
15 Valse Grise (Maurice Jaubert) from film "Le Carnet De Bal"
Sidney Torch and his Orchestra
16 Throughout the Years (Charles Williams) from film "Flesh And Blood"
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra
17 Vision d’Amour (George Melachrino) from film "Woman To Woman"
Melachrino Strings Conducted by George Melachrino
18 Hour of Meditation (Philip Green) from film "Twenty-Four Hours Of A Woman’s Life"
Sidney Torch and his Orchestra
19 Saga of Odette (Anthony Collins) from film "Odette"
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra
20 Danse d’Extase (George Melachrino) from film "No Orchids For Miss Blandish"
The Melachrino Orchestra conducted by George Melachrino
21 Mansell Concerto (Kenneth Leslie-Smith) from film "The Woman’s Angle"
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra – piano Arthur Sandford
22 Gaelic Fantasia (Philip Green) from film "Saints And Sinners"
Philip Green and his Orchestra

Guild GLCD5109

In selecting the music for this collection, a deliberate decision was taken at the outset that it should not attempt to be a "Best Of…" CD. There are already many interesting compilations of film themes available, and collectors understandably prefer not to keep duplicating music already on their shelves, merely to obtain one or two new items. Just a few of the tracks included here may be familiar, but it is believed that the majority are appearing on CD for the first time.

Some of the films will already have faded from memory – perhaps with good reason! But if weak plots and wooden acting have consigned such efforts to the rubbish bins of history, the same criticism does not necessarily apply to their musical scores. This collection includes many well-constructed and tuneful compositions by talented writers, who merit having their music preserved for posterity.

Film music takes many different forms, and it sometimes has its origins far away from the silver screen. Our opening track is a case in point: Early One Morning is a well-known traditional English folk song, but in the hands of a master arranger such as Robert Farnon (b. 1917) it can become something very special. Farnon first worked with his Canadian Army Band briefly for Herbert Wilcox in 1945 as World War II was coming to an end in the film "I Live In Grosvenor Square". But he had to wait until 1948 to have his name prominently on-screen in a Wilcox production when he was musical director of "Spring In Park Lane", which proved to be the most successful British film at the box office up to that time. The star was Wilcox’s wife Anna Neagle, and the same successful formula was repeated in several more films, notably "Maytime In Mayfair".

The opening title sequence of "Spring In Park Lane" featured Early One Morning taken at a slow pace by the full orchestra, which then developed into a faster, catchy tune lightly scored mainly for strings and woodwind as the story commenced with Michael Wilding walking through Mayfair. When Robert Farnon adapted his film score for broadcasts (and the recording on this CD), he reversed the running order of the two main movements, and added a strong finale. Otherwise, there is a distinct similarity with the original soundtrack.

Before he became one of the finest film composers through his work in many great Italian movies, Nino Rota (1911-1979) was engaged for several British films, perhaps the best-known being "The Glass Mountain" in 1949, which achieved box office success largely due to the popularity of the music. Many orchestras recorded Rota’s Legend of The Glass Mountain, but another piece from the film – La Montanara (Song of the Mountains) – has been unfairly neglected. It was not composed by Rota, but has its own simple charm, and it deserves to be included in this collection.

Not all of the music featured here was composed specifically for the films where it gained recognition. A prime example is the outstanding Arthur Schwartz (1900-1984) melody Dancing In The Dark. It was first heard by the public as long ago as 1931 in John Barker’s stage revue "The Band Wagon". Artie Shaw made a memorable recording in 1941, but even that was surpassed by the MGM film version of "The Band Wagon" in 1953, when Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse danced their way into the hearts of millions. This remains one of the greatest moments in the history of 20^th century cinema, and the original soundtrack is heard on this CD. Much of the credit has to go to Conrad Salinger, a brilliant arranger responsible for that unique sound achieved during a period of 23 years in so many MGM musicals of that era. Sadly during his lifetime (he died tragically in 1961 aged only 59) he didn’t receive the public acclaim he richly deserved, although his invaluable contribution is now being recognised through the efforts of admirers like English conductor John Wilson, who is painstakingly reconstructing many of Salinger’s scores for concert performances.

Still with MGM, we recall the young Leslie Caron’s great success in "Lili" (1953) through a rarely heard piece of pure light music lifted from the soundtrack – Adoration by Bronislau Kaper (1902-1983) who had around 100 scores to his credit between 1930 and 1968.

Victor Young (1900-1956) enjoyed a glittering career as a major Hollywood film composer and songwriter, with his standards such as Sweet Sue, Can’t We Talk It Over and My Foolish Heart receiving the attention of all the top singers and bands. He went to Hollywood in 1935, where he remained for the rest of his life. Among a string of top films, he scored "Shane" starring Alan Ladd in 1953, and the theme became popular worldwide as Call Of The Faraway Hills.

The British cinema has always been able to call upon a large pool of talented composers, not all of whom are widely known to the general public. Francis Chagrin (real name Alexander Paucker 1905-1972) was such a writer, and his gentle score (particularly The Beggar’s Theme) for "Last Holiday" (1950) – could hardly have been bettered. The film starred Alec Guinness, but this unpretentious, yet moving, comedy seems to have been largely forgotten among his other great successes around this time.

"Western Approaches" was a documentary notable for being filmed in colour during the war (1944). Produced by the Crown Film Unit (ie. the British Government), it cost a total of £100,000 out of which the composer Clifton Parker (1905-1989) received £100 for his highly-praised score. Seascape has become recognised as a fine piece of film music; it was conducted by Muir Mathieson on the original soundtrack, and he also fronted the London Symphony on the commercial 78 rpm recording at the Kingsway Hall, London for Decca as part of the label’s sadly short-lived ‘Incidental Music from British Films’ series.

The producers of "The Man Between" (1953) may have modelled this spy saga on "The Third Man", but even with James Mason in the starring role it failed to make much impression. The same cannot be said of John Addison’s (1920-1998) music. This was just one of around 90 scores he eventually supplied for a wide variety of films, and he won an Oscar for "Tom Jones" in 1963. From his later career he is probably remembered best for his catchy theme to the television series "Murder She Wrote".

Mischa Spoliansky (1898-1985) was one of several Russian-born composers who left the German film industry during the 1930s to work in Britain, and later the USA. The British film "Idol Of Paris" (1948) was panned by the critics, but the long-forgotten score is not to be dismissed lightly, and the commercial recording conducted by Sidney Torch has the added bonus of featuring the composer on the piano.

The Spanish composer José Padilla (1889-1959) was responsible for two of the most popular numbers in the Latin-American repertoire – Valencia and El Relicario. Although released in 1931, "City Lights" – generally regarded as one of the finest films made by Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) - was essentially a silent movie with a music soundtrack. Padilla’s La Violetera perfectly suits the sad story of the blind flower girl, although she is certainly wearing a bright new dress in Philip Green’s charming arrangement. Three further tracks feature Philip Green (1910-1982) as a composer – Romance (from "The Magic Bow"), Hour of Meditation ("Twenty-four Hours in a Woman’s Life") and Gaelic Fantasia ("Saints and Sinners").

Allan Gray (1902-1973) established his film scoring credentials in the German cinema before moving to England in 1936. His handful of notable scores included "I Know Where I’m Going", "A Matter of Life and Death" and "The African Queen". The 1946 film "This Man is Mine" is now largely forgotten, but the music still stands up well.

The ill-conceived campaign to capture the bridge at Arnhem towards the end of World War II has prompted several films, but possibly the first - "Theirs Is The Glory" - seems to have escaped most reference books. Filmed in 1945, it used Arnhem veterans to tell the story, and the score was written by Guy Warrack (1900-1986) who also composed the title music for the official film of the 1953 Coronation "A Queen Is Crowned". In an article for the British Music Society, Philip Scowcroft informed us that Guy Warrack, father of the writer and critic, John Warrack, was educated at Oxford University and the RCM (under Vaughan Williams for composition and Adrian Boult for conducting) and was on the College’s teaching staff from 1925 to 1935, during which time he had conducting experience at home and abroad. Between 1936 and 1945 he was Conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra, founded in 1936 and later of Sadlers Wells Theatre Ballet. His compositions include a Symphony in C minor (1932), the Variations for orchestra (1924), Fugal Blues, a Lullaby, a ballet on Don Quixote, the Divertimento Pasticciato in three movements entitled Prelude, Fugue and Furiant, some film music (including one for the XIV Olympiad in London in 1948). Warrack wrote a history of the Royal College of Music and a slim but fascinating volume on Sherlock Holmes and Music (1947).

Canadian pianist Andre Mathieu (1929-1968) was a child prodigy known as the ‘Quebec Mozart’, and his music in "Whispering City" comes from a longer Concerto de Quebec, composed before he was 14. Sadly his genius caused him to ‘burn out’ and when he died in poverty in Montreal he was aged only 39. His early career was brilliant, including a well received debut at Town Hall in New York in 1940. But Mathieu's development as an artist seemed to end by about 1947, although he continued to compose. Both the welcoming song and official theme music of the

1976 Montreal Olympics were arranged from excerpts of Mathieu's works. 

French composer Maurice Jaubert (1900-1940) composed Valse Grise for "Le Carnet de Bal" in 1937 (it was revived in the 1950s which prompted the Sidney Torch recording). Jaubert was a prolific composer, highly regarded in France during the 1930s. He would probably have had a distinguished career, but he died fighting in World War II.

Charles Williams (1893-1978) and George Melachrino (1909-1965) both made a large number of commercial recordings, and became familiar names to music-lovers worldwide. They also contributed numerous scores to British films which rose above the often trite plots. Anthony Collins (1893-1963) wrote a light music classic – Vanity Fair – but he was also a respected film music composer, with three Academy Award nominations to his credit. Kenneth Leslie-Smith (d. 1993) seems to have specialised in composing for radio musicals and stage revues. One of his best-known songs was Always and he contributed several works to publishers’ background music libraries.

There was a time when films would enjoy national release for maybe a week or two, then they would be replaced by something new. If particularly successful they might return for a special run a few years later, but the opportunities to see old favourites were strictly limited over half a century ago. Thanks to television, videos and – more recently – DVDs, films can now be seen virtually ‘on demand’ whenever we wish. Even run-of-the-mill ‘pot boilers’, once considered of little merit, can acquire a new lease of life and reach a fresh audience. Music plays an important role in the nostalgia that surrounds old films, and the contemporary recordings made when the films first appeared can have a special attraction that far exceeds the limitations imposed by the action on-screen which usually forces the score into a secondary role. Thus recordings can assume a separate identity that transcends the circumstances that dictated the music’s original creation. Film scores can often emerge as a completely separate art form, and it is to be hoped that all of the tracks on this CD will contain an appeal that touches the psyche of everyone who can appreciate the experience on offer.

David Ades

It seems that Mantovani fans cannot get enough of their favourite Orchestra. The Guild ‘Golden Age of Light Music’ series now focuses on some vintage tracks previously unavailable on CD.

Mantovani – By Special Request

MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
1 Begin The Beguine (Cole Porter)
2 Carriage And Pair (Benjamin Frankel/Purcell)
3 Destiny Waltz (Sydney Baynes)
4 The Way To The Stars – theme from the film (Nicholas Brodszky)
5 Tropical (Morton Gould)
6 Blithe Spirit – Waltz Theme – from the film (Richard Addinsell)
7 Whirlwind (Ronald Binge)
8 September Nocturne (Mantovani)
9 The Timbalero – Rumba (Stanley/Borguno/Arres)
10 Passing Clouds (Phil Cardew)
11 Blue Mantilla (Pedro Manilla)
12 Flying Saucers (Bees in the Bonnet) (Dennis Fern)
13 El Choclo (Kiss Of Fire) (A Villoldo arr. Barry)
14 Love Here Is My Heart (Adrian Ross/Lao Silesu)
15 When The Lilac Blooms Again (Doelle/Mair)
16 Love’s Roundabout (La Ronde de L’Amour) (Oscar Straus, Ducreux, Purcell)
17 A Media Luz (E Donato)
18 Poème (My Moonlight Madonna) (Zdenek Fibich)
19 Love’s Dream After The Ball (Alfons Czibulka)
20 Amoureuse (So Madly In Love) (Berger)
21 Chiquita Mia (Paul Remy/Felix King)
22 Love’s Last Word Is Spoken (Bixio/Sievier)
23 Blauer Himmel (Josef Rixner)
24 Suddenly (Im Chambre Separeé) (Heuberger/Cochran)
25 The Whistling Boy (Ian Stewart)
26 The Agnes Waltz (Hannah/William/Kennedy)

Guild GLCD5110

I must admit that there have been times during the past thirty years when I have tended to pay little attention to recordings by Mantovani and his Orchestra. Things were certainly different in the early 1950s: just in my teens, I was captivated by the wonderful string sounds emanating from his orchestra, possibly partly due to the considerable enthusiasm exhibited by my mother. She bought his records, and was over the moon when she read that he would be conducting a concert locally. I can still recall accompanying her on that magical occasion, and being slightly embarrassed by the adulation she displayed in her front row seat – (Mantovani certainly didn’t mind!).

But as the years rolled by I paid more attention to original compositions in the world of light music, and tended to disregard what I considered to be predictable arrangements of tunes I didn’t particularly like. I now realise that the Mantovani recordings I heard on the radio were only part of the story, and that I was ignorant of his true achievements. In particular, the years immediately prior to Charmaine, when he was making records of light music that now stand out as being very fine indeed. For example, I was very familiar with the George Melachrino 78 of the film music from "The Way To The Stars", yet I now consider the Mantovani recording more enchanting. And what a superb recording of Out of this World he made – not to mention Carriage and Pair and the Waltz from "Blithe Spirit".

His later recordings also deserve far greater praise than I gave them at the time. I grew tired of the ‘cascading strings’, yet they really didn’t overwhelm his records as much as I seemed to imagine. The Vocalion CDs of his Decca LPs have been a revelation, yet they have only scratched the surface of his vast recorded repertoire.

I don’t think that anyone can honestly argue with the statement that Mantovani was one of the greatest conductors of popular orchestral music during the 20^th century. Therefore it was inevitable that the Guild series honouring ‘The Golden Age of Light Music’ would eventually turn the spotlight on him.

In compiling this collection, Guild Music has asked many Mantovani collectors exactly which pieces they would like to have digitally restored on a new CD. The intention has been to provide a selection of music that has been largely ignored so far – not due to it being inferior in any way, but simply because no one has yet taken the time and trouble to do the necessary research to discover which musical gems are missing from the current catalogues. Thus this is not intended to be a ‘Best of …’ collection (there are plenty of those around already), but more importantly a CD that will be welcomed especially by Mantovani fans around the world – because it is just what they, themselves, have requested.

At this point it is appropriate to remind ourselves about the great man himself. Annunzio Paolo Mantovani was born in Venice, Italy on 15 November 1905. His father was principal violinist at La Scala, Milan, with the legendary Arturo Toscanini. Although details are difficult to confirm, Mantovani always maintained that he came to England when aged only four, and it is believed that he may have accompanied his father who was playing with a touring Italian opera company which performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1909. The family seems to have settled permanently in England in 1912.

During his formal studies at Trinity College he excelled on the violin, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 when only 16. But the young Mantovani showed leanings towards the popular music of the day, and he embarked upon a career that was typical for many aspiring musicians in the early years of the last century. His studies had equipped him well as both a violinist and pianist, and it was not long before he became proficient at composing and arranging. Living in the capital city there were plenty of opportunities for work in restaurants, hotels and theatres, and while still in his teens he realised that conducting was another skill that came easily to him. In 1923 he took a quintet into the Midland Hotel in Birmingham; by 1925 he was at London’s Metropole Hotel where one of his later players was another talented youngster who would one day become one of the most famous light music conductors alongside Mantovani – none other than George Melachrino. (It seems that Mantovani engaged Melachrino as his first violinist; with other dance bands during the 1930s he could be heard on various instruments, and he also had a pleasant singing voice.)

This was the era that witnessed the birth of radio, and the emergence of gramophone records as a major source of home entertainment. Naturally Mantovani was in demand for both, and by 1932 his name was starting to be recognised by music lovers: it was in this year that he began his series of popular recordings conducting his Tipica Orchestra. There was a steady demand for dance music, and Mantovani tended to specialise in Latin American styles, resulting in two minor hits in the USA in 1935 and 1936 (Red Sails in the Sunset and Serenade in the Night). Gradually his recorded repertoire expanded to include pieces of concert-style light music, and this laid the foundations for the large orchestra, with the emphasis on strings, that was to bring him universal acclaim from the early 1950s onwards.

In addition to all his other commitments, he conducted the theatre orchestra in West End productions such as "Sigh No More", "Pacific 1860" and "Ace of Clubs" (all Noel Coward shows), and Vivian Ellis’ "And So To Bed". But the world-wide acclaim that greeted Charmaine in 1951 forced him to devote all his energies thereafter to recording and performing concerts with the great orchestra that has ensured his well-deserved place in the history of popular music.

Today it is well-known that Ronald Binge (1910-1979) deserves recognition as the talented arranger responsible for creating the distinctive string sound (sometimes called ‘cascading strings’) which made Mantovani famous throughout the world. At times it has been unkindly suggested that the Maestro unfairly took the credit for this, but this criticism does not seem justified: for example, the label of the 1952 Decca 78 of Poème (My Moonlight Madonna) clearly states ‘orchestration by Ronald Binge’, and this appears on other titles as well.

It is far better to regard both Mantovani and Ronald Binge as partners in a famous musical team that produced numerous recordings over a long period, stretching way back many years before Charmaine took the musical world by storm.

Binge’s success with the ‘Mantovani sound’ sometimes eclipses his own distinguished career. Their partnership began in 1935 when Ronnie joined Mantovani to write arrangements for the Tipica Orchestra, and this collaboration lasted well into the 1950s. He once explained that he achieved the ‘cascading strings’ effect by emulating the technique of sacred music composers from previous centuries, who had to allow for the long reverberation in large cathedrals. Binge divided the strings into several separate sections, each allotted a different note in turn, which they would sustain until required to move on to the next passage.

Although the major part of his work closely involved Mantovani, Ronnie was keen to develop his own career in composing and arranging, and eventually he branched out on his own. Several of his works had been recorded by Mantovani during the 1940s (one example is Whirlwind on this CD), but his first major success as a composer came with Elizabethan Serenade (this was actually performed as early as 1952 by Mantovani on a transcription recording), to be followed by titles such as The Watermill, Miss Melanie and Sailing By – familiar to millions of radio listeners as the closing theme for BBC Radio 4.

Mantovani himself is represented as the composer of three titles in this collection: he wrote the charming September Nocturne which features Arthur Sandford on piano, but for Blue Mantilla he uses the pseudonym ‘Pedro Manilla’, and he appears as ‘Paul Remy’ as the co-composer with Felix King on Chiquita Mia. Other ‘hidden identities’ also include ‘Roy Faye’, ‘Leonello Gandino’, ‘Paul Monty’ and ‘Tulio Trapani’ – to name just some.

Our collection opens appropriately with the melody which Mantovani was using as his theme song at the time – Begin The Beguine. This style (reminding us of his earlier successes with his Tipica Orchestra) resurfaces again in Tropical and The Timbalero. Music from three notable British films – "So Long At The Fair" (from which comes Benjamin Frankel’s catchy Carriage And Pair), "The Way To The Stars" and "Blithe Spirit" – all offer refreshingly different arrangements from others that were recorded at the time.

The influence of Charmaine is evident from the recordings dating from the 1950s, but even in 1946 (for example Chiquita Mia) there are strong hints of the way in which Ronnie Binge’s arrangements were already exploring new ideas with the strings – all achieved by clever scoring.

The Mantovani story contains many highlights, such as the numerous awards from his colleagues in the profession, and the fact that he was the first person to have sold more than one million stereo LPs. His tours, both at home and abroad, brought him into close contact with his loyal fans, and he became a familiar friend to millions more through his television broadcasts.

By 1975 the constant travelling and concert appearances were proving to be too much of a strain, and Mantovani finally made the reluctant decision to retire through ill-health. He and his wife Winifred moved the following year to their last home together at Canford Cliffs, in Dorset. Eventually he had to go into a nursing home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where he died on 30 March 1980 aged 74. He gave the world so much wonderful music, and he truly was one of the greatest entertainers of the 20^th century.

David Ades

So far Vocalion’s releases of Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra recordings have concentrated mainly on the 1940s. This new collection takes us forward to the end of the 1950s, when the Musicians’ Union once again allowed this famous orchestra to make recordings for Chappell & Co.

QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Volume 4 Conducted by ROBERT FARNON

ANGELA MORLEY
CHARLES WILLIAMS
PETER YORKE

Chappell Recordings from 1959-1961

1 MONTMARTRE MARCH (Haydn Wood)
2 THE FIRST WALTZ (Robert Farnon)
3 GIRL ON THE CALENDAR (Clive Richardson)
4 AFRICAN MOON (Robert Stolz)
5 FASHION SHOW (Angela Morley)
6 DOMINION DAY (Robert Farnon)
7 BY THE WILLOWS (Horace Shepherd)
8 THE WHITE KNIGHT (Charles Williams)
9 MR. PUNCH (Robert Farnon)
10 COMMONWEALTH MARCH (Angela Morley)
11 NEW HORIZONS (Robert Farnon)
12 LIFT GIRL (Bruce Campbell)
13 MORE COMIC CUTS (Sidney Torch)
14 DRUM MAJORETTE (Arnold Steck)
15 FUN IN THE SUN (Angela Morley)
16 EMERALDS AND ERMINE (Peter Yorke)
17 RED SQUARE REVIEW (Denis Rycoth)
18 THE BIG NIGHT (Robert Farnon)
19 HYDRO PROJECT (Charles Williams)
20 HOLIDAY EXCURSION (Peter Yorke)
21 HEADLAND COUNTRY (Robert Farnon)
22 MANNEQUIN MELODY (Clive Richardson)
23 SOFT MOMENT (Robert Mersey)
24 HOLIDAY FLIGHT (Robert Farnon)
25 PAPER CHASE (Cyril Watters)
26 SPORTING OCCASION (Arnold Steck)
27 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT (Angela Morley)
28 CITY STREETS (Robert Farnon)
Conducted by ROBERT FARNON except
ANGELA MORLEY 5, 15, 23 & 27
CHARLES WILLIAMS 7, 8 & 25
PETER YORKE 20

Vocalion CDLK4274

Politics and music make uncomfortable bedfellows, and with hindsight it seems a great pity that Chappells, and many other London publishers, were forced to stop using British musicians for their library recordings around 1950. This didn’t stop the music being recorded, and the libraries continued to expand rapidly: the losers were British musicians, who saw their colleagues on the Continent of Europe being paid for numerous sessions in many different countries.

Towards the end of the 1950s the ban was removed, only to be reinstated a few years later. During this brief ‘window’, the name of the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra’ was brought out of forced retirement, and a number of superb recordings were made featuring splendid new compositions by the top writers in the Chappell stable.If ever proof was needed that Light Music was continuing to thrive at the end of the 1950s, there is ample evidence on this CD.

Let’s consider some of the composers whose work is included here. Big names such as Haydn Wood (1882-1959) - a contemporary of the man who, in the 1930s, had been dubbed "The uncrowned King of Light Music" - Eric Coates (1886-1957). Both of them enjoyed similar successes - originally with ballads in the early years of the century, before concentrating more on full-scale orchestral works and suites. This native Yorkshireman (from the difficult-to-pronounce town of Slaithwaite) often dedicated such works to London, yet the opening track actually comes from his "Paris" Suite. Montmartre first became popular during the 1930s, since when it has remained a favourite for light music concerts, and still receives the occasional new recording. Chappell obviously thought that it should be available for their clients to license, hence this slightly shortened version (so that it would fit comfortably on to a 10" 78 disc) conducted by Robert Farnon, who arguably took over Coates’ ‘crown’ as the "Uncrowned King of Light Music" in the post World War II years.

Robert Farnon (b. 1917) remains on the podium, this time conducting one of his own works – First Waltz. This was actually the second time that he had composed a work with this title; on the first occasion his publishers wisely decided to rename his piece Westminster Waltz, and it became one of his greatest successes. But the title was too good to forget, hence its reappearance here. First Waltz didn’t achieve the success of Westminster Waltz, but it possesses considerable charm and deserves to be remembered. Other Farnon compositions in this collection include Dominion Day (written as a tribute to his homeland, Canada), Mr. Punch, New Horizons (based on a movement from his first symphony), The Big Night, Headland Country, Holiday Flight and City Streets (developed from a series of short pieces called Pulse of the City).

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was part of ‘Four Hands in Harmony’ (with Tony Lowry), but that was just a small interlude in a long and successful career. He accompanied several artists on the piano, and was an early contributor of scores to British films (especially some of the Will Hay comedies, although he wasn’t credited on-screen). London Fantasia was a big success in the 1940s, when mini-piano concertos were all the rage (thanks to the ecstatic reception given to Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto in the 1941 film "Dangerous Moonlight"). Other well-known Richardson compositions to succeed were Melody on the Move and Holiday Spirit, that exuberant theme for BBC Children’s Television Newsreel. In similar vein we hear two works which each offer an instant ‘time capsule’ of a period when young ladies were usually portrayed as possessing charm and poise, even when being photographed and appearing on catwalks – Girl on the Calendar and Mannequin Melody.

Robert Stolz (1880-1975) was an acclaimed Austrian composer, extremely popular in his homeland until he went to Hollywood to escape the Nazis, where he enjoyed success writing music for films such as "Spring Parade" and "It Happened Tomorrow". African Moon seems to be a rare example of one of his shorter pieces being recorded for mood music purposes. (Robert Farnon recorded Stolz’s Persian Nocturne for Decca in 1949 to thank him for performing his works on the Continent.)

By the time that the recordings on this CD were made, Angela Morley (b. 1924) had already established a fine reputation for her work as a composer, arranger and conductor. Originally she played alto sax with bands such as Geraldo (under her former name, Wally Stott), and her orchestra was an essential ingredient in the overwhelming success of BBC Radio’s "Goon Show" starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. Numbers such as Fashion Show and Commonwealth March give hints of her close association with Robert Farnon when she was perfecting her composing skills, but she quickly developed her own distinctive style which has won her so much praise, particularly in her later career writing for films. Also on this CD we hear Angela’s Fun in the Sun and Practice Makes Perfect. In 1953 Angela had joined the newly established Philips Records label in London, mainly accompanying their contract singers, but she was also allowed to make orchestral records in her own name. Some of these 78s are now reappearing on the Guild ‘Golden Age of Light Music’ series, and it is to be hoped that Angela’s LPs will soon be made available once again.

The world of mood music (or production music, to give it its current name) includes a number of talented composers who appear to have shunned publicity, being content to remain in the background and allowing their music to speak for itself. Horace Shepherd (here represented with By the Willows) also composed under the name ‘Escaro Pastore’ and is credited with writing the score for the 1941 film "Hatter’s Castle" starring Deborah Kerr, Robert Newton and James Mason. Robert Mersey (Soft Moment) used the pseudonym ‘Spencer Ross’, and presumably he is the same person as the staff composer and arranger for CBS Television and Columbia Records, born in New York in 1917, who is credited with writing incidental music for top TV shows such as "Route 66" and "Manhunt". He also worked with top singers such as Andy Williams and Barbra Streisand.

On the other hand, volumes could be written about Charles Williams (1893-1978) (real name Isaac Cozerbreit) who began his career accompanying silent films, then played violin under the batons of Beecham and Elgar. Right from the start of the ‘talkies’, he provided scores for numerous British films, and his Dream Of Olwen is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared – "While I Live". In 1960 he topped the American charts with his theme for the film "The Apartment", although in reality the producers had resurrected one of his earlier works Jealous Lover which itself originated in a British film "The Romantic Age" (1949) starring Mai Zetterling and Petula Clark. By far the greatest volume of his composing skills was employed in mood music, providing hundreds of works for Chappell alone, many of them also conducted by him. Devil’s Galop will forever remind schoolboys of the 1940s of "Dick Barton – Special Agent", while early television viewers became familiar with Girls in Grey, the theme for BBC newsreels; The Young Ballerina accompanied the famous ‘Potter’s Wheel’ TV interlude. The two titles featured here – The White Knight and Hydro Project were composed at a time when Charles Williams was gradually winding down his career, but they both prove that he still knew exactly what was needed by films and television at that time, and they remain perfect models of their genre.

Bruce Campbell was another writer who owed much to his association with Robert Farnon. He was a fellow Canadian, who actually came to Britain some years before Farnon, and played trombone with various British bands during the 1930s including Ambrose, Jack Harris, Jack Hylton, Sid Millward, Hugo Rignold and Lew Stone. Campbell assisted Farnon on his post-war BBC radio shows, and eventually became a frequent contributor to various mood music libraries. Lift Girl is a typical example of his gift for melody, and his ability to provide just what was being required by publishers.

Sidney Torch (1908-1990) composed mainly under his own name, but occasionally he used the anagram ‘Denis Rycoth’ as heard on Red Square Review in this collection. His ability to combine humour and music is well in evidence in More Comic Cuts – a popular sequel to his previous Comic Cuts (featured in Vocalion’s third volume of QHLO recordings, CDEA6094). This time the two movements are sub-titled Cockney Cameo and Busy Budgie. In his early career Sidney Torch became one of England’s foremost cinema organists, but after service in the Royal Air Force during World War II he concentrated on composing, arranging and conducting light music. He made numerous commercial recordings with his orchestra for EMI’s Parlophone label, and conducted a large amount of mood music for Chappell and Francis, Day & Hunter. He conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra for many years, and was closely associated with "Friday Night is Music Night", which he helped to devise in 1953.

Arnold Steck is a pseudonym used by Major Leslie Statham, conductor of the Band of the Welsh Guards, who retired from the regiment in 1962 to concentrate fully on composing. Not surprisingly he was a master of concert marches, and his two compositions on this CD both became familiar through their regular use on BBC Television – Drum Majorette as the original theme for "Match of the Day", and Sporting Occasion which can still be heard as the closing theme for broadcasts of Wimbledon tennis.

Peter Yorke (1902-1966) worked with many leading British bands during his formative years, some of the most notable being Percival Mackey, Jack Hylton and Henry Hall. In 1936 he began a fruitful collaboration as chief arranger with Louis Levy, one of the pioneers of music for British films, who employed several talented writers such as Clive Richardson, Charles Williams and Jack Beaver, but seldom gave them any credit on-screen. Later on Peter Yorke conducted one of Britain’s most popular broadcasting orchestras from the 1940s until the 1960s. He was also a gifted composer and he created many stunning arrangements that brought out some fine performances from the top musicians he always employed. As well as Chappell, several different London publishers were happy to accept his work for their background music libraries (Francis Day & Hunter, Bosworth, Harmonic, Conroy, Paxton, Southern and Josef Weinberger are some other examples), and Emeralds and Ermine reveals his ability to compose big numbers with a full, rich orchestral sound. In contrast Holiday Excursion finds him in lighter mood, and this is one of the few pieces he actually conducted himself for Chappell. Possibly Yorke’s best-known work was Silks and Satins which, for ten years from 1957, was heard on British television several nights each week as the closing theme for the popular soap-opera ‘Emergency Ward 10’.

Although not as well-known as Peter Yorke, Cyril Watters (1907-1984) was another composer, highly respected by music publishers, whose work was readily accepted for its unfailing high standards. At times he was employed as a staff arranger by Boosey & Hawkes and Chappell, and he willingly devoted some of his energies in running the Light Music Society for the benefit of his fellow musicians. He achieved a minor hit with his Willow Waltz when it was used as a television theme, but possibly the number on this CD – Paper Chase – is more typical of his bright and breezy melodies.

The QHLO was made up of the leading session players in the capital, and the same musicians also performed on various titles which were credited to ‘The Telecast Orchestra’ when issued on 78s. (The production music publishers continued to use 78s for several years after they had disappeared from the catalogues of commercial record companies. Like LPs they were pressed in vinyl, giving silent surfaces, and preferred by the professionals in the entertainment industry at the time for their easy access to the music. Of course, by then everything was first recorded on tape, and then transferred to disc).

Therefore a few of the tracks on this CD were actually shown on labels in the name ‘Telecast’ rather than ‘QHLO’, but there is no discernible difference between the performers and the repertoire. People involved at the time have supported the view that Chappell tended to use the tag ‘Telecast’ when a smaller number of musicians were engaged for works not requiring a full concert-size orchestra; there is also the observation that they simply wanted to introduce some variety in the names of the various ensembles on their releases – a trend which accelerated in later years. Chappell & Co. had their own studio in New Bond Street, but they also used other venues such as the original CTS studios in Westbourne Grove, and the Conway Hall in Red Lion Square.

Not long after these recordings were made, the dispute with the Musicians’ Union resurfaced, and once again London publishers were forced to employ orchestras on the mainland of Europe. Eventually after another decade or so differences were settled, but by then the nature of production music had undergone a significant change, and the style of music performed by the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra was no longer in great demand from films and television. So the famous name was allowed to die gracefully, thus ending an era when QHLO had long been associated with some of the finest pieces of contemporary light music being composed by leading composers of the 20^th century.

David Ades