Here’s To Holidays
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5205
Here’s To Holidays
1 Skyways (Walter Stott)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER STOTT
Chappell C 756 1962
2 Arrivederci Roma (Renato Rascel; Carl Sigman)
RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury MG 20235 1957
3 Costa Brava (Philip Buchel)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 742 1962
4 Indiana (James Hanley; Ballard MacDonald)
RED NICHOLS AND THE AUGMENTED PENNIES
Capitol T 999 1957
5 En Bateau Mouche (Alain Nancey)
ROGER ROGER Conducting THE MODE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Vogue Mode MDINT 9080 1962
6 Here’s To Holidays (Iain Sutherland)
SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 477 1961
7 Venus And Back (Howard Shaw, real name Malcolm Lockyer)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Coronet Orchestra’ on disc label)
MGM 30852 1953
8 The Wine Harvest (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
THE NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2308 1958
9 Holiday Bound (Clifton Johns)
THE SYDNEY LIGHT CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by HAL EVANS
Columbia 33OS 7575 1962
10 Midsummer Madness (Ivor Slaney)
IVOR SLANEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring DOLORES VENTURA, piano
HMV 45-POP 943 1961
11 Jamaica Road (Dolf Van Der Linden)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Harmonic Orchestra conducted by David Johnson’ on disc label)
Charles Brull/ Harmonic CBL 334 1953
12 Transcontinental (Robert Docker)
THE ENVOY STRINGS
Envoy ENV 001 1962
13 The Only Way To Travel (featured in the film "The Road To Hong Kong") (Sammy Cahn; James Van Heusen, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Liberty LOS 17002 1962
14 French Flirt (John Carmichael)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 733 1962
15 "Tiara Tahiti" – theme from the film (Philip Green)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 45-DB 4851 1962
16 Beachboy (Peter Dennis, real name Dennis Alfred Berry)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Harmonic Orchestra conducted by David Johnson’ on disc label)
Charles Brull/ Harmonic CBL 352 1954
17 Camel Train (Steve Race)
PETER KNIGHT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Pye 7N 15472 1962
18 Water Skiing – from "Summer" – Suite (Toni Leutwiler)
WESTWAY STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 572 1962
19 Rickshaw (Annunzio Paolo Mantovani)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca 45-F 11500 1962
20 The Olive Grove (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
THE NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2308 1958
21 Holiday Highway (Anthony Mawer)
HILVERSUM RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUGO DE GROOT
De Wolfe DW 2718 1962
22 Oo La La (Sidney Torch)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 770 1962
23 Volare (Domenico Modugno, arr. William Hill Bowen)
THE HILL BOWEN CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by HILL BOWEN
Reader’s Digest RDS 6006 1962
24 Haiti (Joseph F. Kuhn)
THE RIO CARNIVAL ORCHESTRA
Stereo Fidelity SF-5900 1958
25 One Night In Monte Carlo (Werner Richard Heymann)
MONTE CARLO LIGHT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERWIN HALLETZ
Polydor 237078 SLPHM 1962
Stereo: tracks 13, 23-25; rest in mono.
BOOKLET NOTES
It’s always fun planning future holidays, and the anticipation can be an important element in the experience. With this in mind, we offer a collection which may help to stimulate your interest in some far away glamorous destinations, and the means of reaching them. All you now need is the sense of adventure, and the money to pay for it all!
The honour of providing the opening piece of music goes to Walter ‘Wally’ Stott (1924-2009) with Skyways, one of many works he contributed to the Chappell Recorded Music Library. In 1972 he became Angela Morley, and was soon recognised as one of the finest arrangers and film composers. She eventually relocated to the Los Angeles area, where she worked on several big budget movies - one example is the "Star Wars" series assisting John Williams. She also contributed scores to prestigious TV shows such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty", and provided many arrangements for the Boston ‘Pops’ Orchestra.
Richard (Warren Joseph) Hayman (b. 1920) worked on the MGM musical "Meet Me In St. Louis" and was put under contract by Mercury Records in 1950. Over a period of more than 30 years he also arranged for the Boston Pops, serving as back-up conductor for Arthur Fiedler. An established Guild favourite (this is his 24th appearance), Arrivederci Roma provides a truly nostalgic moment for everyone who has visited and fallen in love with Italy.
Philip Buchel may be known to some film buffs as a choreographer on some British films in the post-war period. He worked with producer Herbert Wilcox, who also commissioned Robert Farnon to provide scores for some of his most memorable films – the most prestigious one being "Spring In Park Lane" (1948). Farnon would have appreciated Buchel’s expertise (often with his wife Betty Buchel) and it seems likely that he encouraged his composing aspirations. Farnon and Buchel collaborated on Jockey On The Carousel (on GLCD5131) but the sole composing credit for Costa Brava went to Buchel.
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (1905-1965) was an American cornet player whose talent brought him into the realms of the most famous musicians of the jazz era. He played with many of the legendary names, and his own group ‘Red Nichols and his Five Pennies’ even prompted a Hollywood biopic in 1959 starring Danny Kaye: he played trumpet on the soundtrack, but didn’t appear on screen. Indiana finds him expanding into easy listening territory – possibly in response to changing styles where his work in jazz circles was less in demand, although he was a very busy session musician.
The French composer/conductor Roger Roger (1911-1995) is a prolific contributor to Guild ‘Golden Age of Light Music’ collections – 17 so far and still counting. En Bateau Mouche describes a trip on one of those distinctive pleasure boats on the River Seine in Paris.
The composer of our title track is the Scottish violinist and conductor Iain Sutherland (born Glasgow,18 May 1936), who is making his Guild debut with his carefree melody Here’s To Holidays. At the time when he composed this piece he was working for the London music publishers Charles Brull, often arranging works by other composers. Today he is widely acclaimed internationally for his work conducting numerous major orchestras, and to list all his achievements in broadcasting, recording studios, the theatre, films and television could fill this booklet. Iain Sutherland’s repertoire encompasses baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary works, as well as the lighter repertoire of Vienna, Hollywood and Broadway. In May 2005 he conducted the premiere of Robert Farnon’s Third Symphony, dedicated to the city of Edinburgh.
The composer of Venus and Back was the Englishman Malcolm NevilleLockyer (1923-1976) who might be described as a typical backroom boy in the music business. He became well-known to the British public largely due to the fact that he notched up almost 6,000 broadcasts during his prolific career. After war service in the Royal Air Force, he was engaged as pianist and arranger with the famous Ambrose band, and he also worked with Cyril Stapleton and Robert Farnon before forming his own orchestra for broadcasting in 1951. He discovered a talent for composing and scored some thirty films and television series, in 1960 succeeding Harry Rabinowitz as the conductor of the BBC Revue Orchestra.
Regular collectors of this Guild series of CDs will already be familiar with the music of Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard Charles Trebilco, 1924-2005). No less than 30 of his original compositions have now been reissued, and among the best-known are his first success High Heels (on Guild GLCD 5124), Grand Vista (GLCD 5124) and Panoramic Splendour (GLCD5111). He had the ability to write in many different styles, which no doubt endeared him to the publishers of mood music who needed to have music readily available to cover any kind of situation. The Wine Harvest and The Olive Grove confirm his mastery of being able to convey just the perfect atmosphere of the music.
Holiday Bound introduces two new names to Guild light music circles: composer Clifton Johns from Adelaide, and conductor Hal Evans. Apart from being described on the LP sleeve as a young Australian, information on Clifton Johns’ career is sparse. The conductor of the Sydney Light Concert Orchestra first came to our attention on GLCD5184 as the arranger of Handley’s Seaside Holiday. Hal Evans (1906-1998) was born in England, where he had a successful career with the BBC as a pianist and accompanist, then being appointed the Music Director for Pathe Films. He also arranged for the Luton Girls Choir, but an approach to work in Sydney in 1949 resulted in him settling in Australia for the rest of his life. In Sydney, he became the composer/director of the Australian Performing Rights Association. He formed and served as president of the Fellowship of Australian Composers for many years. He also had a close association with the ABC and the Australian Elizabethan Trust.
Dolores Ventura enjoyed a busy performing and recording career in Britain during the 1950s, sometimes with an orchestra conducted by her husband Ivor Slaney (1921-1998). He was also a successful composer and was a fine oboe player, regularly doing session work under top conductors such as Robert Farnon. Midsummer Madness is certainly a showcase for Ivor’s wife, and some of his previous compositions featured in Guild are Country Canter (GLCD5164), Donkey Doodle (GLCD5131) and The Show Goes On (GLGD5149). His more serious works include a Brazilian Suite and an Oboe Concerto.
We are back in familiar Guild ‘territory’ with Dolf van der Linden (real name David Gysbert van der Linden, 1915-1999). He was the leading figure on the light music scene in the Netherlands from the 1940s until the 1980s. As well as broadcasting frequently with his Metropole Orchestra, he made numerous recordings for the background music libraries of major music publishers. His commercial recordings were often labelled as ‘Van Lynn’ or ‘Daniel De Carlo’. Dolf van der Linden has already appeared on more than 35 Guild CDs, and his inventive compositions such as Jamaica Road will ensure his deserved place in the Light Music Hall of Fame.
London born Robert Docker (1918-1992) was a regular broadcaster, mainly as a pianist, but also through his activities ‘behind the scenes’ as a composer and arranger, working closely with people such as Sidney Torch. One of his best known works was Legend – the widely praised HMV recording by the George Melachrino Orchestra is on Guild GLCD5173. Transcontinental joins the ranks of exciting works with a railway theme.
In 1962 cinema audiences saw the final film in the famous ‘Road’ series which had begun in Singapore way back in 1940. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour were reunited for "The Road To Hong Kong" which was filmed at Shepperton Studios in England. The musical director was Robert Farnon (1917-2005), and in the LP accompanying the film’s release he reworked some of the music written by songwriters Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen – including The Only Way To Travel.
The Australian pianist and composer John Carmichael (b. 1930) has contributed a few appealing works to production music libraries, although most of his professional career has centred around more serious works. He was a pioneer in the field of music therapy including projects at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where the Paraplegic Olympics was born. He has lived in London for much of his life, and has composed works for piano, flute and trumpet: his ‘Concierto Folklorico’ has received wide acclaim, and he played the piano on its commercial release. His charming piece French Flirt makes one wish that he might have spent more of his time creating enjoyable pieces of light music such as this.
Philip Green (born Harry Philip Green 1911-1982) began his professional career at the age of eighteen playing in various orchestras. His long recording career began with EMI in 1933, and he is credited with at least 150 film scores, including "Tiara Tahiti". 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.
‘Peter Dennis’ hides the true identity of English composer Dennis Alfred Berry (1921-1994), who also wrote (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, and Holiday in Hollywood (on GLCD5119) was probably his biggest success for them. At the end of the 1950s Dennis Berry was head-hunted to start the Southern Library of Recorded Music. Eventually he emigrated to South Africa, before finally returning to England where he died in June 1994. During his long career he started out as a music copyist and arranged for top bands such as Carroll Gibbons, The Squadronaires and Ted Heath. He eventually became one of the leading composers, arrangers and producers in London’s thriving production music industry. Beachboy joins more than ten of his compositions already reissued by Guild.
The British pianist, composer, radio and television presenter Steve (Stephen Russell) Race, OBE (1921-2009) first made his mark as a pianist and arranger with many top British bands of the post-war years. His wide-ranging career also embraced conducting for many TV shows, and he was a popular compere of panel games and music programmes. Camel Train is his fifth composition to be featured in this series of CDs.
As ‘Tom Wyler’, the Swiss violinist and composer Toni Leutwiler (1923-2009) became known outside his homeland, partly due to the success of his charming composition Lovely Day,featured in its original version on Guild GLCD5183, but which Frank Chacksfield also recorded commercially for Columbia. His music was in demand from many broadcasting stations, and he was reported to have created over 2,000 arrangements. He also contributed to several production music companies, including the Southern Music Library which published Water Skiing from his "Summer" Suite.
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (1905-1980) became the conductor of one of the most famous light orchestras from the 1950s onwards. Born in Venice, his family came to England when he was aged four and he was something of a prodigy on the violin by the time he reached sixteen. But he leaned more towards popular music, and fronted many different kinds of ensembles before long-playing records brought him worldwide acclaim. Despite a very busy schedule embracing radio, television, concerts and recordings he also found time to compose and arrange for his magnificent orchestra, and Rickshaw reveals a talent that few of his many admirers appreciated.
In 1955 the English composer Anthony Mawer (1930-1999) started contributing occasional mood music pieces to London publishers De Wolfe, before joining the staff in 1959, where he remained until 1965. During this period he composed almost 500 titles exclusively for them, and Holiday Highway is just one of many delightful melodies he has created – this is his sixth to reach a wider audience through Guild.
Sidney Torch, MBE (born in London, Sidney Torchinsky 1908-1990) is well-known in Britain for his numerous Parlophone recordings, as well as his long tenure as conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in the "Friday Night Is Music Night" BBC radio programme. Oo La La is one of his many compositions for the Chappell Recorded Music Library.
The nostalgic sound of Italy returns with a song that achieved world-wide popularity in 1958 after it won the 8th San Remo Music Festival. Our version is arranged and conducted by William Hill-Bowen (1918-1964) who worked closely with George Melachrino for many years. But by the time he made this recording in 1962 he had been recognised in his own right, thanks mainly to RCA in America.
Our holiday excursion approaches its climax on Haiti, a magical island in the Caribbean which has fascinated countless travellers for generations. When stereo discs were launched in the second half of the 1950s, record producers did not hesitate to tempt the public with exotic sounding titles that disguised the fact that they were probably not quite what they may have seemed. The Paris Theatre Orchestra, together with 101 Strings and The Rio Carnival Orchestra, were names used by the American Miller International Company on their bargain basement priced Essex, Somerset and Stereo Fidelity labels. The recordings usually employed various European symphony and radio orchestras and were linked by the name of Joseph Francis Kuhn (1924-1962) who composed, arranged, scored or conducted most of the early ones. Doubtless there would have been many more recordings by him in later years, had it not been for his untimely death in March 1962 at the age of 37.
All holidays eventually have to come to an end and our grand finale is One Night In Monte Carlo, composed by Werner Richard Heymann for a 1931 German comedy "Bomben Auf Monte Carlo". It provides the first Guild appearance of the Monte Carlo Light Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erwin Halletz (1923-2008). He was born in Vienna and, in addition to conducting, he was also a busy arranger and performer on the saxophone and clarinet.
David Ades