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.

Releases up to December 2016

New Leroy Anderson CD
IAIN SUTHERLAND CONCERT ORCHESTRA.
ALTO ALC 1324

"Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was arguably the most successful 20th century American composer of light orchestral music, at a time when the genre was known internationally. Sadly, opportunities today to hear the music of Anderson and many other highly gifted composers of music in the lighter vein are exceptionally rare, so it is through the medium of recordings that we can still experience, and react to, such wonderfully inspired and attractive music as we find on this CD.

Iain Sutherland was for many years conductor of BBC's "Friday Night is Music Night" broadcasts (one of the very few regular programmes to feature this style of music), and his performances of music of this character are endemic to a conductor who seems to have these pieces as part of his cardio-vascular system. Throughout this highly enjoyable CD, the performances are just as they should be - this colourful and attractive music benefiting hugely from the quality this gifted conductor brings to it.

Iain Sutherland's Concert Orchestra is made up of excellent players and of full orchestral strength. The recordings are excellently balanced. But, the main attraction is the music itself - a piece such as "Serenata" is manifestly inspired; once heard, this wonderful music becomes quite unforgettable. Highly recommended.

Robert Mathew-Walker.
With acknowledgements to ‘/Musical Opinion’ / Classical Music Magazine

1 comment

posted by William Zucker Wednesday, 21 December 2016 15:27

I have commented exhaustively on Leroy Anderson previously, and can only repeat my assertion that for me, at least in most instances, the best presentations of his short original selections are to be had in his original recordings of them. In later recordings, the composer had added certain sound effects which I have already stated that in my firm opinion have for me ruined their effect musically, and I accordingly cannot listen to them in those guises, and gave my reasons for this opinion a few times already. There were a small number of these selections where I prefer the Boston Pops/Fiedler recordings, also as originally presented. These include "Serenata," "Sleigh Ride," "Fiddle Faddle," "Chicken Reel," and the Irish Suite. But in general, I prefer Anderson's arrangements of musical comedy medleys as best displaying his musical substance and his capabilities to best advantage.

ORCHESTRAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RING CYCLE

Berlin Philhamoniker / Lorin Maazel

Telarc CD80154

Richard Wagner (1813-83) is a “Marmite” musician – he is either loved or loathed. His works have been played at the BBC Proms more times than any other composer. Stephen Hawking reckons the composer manages to convey emotion with music better than anyone before or since, while Rossini said, “He has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour.” As a man, he excited both extravagant praise [from the Nazis] and denigration for being a virulent anti-Semite. Wagner wrote some terrific tunes and there are those who would prefer to listen to his operatic works sans the words. This is the album for them: not a recent release like most of my classical choices here but, for me, a new discovery. Recorded in 1987, it is a 75-minute symphonic journey through Wagner's four epic operas, in cluding all the standard orchestral excerpts such as Entry of the Gods into Valhalla, Ride of the Valkyries, Wotan’s Farewell and Magic Fire Music, Forest Murmers, Siegfried's Rhine Journey and Siegfried’s Death and Funeral March. The arrangements are by the conductor Lorin Maazel [1930-2014], who was the first Jew in the post-war period to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, Germany, a music event held each year at which performances of Wagner operas are presented. With good sound, it’s a recommended buy online for around £6.

© Peter Burt 2016

AUBER Overtures ? 1
Orchestre de Cannes – conductor: Wolfgang Dörner
Naxos 8.573553

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber – a name to be conjured with, but not nowadays! Even a classical music presenter recently said on air that he had never heard of him. In 19th-century France he was renowned for his operas and was the leading composer of operas comiques. He became director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1842 and remained there until its closure in 1870. He died in 1871 during the Siege of Paris at the, then, great age of 89. He is reputed to have had an “amiable personality and Parisian elegance” with his name being a byword for taste and the focus of universal affection. Even in the lifetimes of many reading this, these easy on the ear pieces would have been meat and drink to bandstand ensembles. Then somehow Auber went off the musical radar. The album has eight overtures from interesting sounding works like The Girl from the Caucasus, The Bronze Horse, The Black Domino, The Crown Diamonds, and the The Prodigal Son. Dr Dorner and his orchestra made an excellent job of Lanner’s ‘Viennese Dances’ in their last recording (Naxos 8.73552) and they are obviously at home with the material here. I have enjoyed listening to this at a sitting, although I think the recording is a bit “heavy”. It is nice that Auber’s music, if not his operas, is being rediscovered and the release is still recommendable at the new Naxos price of £6.99. I look forward to more of the same.

Peter Burt

See Siang Wong

Sony 8985353612

The world of film music is a rich repository of good tunes and this new two-disc album has 24 mostly memorable themes played by See Siang Wong, a 37-7year-old Netherlands born Chinese pianist who lives in Switzerland teaching at the Zurich University of Arts. So there are pieces by such stellar composers of the genre as John Williams (‘Schindler’s List’), Ennio Morricone Gabriel’s Oboe (‘The Mission’), Hans Zimmer (‘Inception’), Michael Nyman (‘The Piano’), Philip Glass (‘The Truman Show’) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (‘The Last Emperor’). One of a quartet of tracks by the ever-popular Ludivico Einaudi, Fly (‘The Intouchables’), has Chi-Wei-Hu as a second pianist. There are also works from classical composers: Debussy’s Clair de Lune (‘Casino Royale’), Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major (‘Ordinary People’), Barber’s Adagio for Strings (‘Platoon’), Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words (‘Sophie’s Choice’), and Mahler’s Adagietto (‘Death In Venice’). A favourite track of mine is Dave Grusin’s Main Theme from ‘On Golden Pond’. With good playing and recording this is an eminently listenable and thoroughly relaxing release, which is available from HMV for £5.99.

FILM MUSIC CLASSICS Vaughan Williams Naxos 8.573658 RTE Orchestra conducted by Andrew Penny. 49th Parallel; The Story of a Flemish Farm suite; Coastal Command suite; Three portraits from the England of Elizabeth. This welcome release of a former Marco Polo CD with updated notes is to be welcomed by all lovers of light music, especially the film genre. Unmistakably VW in content those familiar with his nine symphonies will recognise snatches of a later more serious output. The first three films were patriotic wartime offerings while the fourth was a 1955 documentary voiced over by Martin Clunes’s father, Alec, marking the second Elizabethan era by looking back at the first. Excellent stirring music.

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573658

EDMUND WHITEHOUSE

JOSEPH LANNER Viennese Dances
Orchestre de Cannes cond. Wolfgang Dörner
Naxos 8.573552

Devotees of the New Year’s Day Concert from Vienna will know the name of Joseph Lanner (1801-1843). He has been claimed as ‘father of the Viennese waltz’ and was a contemporary of Johann Strauss I (1804-49), the viola player in his first quartet until they quarrelled and the latter left to form his own group. Lanner’s music was clearly an inspiration to the Strauss family, but Strauss Snr. became better known outside Vienna, probably due to his willingness to travel more widely. There are ten works on this 68½ minute disc – Lanner wrote 209 with opus numbers and many without – finishing with his best-known work, the delightful Die Schönbrunner-Walze, given 21 encores at his farewell concert. Other titles include Tarantula Galop, Witches’ Dance Waltz, Homage March and Hans Jörgel’s Polka, alluding to the character in a serial much read in Vienna at the time. Both the orchestra (Orchestre Régional de Cannes Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur) and their musical director since 2013 are unknown to me. However Dr Dörner was born in Vienna and the players sound as if born to this music. A wonderfully tuneful album at a low price.

Peter Burt

JOHN RUTTER Psalmfest
The Choirs of St Albans Cathedral
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ? Andrew Lucas
Naxos 8.573394

I imagine that a number of readers will be familiar with John Rutter’s carols and hymn tune settings. This his latest release, one of several on the Naxos label, is a world première recording in its complete form of a collection of nine settings with full orchestra of the psalms of David – Nos. 100, 121, 146, 23, 96/Veni Creator Spiritus, 27, 47, 84 and 148. The album features both the Cathedral and Abbey Girls Choirs (11 tracks), soprano Elizabeth Cragg (3), tenor Pascal Charbonneau (3), trumpeter Mike Allen (1), and organist Tom Winpenny (2). Andrew Lucas has been Master of the Music at the cathedral and Music Director of St Albans Bach Choir since 1998. The recording was made possible by a bequest to the cathedral by the late Dr John Birch, organist of the RPO, to whose memory it is dedicated. The remaining psalm settings were written for special occasions: This is the day for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (2011), Lord, Thou hast been our refuge for the annual City United Guilds service (2008), and Psalm 150 for Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee service (2002). With a playing time of 71:43 and at the low Naxos price, lovers of good choral music will want this disc.

Peter Burt

The John Wilson Orchestra
Warner Classics 0825646493739

75-minutes of great tunes from musicals such as ‘Girl Crazy’, ‘Funny Face’, ‘An American in Paris’, ‘Shall We Dance’, and ‘Star!’ with 17 tracks including They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Aren’t You Kind Of Glad You Did?, ‘S Wonderful,  and  For You, For  Me, For Evermore. All but two tracks feature the versatile Louise Dearman and/or Matthew Ford as vocalists and, although they are fine, I would have liked more of the wonderful virtuosic orchestra under their magnetic Gateshead-born maestro playing on their own. I cite the opening number, the Overture to the biopic ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, with  extracts  from George’s first ever hit Swanee, Somebody Loves Me, Fascinating Rhythm, Embraceable  You, Oh Lady, Be Good!, The Man I Love, I Got Rhythm, Rhapsody In Blue itself, and Strike Up the Band.  The whole album was recorded live last November before an enthusiastic audience in London’s Royal Albert Hall. All the music is by George Gershwin, who died disastrously young aged 38; the lyrics are by his older brother Ira. They are among some of the most unforgettable popular compositions of the last century.

Peter Burt
© May 2016

(Cole Porter)
Pete King’s arrangement analysed by Robert Walton

For many years now my Guild collection of the “Golden Age Of Light Music” has been providing me with a perfect soundtrack for afternoon tea. But more than that, it has become something of an everyday quiz for country folk, in my case living on a farm at the edge of Europe in the far west of Ireland. I try to identify the tunes, composers, arrangers and orchestras from a vast treasure trove of titles. This virtual ‘university’ of music helps to maintain the brain as well as entertain.

One afternoon during a catnap, my ears were suddenly alerted to what I thought was Nelson Riddle. Imagine my surprise when I looked down the mystery menu and saw it was Pete King’s Orchestra playing Mind If I MakeLove To You. Without words I’d completely forgotten it came from “High Society” sung as a rumba by Frank Sinatra to Grace Kelly, probably arranged by Riddle. It’s a very good song but somewhat overshadowed in the film by Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, True Love and Well, Did You Evah, and not typical Porter. But the irresistible slow-paced, relaxed King arrangement had me completely hooked. Incidentally Peter Dudley King (1914-1982) arranged the original mood music albums for Jackie Gleason as well as charts for Bing Crosby, Eddie Fisher, Dean Martin, Julie London and Kay Starr.

This spellbinding tune featuring the strings could easily have come out of a Dmitri Tiomkin film score like Return To Paradise. On the second phrase at bar 9 it goes unexpectedly up a semitone giving it an even more exotic flavour, placing it firmly in Polynesia or Asia. The melody then moves quite conventionally to a natural cadence. On the repeat it sounds even more magical with the woodwind in control.

The bridge, with a haunting violin solo, isn’t really a bridge as we know it, more a filler using material from the main tune in preparation for the final thrust. The strings erupt into one of most exciting climaxes and endings ever. In the coda the familiar Riddle tremors are once again strongly felt. I am almost tempted to declare Mind If I Make Love To You has out-melodied Night andDay! (By the way there are suggestions of two other songs in Mind If I Make Love To You - Mack TheKnife and Morecambe & Wise’s theme tune Bring Me Sunshine).

Mind If I Make Love To You is available on the Guild CD “Melodies For The Starlight Hours “ (GLCD 5196)

José Carreras / Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
Philips 4122702

The existence of this album was unknown to me until Presto Classical very recently resurrected it on their own CD label. This costs £12.75, but I found the original still listed online for £5. The recording was made at Abbey Road Studios in December 1983 and produced by Walter Ridley [credited in the early ‘50s for transforming EMI's HMV label into a major popular music outlet]. There are 44 minutes of beautifully sung songs – 11 immaculately arranged and conducted by Bob Farnon that include Because you’re mine, As time goes by, Love is a many splendoured thing, The way we were, Tenderly, Tonight, Memory from ‘Cats’, The Impossible Dream, and a twelfth, My Way arranged by Derek Cox. The Catalan tenor himself writes “This album fulfils a long-standing ambition to record some of my favourite songs, which afforded the extra pleasure of working with Robert Farnon.” Listening to it has been my pleasure.

Peter Burt

Chandos CHAN 10898

BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Rumon Gamba.

Portsmouth Point (William Walton); Agincourt (Walter Leigh); Fantasy Overture (York Bowen); The Boatswain’s Mate (Ethel Smyth); Plymouth Hoe (John Ansell); Britannia (Alexander Mackenzie); The Merrymakers (Eric Coates); Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy (Hubert Parry); Children’s Overture (Roger Quilter); Le Cabaret (John Foulds).

An excellent selection for all lovers of light music with just a touch of seriousness in some cases. The Bowen is a most welcome premiere recording and all ten overtures are excellent in every respect, both playing and recording. A highly recommended, cracking good, CD !

Edmund Whitehouse - April 2016

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Chandos CHSA 5168

This is I, Burt reviewing Ibert [sorry about that!] Jacques Ibert, known to English admirers as ‘Jackie Bear’, was a French composer [1892-1962] who studied at the Paris Conservatoire and in 1919 won its top prize, the coveted Prix de Rome, subsequently shocking those who awarded it with the non-academic levity of the pieces he wrote. Before this as a naval officer during the Great War he had won both the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d’Honneur. His best-known work and the longest here is the exuberant Divertissement from 1930 with its snatches of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, café songs and Viennese waltzes leading to a breathless galop complete with police whistles. The other seven works include Escales [Ports of Call], a 1922 musical journey round the Mediterranean, Scènes Parisienne [1930], Homage á Mozartand Bacchanale [1956]. For quirky melody and orchestration – which I guess the orchestra under their 79-year-young Estonian conductor had a great time recording – this is an album hard to resist. At 82’15” it is also the longest CD that has come my way to date. All told, then, another “winner” from the Essex-based label.