GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5210

Invitation To The Dance

1 Dance Of The Goblins (La Ronde des Lutins) (Antonio Bazzini)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 610 1954
2 Ballet Égyptien - 1^st Movement - Allegro Non Troppo (Alexandre Clément Léon Joseph Luigini)
THE EMBASSY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by MICHAEL FREEDMAN
Embassy WEP 1031-S 1959
3 Dance Of The Tarantulas (William Blezard)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes O 2204 1951
4 Moonspun Dreams (John C. Egan; Allan Flynn, arr. Ivan Caryll)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia DX 1814 1952
5 Mexican Hat Dance (F.A. Partichela, arr. Ronald Hanmer)
MICHAEL FREEDMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Jacques Leroy’ on disc label)
Embassy WLP 60002 1960
6 Pirouette (Montague Phillips)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by ELLIOTT MAYES
Chappell C 591 1957
7 Apache Dance (Jacques Offenbach)
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LF1059 1951
8 Banner Of Youth - March (Sidney Torch)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C 724 1961
9 Piccolo Polka (Meredith Willson)
MEREDITH WILLSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA Solo piccolo: PAUL RENZI
Brunswick LA 8628 1953
10 Cresta Blanca Waltz (Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LM-2006-C 1956
11 The Dancing Cane (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM 794 1954
12 Ascot Gavotte (from "My Fair Lady") (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe – arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CL 695 1956
13 Calypso In D (Yellow Bird) (Trad, arr. Helmut Zacharias)
HELMUT ZACHARIAS AND HIS MAGIC VIOLINS
Polydor 45151 1958
14 Feliciana (Frank Perkins)
FRANK PERKINS AND HIS ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA
Brunswick LA 8708 1955
15 Song Of Tonfano (Anthony Mawer)
HILVERSUM RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUGO DE GROOT
De Wolfe DW 2706 1961
16 Vive Le Sport – March (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
Chappell C 574 1957
17 Evening Bells (Carste; Ralph Maria Siegel)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Van Lynn’ on disc label)
Brunswick LAT 8074 1955
18 Fifth Avenue Waltz (Robert Mersey)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by MALCOLM LOCKYER
Chappell C 635 1959
19 Dance Ballerina Dance (Carl Sigman; Sidney Keith Russell)
WERNER MÜLLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SLK 16 234P 1962
20 Golden Slippers (Trad. arr. Rickey Marino; Felix Slatkin)
FELIX SLATKIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Liberty LSS 14024 1962
21 Interval Waltz (Vivian Ellis)
THE NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Boosey & Hawkes O 2408 1962
22 Rhumba For Romeos (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Trebilco)
THE NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by MONIA LITER (‘Paul Hamilton’ on disc label)
Boosey & Hawkes O 2378 1960
23 Pretty Polka (Geoffrey Henman)
THE NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by MONIA LITER (‘Paul Hamilton’ on disc label)
Boosey & Hawkes O 2402 1961
24 Venus Waltz (Ron Goodwin)
HANS GEORG ARLT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Ariola 32721 1958
25 Millionaire’s Hoe-Down (Wayne Robinson; Caesar Giovannini; Herman Clebanoff)
CLEBANOFF AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury PPS 6019 1961
26 Invitation To The Dance (Carl Maria von Weber)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LK 4161 1956

Stereo: tracks 2, 19-25; rest in mono.

Eric Coates, the famous English composer of Light Music, once observed: "my marches aren’t intended for marching and my waltzes aren’t meant for waltzing". This oft repeated quote is not an entirely accurate description of everything he composed, but it does indicate that marches and waltzes (especially the latter) have provided inspiration for many composers who simply decided that they should be listened to rather than danced. This applies to a good number of the titles on this CD, although there are also many where the intention is definitely in favour of active participation, rather than purely passive listening. It will also be noted that a few numbers are not strictly dances, but somewhere in their titles the word ‘dance’ or ‘dancing’ appears, clearly suggesting what the composer had in mind.

Our first three pieces of music fall into the latter category. The exciting Dance Of The Goblins by the Italian Antonio Bazzini (1818-1897) was originally called "Scherzo Fantastique for Violin and Piano" and it must have demanded considerable aptitude from both musicians. Probably the full orchestra makes it even more exhilarating.

Ballet Égyptien composed in 1875 by Frenchman Luigini (1850-1906) was a true gift to comedians during the earlier years of the last century: would the sand dancers Wilson, Keppel and Betty have been so popular without it? The version in this collection is a rare stereo recording conducted by Michael Freedman (1911-1979) who, as a young man, studied the violin and at the age of 16 was offered his first engagements in West End theatre orchestras. Thereafter he tended to concentrate more on the art of conducting, and at various times worked with Toscanini, Furtwängler, von Karajan and Cantelli. However, like all musicians needing to pay the bills he used his talents widely, and in the early 1950s he was a violinist in the Philharmonia Orchestra.  Gradually he became known as a conductor through his BBC broadcasts, and also appeared on television with an orchestra of lady musicians – Michael Freedman and his Debutantes, who can be heard on GLCD5150 and 5155. He made a number of recordings for Oriole records, and the Embassy label, which Oriole produced for Woolworths.  The Oriole recordings were always credited to him but Embassy sometimes used the pseudonyms Serge Lamont, Lionel Hale and Jacques Leroy. As the last named he also appears on this CD conducting a spirited arrangement of Mexican Hat Dance. This comes from the fertile imagination of Ronald Hanmer (1917-1994), a very prolific English musician who claimed that he was always fully employed throughout his professional career. This embraced composing (over 700 works), arranging (especially for amateur theatricals and brass bands), and film scores.

The English pianist and composer William Blezard (1921-2003) was closely associated with Joyce Grenfell for many years, but she was just one of many distinguished performers for whom he was the accompanying pianist of choice. Dance Of The Tarantulas was one of his early compositions, from a time when he was also in demand for film work. Although he continued to write, he seems to have preferred broadcasting and the concert hall, rather than production music.

The first on the list intended specifically for dancing is Moonspun Dreams, which the record label tells us is a "Dream Saunter". It comes from a prolific series of Old Time dance records by Harry Davidson (1892-1967) and his Orchestra for EMI’s Columbia label. After a distinguished career as an organist and conductor, in November 1943 his long-running radio series "Those Were The Days" appeared for the first time, providing listeners at home with a regular helping of melodious Old Time dance music.

Londoner Montague Fawcett Phillips (1885-1969) worked in the same areas as his peers Eric Coates and Haydn Wood, except that most of his ballads possibly lacked something which would have made them popular to the masses, and thus they have tended to be forgotten. But Phillips did succeed in a musical genre that failed to survive the last century, the operetta: his "Rebel Maid" (1921) still gets occasional amateur performances, helped by its ‘hit’ song The Fishermen of England. Disliking the influences of jazz and syncopation in the 1920s, Phillips thereafter concentrated on ‘traditional’ orchestral music, much of it in lighter vein such as Pirouette.

Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) was actually born in Cologne, Germany, but he is widely regarded as one of the leading French composers of the 19^th Century. His Apache Dance has survived numerous comic interpretations, but thankfully Harry Fryer (1896-1946) shows it some respect. He packed a lot into his relatively short career, and became a household name in Britain largely through his regular appearances on the "Music While You Work" radio programme.

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 programme. He wrote some excellent light music cameos for the Chappell Recorded Music Library, and he conducted the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra for many of them, such as his bright and breezy march Banner Of Youth.

Meredith Willson (1902-1984) will always be remembered for his hit musical "The Music Man", which was a big success on Broadway and later a Hollywood film. But he also composed and conducted some attractive pieces of Light Music, some to be found on an early Brunswick 10" LP called "Encore". Several have already appeared on Guild CDs, and Piccolo Polka can now be added to the list.

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. Like other prolific composers who have achieved fame with a number of their works, some of his remaining output gets unfairly neglected. Gould’s Cresta Blanca Waltz seems to fall into this category, which may make it a pleasant surprise for many listeners.

David Rose (1910-1990) was one of the biggest names in American light music circles during the middle years of the 20^th century. Born in London, England ‘lost’ him when the family moved to the USA when he was aged just four, but he retained a love for his birthplace and in his later life his fascination with steam railways often brought him back across the Atlantic. A prolific composer and arranger, he is an established Guild favourite, and Dancing Cane may have been one of his lesser known works, but it has the hallmarks of the master musician stamped all over it.

Another Guild favourite is Toronto-born Percy Faith (1908-1976) who moved permanently to the USA in 1940 where he quickly established himself through radio and recordings. From the 1950s onwards his fame spread internationally, due to the great success of his numerous long playing albums. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Faith arranged all his own material, and he was quick off the mark to record an album of music from "My Fair Lady" when that musical caused such a stir as soon as it opened on Broadway. Many of the tunes have become familiar standards, but the score was packed with so many good numbers that some have been almost forgotten, such as Ascot Gavotte.

Helmut Zacharias (1920-2002) was a German child prodigy who rose to prominence in the 1950s when the American Forces Network in Frankfurt described him as ‘the best jazz violinist in the world’. During his long career he composed over 400 works and his album sales exceeded 13 million. When he turned his attention to the traditional West Indian song Yellow Bird he decided to rename it Calypso in D.

Frank Perkins (1908-1988) studied music in both America and Europe and he became noticed in 1934 following a successful collaboration with lyricist Mitchell Parrish which resulted in Stars Fell on Alabama and Emmaline. In 1937 he was engaged as an arranger by Warner Bros. in Hollywood, where he remained until the mid-1960s. Later he tended to concentrate more on light orchestral works for concert performance producing some pleasing melodies such as Feliciana. In 1962 Frank received an Oscar nomination for his work scoring the musical "Gypsy".

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 Song Of Tonfano is just one of many delightful melodies he has created – several have already reached a wider audience through Guild. One could question whether this piece should appear in a collection of dance music, but film directors in ballroom scenes where the action concentrates on two actors always seem to need smoochy music like this. Perhaps it could be described as a very slow, slow foxtrot.

The French composer/conductor Roger Roger (1911-1995) is a prolific contributor to Guild ‘Golden Age of Light Music’ collections. Vive Le Sport is one of those marches which Eric Coates defied listeners to try to dance.

Dolf van der Linden (real name David Gysbert van der Linden, 1915-1999) 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. He also made transcription recordings for Dutch radio and other companies. His commercial recordings (especially for the American market) were often labelled as ‘Van Lynn’ or ‘Daniel De Carlo’. The opening of Evening Bells may make one wonder where the melody is going, but it soon evolves into a very appealing tango.

Englishman Malcolm NevilleLockyer (1923-1976) 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. On this CD he conducts Fifth Avenue Waltz by New Yorker Robert Mersey (b. 1917) who as well as being a composer and musical director, produced some of Columbia Records’ most successful 1960s vocals, such as the Andy Williams hit Moon River.

Werner Müller (1920-1998) is also a well-established Guild favourite, sometimes under his familiar pseudonym ‘Ricardo Santos’. By the early 1960s his orchestra had become firmly established internationally, and Dance Ballerina Dance comes from one of his top-selling albums of that era.

Felix Slatkin (1915-1963) was born in St Louis, Missouri, and he became a leading violinist and conductor. His entertaining version of the traditional melody Golden Slippers was created not long before he died in 1963 from a heart attack aged only 47.

Boosey & Hawkes’ New Concert Orchestra provide three contrasting dances by leading composers. Vivian Ellis (1903-1996) will always be remembered in light music circles for Coronation Scot (on GLCD5120 & 5181) and Alpine Pastures (GLCD5169). They were both for Chappells, but later he wrote several highly regarded works for Boosey & Hawkes, including his charming Interval Waltz. 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), and among the best-known are his first success High Heels (on Guild GLCD 5124), Grand Vista (GLCD 5124) and Panoramic Splendour (GLCD5111). He could turn his hand to many varied styles, and Rhumba For Romeos finds him in a Latin-American mood. Herbert Geoffrey Henman (b. 1896) was known for writing popular songs in the frothy style that was in vogue before World War II. He also contributed to stage shows, and one of his best known pieces of light music was Champagne March (on GLCD5103)for the Chappell Recorded Music Library. Pretty Polka appears to have been his only work accepted by Boosey & Hawkes for their mood music library. During the 1930s Haydn Wood orchestrated some of his melodies, and even lent him £2,500 in 1949 to buy a house in Sussex. The last two titles by the New Concert Orchestra were conducted by Monia Liter (1906-1988), at the time the Recorded Music Manager at Boosey & Hawkes.

Venus Waltz by Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) originally appeared on a Parlophone LP ‘Out Of This World’. The German violin maestro Hans Georg Arlt (1927-2011) gave it his usual polished performance. This leads us to a barn-storming performance of Millionaire’s Hoe-Down by Chicago-born Herman Clebanoff (1917-2004).

Our final track is the light classical work which gives this collection of music its title. The German composer Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (1786-1826) wrote Invitation To The Dance (sometimes called Invitation To The Waltz) as a piano work; it was highly regarded and was orchestrated at different times by Berlioz and Liszt. In 1956 it was the turn of the Mantovani Orchestra, in which the glorious cascading string sound briefly surfaces, but this recording (which has been edited) is basically true to the best-known version of this popular work.

David Ades

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 8^th 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

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5206

Non-Stop To Nowhere

1 On The Side Of The Angels (from the show "Fiorello") (Sheldon Harnick; Jerry Bock, arr. Alfred Newman)
ALFRED NEWMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST1343 1959
2 Harum-Scarum (Florian ZaBach)
FLORIAN ZABACH, HIS VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA
Mercury MPT7522 1957
3 Poor Butterfly (Raymond Hubbell; John Golden, arr. Philip Green)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Top Rank RX 3013 1959
4 "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" - Love Theme from the film (Andre Previn, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8583 1962
5 Ballad Of The Sea (Joe Reisman, arr. Walter Landauer)
RAWICZ AND LANDAUER at two pianos with Orchestra and Chorus conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Philips 326547 BF 1962
6 Non-Stop To Nowhere (Mark Anthony, real name Tony Hatch)
THE PICCADILLY STRINGS
Piccadilly 7N 35027 1962
7 The Awakening Of Pedro (Mitchell Ayres; Danny Hurd)
MITCHELL AYRES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA 47-6729 1956
8 Antilles (Jacques La Rue; Jean Paul Rene Guilbert)
JOE REISMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Victor 6404 1956
9 Desiree (James Kriegsmann, arr. Bruce Campbell)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Coronet Orchestra’ on disc label)
MGM E 3167 1955
10 Grasshopper (Earle H. Hagen, Herbert Spencer)
THE SPENCER-HAGEN ORCHESTRA
Label "X" LXA 1003 1955
11 Piccadilly Hoe-Down (Chris Armstrong, real name Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 3026 1952
12 Badinage (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER Conducting THE MODE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Vogue Mode MDINT 9080 1962
13 Hey! Taxi (George Siravo)
GEORGE SIRAVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca DL 8464 1956
14 Poppet (Ken Warner)
THE CRAWFORD LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Josef Weinberger JW 156 1958
15 Candy Floss (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 334 1953
16 Metropolitan March (Roger Barsotti)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C 313 1947
17 Frantic Fiddles (Johnny Gregory)
WESTWAY STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 593 1962
18 Folies Parade (Cyril Watters)
LANSDOWNE LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Impress IA 233 1960
19 Twinkle Toes (Van Phillips)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD (‘Lansdowne Light Orchestra’ on disc label)
Impress IA 131-B 1956
20 Pennsylvania Dutch (Dolf van der Linden)
SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by LUDO PHILIPP
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 385 1955
21 Jamboree (Clive Richardson)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 343 1948
22 Starlight Special (Alan Perry, real name Ernest Tomlinson)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERICH BÖRSCHEL
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 155 1956
23 Ten To One (Arnold Steck, real name Leslie Statham)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 469 1954
24 Down Channel : Nautical Overture (Alec Rowley)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 402 1946
25 Toward Adventure (Gilbert Vinter)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD (‘Lansdowne Light Orchestra’ on disc label)
Impress IA 169-B 1957
26 All The Fun Of The Fair (from "Rustic Revels" Suite) (Percy Fletcher)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 127 1942

Stereo: tracks 1-4; rest in mono

BOOKLET NOTES

The title of this collection says it all: simply an assortment of all kinds of Light Music, with a good proportion of it included at the special request of music lovers who have purchased previous CDs in this long running series.

The opening track features a great show business number arranged by Alfred Newman (1901-1970) who was, for much of his career, the most influential and respected composer and music director in Hollywood. At Twentieth Century Fox he was responsible for numerous major films, sometimes taken from successful Broadway shows. One exception was "Fiorello" (about the famous New York mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia), for which Frank Sinatra was mooted for the starring role. It never happened, although Newman did some preparatory work on the music score and On The Side Of The Angels is reputed to be a composite of what was intended as the Main Title and Ending of the film.

Florian ZaBach (1918-2006) was an American violinist and conductor who became a well-known television personality in post-war years. His 78 The Hot Canary (1951)sold a million, and during a long career he was invited as violinist and conductor to perform many ‘Pops Concerts’ with orchestras around the world. Harum-Scarum is one of his compositions.

Londoner Philip Green (born Harry Philip Green 1911-1982) 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. His own arrangement of Poor Butterfly reveals Green’s ability to come up with fresh ideas for familiar standards.

André Previn (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin in Berlin 1929, or 1930) has enjoyed a glittering career as a conductor, pianist and composer. In 1969 he was appointed conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, where he remained for over ten years. The fame he achieved in London tended to overshadow the fact that he had already forged a successful career in Hollywood, resulting in four Academy Awards. The 1961 adaptation of "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" failed to impress the critics, but Previn’s score – arranged in our recording by Percy Faith (1908-1976) – deserves to be remembered.

Rawicz and Landauer were a very popular piano duo, heard regularly on the radio in Britain for many years. Marjan Rawicz (1898-1970) was born in Poland, while Walter Landauer (1910-1983) came from Vienna. Initially they formed their act in Austria in 1932, but soon moved to Britain. Walter Landauer was also an accomplished arranger and, in the early 1960s, Philips Records in the UK commissioned him to write a number of arrangements, notably of some original works by Robert Farnon (1917-2005) and Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), which were recorded under Farnon’s baton, sometimes with a choir. Most titles were for release on LPs, but Ballad Of The Sea was one of several 45 singles. The composer was Joe Reisman (1924-1987), who returns later on this CD with his own orchestra playing Antilles. Born in Dallas, Texas, he began his career playing saxophone and arranging but later held A&R appointments with Roulette and RCA.

Our title track is by a young English composer who would eventually go on to make a big name for himself internationally. Tony (Anthony Peter) Hatch (born Pinner, North London, 1939) studied for a while at the Royal Academy of Music but left to work in the office of a music publisher. While doing his National Service he became involved with the Band of the Coldstream Guards, then returned to work with several different record companies including Pye and Top Rank. His career took a big leap forward when he started writing songs for Petula Clark, becoming her regular producer: Downtown was their first great success. Before that he wrote a number of catchy tunes, often under the pseudonym ‘Mark Anthony’ – one of them being Non Stop To Nowhere.

Making his Guild debut on this CD is the American conductor Mitchell Ayres (1909-1969). He was also an accomplished composer and arranger and is best remembered for his work with Perry Como on radio, television and records. He was the co-composer of the intriguingly titled The Awakening Of Pedro. His career was cut short when he was killed in a traffic accident.

Bruce Campbell was one of several writers 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 top British bands during the 1930s. Campbell assisted Farnon on his post-war BBC radio shows and eventually became a frequent contributor to various mood music libraries. Desiree comes from a rare LP that Campbell recorded anonymously in Britain for the American market.

Herbert Spencer (1905-1992) began contributing music to films as early as 1933, and during the 1950s he made several albums with Earle Hagen (1919-2008 – famous as the composer of the jazz standard Harlem Nocturne). The Spencer Hagen Orchestra is still remembered today by collectors of what has become known in the USA as ‘lounge music’. They co-composed Grasshopper, which comes from an LP with each track devoted to a cocktail. Two other tracks from the same album have been featured on previous Guild CDs: Side Car (GLCD5131) and Silver Fizz (GLCD5156).

Raymond (Ray) Stuart Martin (born Raymond Wolfgang Kohn in Vienna, 1918-1988) fled from the Nazis and settled in England before the outbreak of World War 2 where he became known as ‘Ray Martin’. He was one of the biggest names in British popular music during the 1950s due to his work on radio, television, films and especially the recording studios. Piccadilly Hoe-Down was composed under his pseudonym ‘Chris Armstrong’ – he used at least ten at various times, much to the confusion of his admirers.

After the Second World War Roger Roger (1911-1995) played piano and conducted a 35-piece orchestra for a major French weekly radio series "Paris Star Time". His own instrumental cameos that were featured in the show brought him to the attention of the London publishers Chappell & Co., who were rapidly expanding their Recorded Music Library of background music at that time. Roger’s quirky compositions soon became available to radio, television and film companies around the world, but the choice for this CD, Badinage, comes from one of his commercial LPs.

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 Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw and Gene Krupa. Siravo’s contribution to this CD, Hey! Taxi,represents one of the rare novelty numbers that he both composed and recorded himself.

Ken Warner (born in London as Onslow Boyden Waldo Warner 1902-1988), was educated at the Guildhall School of Music. By 1940 he had become well known as ‘Ken Warner’ and in that year he joined the BBC Light Orchestra, playing violin, clarinet and saxophone under Fred Hartley, also doing much arranging. He stayed as a BBC employee until 1959, after which he retired to Cornwall to raise pigs. His compositions (such as Poppet on this CD) found their way into the Recorded Music Libraries of London publishers.

‘Peter Dennis’ hides the true identity of Dennis Alfred Berry (1921-1994), who also composed (sometimes in collaboration with others) under names such as Frank Sterling, Charles Kenbury and Michael Rodney. He was born in London and in 1939 was employed by several publishers before joining Paxton Music as their representative based in Amsterdam. He returned to the London office in 1949 and was responsible for producing numerous titles issued by Paxton during the 1950s. This did not prevent him writing for other libraries such as De Wolfe, Synchro and Charles Brull, for whom he wrote Candy Floss.

London-born Roger Barsotti (1901-1986) was a conductor and composer whose career began as a flautist with the Hastings Municipal Orchestra. Later he was appointed bandmaster of the Queen's Royal Regiment in 1930 and, following retirement from the British army in 1946, he took over the London Metropolitan Police Band, for whom he composed his Metropolitan March. Later it achieved fame as the signature tune for the British TV programme "Blott On The Landscape".

Johnny Gregory (born Giovanni Gregori, London 1924) is a prolific arranger and film composer whose career with Philips records spanned some 20 years. As "Chaquito" he arranged and conducted a series of Latin-American recordings. Essentially he was a backroom boy in the British music business for many years, with numerous arrangements, backings and radio broadcasts to his credit. His compositions, such as Frantic Fiddles, were also welcomed by mood music libraries.

Although not as well-known to the general public as some of his peers, Henry 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 for many years 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 (on GLCD5189)when it was used in Britain as a television theme, but possibly the number on this CD – Folies Parade – is more typical of his many bright and breezy melodies.

The American Van Phillips (1905-1992) was a respected member of London’s dance band fraternity from the late 1920s onwards, but after the Second World War he discovered a new talent for writing background music. Many of his works such as Twinkle Toes were accepted by Inter-Art Music Publishers (Impress), and some admirers have noted possible influences of Robert Farnon and Bruce Campbell. He also worked on a major BBC Radio series "Journey Into Space", first broadcast in 1953. When composing failed to satisfy his creative instincts he eventually became a highly regarded professional photographer.

A musician who is already well represented on Guild Light Music CDs is Dolf Van Der Linden (1915-1999), who conducts his own piece Pennsylvania Dutch. His real name was David Gysbert van der Linden and he was the leading figure on the light music scene in the Netherlands from the 1940s until the 1980s.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was best-known as a pianist during his early career, but working on many pre-war British films (usually without any credit on-screen) honed his talents as an arranger and composer. His London Fantasia (on Guild GLCD5120) was widely praised and thereafter his work was regularly commissioned by many leading publishers. It seems likely that Chappells commissioned him to compose Jamboree in a similar style to his earlier Holiday Spirit (on GLCD5120) which had been so successful.

Ernest Tomlinson(b.1924) is one of Britain’s most talented composers, working mainly in light music, but also highly regarded for his choral works and brass band pieces. During a very productive career he has contributed numerous titles to the recorded music libraries of many different publishers, often under the pseudonym ‘Alan Perry’, which he chose for Starlight Special on this CD. His suites of English Folk Dances have become part of the standard light music repertoire. In recent years Ernest has worked hard to preserve thousands of music manuscripts that would otherwise have been destroyed, and he is the President of the Light Music Society. In 2012 he received a well-deserved MBE for his services to music.

Arnold Steck (1905-1974) 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 two of his compositions were used by the BBC for many years to introduce their football and tennis programmes. Ten To One on this CD is a fine example of his work.

The English composer Alec Rowley (1892-1958) became known for his educational music aimed at amateur players, which seems to have resulted in his more serious works being unfairly neglected. He studied with Frederick Corder at London’s Royal Academy of Music, and became familiar to early radio listeners as a piano duettist with Edgar Moy. His Piano Concerto No. 1 was premiered in 1938. He makes his Guild debut with his Nautical Overture Down Channel.

Lincoln-born Gilbert Vinter (1909-1969) is probably best remembered in Britain as the conductor of the BBC Midland Light Orchestra when it was one of the foremost contributors of quality light music on the BBC. However he also excelled as a composer, both in light music (such as Toward Adventure on this CD) and the brass band world.

The work selected to complete this collection is a typical piece by Derby-born Percy (Eastman) Fletcher (1879-1932), who is often recognised today for his brass band pieces although he spent much of his career as a musical director in London’s West End theatres. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous ballads as well as choral works and light orchestral suites. Perhaps his best-remembered piece of light music is the valse-caprice Bal Masque, which was the second of his "Parisian Sketches", composed in 1914 (on Guild GLCD 5108 and 5137).The exhilarating All The Fun Of The Fair comes from his "Rustic Revels" suite. Another movement Dancing On The Green was featured on GLCD5107. His work is a fine example of the high standards achieved by British composers working in Light Music spheres during the first half of the last century.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5207

Ca C’Est Paris

1 Ca C’Est Paris (Jean Lucien Boyer; Jacques Charles; Jose Padilla)
JOS CLEBER AND HIS COSMOPOLITAN ORCHESTRA
Philips P 10055 R 1954
2 April In Paris (Vernon Duke, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LF 1020 1950
3 En Avril A Paris (Charles Trénet; Walter Eiger)
FRANCK POURCEL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
French HMV 7 EGF 136 1954
4 Tourbillon De Paris (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER Conducting THE MODE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Vogue Mode MDINT 9080 1962
5 La Seine (Guy Lafarge, arr. Hal Mooney)
HAL MOONEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Time S 2005 1960
6 Mademoiselle De Paris (Paul Durand; Eric Maschwitz; Henri Contet)
ART WAINER AND THE LATIN QUARTER ORCHESTRA
MGM D 124 1954
7 Sous Les Toits de Paris (Under The Roofs Of Paris) (Raoul Moretti; René Nazelles)
FRANCK POURCEL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV DLP 1150 1957
8 Sous La Ciel De Paris (Under Paris Skies) (Waltz Of Paree) (Jean Brun; Hubert Giraud)
CYRIL STAPLETON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM E 3206 1955
9 Sous Les Ponts de Paris (Under The Bridges Of Paris) (Vincent Scotto)
FRANCK POURCEL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV DLP 1150 1957
10 An American In Paris (George Gershwin)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SML 30022 1961
Paris Original (From "How To Succeed In Show Business Without Really
Trying") (Frank Loessser)
ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8627 1962
12 Paris Promenade (William Hill Bowen)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV B 10954 1956
13 Paris Stay The Same (Victor Schertzinger, arr. Jo Boyer)
EDDIE BARCLAY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury MG 20190 1955
14 Paris In The Spring (Mack Gordon; Harry Revel)
HUGO WINTERHALTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSP 1904 1959
15 Paris Honeymoon (Laurie Johnson)
GROUP FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 086 1961
16 Heart Of Paris (Coeur de Mon Coeur) (Georges Auric; Mitchell Parish)
THE CLEBANOFF STRINGS AND ORCHESTRA
Mercury SR 60163 1960
17 Midnight In Paris (Herb Magidson)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Pacific STO-D16005 1962
18 Lovers In Paris (Al Sherman)
MONIA LITER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
London LL 1643 1957
19 Paris Canaille (Leo Ferré, arr. Michel Legrand)
MICHEL LEGRAND AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Philips BBL 7026 1955
20 Rainy Night In Paris (Black)
NORRIE PARAMOR AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST 10190 1959
21 Paris Fashions (Cecil Milner)
THE HARMONIC ORCHESTRA Conducted by HANS MAY
Harmonic/Charles Brull HMP 266 1948
22 Paris Oui Oui (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM 30521 1952
23 Miss Paris (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
Chappell C 674 1960
24 Poor People Of Paris (La Goulante du Pauvre Jean) (Marguerite Monnot)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SML 30022 1961
25 Paris Soir (Vivian Ellis)
TELECAST ENSEMBLE
Chappell C 561 1957
26 Oh! Paris, Gai Séjour De Plaisir (Charles Lecocq)
GRAND ORCHESTRE DE PARIS Conducted by PAUL BONNEAU
Ducretet-Thomson 250-V-062 1955
27 Lights Of Paris (W. Noack)
LONDON CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1091 1939
28 I Love Paris (from "Can Can") (Cole Porter)
MONTE CARLO LIGHT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERWIN HALLETZ
Polydor 237078 SLPHM 1962

Stereo: tracks 5, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 20, 24 & 28; rest in mono.

BOOKLET NOTES

The City of Paris was a favoured settlement for our ancestors over two thousand years ago, no doubt due to its position on the River Seine and the rich agricultural conditions in the surrounding area. All this contributed to a pleasant lifestyle, and it was hardly surprising that it became the largest city in the world by the 12^th century, a position it retained until other developing nations eventually overtook it in size at the turn of the 18^th century. But size is not always everything, and for centuries Paris was at the forefront of Europe’s leading centres of learning and the arts. As such it attracted the best scholars and artists, and this was certainly true in musical terms. Today’s inheritors of this proud tradition still carry on the unique French style that is not afraid to adapt, yet still manages to retain that certain ‘je ne sais crois’. This tribute to Paris confirms the spell it still exerts not only for its own musicians and composers, but also the countless admirers from around the world who have fallen for its charms.

It seems only right that these notes should give precedence to the French musicians performing in this collection, and it would be hard to find a more worthy contender to begin with than Franck Pourcel (1913-2000), who was born in Marseille. He is widely recognised as one of the biggest names in French popular music, and during his lifetime it is estimated that he recorded over 2,000 songs. He achieved world-wide success with I Will Follow Him which he co-composed with Paul Mauriat. It is possible that earlier he may have disappointed some of his loyal fans when he decided to emigrate to the United States in 1952, but he did not desert the country of his birth. He often returned to France to record, and he even conducted for France at the Eurovision Song Contest between 1956 and 1972. He expanded his conducting into the classical arena, but this did not prevent him writing for top singers such as Petula Clark. Air France commissioned him to compose a special piece in 1975 for their Concorde fleet, and his days as an émigré were well behind him when this outstanding conductor, composer and arranger of superlative light orchestral music died at his home in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 12 November 2000 aged 87.

It seems a shame when some musicians get saddled with labels that do not give an accurate description of their achievements. Roger Roger (1911-1995) sometimes gets referred to as a bandleader, but one can think of many true ‘bandleaders’ who come nowhere near Monsieur Roger’s considerable contributions to light and popular music. He started writing for French films towards the end of the 1930s (firstly documentaries, then feature films), and was responsible for the famous pantomime sequences in Marcel Carné’s Les Enfants du Paradis (1944). After the Second World War Roger played piano and conducted a 35-piece orchestra for a major French weekly radio series Paris a l’Heure des Etoiles, which was syndicated overseas and even broadcast in the USA. His own instrumental cameos that were featured in the show brought him to the attention of the London publishers Chappell & Co., who were rapidly expanding their Recorded Music Library of background music. Roger’s quirky compositions neatly complemented the kind of music being created at the same time by Chappells’ other top composers, and radio, television and film companies around the world soon appreciated the fresh and, occasionally, unusual sounds he created. Although he was married to the opera singer Eva Rehfuss, Roger is reported not to have liked the human voice. This may explain why he seems to have devoted his career from the 1950s onwards to creating so much purely orchestral material, although he did ‘experiment’ for a while with electronic music in the 1960s, much to the consternation of some of his most avid supporters. In hindsight it is surprising that the post-war French film industry seemed to ignore his talents. Although he made a few commercial recordings, the main thrust of his composing abilities was directed towards the production music libraries of many leading publishers, not just Chappells, and these recordings were only made available to commercial users. The downside of this was that so much of his very appealing work could not be purchased by his admirers.

Eddie Barclay(1921-2005)(real name Edouard Ruault – he changed it in 1944 when he came into contact with American liberation forces) was famous in France for two reasons: his music, and his nine wives. His career took off at the end of World War 2 when he realised that his jazz with a French flavour was much in demand. He launched what he claimed to be the first discothèque, Eddie's Club, based on the American clubs that had opened to serve US military personnel. He certainly came up against the right influences at the right time: he regularly visited the Hot Club of France where Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt performed. Eddie started his own band in 1947, which accompanied many of the top visiting American artists such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. His list of close friends reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of top French entertainers, particularly Michel Legrand and Charles Aznavour. Gradually Eddie began extending his talents into conducting and record production for several leading singers, and eventually he formed his own record company. He persuaded his post-war friend Quincy Jones (who had studied in Paris) to come back to France and become artistic director of Barclay Records for a while at the end of the 1950s. Thanks to his strong contacts with the American record industry Eddie Barclay built up a leading role in the production and distribution of LP records in France where he became known as the ‘king of microgroove’.

Michel Jean Legrand (born in Paris 24 February 1932) was one of the first Europeans to work with legendary jazz innovators Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Bill Evans. This may help to explain why so much of his work has a jazz ‘edge’, although it is also appealing through being beautifully crafted in purely orchestral terms. Whether he is concentrating as a pianist with orchestral backing, or employing the full forces of a symphony-size orchestra for a film score, he manages to create a unique sound that his admirers applaud. Music critics regard him as one of the most important post-war film music composers in the world. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 10, studying under Nadia Boulanger, whose pupils also included Aaron Copland and Quincy Jones. With his studies behind him, he was chosen by Maurice Chevalier to be Musical Director for his 1954-55 tour of the USA. This opened many doors for young Michel, and ensured that he would not have to worry about finding work for the rest of his life. But his immediate future was back home in France where the 1964 film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg broke new ground with the dialogue being sung. Several songs became international hits, with recordings by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams. Eventually Michel Legrand settled in Los Angeles, where his film career blossomed even more, including the title song for the 1983 James Bond movie Never Say Never Again. Legrand has composed over 200 film and television scores, several musicals, and made well over one hundred albums. He has won three Oscars (out of 13 nominations), five Grammys, and has been nominated for an Emmy. He was 22 when his first album, I Love Paris, became one of the best-selling instrumental albums ever released. Apart from his film work, he has conducted many top orchestras around the world.

Paul Bonneau (1918-1995) seems to get categorised as a French composer of classical music, but his name often crops up in connection with light music. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, where it is noted that he received three important prizes between 1937 and 1945. For much of this time the Second World War was being waged, which could explain why his musical studies seem to have been so extended: in 1939 he became the important-sounding assistant manager of music of the French Army, but one wonders how long this appointment lasted. In 1945 he is listed as bandmaster of the French Republican Guard, but before then he was already conducting light classical music for French radio. His first broadcast was on 27 November 1944, and he went on to conduct 638 programmes over the next 30 years. Paul Bonneau was a prolific composer and arranger. He collaborated on 51 French films and composed serious works such as Ouverture pour un Drame, Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra and Un Français à New York (for orchestra, dedicated to the memory of George Gershwin). He arranged many light symphonic pieces for orchestra and adapted Offenbach for the Paris Folies operetta in 1976, and seems to have been particularly busy as a ballet composer. His name appears as conductor and composer on many recordings for the French subsidiary of London publishers Chappell & Co.

Having covered the French contributors to this collection in some depth, it is hardly necessary to mention most of the other orchestras since they will already be well-known to regular purchasers of Guild Light Music CDs. But an exception has to be made for the conductor of the opening track, which also gives this collection its title. Jos Cleber (also known as Jozef Cleber and Josef van Cleber, born Maastricht, The Netherlands, 1916-1999) was a Dutch composer and conductor who was only fifteen when he started playing the violin in a local orchestra. He also played the piano, saxophone, clarinet and trombone, and developed a great liking for jazz, no doubt influenced by Duke Ellington, whom he greatly admired. During the Second World War he was part of Paul Godwin’s Orchestra in Zurich, and when hostilities ceased he returned to The Netherlands and played trombone in Dolf van der Linden’s Metropole orchestra. For a while he was also a trombonist in the famous Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra. In June 1948 he travelled to Indonesia, triggering an enduring love of the country and its people (in later years he orchestrated their national anthem). He founded the "Cosmopolitan Orchestra" for Radio Batavia, so named because it composed of 40 musicians of many different nationalities. He worked in Dutch radio until 1962, when he left to settle in South Africa.

In making a special mention of the first orchestra, it would seem only right to praise the conductor who provides such a splendid finale to this collection. Erwin Halletz was born in Vienna on 12 July 1923, and he also died there on 27 October 2008. In addition to conducting, he also performed on the saxophone and clarinet. Like many of his peers in European broadcasting stations at that time, he also found himself called upon to conduct for his country’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. In those days it may have been considered an honour, but today …?

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5208

The Lost Transcriptions – Volume 4
David Rose and his Orchestra
1 The Tina Lina (Nicholas Brodszky; Johnny Green, arr. David Rose)
World Program Service 466J c.1951
2 On A Misty Day (David Rose)
World Program Service 800-7811 c.1945
3 A Strip of Sunset (David Rose)
World Program Service 800-6200 c.1945
4 Oh! You Horses (David Rose)
Standard Radio Transcription Services Z 154-3 c.1942
5 Birth Of The Blues (from "George White’s Scandals") (Ray Henderson; Lew Brown; Buddy De Sylva, arr. David Rose)
Standard Radio Transcription Services Z-162-3 c.1942
Mantovani and his Orchestra
6 Brass Hats (Guy Desslyn, real name Frederic Bayco)
Lang-Worth Feature Programs PC 137A 1952
7 Caprice Viennois (Fritz Kreisler)
Lang-Worth Feature Programs PC 122B 1952
8 Cuban Holiday (Donald Phillips)
Lang-Worth Feature Programs PC 124B 1952
9 Danse Drole (Michael Spivakovsky)
Lang-Worth Feature Programs PC 137A 1952
10 Loop-De-Loo (Vic Mizzy)
Lang-Worth Feature Programs PC 124A 1952

…………………..

11 Nocturnal Mood (Emil Cadkin)
CARL CHANDLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA (real name Emil Cadkin)
Standard Z-253-2 1949
12 It Wouldn’t Be Love (Allan Roberts; Buddy Bernier)
HOLLYWOOD SALON ORCHESTRA Conducted by HARRY BLUESTONE
Standard T-240-4 1949
13 The Minute Waltz (Chopin arr. Emil Cadkin)
CARL CHANDLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA (real name Emil Cadkin)
Standard Z-268-6 1949
14 Hindustan (Harold Weeks)
CARMEN DRAGON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Programme Service (Australia) 108 c.1945

……………………

Sidney Torch and his Orchestra
15 Long Ago And Far Away (from "Cover Girl") (Jerome Kern, arr. Sidney Torch)
Lang-Worth PC 86A c.1952
16 On The Trail (from "Grand Canyon Suite") (Ferdé Grofé)
Lang-Worth PC 132A c.1952
17 La Calinda (Frederick Delius)
Lang-Worth PC 134A c.1952
18 Syncopated Clock (Leroy Anderson)
Lang-Worth PC 88A c.1952
Percy Faith and his Orchestra
I Can’t Get Started With You (From "Ziegfeld Follies of 1936")(Vernon Duke;
Ira Gershwin, arr. Percy Faith)
VOA PO 103 1948
20 Oodles Of Noodles (Jimmy Dorsey) Solo Saxophone VINCENT J. ABATO
VOA PO 96 1948
21 The Snow Goose (Percy Faith) Solo Piano STAN FREEMAN
AFRS "Melody Hour" Programme 1946
22 Tears On Satin (Johnny Richards) Solo Harmonica RICHARD HAYMAN
VOA PO 117 1948
23 Two Silhouettes (From the film "Make Mine Music") (Charles Woolcott,
arr. Percy Faith)
AFRS "Melody Hour" Programme 1946
The Irish Washerwoman (Trad. arr. Percy Faith)
VOA PO 105 1948

All titles mono

BOOKLET NOTES

Sound recordings provide a fascinating subject to study for anyone interested in the development of music in recent times. By the beginning of the 20^th century it was possible to enjoy the early acoustic recordings, without continually being aware of the limitations of the system. In the mid-1920s electrical recording proved to be a giant leap forward in terms of reproduction, and subsequent advances in technology have made it possible for listeners to enjoy superb sound whenever and wherever they wish. It is, perhaps, a pity that the small portable devices so common today have actually resulted in a deterioration in sound quality, but it is up to the user to decide what is acceptable.

For many people sound recordings probably just mean commercial recordings, offered for sale by record companies who have strived to anticipate what their potential customers will be willing to buy. The first three quarters of the last century witnessed the growth of major recording organisations around the world, sometimes linked to music publishers and other associated interests. In the early days the creators of the music seemed to have been largely in control; in later years the accountants took over, with the result that true music lovers often felt that their desires meant little to those in charge. Fortunately a number of small independent companies tended to surface as the 20^th century drew to a close, often sustained by the enthusiasm of dedicated collectors anxious to preserve what they regarded as the glory years of recorded music.

Alongside the familiar commercial gramophone records, a large number of recordings were also being made to serve the needs of various sections of the entertainment business. The general public was blissfully unaware of the existence of this vast reservoir of music, although they were frequently exposed to it. Today it is often labelled ‘production music’ or ‘stock music’; in earlier times it was ‘mood’, or ‘background’ music, and it often came from the music publishers themselves who wanted their music to be used in the cinema, radio, television, newsreels, documentaries – in fact anywhere that music could play a useful part. Some larger radio stations also made special programmes to offer to other broadcasters around the world, who maybe couldn’t afford the cost of some of these lavish productions. These were usually referred to as ‘Transcriptions’.

Sadly many of these were not highly regarded at the time. Although standards generally were high, they were frequently unkindly dismissed as ‘passing fancies’ that would serve a useful purpose, and then be forgotten. Often they were supposed to be destroyed after use, but fortunately for us some collectors who could appreciate their musicality decided that such a fate was surely too cruel. (Without wishing to complicate the story too much, it should be mentioned at this point that the Second World War also required a large amount of transcription recordings to entertain troops far away from home, and specialist organisations grew up to supply them).

Today many historic sound recordings are under threat due to copyright regulations which can only be described as deplorable. Unless the original legal owners are willing to fund the necessary work involved, dedicated restorers are hampered by regulations which prohibit them from working to save deteriorating precious recordings that are part of our musical heritage. Reports from concerned sources within the USA suggest that some early sound recordings are ‘locked away’ for up to 177 years. One cannot believe that this was intended by legislators, and it can only be assumed that law makers have been poorly advised by the people who should be ensuring that they make correct and sensible decisions. In Europe the period for ‘locking away’ sound recordings ignored by the copyright holders has been increased from 50 to 70 years, despite every learned study into the question ruling against such a retrograde step. This is all happening when the internet has made it virtually impossible to police all forms of copyright. Every day hundreds of thousands of pieces of music, and literary works, are made available to the world without any thought as to what the creators deserve to receive from the fruits of their labours.

This collection of transcription recordings, which has been produced carefully to observe all applicable copyright laws, is an example of the essential work that should be done all over the world to preserve the music that has played such an important part in the lives of us all.

Four leading Light Orchestras provide the lion’s share of the music in this collection. In each case they have enjoyed international success with their numerous commercial recordings, and it may come as a surprise to some of their admirers to learn that they were actively involved in making transcription recordings. Their contributions to this CD were not issued commercially when originally recorded.

David Rose was born on 15 June 1910 in London, England, and the family moved to the USA when he was just four-years-old. After leaving the Chicago College of Music at the age of 16, he eventually became a pianist/ arranger/ conductor for NBC Radio. He moved to Hollywood, and in 1938 formed his own orchestra for the Mutual Broadcasting System, and featured on the programme "California Melodies". 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 began working in movies in 1941 and is credited with scoring 36 films. After chart success with Calypso Melody in 1957, Rose had a worldwide smash hit in 1962 with another of his own tunes, a humorous and satirical piece called The Stripper. In total he won five Grammy awards and six gold records. Apart from his record, film and television work, Rose was guest conductor with several symphony orchestras. His Concerto For Flute And Orchestra was first played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and later by the Boston Pops. Towards the end of his life his enduring passion was miniature steam trains, which ran on 900 feet of track around his house. Rose died on 23 August 1990, at his home in Burbank, California, aged 80.

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, 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 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. 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. 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. This has ensured his well-deserved place in the history of popular music.

Sidney Torch (1908-1990) was born Sidney Torchinsky, of Ukranian parents at 27 Tottenham Court Road, in London’s West End. For decades he was 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. Prior to the Second World War he was one of Britain’s finest theatre organists. After war service in the Royal Air Force, where he conducted the RAF Concert Orchestra, he made a complete break from playing the organ and concentrated entirely on composing, arranging and conducting light music. Towards the end of his life he was awarded the MBE, but sadly did not seem to enjoy a happy retirement. He had no children, and his wife pre-deceased him. In his will the beneficiary of all his royalties was the Cancer Relief MacMillan Fund. He has left behind a wealth of recordings: some feature him purely as a very accomplished conductor who could handle anything required by broadcasters from the light classics to popular melodies of the day. But his admirers are also grateful for the magnificently crafted light music cameos that continue to delight listeners more than fifty years after he composed them. Alongside this treasure-house of individual works are the many pieces by others that he orchestrated so beautifully. He was truly a very gifted musician, and one hopes that music lovers fifty or one hundred years from now will still have the opportunity to explore his legacy.

Percy Faith was born in Toronto, Canada, on 7 April 1908, 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. Initially Faith concentrated on broadcasting, and his occasional recording sessions during the 1940s were for several different companies. Things were to change when he signed a Columbia (CBS) contract in 1950, and he soon discovered that his singles sold well and the new long playing records needed the kind of popular instrumental sounds that had formed the basis of his broadcasts for so many years. 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. He accompanied many of Columbia’s contract singers, and even contributed the odd popular song, such as My Heart Cries For You for Guy Mitchell. But today it is his numerous albums that have created a resurgence of interest in his work, thanks to their reissue on CD. Faith was always busy, whether working in the recording studios, radio, television or films. He died at Encino, California, on 9 February 1976, aged 67.

The three remaining conductors were also very active in the specialised area of the music business involved in the making of transcription recordings.

Emil M. Cadkin, who used the pseudonym ‘Carl Chandler’, is an American composer and conductor of Russian descent, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1920. At the end of the 1930s he was in Los Angeles writing and teaching music, and he enlisted in the USAF in 1942. Back in civilian life he seems to have spent many years providing ‘stock’ or ‘production’ music for various third rate film studios, but eventually he gained a position as musical director and arranger for Columbia Pictures and Screen Gems. He was certainly prolific: his name crops up in many films, television shows and as a composer of stock music, sometimes in collaboration with others such as Harry Bluestone (see below) and William Loose (1910-1991).

Harry Bluestone (1907-1992) was born in England, but he made his successful career in the USA where he composed and conducted music for films and television, often alongside some of the busiest ‘backroom boys’ in the business.

Carmen Dragon (1914-1984) was born in Antioch, California. His first success in Hollywood was collaborating with Morris Stoloff (1898-1980) arranging Jerome Kern’s score for the 1944 Rita Hayworth/Gene Kelly film "Cover Girl" which secured him an Oscar. He worked extensively in radio and television, and was a frequent visitor to recording studios conducting the Hollywood Bowl and Capitol Symphony Orchestras. He also arranged and conducted for the Standard School Broadcast Transcription Service, and his version of San Francisco (which cleverly includes brief snatches related to the Californian city’s cosmopolitan population) was included on GLCD5180.

David Ades

THE FINEST COLLECTION EVER OF DEFINITIVE ERIC COATES RECORDINGS

A new box set from Nimbus promises to be the outstanding Light Music release of 2013 – if not the decade. Every commercial recording of Eric Coates conducting his own compositions has been collected together on 7 CDs, from his earliest acoustics in 1923 to his final sessions in 1957.

This is the brainchild of Alan Bunting, who has been working on this ‘labour of love’ for the best part of the last year. The sound restorations are all outstanding, which is hardly surprising when you consider that Alan is widely recognised as one of the finest digital ‘wizards’ in the world. He has gone to great lengths to obtain the very best copies available of the original discs, calling upon the willing participation of his many contacts in the record collecting fraternity. Sometimes he has had to reject some old 78s, and redouble his efforts to find better copies. The result is that the work of Eric Coates has now been preserved in amazing quality that would not have been possible only a few years ago. There are instances of Coates revisiting some of his earlier works to record them again when better technology became available, following the advent of electrical sound recording. And for the sake of completion a few tracks feature other orchestras playing Coates’ works, where he did not conduct them himself.

Originally Alan worked on this project without knowing for sure if it would ever be offered to record buyers by a commercial company. He simply felt that it was something that ought to be done, in recognition of Eric Coates’ magnificent contribution to the Light Music repertoire of the 20^th Century. But always at the back of his mind Alan hoped that, one day, he might be able to convince a record company to release his restorations. At one time there was a vague possibility that the 7 discs might be issued singly over a period of several months, but this would have been considered only as a last resort.

Happily the English company Nimbus enthusiastically embraced the project, and the results have exceeded Alan’s wildest expectations. They have they produced a top quality product in all respects at a very reasonable price (internet retailers are offering the 7 CDs for little more than £20). The accompanying booklet features an extended essay by Michael Payne, the author of the recent published book ‘The Life And Music Of Eric Coates’ (Ashgate Publishing Ltd.).

The Definitive Eric Coates" Nimbus NI 6131

This appeared in the August 2013 issue of ‘Journal Into Melody’

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5201

Fiddles And Bows

1 Fiddles And Bows (Emile Deltour)
ROGER ROGER Conducting THE MODE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Vogue Mode MDINT 9080 1962
2 Close As Pages In A Book (Sigmund Romberg; Dorothy Fields, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA (LP label credits ‘Jack Saunders Orchestra’)
Everest SDBR 1011 1958
3 Blow Gabriel Blow (Cole Porter)
FREDERICK FENNELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury PPS 2024 1962
4 Nicola (Steve Race)
STEVE RACE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R 4894 1962
5 Always On My Mind (Philip Green)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 45-DB 4851 1962
6 Scenic Railway (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Pacific STO-E 17002 1962
7 Chaconne (Edmund Kötscher)
HANS GEORG ARLT AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Qualiton PSP 7109 1959
8 Poppycock (Cyril Watters)
WESTWAY STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 561 1962
9 The Lonely Dancer (Eric Parkin, arr. Robert Farnon)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 735 1962
10 The End Of A Love Affair (Edward C. Redding)
CYRIL STAPLETON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LK 4145 1956
11 The Bottle Theme (Robert Roger Maurice Chauvigny)
ROBERT CHAUVIGNY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Top Rank 45-JAR 142 1959
12 American Hoe-Down (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM C 788 1959
13 Ole Guapa (Ari Malando)
WERNER MULLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Ricardo Santos’)
Polydor LPHM 46012 1957
14 Right As The Rain (Harold Arlen, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8360 1960
15 Bubble Car (Felton Rapley)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 739 1962
16 Chablis (Franck Pourcel)
FRANCK POURCEL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol T 10229 1960
17 The Strong And The Tender – Concerto (Bernie Wayne, real name Bernard Weitzner)
BERNIE WAYNE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
ABC Paramount ABC 182 1957
18 Out And About (King Palmer)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Paxton PR 614 1954
19 Romantic Rhapsody (Felton Rapley)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON (as ‘David King’ on disc label)
Chappell C 401 1950
20 Joyeux Réveil (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER Conducting THE MODE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Vogue Mode MDINT 9080 1962
21 Anglesey (from ‘British Scenes’) (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by DOLF VAN DER LINDEN (as ‘Nat Nyll’ on disc label)
Boosey & Hawkes OT2341 1959
22 Shopping Tour (Bruce Campbell)
LANSDOWNE LIGHT ORCHESTRA (probably STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD)
Impress IA 124-B 1956
23 Some Of These Days (Shelton Brooks)
WERNER MULLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Ricardo Santos’)
Polydor LPHM 46091 1958
24 A Man With A Dream (from the musical "Seventh Heaven") (Victor Young; Stella Unger, arr. Jimmy Mundy)
THE NEW YORK ‘POPS’ SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by TONY ACQUAVIVA
MGM SE 3226 1961

Stereo: tracks 2, 3, 6, 14, 16, 24 ; rest in mono.

Guild Music begins its second Century of Light Music recordings with the tried and tested formula of old friends, plus some new names making their first appearance in "The Golden Age of Light Music" series. Roger Roger (1911-1995) sets the ball rolling with three attractive works, which will appeal to the many admirers of this French musician. The opening track, which gives the title to this collection, was composed by Belgian violinist Emile Deltour (1899-1956). The other two under the baton of Monsieur Roger are his own compositions: Scenic Railway paying tribute to a once popular attraction at many fairgrounds; and Joyeux Réveil, although one wonders if this ‘joyful awakening’ is an accurate portrayal of the emotions of those in the armed forces who have traditionally been awakened from their slumbers by a trumpet call.

Roger Roger was a leading figure on the French music scene for many years, and his fine compositions and arrangements also won him many admirers internationally. He started writing for French films towards the end of the 1930s (firstly documentaries, then feature films), and was responsible for the famous pantomime sequences in Marcel Carné’s "Les Enfants du Paradis"(1944). After the Second World War Roger played piano and conducted a 35-piece orchestra for a major French weekly radio series "Paris Star Time" (Paris a l’heure des Etoiles), which was sent all over the world and even broadcast in the USA. His own instrumental cameos that were featured in the show brought him to the attention of the London publishers Chappell & Co, who were rapidly expanding their Recorded Music Library of background music at that time. Roger’s quirky compositions soon became available to radio, television and film companies around the world, and seventeen have already appeared in this series of Guild Light Music CDs.

The Canadian composer/conductor Robert Farnon (1917-2005) also makes three conducting appearances this time. His talents as a top arranger are employed in Close As Pages In A Book which Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951) wrote in 1944 for the Broadway show "Up In Central Park". It was to be his last staged work produced during his lifetime. The pianist Eric Parkin (b. 1924) must have been delighted when Farnon was commissioned by Chappell & Co to arrange his charming The Lonely Dancer for their Recorded Music Library. In 1997 Parkin repaid the compliment by recording a CD of his own piano transcriptions of Farnon’s most popular compositions.

The third composer whose work is conducted by Robert Farnon is Edmund Felton Rapley (1907-1976) who graduated from being a church organist in Gosport, to a familiar name on the BBC especially during the 1940s and 1950s. He studied at Winchester Cathedral School, and was a regular organist for the Gaumont British Picture Corporation – sometimes being invited to perform the opening concert on newly installed organs such as the Wurlitzer in Hanley on 11 February 1929. He was a prolific composer and arranger, seemingly at home in varied styles although many of his arrangements were hymns and religious works. His own pieces included the Overture Down The Solent (on Guild GLCD5140), Southern Holiday (GLCD5157), the catchy Peacock Patrol (GLCD5143) and Young Man’s Fancy (GLCD5182) - the last two both written under the pseudonym ‘Peter Barrington’. Among other notable compositions of light music were Portrait of Claire (on GLCD5172 - based on Schumann’s song Devotion), Ecstasy, Evening in Capri and Romantic Rhapsody which appears on this CD. Into the 1960s he remained a celebrity, often being billed as "the famous BBC Organist" when appearing in concerts. Charles Williams (1893-1978) conducts Rapley’s other contribution, dedicated to that 1950s and 60s nightmare on the road - the Bubble Car.

The American musician Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) gained an international reputation as a conductor. He tended to specialise in wind bands, notably the Eastman Rochester Wind Ensemble, which he was reputed to have devised in 1952 when recovering from hepatitis. But his wide experience during his long life (he died aged 90) allowed him to participate successfully in many areas of the music scene.

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. His charming composition Nicola was dedicated to his daughter.

Philip Green (1911-1982) 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 was launched 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.

Hans Georg Arlt (1927-2011) started learning the violin at the age of six, and later studied under Professor Max Strub in Berlin. In 1946 he began his distinguished radio career, and when the RIAS Dance Orchestra was formed in 1948 he led the string section for a while. In the following years he became a familiar name on German radio and television with his String Orchestra, and was the Concert Master of choice for many leading German conductors, such as Werner Müller, Werner Eisbrenner, Heinz Kiessling and Hans Carste. In addition he recorded a vast amount of music for German radio stations with his own large string orchestra, employing the finest arrangers including Willy Hoffmann, Paul Kuhn, Jerry van Rooyen, Gustav Trost, Arno Flor, Günther Gürsch and Helmut Gardens.

Although not as well-known as most of the other composers on this CD, Henry Cyril Watters (1907-1984) was highly respected by music publishers, with his works such as Poppycock readily accepted for their unfailing high standards. At times he was employed as a staff arranger by Boosey & Hawkes and Chappell, but his prolific output was also accepted by several London publishers. For some years he generously devoted some of his energies in running the Light Music Society for the benefit of his fellow musicians.

During the 1950s and 1960s the English violinist and conductor Cyril Stapleton (1914-1974) was well-known in Britain, thanks to his many radio broadcasts and recordings. Before the second world war he gained much experience in the bands of Jack Payne and Jack Hylton. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force, and towards the end of the war was a member of the RAF Symphony Orchestra. This rekindled an earlier interest in symphonic music, and back in civilian life he decided to concentrate on this area of the music scene. At one particular time he was a member of three orchestras: the London Symphony, the National Symphony and the Philharmonia Orchestra. But he gradually drifted back into working with popular singers such as Dick James, who later achieved fame and fortune as publisher for The Beatles. In 1952 Cyril became conductor of the BBC Show Band, at the time the BBC’s most prestigious outfit in light entertainment.

The composer, arranger and conductor Robert Chauvigny was a well-known figure in post-war French popular music circles, working with the likes of Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf. His own composition The Bottle Theme is also known by the intriguing alternative title The Bottle Hymn.

David Rose (1910-1990) was one of the biggest names in American light music circles during the middle years of the 20^th century. Born in London, England ‘lost’ him when the family moved to the USA when he was aged just four, but he retained a love for his birthplace and in his later life his fascination with steam railways often brought him back across the Atlantic. A prolific composer and arranger, he is an established Guild favourite, and American Square Dance,one of his own brilliant creations, reveals the lush string sound of his magnificent orchestra at its very best.

Werner Müller (1920-1998) was a bassoonist who became the first conductor of the RIAS (Radio In American Sector) Dance Band based in Berlin. It was not long before Müller began to realise that the public’s love affair with the swing era was gradually starting to wane, and sixteen strings were added to the line-up. The band had built up a strong following through its Polydor recordings, and by the mid-1950s the labels dropped the ‘RIAS’ tag and simply credited ‘Werner Müller and his Orchestra’. He also recorded under the pseudonym ‘Ricardo Santos’ when playing Latin American music, such as Ole Guapa. A good example of the way in which strings became an integral part of the dance band can be heard in the number made famous by Sophie Tucker Some Of These Days. It is likely that the solo violinist is the afore-mentioned Hans Georg Arlt.ans Geoth

Percy Faith (1908-1976) hardly needs any introduction to Guild ‘regulars’. Born in Toronto, Canada, in 1940 he moved permanently to the USA where he quickly established himself through radio and recordings. From the 1950s onwards his fame spread internationally, due to the great success of his numerous long playing albums. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Faith arranged all his own material.

Franck Pourcel (1913-2000) is recognised as one of the big names in French popular music. During his long career he recorded over 2,000 songs, and achieved world-wide success with I Will Follow Him which he co-composed with Paul Mauriat. Chablis comes from an album devoted to French wines he recorded for the American market.

The 1950s seems to have been a very busy period for the American Bernie Wayne (born Bernard Weitzner 1919-1993), composer of The Strong And The Tender. 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 (GLCD5189), Port-au-Prince (GLCD5130) and Veradero (GLCD5111).

The Dutch maestro Dolf van der Linden (real name David Gysbert van der Linden, 1915-1999) conducts two tracks in this collection, by two distinguished British composers who contributed a vast amount of music to various recorded music libraries. Cedric King Palmer (1913-1999) was able to adapt his writing to many different styles, and Out And About finds him in a decidedly busy mood. To survive in the music business meant accepting many varied commissions, and King Palmer could turn his hand to making popular arrangements of the classics which he often conducted with his own orchestra on the BBC Light programme in the 1940s and 1950s. His many bright and tuneful pieces disguised the fact that he possessed a serious knowledge of music: at the age of 26 he completed a study of the work of Granville Bantock (1868-1946), and in 1944 Palmer wrote ‘Teach Yourself Music’ for the Hodder and Stoughton Home University Series which ran to several editions. He ceased composing mood music in the 1970s, and towards the end of his life he became a patient and popular piano teacher, with sometimes over 60 pupils on his books. Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard CharlesTrebilco, 1924-2005) was working as a BBC sound engineer when one of his first compositions, High Heels (on Guild GLCD 5124) 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.

Bruce Campbell was one of several writers 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. Shopping Tour was written for the Inter-Art (Impress) Mood Music Library, and it joins nine of his own works already on Guild.

The American composer and conductor Tony (Anthony) Acquaviva (his name is also given in reference works as Nicholas Paul Acquaviva - 1925-1998) - although not a frequent visitor to the recording studios, gained recognition in the USA through his involvement with the Symphony of the Air orchestra and as conductor of the 135-strong New York ‘Pops’ Symphony Orchestra which promoted new works by young composers. A Man With A Dream comes from the 1955 Broadway revue "Seventh Heaven" composed by Victor Young (1900-1956). He already had a glittering reputation for his many fine songs, and his Oscar-winning score for the film "Around The World In Eighty Days" was only a year away. Sadly the show (based on a classic silent film from the 1920s) closed after only 44 performances, and its failure was reported to have broken Victor Young’s heart.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5202

Cinema Classics : Songs and Themes from the Silver Screen

1 Tara’s Theme (from the film "Gone With The Wind") (Max Steiner)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3954 1961
2 "The Magnificent Seven" – Theme from the film (Elmer Bernstein)
AL CAIOLA AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV/United Artists 45-POP 889 1961
3 "Ben-Hur" – Prelude (Miklos Rozsa)
THE CINEMA SOUND STAGE ORCHESTRA
Stereo Fidelity SF 16400 1962
4 "The Waltz Of The Toreadors" – Theme from the film (Richard Addinsell)
PINEWOOD STUDIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KEN JONES
Parlophone 45-R 4906 1962
5 "Exodus" – Main Title from the Film (Ernest Gold)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Dot DLP 25424 1962
6 "Friendly Persuasion" (Thee I Love) (theme from the film) (Dimitri Tiomkin)
RONNIE ALDRICH, Piano and THE DREAMERS
Decca 45-F 11283 1960
7 Look For A Star (from the film "Circus Of Horrors") (Mark Anthony, real name Tony Hatch)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Dot DLP 25322 1960
8 On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe (from the film "The Harvey Girls") (Harry Warren; Johnny Mercer, arr. Roland Shaw)
FRANK CHACKSFIELD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4048 1959
9 The Café Royal Waltz (from the film "The Trials Of Oscar Wilde") (Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R 4892 1962
10 Moon River (from the film "Breakfast at Tiffanys") (Henry Mancini)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SML 60688 1962
11 "Picnic" – theme from the film (George W. Dunning)
RUSS CONWAY, piano, with TONY OSBORNE AND HIS ORCHESTRA and THE RITA WILLIAMS SINGERS
Columbia SCX 3388 1961
12 "Three Coins In The Fountain" – Title music (Jule Styne; Sammy Cahn, arr. Roland Shaw)
FRANK CHACKSFIELD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4048 1959
13 "Mon Oncle" – Themes from the film (Franck Barcellini)
Film soundtrack : orchestra unidentified
Fontana TFE 17175 1958
14 Johnny’s Tune (from the film "Some People") (Ron Grainer)
GORDON FRANKS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R4929 1962
15 "It’s Great To Be Young" –Title music (Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA with THE CORONETS
Columbia SEG 7639 1956
16 "The Dam Busters" – March (Theme from the film) (Eric Coates)
ERIC COATES AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Pye Nixa N 15003 1955
17 Lady Barbara (from the film "Captain Horatio Hornblower, R.N.") (Robert Farnon)
THE LONDON FESTIVAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Delyse DS 6057 1960
18 "The Brothers Karamazov" – Love Theme (Bronislau Kaper)
HELMUT ZACHARIAS AND HIS MAGIC VIOLINS
Polydor LPHM 46091 1958
19 "The Razor’s Edge" Film Music (Alfred Newman)
ALFRED NEWMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury MPL 6500 1956
20 "Invitation" - Theme from the film (Bronislau Kaper, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CL 577 1954
21 "The Robe" – Love theme from the film (Alfred Newman)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 4033 1962
22 "Light In The Piazza" – Main Theme from the film (Mario Nascimbene, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8583 1962
23 "King Of Kings" – Miracles of Christ (Miklos Rozsa)
THE CINEMA SOUND STAGE ORCHESTRA
Stereo Fidelity SF 16400 1962
24 "The Big Country" – Title music (Jerome Moross)
JEROME MOROSS Conducting Studio Orchestra

London / United Artists HA-T 2142 1958
Stereo: tracks 1, 3, 5, 7-12, 17, 21-23 ; rest in mono.

The title of this collection may raise a few eyebrows when the tracklisting is perused. Film buffs each have their own particular favourites when it comes to ‘classic’ movies, and the lists that regularly appear of ‘the very best films of all time’ often make one wonder whose opinions have been sought! Undoubtedly some of the films represented in this CD were outstanding, and have stood the test of time. Some others were very popular in their day, but for various reasons they have slipped from the conscious memory of many of us. Should this banish their music to perpetual oblivion? The listener will have to decide, when hearing some of the titles that are probably forgotten.

There is certainly nothing ‘forgotten’ about the first piece of music. From the 1930s onwards Hollywood film producers were blessed with a small group of very talented composers who were skilled at this new art form, and one of the finest was Viennese-born Max Steiner (full name Maximillian Raoul Walter Steiner, 1888-1971). Although his score for "Gone With The Wind" (1939) was nominated for an Oscar, it was the film itself that received the ultimate accolade. In all Steiner had 20 nominations, gaining the Oscar for three films: "The Informer" (1935), "Now Voyager" (1942) and "Since You Went Away" (1944) – a suite from this last film conducted by Steiner is on Guild GLCD5158. The version of Tara’s Theme conducted by Cyril Ornadel (1924-2011) benefits from a great arrangement by the English arranger and conductor, Brian Fahey (1919-2007), who provided many of the orchestrations for the Starlight Symphony recordings of the 1950s and 1960s.

New Yorker Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) was also nominated for an Oscar (but didn’t win) for his score for "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). Nevertheless it was one of his most popular works, perhaps only eclipsed by his music for "The Great Escape" (1963). His career spanned fifty years, during which he composed music for hundreds of television and film productions. The version of the theme tune played by the guitarist, arranger and composer Al Caiola (Alexander Emil Caiola, born Jersey City 1920) was a hit in 1961. He has regularly played the guitar on many recording sessions by the top popular orchestras and singers.

Miklos Rozsa (1907-1995) is represented in this collection with his work for two prestigious films, "Ben-Hur" (1959) and "King Of Kings" (1961). He was born in Budapest and studied music in Germany, before moving to France in 1931. In 1935 he relocated to England, where he worked on several films for Alexander Korda’s London Films. His last project was "The Thief Of Baghdad" in 1940, and production was transferred to America from wartime Britain. Rozsa remained in the USA, and became an American citizen in 1946. This was a year after his great success with the film "Spellbound" (the theme is on Guild GLCD5135). His music on this CD is performed by The Cinema Sound Stage Orchestra, a name 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.

From big budget American movies, the spotlight now shifts to a modest British production "The Waltz Of The Toreadors" (1962) which starred Peter Sellers. Muir Mathieson (1911-1975) conducted the score for the film soundtrack, but the English conductor Ken (Kenneth Victor) Jones (b. 1924) is in charge of the Pinewood Studio Orchestra on our recording. The music was in the safe hands of Richard Addinsell (1904-1977), one of the most famous British film composers of the last century, whose Warsaw Concerto from the film "Dangerous Moonlight" (1942) was the theme which spawned countless similar works in the ensuing years.

The film "Exodus" (1960) was criticised for being too long, but its composer was rewarded with an Oscar. Ernest Gold (Ernst Sigmund Goldner, 1921-1999) was born in Vienna, like Max Steiner, and he moved to the USA in 1938 to escape the Nazis. During a long and successful career, which stretched from 1945 to 1992, he wrote almost 100 film and television scores, and also composed classical works including a piano concerto, string quartet and a piano sonata. The main theme is played by the Billy Vaughn (1919-1991) Orchestra which was usually known for more pop-oriented arrangements. Vaughn 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.

Two tracks later Vaughn conducts a piece by the English composer Tony (Anthony Peter) Hatch (b. 1939), who enjoyed his first taste of success with Look For A Star which came from the British film "Circus of Horrors" (1960), although the main score was composed by Franz Reizenstein. By then film producers were asking for a pop song during the closing credits, and Hatch’s opus reached the charts in both Britain and America. Later he would achieve considerable fame with songs for Petula Clark, and with his second wife Jackie Trent he wrote the famous theme for the Australian TV soap "Neighbours".

Dimitri (Zinovievich) Tiomkin (born in the Ukraine, 1894-1979) received his musical training in Russia, then moved to Berlin following the Revolution to continue his studies. A spell in Paris working as part of a piano duo brought an offer of work from the USA in 1925, where he settled for a while in New York. His wife found work in Hollywood supervising dance numbers for MGM, and he soon discovered his niche writing for films. Dimitri’s aspirations to be a top concert pianist were suddenly terminated by a broken arm in 1937, but by then his future career was secure. He became recognised as one of the top film composers, noted for his expansive style which gained him 22 Academy Award nominations resulting in four Oscars. The song from "Friendly Persuasion" (1956) was a big hit for Pat Boone, and our version features an early recording by the British pianist Ronnie Aldrich (1916-1993) under his own name.

On The Atcheson, Topeka And The Santa Fe from the 1946 MGM musical "The Harvey Girls" (1946) deservedly won an Oscar, thanks to a polished performance by Judy Garland (1922-1969). The same description applies to the superb arrangement by Roland Shaw (1920-2012) for our version conducted by Frank Chacksfield (1914-1995), who fronted a top English orchestra that had the distinction of reaching the top of the US charts with his Decca 78 of Ebb Tide. The same team returns later with the title theme from "Three Coins In The Fountain" (1954) – another Oscar winner.

Ron (Ronald Alfred) Goodwin(1925-2003) was a brilliant British composer, arranger and conductor, whose tuneful music reached the furthest corners of the world. As he gained recognition for his original compositions he became in demand for film scores, and the success of "The Trials Of Oscar Wilde" (1960) undoubtedly enhanced Goodwin’s reputation. This led to major commissions in the following years, like "633 Squadron" (1964), "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" (1965) and Alfred Hitchcock’s "Frenzy" (1972).

If you were forced to list the finest film songs of the 1960s, Moon River would surely feature among them. But it was only one of a string of hits by Henry Mancini (born Enrico Nicola Mancini, 1924-1994), who had a knack of composing flowing, and sometimes quirky, melodies that became immensely popular. Our version by David Carroll (born Rodell Walter ‘Nook’ Schreier, 1913-2008) fully respects the appeal of this delightful piece.

Russ Conway (Bristol-born Trevor Herbert Stanford, 1925-2000) was a largely self-taught British pianist who recorded a string of hit records for EMI’s Columbia label in the 1950s. His ‘reward’ was a number of prestigious albums featuring full orchestras, resulting in accomplished performances such as the theme from the 1955 film "Picnic", in which he is accompanied by the Tony Osborne (1922-2009) Orchestra.

"Mon Oncle" (1958) featured the French actor Jacques Tati reprising his popular character Monsieur Hulot in a film originally denounced by some critics, but which eventually proved a big success. The soundtrack music by Franck Barcellini features the title theme and another variation called Adieu Mario. An English language version of the film, released as "My Uncle", was nine minutes shorter, and slightly different from the original French release, with French signs replaced in English – no doubt for the benefit of American audiences.

Gordon Franks was a conductor who became well-known in Britain thanks to his regular broadcasts on the radio: he also made a number of records including several LPs of popular instrumental themes. His version of Johnny’sTune from the small-budget British film "Some People" (1962) compares favourably with the recording for wind ensemble by the tune’s composer, Australian-born Ron Erle Grainer (1922-1981) who spent most of his professional career in England. Although prolific in films and television, his most enduring music is the theme for the BBC TV series "Doctor Who", first screened in 1963.

Ray (Raymond Stuart) Martin (born Raymond Wolfgang Kohn in Vienna, 1918-1988) fled from the Nazis and settled in England before the outbreak of World War 2 where he became known as ‘Ray Martin’. He was one of the biggest names in British popular music during the 1950s, due to his work on radio, television, films and especially the recording studios. The film "It’s Great To Be Young" (1956) was a big hit at the time, which brilliantly captured the atmosphere of mid-1950s Britain in the pre-Beatles era. With top stars (John Mills, Cecil Parker) and a fine supporting cast it is not surprising that it has stood the test of time. Ray Martin provided the music, which was carefully used at intervals throughout the film. The opening sequence featured Ruby Murray singing You Are My First Love, which then dissolved into the rousing Ray Martin title music, heard in this collection.

Eric Coates (1886-1957) is widely regarded as the foremost English composer of light music during the first half of the 20^th century. Towards the end of his life he wrote one of his most enduring works, the march from the film "The Dam Busters" (1954). In actual fact the producers approached his publishers for a march to use as the title music in the film (the main score was the work of Leighton Lucas), and it so happened that Coates’ famous march was already written, and waiting to be performed.

Like Coates, another major influence on the popular music scene was Canadian-born Robert Joseph Farnon (1917-2005) – acknowledged by many as one of the greatest light music composers and arrangers of his generation. His melodies such as Portrait Of A Flirt (on Guild GLCD5120) and Jumping Bean (GLCD5162) are familiar to millions around the world. His first important film assignment was for "Spring In Park Lane" (1948), and it was hardly surprising when Warner Bros commissioned him to write the score for their prestigious maritime saga "Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N." (1951). The stars were Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo, and Farnon’s music reflected the attraction they both felt for each other, as well as the many dramatic swashbuckling scenes throughout the film. The Lady Barbara theme became a charming work divorced from the film, although our version comes from a concert suite that the composer later based on his score. Towards the end of his life Gregory Peck stated that this was one of his favourite films, and it still regularly appears on television.

The Polish-born composer Bronislau Kaper (1902-1983) worked in the musical theatre in Germany and France before settling in the USA where he tended to concentrate on films and television. In this collection he is represented with two film themes: "The Brothers Karamazov" (1954) and "Invitation" (1952). The theme from the former receives a suitably romantic tour-de-force from Helmut Zacharias (1920-2002), while Percy Faith (1908-1976) performs the theme from "Invitation" with the sophistication we have come to expect from this master of light orchestral music. Faith returns with the theme from "The Light In The Piazza" (1962) by Italy’s foremost film composer (possibly after Nino Rota) Mario Nascimbene (1913-2002).

Alfred Newman (1901-1970) also features in two film scores: "The Razor’s Edge" (1946) and "The Robe" (1953) which was the first film to be screened in CinemaScope, and for which Newman made an extended version of his famous Twentieth Century Fox fanfare. The composer conducts the former, while Cyril Ornadel returns for the Love Theme from "The Robe".

This collection of film music concludes with the memorable theme from "The Big Country" (1958). It was composed by Jerome Moross (1913-1983) and won him an Academy Award nomination. Born in New York, Moross initially concentrated on classical music, including a symphony which was premiered under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham in 1943. Later he worked in films and television, and was highly regarded within the profession. For this collection the original 1958 mono recording has been used, rather than the later "rechanneled stereo" version, which has a noticeably inferior sound balance.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5203

Great British Composers – Volume 2

1 Commonwealth March (Walter Stott)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C628 1959
2 London Fair (Charles Williams)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON (‘Melodi Light Orchestra conducted by Ole Jensen’ on disc label)
Chappell C 488 1954
"Harvest Time Suite" (Haydn Wood)
3 Harvesters’ Dance
4 Interlude
5 Harvest Home
REGENT CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILLIAM
HODGSON
Boosey & Hawkes BH 1931 1939
6 Muse In Mayfair (Vivian Ellis, arr. Sidney Torch)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C 346 1948
7 Nocturne (Stanford Robinson)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by STANFORD ROBINSON
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2129 1948
8 First Waltz (Reginald King)
WEST END CELEBRITY ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1187 1944
9 Windjammer Overture (John Ansell)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by JAY WILBUR
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2077 1946
10 Accent On Waltz (Sidney Torch)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C 333 1947
"London Again Suite" (Eric Coates)
11 Oxford Street (March)
12 Langham Place (Elegy)
13 Mayfair (Valse)
PHILHARMONIC PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COATES
Parlophone PMD 1004 1953
14 A Young Man’s Fancy (Ernest Tomlinson)
BOSWORTH ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BCV 1372 1962
15 Punchinello (Frederic Curzon)
ROYAL AIR FORCE CENTRAL BAND Conducted by Squadron Leader A.E. SIMS
Boosey & Hawkes O 2137 1948
16 Dance Of The Snowflakes (Ronald Binge)
LANSDOWNE LIGHT ORCHESTRA (probably the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra)
Impress IA 206 1959
"In A Fairy Realm Suite" (Albert William Ketèlbey)
17 Moonlit Glade
18 Queen Fairy Dances
19 Gnomes’ March
THE LOUIS VOSS GRAND ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1130, 1131 1940
20 Persian Dance (Sir Granville Bantock)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 573 1952
21 Chanson de Matin (Sir Edward Elgar)
THE MELACHRINO STRINGS Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV B 10404 1953
22 With Noble Purpose – Grand March (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN (probably the Danish State Radio Orchestra)
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 424 1958

The warm reception given to Guild’s first collection focussing on notable British Light Music composers (GLCD5195) has prompted this further selection. Most of the names will be familiar to those whose interests embrace this area of the music scene, although it is hoped that there may be pleasant surprises in between some of the more familiar works.

The honour of providing the opening piece of music goes to Walter ‘Wally’ Stott (1924-2009) with Commonwealth March, one of many works he contributed to the Chappell Recorded Music Library. During his early career he played alto sax with bands such as Geraldo, for whom he also did many arrangements. The positive reaction from fellow musicians, such as Robert Farnon (1917-2005), encouraged Wally to start composing and this dictated the direction in which his future career would develop. In 1972 he became Angela Morley, and was soon recognised internationally as one of Britain’s 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. Eighteen of her compositions have previously been included in this series of Guild CDs.

London Fair is a typical piece by another composer and conductor who played a leading role in London’s production music libraries. Charles Williams (born Isaac Cozerbreit, 1893-1978) was involved from the start of the ‘talkies’, and he provided scores for numerous British films. His Dream Of Olwen (on GLCD5192)is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared – "While I Live".

Haydn Wood (1882-1959) was a contemporary of Eric Coates, and their respective careers followed similar paths, beginning with ballads (Haydn Wood’s big success was with Roses of Picardy) leading to their acceptance as leading composers of light music. Coates was particularly successful in writing popular signature tunes, thus bringing him more to the attention of the public at large. But Haydn Wood fully deserves to be recognised as a composer of true worth, with many of his suites containing real substance. No less than 28 of his works have already appeared on Guild CDs ("Joyousness" – GLCD5121 – was entirely devoted to his music), and it is believed that his "Harvest Time Suite" is now receiving its first commercial release on this CD.

Vivian Ellis (1903-1996) was only 24 when he had his first big success in London’s West End with his show ‘Mr. Cinders’, and he devoted the major part of his illustrious career to the musical stage. However he also wrote several pieces of light music which have become ‘classics’ in their own right, the most famous being Coronation Scot (on GLCD5120, and in a Ronald Binge arrangement for Mantovani on GLCD5181) which was initially well-known in Britain through its use as one of the signature tunes for BBC Radio’s "Paul Temple" series in the 1940s. Another familiar piece was Alpine Pastures (GLCD5169) used by the BBC to introduce "My Word". Like some of his contemporaries, Vivian Ellis possessed the precious skill of being able to conjure up a strong melody, although he preferred to leave it to others to orchestrate his creations. It is known that Cecil Milner (1905-1989) was responsible for the famous train sounds in the original version of Coronation Scot, but the Ellis melody in this collection, Muse In Mayfair, had the benefit of a superb orchestration by that master of Light Music, Sidney Torch (1908-1990) who also conducts the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra.

Torch is also featured again in this collection with his own composition Accent On Waltz. He was born Sidney Torchinsky, of Ukranian parents, at 27 Tottenham Court Road, in London’s West End. He was 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. Prior to the Second World War he was one of Britain’s finest theatre organists. After war service in the Royal Air Force, where he conducted the RAF Concert Orchestra, he made a complete break from playing the organ and concentrated entirely on composing, arranging and conducting light music. Towards the end of his life he was awarded the MBE, but sadly did not seem to enjoy a happy retirement. He had no children, and his wife pre-deceased him. In his will the beneficiary of all his royalties was the MacMillan Cancer Relief Fund.

Stanford Robinson (1904-1984) was born in Leeds and during his early musical career he played the piano in hotel orchestras, until attending the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied conducting under Sir Adrian Boult. From 1924 to 1966 he was on the staff of the BBC: he conducted the BBC Theatre Orchestra from 1932 to 1946 (making some commercial recordings for Decca, two of which are on GLCD5118 and 5134), and was also director of music productions (including opera and operetta) from 1936 to 1946. From 1946 to 1949 he was opera director and associate conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (during this period he conducted his own composition Nocturne for the Boosey & Hawkes Recorded Music Library), and he served as conductor of the BBC Opera Orchestra as an opera organiser from 1949 until 1952. He undertook various appointments (including numerous broadcasts) in his later BBC career, until his official retirement in 1966, when he went to the southern hemisphere. He continued to conduct various orchestras in Australia and New Zealand during the remainder of 1966 and 1967. In 1968 he was appointed chief conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded the OBE, and eventually returned to England, and died in Brighton.

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 (his number of broadcasts exceeded 1,400), and he made numerous recordings, often featuring his own attractive compositions. Some of his works (including First Waltz on this CD) appeared in the Bosworth Mood Music Library. 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.

John Ansell (1874-1948) was at one time assistant conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and he was also frequently employed in London theatres. As a composer he may be familiar to music lovers for his overture Plymouth Hoe (which he conducts on Guild GLCD5106) and Windjammer Overture (an edited version is on GLCD5163). But sadly a lot of his quite considerable catalogue of music is now neglected, including several suites – once so popular among concertgoers. One of these was "The Shoe", from which three of the five movements were featured on GLCD5195. In response to a number of requests the full version of his Windjammer Overture is now included in this collection.

The English composer Eric Coates (1886-1957) was widely regarded as ‘the Uncrowned King of Light Music’ during the first half of the last century. His famous "London Suite" was featured in Guild’s first collection devoted entirely to British composers, and now it is the turn of the sequel – "London Again Suite", which Coates composed three years later in 1936. The first movement, Oxford Street is a bustling march depicting London’s famous shopping street; next the elegy Langham Place where the BBC’s Broadcasting House is situated (Coates’ Knightsbridge March crops up, due to its use as the signature tune for radio’s "In Town Tonight"); and finally the ‘valse’ Mayfair. He first recorded this Suite for EMI’s Columbia label with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on 30 April and 1 May 1936, and again for Decca in October 1948 – this time conducting the New Symphony Orchestra (mainly a recording outfit comprising players from the capital’s top symphony orchestras). Barely four years later EMI decided that they, too, should have a modern recording in their catalogue, so Coates was back in Studio One at Abbey Road on 30 September 1952 with the Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra (actually 46 members of the London Philharmonic). This is the version selected for this CD.

Ernest Tomlinson(b.1924) is one of Britain’s most talented composers, working mainly in light music, but also highly regarded for his choral works and brass band pieces. During a very productive career, he has contributed numerous titles to the recorded music libraries of many different publishers, often under the pseudonym ‘Alan Perry’. One of his best-known numbers is Little Serenade, which he developed from a theme he wrote as incidental music for a radio production ‘The Story of Cinderella’ in 1955. His suites of English Folk Dances have also become part of the standard light music repertoire. He is represented on this CD by A Young Man’s Fancy, one of numerous works he contributed to various recorded music libraries. Ernest was awarded the MBE in 2012.

London-born Frederic Curzon (1899-1973) was a charming, unassuming man who devoted his early career to working in the theatre, and like so many of his contemporaries he gradually became involved in providing music for silent films. As well as being a fine pianist and a conductor, he also played the organ, and his first big success as a composer was his "Robin Hood Suite" in 1937. This encouraged him to devote more of his time to writing and broadcasting, and several of his works have become light music ‘standards’, notably March Of The Bowmen (from "Robin Hood Suite") on GLCD5106, and The Boulevardier (GLCD5177). Punchinello has been a popular work among light music admirers ever since it first appeared in 1948.

Ronald Binge (1910-1979) is destined to remain forever remembered as the gifted arranger who designed the ‘cascading strings’ effect for Mantovani, but his true achievements deserve far greater recognition. He was a prolific composer in his own right - Elizabethan Serenade (GLCD5162 & 5184), The Watermill (GLCD5183), Miss Melanie (GLCD5182)and BBC Radio-4’s closing music Sailing By are just four favourites. He also ventured into more serious territory with his Saxophone Concerto in 1956, and his Saturday Symphony a decade later. Like many of his contemporaries, he discovered that the recorded music libraries of London publishers were a useful source of income, and the happy result is that charming pieces like Dance Of The Snowflakes are preserved for us all to enjoy.

Albert William Ketèlbey (1875-1959) was a highly successful composer, who earned today’s 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 (GLCD5120) and Bells Across the Meadow (GLCD5108)brought him international fame, no doubt assisted by his enthusiastic participation in the rapidly growing business of producing gramophone records. He was able to spend his later years in comfortable retirement on the peaceful Isle of Wight. The Suite "In A Fairy Realm" was one of many pieces he composed for Bosworth & Co.

Sir Granville Bantock (1868-1946), who was knighted in 1930, has previously been represented by two contrasting works on a Guild CD – Sea Reivers and Oriental Dance (GLCD5140). He is said to have been influenced by the folk music of the Hebrides (off the coast of Scotland) and the music of Richard Wagner, and at one time his work was being compared with Elgar. In fact he succeeded Sir Edward Elgar as professor of music at the University of Birmingham in 1908. In recent years Bantock’s music has enjoyed a modest revival with new recordings of some of his major compositions, notably his Hebridean, Celtic and Pagan symphonies. He was instrumental in the founding of the City of Birmingham Orchestra whose first performance in 1920 was of his Overture: Saul. In later years the London publishers William Paxton championed his work, and the charming Persian Dance was included in their recorded music library.

Most of his major choral and symphonic works were written by Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) during a relatively short period from 1898 to 1914, but he composed what can accurately be described as ‘light music’ throughout his life. Notable works in this genre include his Bavarian Dances, Chanson de Matin (on this CD) and Salut d’Amour (GLCD5122).

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). Some 30 titles have now been reissued, and among the best-known are his first success High Heels (on Guild GLCD5124), Grand Vista (GLCD5124) and Panoramic Splendour (GLCD5111). When pressed to reveal his own personal favourite among all his works the reply was not one of his many catchy novelties, but the atmospheric St Boniface Down (on GLCD5157) composed in October 1956; it is named after an area on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. With Noble Purpose reveals how this composer felt at ease with stately marches, and the great Sir Edward might have smiled if he had known how much his influence would still be guiding his fellow composers in the later years of the 20^th century.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5204

Salon, Light and Novelty Orchestras

1 Fairy On The Clock (Sherman Myers, real name Montague Ewing)
NEW MAYFAIR DANCE ORCHESTRA Conducted by RAY NOBLE
HMV B 5737 1929
2 La Petite Tonkinoise (My Chin Chin Lou) (Vincent Baptiste Scotto; Henry Marius Christine)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS SALON ORCHESTRA with Whistling by RONALD GOURLAY
Decca F 5450 1935
3 Parade Of The Pirates (John W. Bratton)
INTERNATIONAL NOVELTY ORCHESTRA
Regal Zonophone MR 2689 1938
4 Neapolitan Serenade (Gerhard Winkler)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS SALON ORCHESTRA
HMV BD 733 1939
5 Magic Notes (Fritz Steininger)
RUDY STARITA, xylophone with un-named orchestra
Columbia DB 742 1932
6 Tango Habanera (Jose F. Payan, arr. Fred Hartley)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS SALON ORCHESTRA
HMV BD 331 1936
7 Intermezzo (Souvenir de Vienne) (from the film "Escape To Happiness") (Heinz Provost)
JAY WILBUR’S SERENADERS
Rex 10060-A 1941
8 Secrets Of The Adige – Waltz (Felice Carena)
ORCHESTRA MASCOTTE
Parlophone R 2200 1936
9 Grasshoppers’ Holiday (Herman Bick)
LOUIS VOSS GRAND ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1168 1944
10 Finesse (Bernard Maltin; Anthony Raymond Doll)
NEW MAYFAIR DANCE ORCHESTRA Conducted by RAY NOBLE
HMV B 5737 1929
11 A Birthday Serenade (Paul Lincke)
LONDON PALLADIUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by RICHARD CREAN
HMV B 3566 1930
12 Rose Mousse (Fabrice Gabriel Lemon)
INTERNATIONAL NOVELTY ORCHESTRA
Regal Zonophone MR 3212 1940
13 If You But Knew (Reginald King)
REGINALD KING AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV B 3408 1930
14 Hiawatha – Cake Walk (Neil Moret)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS NOVELTY ORCHESTRA
Decca F 3854 1934
15 The Wedding Of The Rose (Leon Jessel, arr. Willoughby)
J.H. SQUIRE CELESTE OCTET
Columbia DB 690 1931
16 Fairy Whispers (Rhode)
VICTOR RICARDO AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca F 2870 1932
17 The Cuckoo In The Clock (Walter R. Collins)
INTERNATIONAL NOVELTY QUARTET
Regal Zonophone T 5619 1929
18 The Excuse Me Waltz (Nicholas Brodszky)
REGINALD PURSGLOVE AND HIS MUSIC MAKERS
Regal Zonophone MR 3777 1946
19 Fiddle Dance (Percy Fletcher)
ALBERT SANDLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 4854 1928
20 The Dancing Doll (Poupee Valsante) (Eduard Poldini)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS SALON ORCHESTRA
Decca F 3325 1932
21 The Butterfly – Morceau Characteristique (Theo Bendix)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS SALON ORCHESTRA
HMV BD 733 1939
22 Dolls’ Games (Lederer)
VICTOR RICARDO AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca F 2870 1932
23 Sphinx Waltz (Francis Popy)
ORCHESTRA MASCOTTE
Parlophone F 1884 1941
24 Dark Red Roses (Philip Braham)
REGINALD KING AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV B 3481 1930
25 King Chanticleer (Seymour Brown; Nat D. Ayer)
INTERNATIONAL NOVELTY ORCHESTRA
Regal Zonophone MR 1215 1934

All tracks in mono

Before the large light orchestras became firmly established from the 1940s onwards, many people enjoyed light music performed by smaller groups of musicians. The advent of radio in the 1920s brought many of them national – and sometimes international – fame, and there was a strong demand for gramophone records by the most popular ensembles. At times the boundaries between light music and dance bands became somewhat blurred, especially when leaders such as Jack Hylton included novelty instrumentals in their concert programmes.

Raymond ‘Ray’ Stanley Noble (1903-1978) did not quite fit into the same mould. His early career found him concentrating on recording: in 1927 he won an arranging competition in the magazine Melody Maker, and two years later he was appointed leader of the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, HMV’s studio band that recorded many hits of the day. But there were the occasional exceptions, as evidenced by Fairy On The Clock and Finesse. Noble also turned to songwriting, resulting in a string of standards such as The Very Thought Of You, The Touch Of Your Lips and Goodnight Sweetheart. In the mid-1930s he took his own band to the USA, where he achieved considerable success: he also developed a new career in films, often acting the part of comic English characters.

The International Novelty Orchestra appeared on many 78s issued in Britain by the Regal Zonophone label – sometimes as a quartet, but more usually as a small orchestra as represented on this CD. For many years discophiles have tried to discover the true identity of the performers, apparently without success. During the 1930s it was not uncommon for well-known bands under contract to major record companies to earn welcome extra cash by ‘moonlighting’ on other labels. Listening carefully to the INO it is possible to discover similarities with other British dance bands, as well as popular ensembles on the continent of Europe. These recordings are generally of a high standard, so the notion that they might be the work of non-professionals doesn’t hold water. Also one would expect that a bandleader producing music of this quality would insist that his name appeared on the record label, unless there was a very strong reason to maintain anonymity. To confuse matters even more, there have been other ‘International Novelty Orchestras’ in Britain and the USA, which appear to have no connection with the Regal Zonophone releases. One name that has been mentioned as a strong contender for making the sides recorded in England is George Scott Wood (1903-1978), but why should he choose to hide his identity when his name appears on other records on the same label? This is a mystery that still needs to be solved.

Alfredo Campoli (1906-1991) was born in Rome where his father was a violin teacher: his mother – the operatic soprano Elvira Celi – had toured with Caruso. The family moved to England in 1911, and young Alfredo made his professional debut as a violinist at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1923. He was soon recognised as a virtuoso on his chosen instrument, and his sublime playing enhanced numerous recordings for the rest of his career. In the early days he toured with the likes of Dame Nellie Melba and Dame Clara Butt, and in addition to playing with symphony orchestras he also performed light music – often with his own salon orchestra, as heard in several tracks on this CD. For many years he was responsible for the distinct violin sound on numerous Victor Silvester Ballroom Orchestra 78s, and post-war he was a regular session musician in the leading light orchestras that made countless LPs in the 1950s and the following years. He has left a vast recorded legacy, including a renowned recording of Elgar’s Violin Concerto in B minor. In1955 he gave the first performance of Sir Arthur Bliss's Violin Concerto, which was written for him. Foreign tours included an appearance at the Carnegie Hall in New York in 1953, and other overseas concerts took him twice to the Soviet Union. Campoli (as he was often simply called) owned two Stradivarius violins, the Baillot-Pommerau of 1694 and the Dragonetti of 1700.

Rudy Starita (1899-1978) was an Italian-American dance band performer in England, who specialised in various percussion instruments, such as the xylophone on this CD. For several years he was a member of his younger brother Ray’s band, but he also performed on a large number of 78s for other leaders, such as the Firman brothers Bert and John, and Harry Hudson.

The English bandleader Jay Wilbur (1898-1970) provided backings for many popular singers during the 1930s. He worked as staff director for Dominion Records, then moved on to Crystalate and their subsidiaries Imperial, Eclipse and Rex. Jay also conducted mood music recordings for Boosey & Hawkes. Like several other musicians, when he found that his style fell out of favour in Britain after the war, he emigrated to continue his career in South Africa where he died in Cape Town.

During the last century, and especially in the 1930s, there was much interest in ‘Wiener Walzer’, those delightful Viennese Waltzes composed by the Strauss family, Joseph Lanner, Carl (Karl) Ziehrer, Franz Lehar and many others. The orchestras of Marek Weber, Dajos Béla, Paul Godwin, Otto Kermbach and a little later Barnabas von Géczy, to mention just a few names, made numerous recordings of this kind of music. But the most popular of all was the Wiener Bohème Orchester.

Among those who have nostalgia for the light music of this period, there is renewed interest into this once very famous ensemble, which from 1930 until the Second World War was responsible for hundreds of recordings that sold in large numbers. It is curious that there is so little known about this extremely popular orchestra, and part of the reason may be that it was familiar through several different names.

‘The Wiener Bohème Orchester’ is the name on the labels of their Odéon 78s issued in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, while in France and Belgium they were called Le Grand Orchestre Bohémien (or Le Grand Orchestre Bohémien de Vienne). In Italy they became Orchestra Tipica Viennese on Odéon and Parlophone, while in Spain and Argentina their assumed identity was Orquesta Los Bohemios Vieneses on Odéon and EMI discs. In the Netherlands their Odéon 78s were credited as the Wiener Bohème Orchester, and on Parlophon the Wiener Walzer Orkest; and on the other side of the world in Japan they were released on Maniac and Nihon-Columbia as Vienna Boheme-Orchestra. ‘Orchestra Mascotte’ is a name coined by Parlophone for records by the Wiener Bohème Orchester in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. With such confusion over its name, it is hardly surprising that the conductors were also rather shadowy figures.

The founder of the Wiener-Bohème Orchester was the well-known conductor of the Berlin State Opera, Dr. Frieder Weissmann (1893-1984), who made a large number of recordings for the Lindström labels, Odeon and Parlophon, in the classical and light classical genre. The Wiener Bohème Orchestra was formed of selected musicians from the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, conducted until 1933 by Dr. Frieder Weissmann. It seems that Weissmann had been asked by the Lindström-company in Berlin to form a special ‘Walzer-Orchester’ purely to make recordings, as there was so much demand for that kind of music.

In 1933 Weissmann had to leave Germany for South America to escape the Nazis, because he was Jewish. He died in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1984. The recording of Sphinx Waltz on this CD, although not released in Britain until 1941, was actually recorded in December 1931 under Weissmann’s baton. The other ‘Orchestra Mascotte’ track included this time, Secrets Of The Adige, was recorded in the autumn of 1935, probably with the new conductor of the WBO, Otto Dobrindt (1886 -1963), Lindström’s house-conductor. Under his leadership the WBO (which only existed to make recordings) grew from strength to strength.

The many fine recordings of the Wiener Bohème-Orchester were made at the Carl Lindström Studios on the Schlesische Strasse in eastern Berlin. This studio had the added bonus of a 2 manual 8 rank Welte organ which WBO's Otto Dobrindt often used most effectively, presumably played by Ernst Fischer (1900-1975, better known as Marcel Palotti, the name he used for many of his solo 78s of that period) on many of WBO's later 78s. The organ was destroyed by allied bombing on 18 March 1945. What remains of the building is currently being used as a garage, its illustrious past long forgotten. The ‘Orchestra Mascotte’ has previously been included in two Guild collections: Amphitryon Waltz (GLCD5190), and Court Ball Dances (GLCD5163).

The orchestras performing on Library Music recordings in London 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 afore-mentioned 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.

Richard Crean (1879-1955) became a familiar name in the 1930s through his association with the London Palladium Orchestra, which was probably the best known British theatre orchestra. In recording terms it was also the most prolific, with almost 150 recordings made between 1927 and the early 1940s, many of them conducted by Richard Crean who was in charge from 1930 to 1937. Before joining the London Palladium Orchestra he had travelled widely as Chorus Master with the Thomas Quinlan Opera Company, later accepting a similar position at Covent Garden with Adrian Boult. Then a spell at Ilford Hippodrome in variety led to his appointment in 1930 at the Palladium, which lasted until he formed his own orchestra which he conducted, on and off, for the rest of his life. For a short while in 1941-42 he conducted the newly-formed BBC Midland Light Orchestra, and like Jay Wilbur he was also a contributor to the Boosey & Hawkes Recorded Music Library.

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 (his number of broadcasts exceeded 1,400), 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. His tuneful orchestra can be heard playing popular melodies such as Lullaby Of The Leaves (GLCD 5134) and Roses At Dawning (GLCD 5139) on several Guild CDs.

J. H. Squire (1880-1956) is credited with putting the first Light Orchestra on BBC Radio in 1924. Prior to that he had served in the Royal Navy at their School of Music, but left in 1906. It has been said that he introduced ragtime music to London in 1911, and at one time he was Musical Director of six West End Theatres. He was a prolific recording artist, selling more than two million discs. The Celeste Octet is probably the best known ensemble for which he is still remembered in Light Music circles.

Reginald Pursglove (1902-1982) was an accomplished violinist who worked with many of the British dance bands in the 1920s and 1930s. During four decades he was heard regularly on the radio fronting various ensembles such as small groups (his contribution to this CD is a good example) right up to light orchestras which gradually assumed greater prominence as dance bands were heard less frequently on the air. His Albany Players (later renamed the Albany Strings) constantly provided top quality light music, but eventually the BBC’s decision to rely less upon live music meant that the orchestra did not survive the 1960s – a fate that was also to befall so many of Pursglove’s contemporaries.

Albert Sandler (1906-1948) is remembered by many of the older generation in Britain through his BBC broadcasts "Grand Hotel" from 1943 to 1948. The music featured was known as ‘Palm Court’, a style that surprisingly still survived for quite a while after the war, although it had its roots decades earlier – Sandler himself had been musical director of the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne from 1924 to 1928.

David Ades