Light Music CDs. Some highly recommended releases.

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

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

Releases up to December 2012

For 2012:

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5197

Melody Mixture

1 Cab Rank (Dolf van der Linden)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by LUDO PHILIPP
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 409 1957
2 Mr. Lucky (theme from the TV series) (Henry Mancini)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV 45-POP 755 1960
3 Caravan (Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington)
WAL-BERG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Barclay BB 42 1960
4 Down Under (from the film "The Sundowners") (Adapted and Arranged by Dimitri Tiomkin)
TOMMY REILLY, Harmonica with WALLY STOTT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Philips PB 1094 1960
5 Gloria’s Theme from "Butterfield 8" (Bronislau Kaper; Hal David)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM 45-MGM 1110 1960
6 Bilbao-Song (from "Happy End") (Kurt Weill; Bertolt Brecht)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
CBS 4-41978 1961
7 With Tongue In Cheek (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Trebilco)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 451 1960
8 Spring Collection (Peter Hope)
THE CRAWFORD LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Josef Weinberger JW 277 1961
9 Scurry For Strings (Lester B. Hart)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘The Harmonic Orchestra Conducted by David Johnson’ on disc label)
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL331 1952
10 Spinette (Murray Newman, arr. Bruce Campbell)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Coronet Orchestra’ on disc label)
MGM E 3167 1955
11 The Cool Caballero (Bernie Wayne, real name Bernard Weitzner)
BERNIE WAYNE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
ABC Paramount ABC 182 1957
12 Pleasure Island (Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R4787 1961
13 Alma Mia (Fred Hartley)
FRED HARTLEY AND HIS MUSIC
Chappell C 644 1959
14 I Aim At The Stars (theme from the film) (Laurie Johnson)
LAURIE JOHNSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 45-DB 4546 1960
15 Dear Old Pals (Angela Morley)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANGELA MORLEY (as ‘Walter Stott’)
Chappell C 718 1961
16 Leaps And Bounds (Cyril Watters)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Paxton PR 725 1960
17 Tango Of The Flowers (Juan Rosa)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Brunswick LAT 8165 1957
18 Peacock In Piccadilly (Wilfred Burns, real name Bernard Wilfred Harris)
LOUIS VOSS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1239 1950
19 Continental Highways (Harold Geller)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA Conducted by LAURIE JOHNSON
KPM Music KPM 050B 1960
20 Galop On Strings (Tom Wyler, real name Toni Leutwiler)
THE HARMONIC STRINGS Conducted by TOM WYLER
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL330 1952
21 Guaracha (No. 3 of Latin American Symphonette) (Morton Gould)
SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone R 3965 1947
22 Brandy Snaps (Peter Yorke)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘The Harmonic Orchestra Conducted by David Johnson’ on disc label)
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 351 1954
23 Chicken Noodle (Peter Dennis, real name Dennis Alfred Berry)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Paxton PR 661 1956
24 Route Nationale (Roger Roger)
THE PARIS STUDIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by PHILIPPE PARES
Synchro FM 236 1959
25 On Stage (Billy Mack, real names Walter Collins; William MacDonnell)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Paxton PR 614 1954

Stereo: tracks 3 & 6; rest in mono

Unlike many of the CDs in this "Golden Age of Light Music" series, this collection does not have a special theme or concept. It is simply a varied mixture of melodies featuring works by composers who are well-known to light music aficionados, plus a good helping of pieces by ‘giants’ of the music world, such as Henry Mancini, Duke Ellington and Ron Goodwin. Most of these numbers have been considered for recent collections, but have been temporarily ‘shelved’ for various reasons – usually because the CDs were already full. But they don’t deserve to be forgotten, because they all possess their own special charms.

The Dutch maestro Dolf van der Linden conducts six tracks in this collection, but not the opening number which is his own composition. Cab Rank finds him in a typical bright, inventive style that became his trademark: you can never be sure at the outset how his works will develop, and there are usually pleasant surprises in store when the middle theme arrives. He took great care with the construction of his pieces, and in view of his tremendous contribution to light music in general it is not surprising that this is the fourteenth time that one of his compositions has been chosen for a Guild CD.

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 conducted 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’. His big presence on the light music scene is partly explained by the action of the British Musicians’ Union at the end of the 1940s, which banned the major London publishers from employing British musicians to make new recordings for their Mood Music Libraries. Instead of giving in to the Union’s demands, the publishers simply crossed the English Channel into Europe, where they utilised the services of the top broadcasting orchestras in various countries. Dolf van der Linden, based in Hilversum, was engaged to conduct hundreds of pieces (often under pseudonyms), particularly for Paxton, Boosey & Hawkes and Charles Brull/Harmonic – as well as some others. These performances are of a consistently high quality, and the examples on this CD include works by top writers such as Cyril Watters, Peter Yorke and Peter Dennis.

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 work readily accepted for its unfailing high standards. At times he was employed as a staff arranger by Boosey & Hawkes and Chappell, and he generously devoted some of his energies in running the Light Music Society for the benefit of his fellow musicians. Peter Yorke (1902-1966) is a regular contributor to this series of CDs, as composer, arranger and conductor. After playing piano in British Dance Bands of the 1920s and 1930s, he graduated to arranging for Louis Levy before eventually forming his own concert orchestra for recording and broadcasting. ‘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. For part of the 1950s he ran the Paxton library, but also contributed titles to other publishers.

Henry Mancini (born Enrico Nicola Mancini, 1924-1994) hailed from Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1952 he was fortunate in gaining a job at Universal Pictures in Hollywood. During a six-year contract he worked on around 100 films, one of his early assignments being "The Glenn Miller Story" (1953). By 1958 his talents were widely recognised within the music business, and thereafter he was offered numerous commissions for films, recordings and television. Mr Lucky first reached US TV screens in October 1959, and ran for 34 episodes. Henry Mancini provided the smooth theme music, and the choice for this CD is the version conducted by Frank Cordell (1918-1980), a top British arranger/conductor who also contributed memorable scores to films such as "The Captain’s Table" (1959), "Flight From Ashiya" (1964), "Khartoum" (1966), "Mosquito Squadron" (1969), "Ring Of Bright Water" (1969), "Hell Boats" (1970), "Cromwell" (1970) – he was nominated for an Oscar, "Trial By Combat" (1976) and "God Told Me To" (1976).

When music-lovers discuss the ‘Great American Songwriters’ there is one name that occasionally gets missed: Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington (1899-1974). People seem to remember that he fronted a great band, playing what many called ‘Orchestral Jazz’, yet the fact that he composed over 1,000 works frequently doesn’t register. But his songs became an essential part of the 20^th Century music scene, and Caravan illustrates that he was a genius, beyond doubt. Our version features the French orchestra conducted by Wal-Berg (born Voldemar Rosenberg, 1910-1994) who at one time was closely associated with French recordings by Marlene Dietrich.

The Canadian Tommy Reilly (1919-2000) was widely regarded as the world’s leading classical harmonica player, who seemed equally at home performing serious works (often composed specially for him), alongside lighter works such as Down Under. He is accompanied by the Wally Stott Orchestra, from the time before Wally became Angela Morley (1924-2009). Later we hear one of Wally’s comedy numbers Dear Old Pals, which features a prominent part for the bassoon - the instrument which also played a big role in Wally’s earlier composition Mock Turtles (on GLCD5101).

The 1960 film "Butterfield 8" starred Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) as Gloria Wandrous, and it is hardly surprising that veteran Hollywood composer Bronislau Kaper (1902-1983) composed a suitably romantic theme for her. The version of Gloria by London-born David Rose (1910-1990) brings out all the glamour and anguish of the screenplay.

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 had a particular love of music with a tropical feel, which certainly comes through in Bilbao-Song.

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). Almost 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. With Tongue In Cheek probably expresses Trevor’s own feelings about some of the music he wrote.

The English composer Peter Hope (b. 1930) makes his Guild debut with Spring Collection, one of many attractive pieces he has contributed to publishers’ recorded music libraries over the years. Although his name may be unfamiliar to many, the same cannot be said of his music. During the 1950s, when light music formed a significant part of BBC Radio’s schedules, his compositions and arrangements were heard on an almost daily basis. His title music for BBC Television News was used until 1980. More recently new recordings have been made of his original works, as a new generation of musicians and conductors becomes aware of his major contribution to the genre of light music.

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. Spinette comes from a rare LP that Campbell recorded in Britain 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 Cool Caballero. 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).

Ronald (Ron) Alfred Goodwin (1925-2003) was a brilliant British composer, arranger and conductor, who rose to prominence in Britain during the 1950s through a series of recordings that revealed a fresh and vibrant style of light music that greatly appealed to the public. His ability to arrange and compose soon resulted in commissions to work in films, and popular movies like "633 Squadron" (1964), "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" (1965) and Alfred Hitchcock’s "Frenzy" (1972) introduced him to a worldwide audience. Pleasure Island joins ten of his original works already featured in this series.

Fred Hartley (1905-1980) was a familiar name in British broadcasting for many years, having made his first appearance on the BBC as a solo pianist as early as 1925. He was then employed as an accompanist, and founded his famous Novelty Quintet in 1931. In 1946 he was appointed the BBC’s Head of Light Music. Five of his own compositions have already been featured on Guild CDs, and towards the end of the 1950s he contributed several of his own pieces to the Chappell Recorded Music Library, from which the choice this time is Alma Mia. This number will probably strike a familiar chord among people in Britain, because it is the kind of charming novelty which he featured so often in his radio programmes.

Laurie Johnson (b.1927) has been a leading figure on the British entertainment scene for over 50 years. A gifted arranger and composer, Laurie has contributed to films, musical theatre, radio, television and records, with his music used in many well-known productions such as "The Avengers" and "The Professionals". I Aim At The Stars comes from the time when record companies were still willing to make orchestral singles by well-known conductors.

Bernard Wilfred Harris, better known as ‘Wilfred Burns’ (1917-1990) was a prolific composer of mood music who has over 200 titles to his credit. After service during the Second World War he worked at Elstree studios before eventually becoming a freelance film composer and musical director. His first of over twenty films was around 1949, with his final score in the 1970s. His best-known was probably the large screen version of the popular television series "Dad’s Army" in 1971. Peacock In Piccadilly is one of his many pieces accepted by various London publishers, and it is his seventh contribution to a Guild CD.

Violinist Harold (Harry) Geller (1916-2005) was born in Sydney, Australia, but for most of his career he was based in London. He was a frequent broadcaster with his orchestra in BBC programmes such as "Morning Music" and "Music While You Work", but his commercial recordings were comparatively rare. He composed Continental Highways for the KPM Record Music Library. Towards the end of the 1970s work in Britain had dried up, so he moved to the USA where he continued to compose and teach playing the violin and the technique of conducting.

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 (on GLCD5183). His music was in demand from many broadcasting stations, and he was reported to have created over 2,000 arrangements. Galop On Strings is another fine example of his mastery of string writing.

Sidney Torch, MBE (born 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. Guaracha is one of the famous ‘Latin American Symphonettes’ by Morton Gould (1913-1996), rightly regarded as one of the leading American composers of the last century.

Roger Roger (1911-1995) was a leading figure on the French music scene for many years, and his fine compositions and arrangements also won him many admirers internationally. Route Nationale is his sixteenth composition to be made available to a wider audience on a Guild CD.

The final track features On Stage, a piece co-composed by Walter R. Collins, who is remembered for his days as the distinguished Musical Director of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, and also for conducting the London Promenade Orchestra for the Paxton Recorded Music Library during the 1940s. It provides a typical ‘show business’ ending to a varied collection of light music that hopefully includes something for everyone.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5198

Light Music While You Work – Volume 4

1 Cavalcade Of Martial Songs (arr. Horatio Nicholls) : The King’s Horses (Noel Gay); The Toy-Town Artillery (Everett Lynton); The Tin-Can Fusiliers (Horatio Nicholls); When The Guards Are On Parade (Horatio Nicholls); There’s Something About A Soldier (Noel Gay); When A Soldier’s On Parade (Horatio Nicholls); When The Band Goes Marching By (Horatio Nicholls); The Toy Drum Major (Horatio Nicholls).
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 70 1943
2 Roses From The South (Johann Strauss, Jr.)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS WALTZ ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 358 1946
3 Lonesome And Sorry (Benny Davis; Con Conrad)
REGINALD PURSGLOVE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 123 1944
4 Carmen – Rhythmic Paraphrase (Georges Bizet, arr. Arthur Lange)
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 131 1944
5 Dainty Miss (Bernard Barnes)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 81 1943
6 Love Dance – Intermezzo (from "Madame Sherry") (Karl Hoschna)
DAVID JAVA AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 175 1944
7 Tick Of The Clock (James Perry)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 349 1945
8 Voices Of Spring (Johann Strauss, Jr.)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS WALTZ ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 341 1945
9 Light And Shade (Wynford Reynolds as ‘Hugh Raeburn’)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 189 1944
10 At The Dance (from "Summer Days" Suite) (Eric Coates)
RICHARD CREAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 164 1944
11 In A Country Lane (from "Summer Days" Suite) (Eric Coates)
RICHARD CREAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 164 1944
12 Knuckledust (George Blackmore)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 190 1944
13 Dreaming (Archibald Joyce)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 80 1943
14 La Cinquantaine (Gabriel Marie)
RICHARD CREAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 286 1945
15 Faust - Rhythmic Paraphrase (Charles Gounod, arr. Arthur Lange)
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 64 1943
16 Tesoro Mio (Ernesto Becucci)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS WALTZ ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 400 1946
17 Old Faithful (Abe Holzmann)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 287 1945
18 Vision Of Salome (Archibald Joyce)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 398 1945
19 Heyken’s Serenade No. 2 (Jonny Heykens)
DAVID JAVA AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 176 1944
20 Les Sirenes (Emile Waldteufel)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS SCOTTISH VARIETY ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 219 1944
21 Waldmere (Frank Hoyt Losey)
LONDON COLISEUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by REGINALD BURSTON
Decca Music While You Work MW 374 1946
22 Danube Waves (Iosif Ivanovici)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS SCOTTISH VARIETY ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 252 1945
23 Amina - Intermezzo (Paul Lincke)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 259 1945
24 Artists Life (Johann Strauss, Jr.)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS WALTZ ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 393 1946
25 Yankee Grit (Abe Holzmann)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 287 1945

All tracks mono

This is the fourth and final delve into the riches contained in the Decca ‘Music While You Work’ series of 78rpm records, which first appeared in 1942. The last ones were released in January 1947, concluding a special wartime project that had seen over 400 discs produced specifically for relaying over public address systems in factories – the intention being to boost the morale of the workers.

The story behind these records, which were prompted by the BBC radio series of the same name, has been recalled in the notes accompanying the previous three CDs in this series – on GLCD5128, 5137 and 5186. The emphasis in these Guild CDs has been on the Light Music contained on these records, but these were just part of a wide variety of popular music that also included recordings by dance bands, jazz and various instrumental ensembles.

The series was quickly deleted, and throughout the existence of the label Decca publicity had been sketchy, to say the least. The record buying public was often unaware of what was available, so consequently some of the titles must be quite rare. Some of the later 78s were recorded using Decca’s revolutionary ‘ffrr’ (full frequency range recording) process which remained a closely guarded secret for some while since it had originally been developed to assist the war effort, and the improved sound quality of several of the later tracks on this CD is evidence of this.

The orchestras chosen for these recordings would have been familiar to the public at the time. Foremost among these is Harry Fryer (1896-1946) and his Orchestra. Like so many musicians of his era, he found work playing for silent films and gradually progressed to conducting at London theatres and leading venues in and around the capital. He was a regular broadcaster, both before the war and later frequently on radio in "Music While You Work". The London publishers Boosey & Hawkes contracted Fryer in 1941 to conduct for their Recorded Music Library. By the end of the war he had become a household name and there seems little doubt that, had it not been for his death in 1946 aged only 50, his talents would have been much in demand during the post-war years.

Ronald (Ronnie) George Munro (1897-1989) started his career playing piano in various clubs and bands in London before eventually working regularly with EMI – particularly the HMV ‘house’ orchestra The New Mayfair Orchestra. He contributed numerous arrangements for top recording bands such as Jack Hylton, Lew Stone, Percival Mackey, Ambrose and Henry Hall. In 1940 he was appointed conductor of the BBC’s newly-formed Scottish Variety Orchestra, and Les Sirenes is typical of the kind of music for which they became known. After a further spell with a dance band after the war, he formed his light orchestra for radio in the fifties, concluding his BBC career with a sextet which he led between 1962 and 1967. When radio broadcasts dried up, he emigrated to South Africa, where he reformed his orchestra, subsequently becoming Head of Light Music for the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

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 to befall so many of Pursglove’s contemporaries.

Harold Collins (c.1900 - c.1971) arold Collins, David Java

at one time was MD at the London Coliseum, although he also held positions at various provincial theatres. Originally a pianist, it seems he gave his first broadcast from Plymouth in 1936 where he was resident conductor at the Palace Theatre, and was hired by the BBC for "Music While You Work" soon after the programme was launched. In total he appeared in 227 programmes with his Orchestra, and he also made a good number of records for Decca’s MWYW series, usually with a smaller ensemble in a style that suited the light repertoire that was his speciality – his four numbers in this collection are ideal examples. In later years he was heard in BBC shows "Morning Music" and "Melody On The Move", and through his work with Norman Wisdom he appeared on ITV’s top Sunday evening shows from the London Palladium and the Prince of Wales Theatre.

It seems that David Java recorded only four titles for Decca’s MWYW series, and his career is poorly documented. In 1938 he played violin alongside Sidney Sax on several Victor Silvester recordings for Parlophone, and again on some Columbia recordings in 1941 when Oscar Grasso, Alfredo Campoli, Reginald Kilbey and Eugene Pini were among the distinguished violin players whom Silvester employed. After the war David Java supplied orchestras for Lyons’ Corner House restaurant and presumably other similar venues.

Harry Davidson (1892-1967) enjoyed two successful, and different, careers before and following the Second World War. After various engagements around London and the north-east of England spanning the years 1914 to 1929, he finally secured the highly prestigious appointment as organist at the newly built Commodore Theatre at Hammersmith in London. The Commodore had a fine 18-piece orchestra conducted by Joseph Muscant (1899-1983) and by the early 1930s it had acquired a loyal national following for its regular broadcasts. After five years Muscant left to take over the Troxy Broadcasting Orchestra and, in July 1934, Harry Davidson stepped into his shoes. (Recordings by both the Commodore and Troxy orchestras may be found on previous Guild Light Music CDs). Although the Commodore orchestra was disbanded during the war, Davidson managed to keep many of his superb musicians together and soon he was broadcasting regularly, notching up no less than 109 editions of "Music While You Work" between 1940 and 1946. In November 1943 his BBC 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. It became a permanent fixture in the schedules with Harry in charge until ill-health forced him to retire in November 1965. It is also appropriate to mention that he was an extremely prolific recording artist: during the 1950s 78s by his orchestra often occupied almost four pages in EMI Columbia’s annual catalogues.

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 at the time. 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, before 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 Harry Fryer he was also a contributor to the Boosey & Hawkes Recorded Music Library.

Reginald Bradshaw Burston (1897-1968) was an experienced musical director who was regularly employed in various London theatres ranging from D’Oyly Carte Opera to prestigious Noel Coward productions and lavish post-war American musicals. In the mid-1930s he conducted the BBC Midland Orchestra, then in 1936 he took over the baton of the BBC Revue Orchestra for several years. Like Harold Collins, Burston also served as MD at the London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre). It was built in St. Martin’s Lane by the famous theatre impresario and architect, Oswald Stoll, and it opened for its first performance on 24 December 1904. Since then it has undergone changes of name, various refurbishments and different kinds of productions, ranging from variety and operetta to ballet and opera – it is now the home of English National Opera.

Among the composers whose work is featured in this collection, there are several who deserve special mention. The opening track is, in essence, a tribute to Horatio Nicholls, both as composer and arranger. But ‘Nicholls’ was a pseudonym, hiding the true identity of Leicester-born Lawrence Wright (1888-1964). He was a successful publisher, as well as songwriter (over 600 titles) – his most famous being Among My Souvenirs which he wrote in 1927 with Edgar Leslie. The previous year he had launched the leading British musical magazine Melody Maker. In 1962 he received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Popular Music.

There are a number of discs in Decca’s MWYW series which contain what might be called ‘pure’ light music. The two numbers from the suite "Summer Days" by Eric Coates (1886-1957) tend to confirm that the wartime public was receptive to orchestral music – probably as a result of hearing so much of it regularly on the radio. Of course Coates was something of a musical celebrity by the end of the 1930s, with many of his catchy melodies being used as signature tunes. The BBC chose his Calling All Workers as the theme for ‘"Music While You Work", and this was included in full on the first CD in this series (GLCD5128) played by the Tivoli Concert Hall Orchestra. Excerpts from Coates’ own recording were used on the second volume (GLCD5137). Surprisingly Decca did not record Calling All Workers as a full track, although it did open and close a selection by The Victory Band.

The medleys of music from "Carmen" and "Faust" are the work of the American bandleader Arthur Lange (1889-1956). He seems to have been a frequent visitor to the recording studios, especially during the 1920s, during which period of his career he made numerous ‘stock’ orchestrations which were used by many bands at the time. He composed music for over 120 films and, although nominated four times, he did not win any Oscars.

Another American composer (who was a contemporary of Sousa) was Abraham Holzmann (1874-1939) whose greatest march success was Blaze Away, composed in 1901. In this collection he is represented with two pieces – Old Faithful and Yankee Grit - both given fine performances by Harry Davidson’s Orchestra. Abe earned his living mainly from Tin Pan Alley where he wrote and arranged popular songs for publishers such as Leo Feist. Today he is fondly remembered by lovers of ragtime, but he also penned many marches, waltzes and other pieces of light music.

The man widely credited for devising "Music While You Work" is represented with his composition Light And Shade, which he wrote under the pseudonym ‘Hugh Raeburn’. Considering his musical background, it is likely that Wynford Hubert Reynolds (1899-1958) had little problem in persuading the BBC that he had the necessary knowledge to launch "Music While You Work". He was already on the staff of the BBC as a producer, although he was also an experienced performer. He was born in Ebbw Vale, Wales, and his early musical training at the Royal Academy of Music concentrated on the violin, viola and composition. Like many of his fellow musicians, he provided music for silent films, and eventually joined the Queen’s Hall Orchestra under its illustrious conductor (and founder of London’s Promenade Concerts) Sir Henry Wood.

Reynolds became involved with the early days of radio in the 1920s, and it wasn’t long before he formed his own orchestra for concerts (including engagements at seaside venues) and broadcasts. In 1941 the BBC gave him the important-sounding title ‘Music While You Work Organiser’ but, due to the strict rules imposed by the Corporation on its own employees, this prevented him from appearing with his orchestra in the programmes. He left this position in 1944, and went back to performing on radio, not only in "Music While You Work" but also, later, in popular shows such as "Bright and Early" and "Morning Music". Happily the recordings he made for Decca’s MWYW series are evidence of the high quality of his music, although his influence extended far beyond those 78s bearing his own orchestra’s name: he produced the majority of around 420 discs that were issued before the series ended with the final releases in January 1947.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5199

Three Great American Light Orchestras

PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
All arrangements by Percy Faith
1 Somewhere ("West Side Story") (Stephen Sondheim; Leonard Bernstein)
Columbia GS7 (Columbia Record Club 5^th Anniversary Album) 1960
2 Petite (Mon Petite Monde a Moi) (David E. Coleman; Rudi Revil)
Columbia 4-40390 1954
3 The Last Dance (Percy Faith)
Columbia 4-40826 1956
4 My Shawl (Stanley Adams; Xavier Cugat)
Columbia 4-39322 1950
5 La Mer (Beyond The Sea) (Charles Trenet) (The Percy Faith Strings)
Columbia CS 8124 1959
6 Mon Oncle (Theme from the film) (Franck Barcellini)
Columbia CS 8214 1960
7 Italian Street Song (from "Naughty Marietta") (Victor Herbert)
Columbia C2S 801 1958
8 Go-Go-Po-Go (Percy Faith)
Columbia CS 8360 1961

DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
All arrangements by David Rose

9 California Melodies (David Rose)
MGM C 788 1959
10 I’ve Got The World On A String (from "Cotton Club Parade") (Harold Arlen; Ted Koehler)
MGM C 754 1954
11 The Happy Bow (David Rose)
MGM SE 3895 1961
12 Lonesome On Main Street (David Rose)
MGM E 3067 1953
13 The Mask Waltz (David Rose) featuring RAY TURNER, piano
MGM E 3067 1953
14 Flavia (David Rose)
MGM C 788 1959
15 Ponderosa (from the TV series "Bonanza") (David Rose)
MGM SE 3960 1961
16 It’s A Most Unusual Day (From the film "A Date With Judy") (Jimmy McHugh; Harold Adamson)
MGM SE 3895 1961

PAUL WESTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
All arrangements by Paul Weston
17 Whispers In The Dark (Leo Robin; Frederick Hollander)
Columbia CL 572 1954
18 My Darling, My Darling (from "Where’s Charley?") (Frank Loesser)
Capitol ST 1563 1961
19 Day By Day (Paul Weston; Sammy Cahn; Axel Stordahl)
Columbia CL 574 1954
20 Soon (Ira Gershwin; George Gershwin)
Columbia CL 574 1954
21 There Will Never Be Another You (from the film "Iceland") (Harry Warren; Mack Gordon) featuring PAUL WESTON, piano
Capitol ST 1223 1959
22 When April Comes Again (Paul Weston; Doris Schaefer)
Capitol ST 1192 1959
23 Folks Who Live On The Hill (from "High, Wide and Handsome") (Jerome Kern)
Columbia CS 8050 1958
24 Who (from the show "Sunny") (Jerome Kern)
Columbia CS 8049 1958

BONUS TRACK

25 Paul Weston discussing his Jerome Kern recordings in 1958 for a special promotional feature by Columbia Records.

Stereo: tracks 1, 5-8, 11, 15, 16, 18, 21-24; rest in mono.

PERCY FAITH

 Percy Faith was born in Toronto, Canada, on 7 April 1908, the oldest of eight children. As a child he learned the violin and piano, and originally he expected that he would pursue his music career as a concert pianist. But he injured his hands in a fire, which forced him to turn instead to composing, arranging and conducting.

During the 1930s he was regularly heard in live music broadcasts on Canadian radio, and his programme "Music By Faith" was carried by the Mutual network in the USA, prompting offers of work south of the border. He eventually succumbed in 1940 and moved to Chicago, leaving Robert Farnon (previously his lead trumpeter) to conduct his Canadian orchestra. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1945.

Initially Faith concentrated on broadcasting, although he did make some commercial recordings for the Majestic, Decca and RCA labels, several of which have featured on other Guild CDs. However, many other recordings, mainly derived from his radio programmes, were issued by Voice Of America on transcription discs, but these were not available to the general public. Some of them may now be heard on Guild GLCD5174 and GLCD5181. Things were to change dramatically when he signed a Columbia (CBS) contract in 1950 to provide backings for the label’s top singers which also allowed him to begin a regular programme of recording singles and albums of his own.

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. One of his best-selling singles was Theme from "A Summer Place" (on Guild GLCD5165) which is still frequently heard today. It won the Grammy Award for ‘Record Of The Year’ in 1961. A second Grammy followed in 1969 for his album Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet".

Percy Faith’s albums usually concentrated on the rich source of popular music of the time, which was available in abundance in musicals on Broadway and Hollywood films. But he also had a penchant for the exotic sounds of Latin-American music, and some of his best-selling collections featured his distinctive arrangements of the music of Mexico and Brazil. Like his fellow orchestra leaders, he had to acknowledge the changing tastes in popular music during the 1960s, and for a while he managed to attract a younger generation of listeners with albums devoted to lush orchestral arrangements of current song successes.

Although his recording career was always paramount, his composing and arranging abilities naturally attracted offers of work elsewhere. He composed the popular theme music for the television series "The Virginian", screened by NBC in the US and also shown in many countries around the world. In Hollywood he received an Academy Award nomination for his arrangements of the songs in the Doris Day film "Love Me Or Leave Me".

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. 

DAVID ROSE

 David Rose tends to be remembered today for two great instrumentals – Holiday For Strings (his own extended version is on Guild GLCD5189) and The Stripper (1962). But he achieved far more than that during his long and illustrious career. He was born in London, England on 15 June 1910, 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 joined Ted Fio Rito's dance band, and three years later 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". His own theme for this series is the first item in his segment of this collection.

Rose began working in movies in 1941 and is credited with scoring 36 films. In 1943 he had a big hit with his own composition Holiday For Strings which firmly launched him as a light music composer in the eyes of the public. Other catchy novelties soon followed, such as Dance Of The Spanish Onion (on GLCD5101) and Manhattan Square Dance (GLCD5102). During military service in World War II Rose was conductor for the Army-Air Force morale-boosting stage musical "Winged Victory", which was filmed in 1944. 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.

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. He had actually composed this four years previously for a television show called "Burlesque", and it gathered dust on his record company’s shelves until they needed a ‘B’ side for Ebb Tide. A Los Angeles disc jockey picked it up, and the rest – as they say – is musical history. It spawned a complete album - "The Stripper and Other Fun Songs for the Family", one of the 50 or so LPs he recorded, including the best-selling "Like Young" and "Like Blue", made with André Previn. He won numerous Emmy and 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. On several occasions he travelled back to his native land where he met fellow English train enthusiasts. Such visits usually prompted invitations to conduct, and in October 1971 he was one of four distinguished conductors with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who introduced their own music to a packed Royal Albert Hall audience as part of Filmharmonic ’71.

His private life attracted media attention in 1941 when he became the first husband of Judy Garland. The marriage didn’t survive the pressures of Hollywood fame, but David eventually found the right partner in his third wife, Betty, who survived him. He died on 23 August 1990, at his home in Burbank, California, aged 80. 

PAUL WESTON

Paul Weston is the only one of the famous trio of conductors on this CD actually to have been born in the USA. It all began way back on 12 March 1912, when Paul Wetstein (later to become Weston) was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. As a very young man he needed to find something to occupy him following an horrific train accident which had almost killed him, and he decided to study arranging whilst undergoing a long convalescence. (Interestingly there are similarities with Percy Faith’s early life). It proved to be the turning point in his career, especially as he had previously failed an audition to join a dance band as a clarinet player.

While still doing some graduate work at Columbia University, in 1934 he sold some arrangements to the Joe Haymes Orchestra. When Tommy Dorsey took over the Haymes orchestra in 1935, he hired Paul Weston as his chief arranger. This association lasted five years, during which time the Dorsey band produced some of its most memorable recordings, including the legendary Song of India, Stardust and Night and Day. While with Dorsey, Weston met his future wife, Jo Stafford, who was then a member of the Pied Pipers vocal group: they eventually married in 1952.

After leaving Dorsey he worked with Bob Crosby and the young Dinah Shore. At Crosby’s invitation he went to Hollywood in 1940, and the following year he did his first film arranging for the Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire movie "Holiday Inn". Other films quickly followed, and while at Paramount he met songwriter Johnny Mercer, who in 1942 was in the process of forming Capitol Records in partnership with record-store owner Glenn Wallichs and composer Buddy de Sylva.

So in 1943 Weston joined the staff at Capitol, where he recorded with their growing roster of singers. At the same time he was working extensively in shows on radio and later television, often with Jo Stafford. Thereafter he was picked by many top stars as their musical director.

In 1950 Weston had left Capitol for Columbia Records, where he built upon his previous successes with mood music 78s, by producing a series of LPs that soon accumulated healthy sales. Despite this, in 1958 he was sacked by A&R Manager Mitch Miller and returned to Capitol where some of his earlier big sellers were re-recorded in stereo. As a freelance he also backed Ella Fitzgerald on her ‘Irving Berlin Songbook’ for Verve.

Weston was no mean composer, and he collaborated on several big hits, among them Day by Day, I Should Care, Shrimp Boats, Autumn in Rome, Gandy Dancers’ Ball and When April Comes Again. His standing among his peers can be judged by the fact that he was a founder member and first president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the organisation which began awarding Grammys in 1958.

Unlike some of his contemporaries, he liked to use the whole orchestra, not just a few sections. "All I did was add strings to a dance band" he once explained. "The reason it still swung was because I used good jazz musicians." These included soloists of the highest calibre, like Ziggy Elman, Eddie Miller, Paul Smith and Barney Kessel. He sometimes resisted the temptation to amplify the strings, by having the rest of the band play softly during important string passages, resulting in a chamber-music quality that went right to the heart of his kind of music.

Aside from his orchestral work, Paul became the ‘Jonathan’ of Jonathan and Darlene Edwards – a spoof act he formed with his wife Jo Stafford in which she was a poor amateur hopeful with an equally useless accompanist. Record buyers loved it, and it even won them a Grammy.

The final ‘bonus’ track on this CD features Paul discussing the project to record 24 pieces by Jerome Kern, preceded by two of his arrangements from that album.

In 1971 the Trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave its Trustees Award to Paul Weston. He died on 20 September 1996, at Santa Monica, California, aged 84.

Potted biographies such as these can only attempt to give basic information about the musicians who have given so much pleasure to the world. It is hoped that those who appreciate this kind of music will be encouraged to learn more about them, through the many sources of information available from reference books and the internet. Fortunately their rich legacy of recorded music remains widely available for the enjoyment of future generations.

David Ades

The Guild "GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC" series celebrated its 100^th release in November 2012! 

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5200

A Glorious Century Of Light Music

1 Look For The Silver Lining (from "Sunny") (Jerome Kern, arr. Brian Fahey)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3906 1961
2 April In Paris (from "Walk A Little Faster") (Vernon Duke)
PAUL MAURIAT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Bel Air 7008 1961
3 Puppet Serenade (Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone PCS 3019 1961
4 The Party’s Over (from "Bells Are Ringing") (Jule Styne; Betty Comden; Adolph Green)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca 45-F11281 1960
5 Love’s Sweet Song (from "Czardas Princess") (Emmerich Kalman)
HANS CARSTE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Polydor SLPHM 237501 1960
6 Milord (Marguerite Monnot; Bunny Lewis)
FRANCK POURCEL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV CSD 1303 1960
7 Lady In Waiting (Ballet Music from the musical "Goldilocks") (Leroy Anderson)
LEROY ANDERSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Brunswick STA 3030 1960
8 Beach Parade (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
Chappell C 687 1960
9 Climb Every Mountain (from "The Sound Of Music") (Richard Rodgers)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Dot DOT 25276 1960
10 The Little Train Of The Caipira (Heitor Villa-Lobos)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RC A LSC 1994 1960
11 All The Way (featured in the film "The Joker Is Wild") (Jimmy Van Heusen; Sammy Cahn)
FRANK CHACKSFIELD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4061 1959
12 Stringopation (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 3748 1959
13 How Deep Is The Ocean (Irving Berlin)
HANS GEORG ARLT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Ariola 71231 1959
14 It’s D’Lovely (from "Red, Hot and Blue") (Cole Porter)
STANLEY BLACK AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LK 4163 1956
15 Pipsqueak (Dolf van der Linden)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 610 1954
16 Candlelight Waltz (Jack Mason)
BOSTON ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER
RCA 49-4219 1954
17 Butantan (Guy Wood)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV B 10657 1954
18 The Starlings (Charles Williams)
CHARLES WILLIAMS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 3215 1953
19 Sewing Circle (Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Coilumbia DB 2896 1951
20 Tea For Two (from "No, No, Nanette") (Vincent Youmans)
ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia ML4382 1951
21 Samba Sud (Sidney Torch)
SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone R 3049 1947
22 String Time (Robert Farnon)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 304 1947
23 Stars In Your Eyes (Mar) (Gabriel Ruiz, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca 23445 1945
24 Dreams On The Ocean (Joseph Gungl)
MAREK WEBER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV C 3123 1939
25 The Jester At The Wedding – March (Eric Coates)
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COATES
Columbia DB 1505 1934

BONUS TRACK

26 Toymaker’s Dream (Ernie Golden)
JACK HYLTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV B 5656 1929

Stereo: tracks 1-7, 9-13; rest in mono

This compilation represents a double celebration. Firstly it praises the talented conductors and composers who created a wealth of Light Music during the 20^th Century; and secondly it recognises that this is the 100^th Guild Light Music CD dedicated to the preservation of all that is best from "The Golden Age of Light Music".

Choosing the music to include in this landmark collection has not been easy, because there are so many conductors and composers who made valuable contributions to the world of Light Music during the last century. After much soul-searching it was decided to concentrate on the conductors who became household names at the time, through their regular recordings and broadcasts. Inevitably some who fully deserve to be featured on this very special occasion have had to be omitted, simply because they could not all be squeezed onto this small silver disc. Regular collectors will know that over 2,500 compositions have already appeared in this series, covering a wide variety of orchestral and brass and military band performances, so it is hoped that your own particular favourites have not been ignored for the part they have played in "The Golden Age of Light Music".

Light music admirers may, quite rightly, ask why the best known recordings by each of the conductors have not been selected. The simple answer is that they are most likely to have appeared on one of the previous ninety-nine CDs in this series. In fairness to the many regular collectors, tracks are not duplicated, but the enjoyable choice of music that has been carefully programmed here illustrates the outstanding quality of the substantial body of work achieved by each of these talented musicians.

The honour of providing the opening track goes to Cyril Ornadel, but equal praise is due to Brian Fahey for creating such an exciting arrangement of a familiar melody that is usually heard in a far more sedate setting. A good tune will lend itself to different interpretations: it used to be said that whether a song was truly great depended upon its acceptance for improvisation by jazz musicians. In the case of Light Music, popular songs often receive distinguished orchestrations that must have delighted the composers. Two previous Guild CDs (GLCD5188 & 5193) have already emphasised the importance of the arranger – something which is evident on every track in this collection. Unfortunately on this occasion there is only room in the notes for brief pen portraits of each of the conductors featured.

In the 1950s Cyril Ornadel (1924-2011) was well-known in Britain (mainly through his television work) but his recording career owed much to the USA, where MGM commissioned numerous albums featuring his ‘Starlight Symphony’ which were recorded at EMI’s famous Abbey Road studios in London.

The French conductor Paul Julien André Mauriat (1925-2006) was classically trained, which is sometimes evident in his work, although his early interest in jazz and popular music was paramount during his long career. He became internationally famous in 1968 through his recording of Love Is Blue.

Ronald (Ron) Alfred Goodwin (1925-2003) was a brilliant British composer, arranger and conductor, who rose to prominence in Britain during the 1950s through a series of recordings that revealed a fresh and vibrant style of light music that greatly appealed to the public. His ability to arrange and compose soon resulted in commissions to work in films, many of which became box-office hits around the world.

Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (1905-1980) was the conductor of one of the most famous light orchestras in the world 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 (especially when stereo arrived) eventually brought him worldwide acclaim.

The German conductor Hans Friedrich August Carste (1909-1971) enjoyed a long recording career, before and after World War 2. He became one of the musical directors at RIAS in Berlin in the late 1940s, and eventually formed his own concert orchestra: he also composed for films and the stage.

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.

Leroy Anderson(1908-1975) is probably the best-loved American light music composer of his generation. For many years he was the chief arranger for the Boston ‘Pops’, and he was so prolific that some of his numbers have tended to become overlooked. His music for the musical "Goldilocks" surely deserves to be better known.

The third French conductor to be celebrated in this special collection is Roger Roger (1911-1995), who had the ability to compose the kind of catchy instrumental pieces that were much in demand from recorded music libraries around 50 years ago.

Billy Vaughn (1919-1991) was very successful in producing big-selling orchestral albums in the USA, partly through his position as musical director of Dot Records. His foreign tours with his band earned him many friends, especially in the Far East.

Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers and conductors. He generally also arranged the works he conducted in the concert hall and on records, and from 1986 to 1994 he held the important position of President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Francis (Frank) Charles Chacksfield (1914-1995) conducted one of the finest light orchestras in the world, and during his long recording career with Decca alone, it is estimated that his albums sold more than 20 million copies. He was the first British orchestra to achieve a No. 1 with a non-vocal disc in the US charts.

London-born David Rose (1910-1990) became one of the truly great light orchestra leaders in the USA, and his compositions such as Holiday For Strings (his own extended arrangement is on Guild GLCD 5189) and The Stripper sold millions.

German violinist Hans-Georg Arlt (1927-2011) began his distinguished radio career in 1946, 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 own String Orchestra.

The London pianist and bandleader Stanley Black (born Solomon Schwartz 1913-2002) was successful in many areas of music during his long career which began in his teens. From playing piano in Harry Roy’s dance band he became keen on Latin-American music, and later recorded many fine light orchestral albums, which made him popular around the world.

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, often featuring his own compositions. 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’.

One of the most popular light orchestras in the USA for many years was the Boston ‘Pops’, under its legendary conductor Arthur Fiedler (1894-1979). It is appropriate that he should actually have been born in Boston where he became the eighteenth conductor of the ‘Pops’ in 1930, and remained at the helm until a heart attack following a performance on 5 May 1979 which hastened his death two months later at the age of 84.

George Miltiades Melachrino (1909-1965) was one of the big names in British light music from the 1940s to the 1960s. Born in London, he became a professional musician, competent on clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, violin and viola, and he worked with many British dance bands in the 1930s. After war service he built an orchestra which became one of the finest in the world. When long playing records arrived, Melachrino’s sold in vast quantities, especially in the USA.

Londoner Charles Williams(born Isaac Cozerbreit, 1893-1978) began his career accompanying silent films, then played violin under the batons of Beecham and Elgar. Right from the start of the ‘talkies’, he provided scores for numerous British films, and his Dream Of Olwen (on GLCD5192) is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared – "While I Live". In 1960 he topped the American charts with his theme for the film "The Apartment" (GLCD5180), although in reality the producers had resurrected one of his earlier works Jealous Lover.

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 leading names in British popular music during the 1950s, due to his work on radio, television, films and especially the recording studios.

Although he was born in Russia, Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) was one of the biggest pioneers in American light orchestral music during the middle years of the 20^th Century. His broadcasts and recordings were enjoyed by millions, and it was his ambition to encourage everyone to appreciate good quality orchestral music.

Canadian-born Robert Farnon (1917-2005) is widely regarded as one of the greatest light music composers and arrangers of his generation. His melodies such as Portrait Of A Flirt (GLCD5120) and Jumping Bean (GLCD5162) are familiar to millions around the world.

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.

Toronto-born Percy Faith (1908-1976) moved permanently from Canada 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 had a particular love of Latin American music.

The 1940s witnessed the arrival of a new generation of light music composers and conductors, whose inventive ideas would be developed to near perfection during the following two decades. Until the end of the 1930s, many light orchestras and small ensembles were still performing the kind of music that had been popular in the previous century, with the waltz forming a significant part of their repertoire. This was certainly the case in central Europe, where the likes of Barnabas Von Geczy, Dajos Bela, Otto Dobrindt and their peers recorded vast amounts of light music, but their audiences expected – and were supplied with – waltz after waltz. Foremost among these was Marek Weber (1888-1964). Born in the Ukraine, he developed his career mainly in Germany, then moved to London to escape the Nazis, before living briefly in Switzerland then emigrating in 1937 to the USA.

This tribute to the 20^th Century would not be complete without saluting the English composer and conductor widely known as ‘the uncrowned King of Light Music’. Eric Coates (1886-1957) was a successful composer of ballads in the early years of the last century, before devoting all his energies to light music. He was particularly adept at writing catchy melodies that appealed as BBC signature tunes and then making definitive recordings of them, helping to establish his high profile with the music-loving public which continues to this day through new recordings of his works.

There is sufficient time available on this CD to allow the inclusion of a ‘bonus’ track, which acknowledges the popularity among many collectors of recordings from the 1920s and 1930s that have been featured in some of our previous compilations. The British dance band fronted by Jack Hylton (1892-1965) was one of the longest running, and arguably most popular, due to its many recordings and broadcasts, frequent appearances in Variety theatres and its foreign tours. Among its wide-ranging repertoire it sometimes featured works that can probably best be described as orchestral novelties: two examples can be found on earlier Guild CDs - Wedding Of The Rose (GLCD5106) and Dancing Tambourine (GLCD5163). As well as being instantly appealing, thanks to their inspired arrangements they were often quite fun – which is partly the intention of our final track. It’s hard to believe that this fine recording is well over 80 years old and it is a tribute to the skills of the recording engineers of the 1920s. There seems little doubt that Hylton’s knack of giving his audience what it liked reflected the fact that Light Music was an important part of the popular music scene during much of the 20^th Century.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5195

Great British Composers – Volume 1

"London Suite"" (London Everyday) (Eric Coates)
1 Covent Garden
2 Westminster
3 Knightsbridge
ERIC JOHNSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Westminster WPS 103 1961
4 Prelude (from "Moods" Suite) (Haydn Wood)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 116 1942
5 Dance Of An Ostracised Imp (Frederic Curzon)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by FREDERIC CURZON
Boosey & Hawkes O 2044 1946
6 Ballet For Children (from the film "Things To Come") (Arthur Bliss)
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIR ARTHUR BLISS
Decca SDD 255 1959
"Blithe Spirit" – music from the film (Richard Addinsell)
7 Prelude
8 Waltz
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by MUIR MATHIESON
Columbia DX 1186 1946
9 Bank Holiday (’Appy ’Ampstead) (Albert William Ketèlbey)
NEW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by STANFORD ROBINSON
Decca LK 4080 1954
"Nell Gwynn" (Edward German)
10 Country Dance
11 Pastoral Dance
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 145 & 146 1942
12 Cavalcade Of Youth (Jack Beaver)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON (‘The Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra Conducted by David King’ on disc label)
Chappell C 397 1950
"The Shoe" Ballet (John Ansell)
13 The Shoe
14 The Sandal
15 The Brogue
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 166 & 167 1942
16 Caribbean Caprice (Len Stevens)
SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone R 3171 1949
17 The Unwanted (modern ballet impression): The Boy (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes O 2333 1958
18 White Cliffs (Clive Richardson)
CONTINENTAL THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by HEINZ BUCHHOLD
Bosworth BCV 1330 1961
"Holidays Abroad" (Vivian Ellis)
19 Reunion In Vienna
20 Costa Brava
21 Leaning Tower Of Pisa
22 Paris Taxi
23 Swiss Air
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by MONIA LITER (as ‘Paul Hamilton’)
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2370. O 2371, O 2372 1960
24 The White Knight (Charles Williams)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 705 1961
Stereo: tracks 1-3 & 6; rest in mono

At the outset it is important to emphasise that the idea behind this compilation is not to offer a definitive selection of the very best British composers of Light Music. Such an enterprise could fill at least ten CDs, and then still leave many deserving composers unrepresented. The intention is simply to provide examples of the work of just some who are considered by their admirers to possess the special talents that are particularly suited to the challenge of having their works performed by a concert orchestra.

Some pieces are longer than the usual styles to be found on most Guild Light Music CDs; but there are also examples of shorter numbers to provide contrasts and emphasise the wide variety of music that is generally recognised as ‘Light Music’ or ‘Concert Music’. Collectors who already have the very first volume of this series – "An Introduction" GLCD5101 – may recall that the accompanying notes tried to explain where the boundaries of Light Music might possibly lie. Perhaps the truth is that no two music lovers will ever reach a precise agreement on this sometimes thorny subject. Does it really matter? Surely the enjoyment of the music is the paramount importance, and it is hoped that the undoubted skill of all the composers on this disc will dispel any lingering doubts that Light Music occupies a valuable and important niche in the whole music scene.

The one man who carried the torch for light music during the first half of the last century was EricCoates (1886-1957), who became widely known as ‘the Uncrowned King of Light Music’. Originally a successful composer of ballads, eventually he devoted all his energies to light music and was particularly adept at writing catchy melodies that appealed as BBC signature tunes, the most famous being Knightsbridge from "London Suite" (used as the opening and closing music for "In Town Tonight"). This legendary 78 has been reissued on numerous occasions, and collectors wishing to acquire it have many choices available to them. Therefore this CD offers what are believed to be the first stereo performances of one of Coates’ best known works, which received favourable critical reviews.

Since the name ‘Eric Johnson’ first appeared towards the end of the 1950s, record buyers have wondered who this obviously accomplished conductor actually was. There were suspicions that this was a pseudonym (possibly for contractual reasons) and recent researches reported on the internet point to the likelihood that ‘Johnson’ could have been Dr Kurt List (1913-1970). List was born in Vienna and studied music under Alban Berg and Anton Webern. The ‘Johnson’ recordings appeared on the Westminster Records label; this was founded in 1949 by the owner of New York’s Westminster Record shop. Dr Kurt List is mentioned as being a music consultant to the label in 1951, but by the mid-1950s (when Westminster was linked with the UK Nixa label) there are references to him being Vice President and Music Director. The London Philharmonic Orchestra made some anonymous classical recordings for Westminster at Walthamstow Town Hall in August 1956, and there is the temptation to wonder if the Eric Coates recordings may have a similar provenance.

If Eric Coates was the ‘Uncrowned King’, then surely Haydn Wood (1882-1959) must have been the ‘Crown Prince of Light Music’. His career was similar in so many ways, and when it came to ballads Wood was more successful – Roses of Picardy being the prime example. This native Yorkshireman created a wealth of delightful melodies, often as part of suites, and Guild has already dedicated an entire CD to his music – "Joyousness" (GLCD5121). His contribution this time is the Prelude from his "Moods Suite".

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). Dance Of An Ostracised Imp was another popular number, possibly due to its whimsical title which certainly suited the music. Frederic Curzon was eventually appointed Head of Light Music at London publishers Boosey and Hawkes, and for a while was also President of the Light Music Society.

When Arthur Bliss (later to be Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, 1891-1975) composed the music for the film of H.G. Wells’ "Things To Come" it proved to be the most important score provided up to that time for a British film. It also influenced film music internationally, with many composers embracing more symphonic aspects in their work. As stereo arrived towards the end of the 1950s Bliss was commissioned to record his Concert Suite of music from the film with the London Symphony Orchestra, and on this occasion the March (on Guild GLCD5178) was finally conducted by the composer. The opening scenes of the film are accompanied by the Ballet For Children, with the images of children at Christmas time playing with toy weapons of war. The music conveys the implied menace, which horrendously comes true.

Oxford-born Richard Addinsell (1904-1977) is one of the most famous British film composers of the last century, his Warsaw Concerto from the film "Dangerous Moonlight" (1942) being the work which spawned countless similar works in British films of the post-war era – broadcaster Steve Race named them ‘the Denham Concertos’, after the film studio where many were made. Incredibly he has around 50 films to his name, but much of the credit is due to several brilliant orchestrators who turned his melody lines into the atmospheric scores that so entranced cinema audiences. "Blithe Spirit" was based on a Noel Coward play, first staged in the West End in 1941, and the film’s score owes its charm to the talents of Leonard Isaacs (1909-1997), a pianist, conductor and arranger from Manchester who studied composition with Gordon Jacob, and conducting with Malcolm Sargent from 1925-29 at the Royal College of Music in London. Among several administrative positions he held at the BBC from 1936-63 was Head of Music for the Third programme (1950-54) and a similar position for the Home Service (1954-63). He moved to Canada in 1963, and became a Canadian citizen in 1973.

Albert William Ketèlbey (1875-1959), born in the Lozells area of Birmingham, was a highly successful composer, who earned the equivalent of millions of pounds during the peak of his popularity. Pieces such as In A Monastery Garden (GLCD5182), 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. In 1924 he composed his "Cockney Suite – Cameos of London Life", and the choice for this CD is the fifth and final movement, Bank Holiday, depicting crowds of Londoners enjoying a holiday funfair on Hampstead Heath.

Edward German (1862-1936) was born at Whitchurch in Shropshire and became ‘Sir Edward’ in the 1928 New Year’s Honours. He entered the Royal Academy of Music as an organ student, subsequently studying the violin and eventually composition. It was at the suggestion of Sir Arthur Sullivan that he turned his attention to comic opera. After Sullivan's death he was given the task of completing Sullivan's unfinished score of The Emerald Isle produced in 1901. Its success led to the composition of Merrie England (1902), A Princess Of Kensington (1903), Tom Jones (1907) and Fallen Fairies (1909). He also composed more symphonic works including Welsh Rhapsody, Norwich Symphony and Theme And Six Diversions. In 1900 German composed the music for "Nell Gwynn" - a stage play originally known as "English Nell".

Among the great composers such as Coates, Wood, Bliss and German in this collection are several others whose names will mean little to most music lovers. Yet their melodies have become part of the story of light music in Britain, and they fully deserve to be included on this CD. Jack Beaver (1900-1963) was born in Clapham, London, and in the 1930s and 1940s he was part of Louis Levy’s ‘team’ of composers, providing scores for countless feature films and documentaries, including Alfred Hitchcock's first huge international hit "The Thirty-Nine Steps" (for which Beaver received no credit). He was hired by Warner Bros. to run the music department at their British studio at Teddington in the early 1940s and was also much in demand for scoring theatrical productions. He frequently undertook a punishing workload, including numerous pieces for London production music libraries, which eventually contributed towards his early death. His ability to create music to cover almost any mood was second to none, and his Cavalcade Of Youth was just one in a series of notable works. This is his 14th composition on a Guild Light Music CD.

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 GLCD 5106) 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 we feature three of the five moments.

Len Stevens(d. 1989) (his full name was Herbert Leonard Stevens) was – like the aforementioned Jack Beaver - a prolific composer, contributing mood music to several different libraries, with a style that his admirers quickly grew to recognise. In common with so many of the talented musicians employed in the business, he could turn his hand to any kind of music that was needed, and he was also involved in the musical theatre. Caribbean Caprice is typical of the bright and breezy numbers that were always being heard in cinema newsreels of the 1950s, and its appeal prompted commercial recordings by Roberto Inglez (1919-1974) and Sidney Torch (1908-1990), whose version appears in this collection. This is the composer’s 15^th appearance on a Guild CD.

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. 28 of his works have already appeared on Guild Light Music CDs, and he was the featured composer in "Hall Of Fame Volume 2" (GLCD 5124). Towards the end of his life he confessed that he was disappointed that he had never been commissioned to write a complete ballet score. His contribution to this CD – The Boy – may be an example of what the music world has missed. In contrast to his many lighter numbers and marches, he has created a haunting theme that conveys the tortured mind of someone who is ‘Unwanted’.

Clive Richardson was part of ‘Four Hands in Harmony’ (playing piano duets with Tony Lowry), but that was just a small interlude in a long and successful career. He was an early contributor of scores to British films, especially some of the Will Hay comedies, although he wasn’t credited on-screen. London Fantasia (on GLCD5120) was a big success in the 1940s, when mini-piano concertos were all the rage. Other Richardson compositions to succeed were Melody On The Move (GLCD5102), Running Off The Rails (GLCD5156) and Holiday Spirit (GLCD5120), that exuberant theme for BBC Children’s Television Newsreel. White Cliffs is one of several pieces he wrote with a nautical theme.

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 5181) 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 Coronation Scot, and the arranger of Ellis’s "Holidays Abroad" Suite was Monia Liter (1906-1988) - at the time the Manager of the Recorded Music Department at Boosey & Hawkes.

Volumes could be written about Charles Williams (born Isaac Cozerbreit 1893-1978) who began his career accompanying silent films, then played violin under the batons of Beecham and Elgar. Right from the start of the ‘talkies’ he provided scores for numerous British movies, and his Dream Of Olwen (GLCD5192)is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared – "While I Live". By far the greatest volume of his composing skills was employed in mood music, providing hundreds of works for several libraries, and 40 have already been included on Guild CDs. His stature as a major composer and conductor of Britain’s Light Music Scene deservedly allows him the honour of closing this compilation of superior works with The White Knight.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5196
Melodies For The Starlight Hours

1 When Day Is Done (Robert Katscher, arr. Laurie Johnson)
AMBROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA Conducted by LAURIE JOHNSON
MGM 897 1956
2 I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star (from "Music In The Air") (Jerome Kern; Oscar Hammerstein II, arr. Conrad Salinger)
THE CONRAD SALINGER ORCHESTRA Conducted by BUDDY BREGMAN
Verve MG VS-6012 1958
3 I Could Have Danced All Night (from "My Fair Lady") (Alan Jay Lerner; Frederick Loewe, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CL 695 1956
4 Sweet Surrender Waltz (Hubert Giraud)
ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CL 704 1955
5 Manhattan In Satin (from "Impressions of New York") (Willis Schaefer)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes O 2294 1957
6 Orchids In The Moonlight (Vincent Youmans, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LF 1052 1951
7 Moonlight Becomes You (from "The Road To Morocco") (Johnny Burke; James Van Heusen)
GLENN OSSER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Kapp KL 1022 1955
8 In Paris, In Love (Steve Race)
STEVE RACE, PIANO, AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R 4730 1961
9 Thinking Of You (Harry Ruby; Bert Kalmar)
JOHN CLEGG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1732 1958
10 How Beautiful Is Night (Robert Farnon)
LESLIE JONES and his ORCHESTRA OF LONDON
Pye-Nixa NSPL 83008 1959
11 Melody For Lovers (Cecil Milner)
GEORGES DERVEAUX AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 345 1953
12 Speak Low (from "One Touch Of Venus") (Kurt Weill, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Victor LSC-2552 1961
13 Mind If I Make Love To You (Cole Porter)
PETE KING AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Warner Bros W 1294 1959
14 A Tender Mood (Angela Morley)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANGELA MORLEY (as ‘Walter Stott’)
Chappell C 717 1961
15 Moon Over Miami (Edgar Leslie; Joe Burke)
GUY LUYPAERTS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca DL 8271 1956
16 Midnight Tango (Anthony Toby Hiller; Irving Hiller; Daniel Newman)
REG TILSLEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Melodisc 1303 1954
17 Cocktails By Candlelight (Peter Yorke)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by PETER YORKE
Chappell C 716 1961
18 Take My Lips (Meravigliose Labbra) (Teo Usuelli)
LAURIE JOHNSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 45-DB 4546 1960
19 Stranger In Town (Malcolm Neville Lockyer, arr. Bruce Campbell)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Coronet Orchestra’ on disc label)
MGM E 3167 1955
20 Lonely Room (Adolph Deutsch)
FERRANTE AND TEICHER WITH THEIR ORCHESTRA
London 45-HLT 9164 1960
21 Amami Si Vuoi (Love Me If You Wish) (Vittorio Mascheroni)
GEORGE MELACHRINO Conducting the Orchestra of the 6^th San Remo Festival
HMV SCT 1519 1957
22 During One Night (Theme from the film) (Bill McGuffie; James Dyrenforth)
BILL McGUFFIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring HARRY PITCH, Harmonica
Philips PB 1100 1961
23 Underneath The Harlem Moon (Harry Revel)
WERNER MÜLLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Polydor 46007 LPHM 1956
24 Night In Trinidad (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM C 788 1959
25 After Hours Joint (J. George Johnson)
NEW WORLD THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Stereo Fidelity SF-3000 1957

Stereo: tracks 2, 10, 12, 21 & 25; rest in mono.

When work for the day has been completed the Starlight Hours beckon. This is the time to unwind and relax – if you’re lucky, in some pleasant company. An evening out may be in order: first an enjoyable meal, followed by some mellow moments simply letting the cares of the day fade away. Should you still have some energy left then why not seek out some late-night entertainment at a night club, or perhaps where some gentle jazz sounds are being carried along in the breeze. On the other hand you can simply stay at home, start playing this CD, and let the music do the rest.

Although the record label for When Day Is Done names the Ambrose Orchestra, in truth all the credit has to go to the arranger and conductor Laurie Johnson (b.1927), who has been a leading figure on the British entertainment scene for 50 years. Early in his career he was asked by MGM to make a series of recordings as conductor and arranger, but at the time the bandleader Ambrose was still well-known, so it was his name that appeared on the labels. Also a gifted composer, Laurie has contributed to films, musical theatre, radio, television and records, with his music used in many well-known productions such as "The Avengers" and "The Professionals". Later in this collection he returns conducting his own orchestra in the Italian melody Take My Lips.

Buddy Bregman (b. 1930) raises his baton for the twelfth time on a Guild CD conducting a masterly arrangement by Conrad Salinger (1901-1961). This time he turns his attention to Jerome Kern’s (1885-1945) I’ve Told Every Little Star.

Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) once sang the memorable lines that ‘"My Fair Lady" is a terrific show they say, we both may see it close one day’. Well, it did eventually close, but not until after 2,717 performances on Broadway, and 2,281 in London’s West End. The music remains as fresh and popular as ever, especially when a great arranger/conductor like Percy Faith (1908-1976) gets to work on I Could Have Danced All Night.

Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) was one of the biggest names in American light orchestral music during the middle years of the 20^th Century. His broadcasts and recordings were enjoyed by millions. Sweet Surrender Waltz bears all the hallmarks of the quality the orchestra achieved during its finest years.

Willis Schaefer (1928-2007) was an American composer, conductor and arranger who worked on numerous television series from the early 1950s onwards. Among his best known shows are "Gunsmoke", "Disneyland", "The Phil Silvers Show", "Wagon Train", "Perry Mason" and personality shows hosted by Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson. Manhattan In Satin is a prime example of his skills as an orchestrator, and perhaps explains why he was so much in demand from top television programme makers in his homeland.

Canadian-born Robert Farnon (1917-2005) is widely regarded as one of the greatest light music composers and arrangers of his generation. His melodies such as Portrait Of A Flirt (on Guild GLCD 5120) and Jumping Bean (GLCD5162) are familiar to millions around the world. His arrangements covered the works of all the top songwriters, and Orchids In The Moonlight comes from a collection of melodies by New Yorker Vincent Youmans (1898-1946).

Abe (Glenn) Osser (b. 1914) first came to prominence though his close association with Paul Whiteman for whom he provided arrangements and often conducted the orchestra, usually for the vocalists. Other top bands which used his scores included Les Brown, Jan Savitt, Bob Crosby, Bunny Berigan and Charlie Barnet. For much of his career he freelanced as a conductor and arranger, and became closely associated with the "Miss America" beauty pageants for many years. He sometimes worked under pseudonyms such as Arthur Meisel, Bob Marvel and Maurice Pierre. "The Road To Morocco" (1942) was the third, and now considered the best, of the famous ‘Road’ films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. Moonlight Becomes You was first sung ‘straight’ by Bing Crosby, and later in the film it was used in a comedy sequence involving multi-tracking. This hasn’t prevented it becoming a standard.

Stephen (Steve) Russell Race (1921-2009) first attracted attention as a pianist and arranger with many top British bands of the post-war years, and he became a prolific contributor to production music libraries. His wide-ranging career also embraced conducting for many TV shows, and he was a popular compere of panel games and music programmes. In Paris In Love features him as both composer and performer.

Thinking Of You, played by the John Clegg Orchestra, was written by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar in 1927 for a Broadway show "The Five O’Clock Girl". It became popular again in the early 1950s, thanks to the MGM film "Three Little Words", which told the life story of the composers.

The English conductor Leslie Jones (b. 1905), a solicitor by profession, gave a large number of Robert Farnon compositions their first stereo versions in sessions for Pye towards the end of the 1950s. Several have already been featured on Guild, and How Beautiful Is Night perfectly suits the ambience of this collection. It was one of Farnon’s most successful works: with added lyrics it was recorded by Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) and Tony Bennett (b. 1926), and gave its name to the title of a much-praised album featuring George Shearing (1919-2011) with the Farnon Orchestra.

Edward Cecil Milner (1905-1989) was a highly respected composer and arranger in London music circles, particularly during a long association with Mantovani (1905-1980), for whom he supplied around 220 scores. He was also an accomplished composer (he was being recognised while still in his twenties), with his works, such as Melody For Lovers, willingly accepted by several background music publishers. Another of his famous colleagues was Charles Williams (1893-1978), whose music Milner frequently arranged: the two were closely associated since their days working on pre-war British films – usually without any screen credits. Cecil Milner’s close friend from the same period was Clive Richardson (1909-1998), composer of Melody On The Move (on GLCD5102), London Fantasia (GLCD5120, Running Off The Rails (GLCD5156) and other popular pieces of light music. In the cinema Milner worked on some 50 films, often for Louis Levy (1893-1957), most notably the 1938 classic "The Lady Vanishes".

Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers and conductors. He generally also arranged the works he conducted in the concert hall and on records (such as Speak Low), and from 1986 to 1994 he held the important position of President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The American orchestra leader Peter Dudley King (1914-1982) was also a successful songwriter and arranger, whose career embraced radio, television, recordings and films. Mind If I Make Love To You was one of many Cole Porter (1891-1964) standards he scored during his long and busy career.

Angela Morley (1924-2009) was regarded as one of the finest arrangers and film composers in recent years. In her later career she worked on several big budget movies - one example is the "Star Wars" series assisting John Williams, and it has been said that the final nine minutes of music in the film "ET" was entirely her brilliant orchestration. She also contributed scores to prestigious US TV shows such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty". In the 1950s she made many recordings under her former name, Wally Stott, also providing the priceless musical backings for BBC Radio’s "The Goon Show". The Chappell Recorded Music Library commissioned numerous original works, covering a variety of different themes. A Tender Mood reveals Angela’s ability to create beautiful string miniatures, in stark contrast to her bright, bustling numbers such as A Canadian In Mayfair (on Guild GLCD5157) and Angel Cake (GLCD5103).

Guy Luypaerts (b. 1917) first appeared on a Guild CD playing music by Cole Porter (GLCD5127). He was born in Paris to Belgian parents during the First World War and became well-known in French musical circles through conducting an orchestra called the Nouvelle Association Symphonique de Paris. This was in the era when live music featured prominently on the radio, and his broadcasts with this orchestra resulted in invitations to conduct other radio orchestras in European cities. Luypaerts is listed as providing the music for the 1945 film "Etoile Sans Lumière". He worked with Edith Piaf (he arranged her 1946 world-wide hit "La Vie En Rose"), Georges Guetary, Yves Montand and most notably with Charles Trénet - their collaboration spanned 30 years and began when Trénet discovered him playing jazz at an officers’ mess early in World War 2. Guild has previously included him conducting quirky cameos such as The Sleepwalker of Amsterdam (GLCD5131) and Masquerade In Madrid (GLCD5132). This time Moon Over Miami finds him in yet another mood.

From the small British record company Melodisc (a label which issued very few orchestral recordings as it tended to specialise in West African music) comes Midnight Tango featuring Reg Tilsley, a well-known composer, arranger and conductor within the UK music business. He was active in arranging and recording music library tracks (notably for De Wolfe); he also worked for a while with the pop group The Pretty Things and made a number of LP albums for Philips under the "Sounds Orchestral" banner.

Peter Yorke (1902-1966) is a regular contributor to this series of CDs, as composer, arranger and conductor – he combines all three skills in Cocktails By Candlelight. After a grounding in British Dance Bands of the 1920s and 1930s, he graduated to arranging for Louis Levy before eventually forming his own concert orchestra for recording and broadcasting.

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. Stranger In Town comes from a rare LP that Campbell recorded in Britain for the American market. Its composer is Malcolm Neville Lockyer (1923-1976) who became a familiar name in Britain, through his broadcasts (almost 6,000) and recordings. After war service in the Royal Air Force he worked as a pianist and arranger with Ambrose (1896-1971), Cyril Stapleton (1914-1974) and Robert Famon, but he soon established himself as a composer, with approaching 100 titles to his credit.

Arthur Ferrante (1921-2009) and Louis Teicher (1924-2008) decided to form a piano duo when they met as students at the famous Julliard School of Music in New York. They launched their full-time concert career in 1947, and many of their recordings became big sellers. Lonely Room was composed by Adolph Deutsch (1897-1980) for the film "The Apartment" (1960).

Amami si vuoi won the second prize in the San Remo Song Festival 1956 and was included in the HMV stereo album recorded by George Melachrino (1909-1965) and The Orchestra of the San Remo Festival 1956 – several tracks from which have already been included in previous Guild CDs. The song was written by the writing team of Mario Panzeri and Vittorio Mascheroni (who wrote Poppa Piccolino) and the tune was used in the Fiat "Spirito di Punto" advertisements in the 1990s with the original singer Tonina Torrielli.

Yet another musician whose career crossed paths with Robert Farnon is William (Bill) McGuffie (1927-1987). He is remembered by most music lovers as a fine pianist, often leaning towards jazz, although his occasional work in films proved that he was also a talented composer. Like the 1960 British crime film The Unstoppable Man (Bill McGuffie’s music was included on GLCD5182), the 1961 movie During One Night also seems to have vanished from cinema radar, but the music certainly deserves to be remembered.

Werner Müller (1920-1998) was a bassoonist who became the first conductor of the RIAS (Radio In American Sector) Dance Band based in Berlin, which gave its first concert on 24 April 1949. 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’. A good example of the way in which strings became an integral part of the dance band can be heard in Manhattan Serenade (Guild GLCD5130) from their LP "Holiday in New York". Underneath The Harlem Moon comes from the same collection.

London-born David Rose (1910-1990) became one of the truly great light orchestra leaders in the USA, and his compositions such as Holiday For Strings (his own extended arrangement is on Guild GLCD5189) and The Stripper sold millions. Many of his original compositions have already been reissued on Guild, and Night In Trinidad can now be added to the long list.

J. George Johnson was an American pianist and composer who wrote more than 500 songs, although he never seems to have attained success in the charts. His best known was probably The Laughing Samba (with lyrics by his wife Anne Spear Johnson), which was recorded by The Andrews Sisters in the USA and Edmundo Ros (1910-2011) in Britain. His composition After Hours Joint came from a collection of pieces connected with New York, from which Guild has previously reissued several including his Central Park Romance (GLCD5155) and Greenwich Village (GLCD5167). He died in April 1994 aged 80.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5191

Strings Afire

1 Strings Afire (Wayne Robinson; Caesar Giovannini; Herman Clebanoff)
CLEBANOFF AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury PPS 6019 1961
2 ‘S Wonderful (George Gershwin, arr. Rayburn Wright)
FREDERICK FENNELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury CMS 18050 1961
3 Adieu Tristesse (Felicidade) (from "Orfeu Negro") (Antonio Carlos Jobim)
HELMUT ZACHARIAS AND HIS MAGIC VIOLINS
Polydor 24113B 1960
4 As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfeld)
ROGER WILLIAMS, HIS PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
London SAH-R6035 1959
5 Skin Diver’s Ballet (Ron Goodwin)
CYRIL STAPLETON AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Malcolm Peters’)
Top Rank 39/668 1960
6 Champs Elysees (Laurie Johnson)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 034 1960
7 I Can Dream Can’t I ((Sammy Fain; Irving Kahal)
PETE KING AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Warner Bros W 1294 1959
8 Veradero (Bernie Wayne, real name Bernard Weitzner)
MUSIC BY CAMARATA
Brunswick O5011 1951
9 Valse Mignonette (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Trebilco)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by DOLF VAN DER LINDEN (‘Nat Nyll’ on disc label)
Boosey & Hawkes O 2350 1959
10 Herbstgold (Autumn Gold) (Giovanni Brusso)
HANS GEORG ARLT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Ariola 71231 1959
11 Piccadilly (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 4155 1961
12 Very Nice Man (from "Carnival") (Bob Merrill, arr. Brian Fahey)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3946 1961
13 Corrida (Dominico Savino)
RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SR 60103 1959
14 China Doll (Leroy Anderson)
EASTMAN-ROCHESTER "POPS" ORCHESTRA Conducted by FREDERICK FENNELL
Mercury AMS16037 1960
15 Assembly Line (Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 2882 1951
16 Goblin’s Gavotte (Anthony Tamburello, arr, Bruce Campbell)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA (LP label credits ‘Everest Concert Orchestra Conducted by Derek Boulton’)
Everest SDBR 1018 1958
17 Evening On Tokyo’s Sumida (Dorothy Guyver Britton)
NORRIE PARAMOR AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST 10190 1959
18 Maracaibo (Les Baxter)
LES BAXTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol T 655 1955
19 My Man (Mon Homme) (Maurice Yvain; Albert Lucien Willemetz; Jacques
Mardochee Charles)
XAVIER CUGAT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSP 2173 1959
20 Swedish Rhapsody (Midsummer Vigil) (Hugo Alfven, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 4-39944 1953
21 The Secret Of Happiness (Curtin; Carl Sigmund)
TONY OSBORNE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV 45-POP 483 1958
22 Carefree Character (Alan Perry, real name Ernest Tomlinson)
THE LIGHT SYMPHONIA Conducted by ROBERTO CAPELLI
Conroy BM 292 1961
23 All Through The Day (from "Centennial Summer") (Jerome Kern, arr. Paul Weston)
PAUL WESTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8050 1958
24 Caress (Nagy, arr. Bruce Campbell)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Coronet Orchestra’ on disc label)
MGM E 3167 1955
25 Sidewalk (Charles Williams)
CHARLES WILLIAMS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 3493 1954
Stereo: tracks 1, 2, 4, 10-14, 16, 17, 19 & 23; rest in mono.

The American maestro Herman Clebanoff (1917-2004) has the honour of opening this collection, and providing the title track with his own composition Strings Afire, on which he collaborated with Wayne Robinson and Caesar Giovannini. The son of Russian emigrants, he was born in Chicago and began studying the violin when aged only five. By the time he was twenty he was both concertmaster of the Chicago Civic Orchestra and youngest member of the Chicago Symphony. Usually just known as ‘Clebanoff’, he had a long association with NBC, and from 1945 he spent the next ten years as concertmaster of their Chicago-based orchestra, playing a wide repertoire from the classics to popular tunes. Chicago’s Mercury music director, David Carroll, recognised Clebanoff’s talents, launching a series of orchestral LPs that were designed to compete with the output from the other major labels. Around 1960 Mercury consolidated its recording activities in the Hollywood area, where Clebanoff also settled for the rest of his life.

Following their Guild debut with Love Is Sweeping The Country (Guild GLCD5189), Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) returns with his Orchestra for another popular George Gershwin (1898-1937) title ’S Wonderful. On this occasion it is appropriate to mention the gifted arranger of these numbers, and one wonders why he is not better known. Rayburn Wright (1922-1990) was an American conductor, trombonist and arranger who taught jazz and film scoring at the Eastman School of Music, where Frederick Fennell was also an important presence. Such was the high esteem in which he was held that the school established the Rayburn Wright Award in 1989, recognising distinguished students.

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. Adieu Tristesse was better known as Felicidade when it opened the 1959 Brazilian film "Orpheu Negro" ("Black Orpheus"), which was largely responsible for introducing the bossa nova to the world.

Herman Hupfeld (1894-1951) wrote the music and lyrics of As Time Goes By for the Broadway show "Everybody’s Welcome" in 1931. At the time it attracted little attention, and might have been quietly forgotten, had it not been chosen for the 1942 film "Casablanca". Since then it has been recorded hundreds, maybe thousands, of times, and the choice of the version by Roger Williams (1924-2011) is partly influenced by the attractive string passage that accompanies his distinctive piano.

Skin Diver’s Ballet is a composition by Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) who was under contract to EMI for many years. Similarly Cyril Stapleton (1914-1974) had a Decca contract, so when they decided to record an LP of Ron’s original pieces for a rival label Cyril had to become ‘Malcolm Peters’. Two other tracks from this meeting of two British Light Music ‘greats’ have previously appeared on Guild: Prairie Schooner (on GLCD5182) and Waitin’ For The Dawn (GLCD5187).

Laurie Johnson (b.1927) has been a leading figure on the British entertainment scene for 50 years. A gifted arranger and composer, Laurie has contributed to films, musical theatre, radio, television and records, with his music used in many well-known productions such as "The Avengers" and "The Professionals". Champs Elysees is one of many of his compositions that started to appear in the KPM Recorded Music Library, following its launch in 1959.

Peter Dudley King (1914-1982) makes his first Guild appearance with I Can Dream Can’t I, an attractive melody by Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal which deserves to be better known today. Originally published in 1938 for a long forgotten musical "Right This Way", it gained its greatest success in 1949 when a recording by The Andrews Sisters took it to the top of the US charts. Ohio-born Pete King was a busy arranger and conductor who worked extensively on American radio and television, and in the recording studios.

Judging by his prolific output, the 1950s seems to have been a very busy period for the American Bernie Wayne (born Bernard Weitzner 1919-1993). In the USA he is best known for his "Miss America" Beauty Pageant theme, and the hit song Blue Velvet. His string of instrumental successes included Vanessa (on GLCD5189), Port-au-Prince (GLCD5130) and Veradero (Geoff Love’s version is on GLCD5111). The 1951 recording of Veradero by the American maestro Salvatore ‘Tutti’ Camarata (1913-2005) is more faithful to the composer’s original version, hence its inclusion here.

Valse Mignonette is the twenty-seventh composition by Trevor Duncan (born Leonard Charles Trebilco, 1924-2005) in a Guild Light Music collection, and judging by the requests that keep coming in it won’t be the last. Many were written for the publisher that first promoted his work, Boosey & Hawkes, and their recordings were regularly of a high standard. Valse Mignonette was conducted by Dolf van der Linden (1915-1999), whose Metropole Orchestra in The Netherlands was one of the finest in Europe.

Making his eighth appearance on a Guild CD with Herbstgold is Hans Georg Arlt (1927-2011) who 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.

David Rose (1910-1990) had previously been regarded as a jazz pianist, but he persuaded RCA to let him record four instrumental numbers and the session in March 1942 resulted in the million-seller which firmly launched his career as one of America’s top orchestras. It was, of course, Holiday For Strings, and the maestro’s own extended version from the 1950s appears on Guild GLCD5189. He has already conducted twenty-five of his own works on previous Guild CDs, and his orchestra has also performed over thirty numbers by other composers. Piccadilly may not be his best-known piece, but it portrays all the familiar characteristics that have made him so popular with his fans who appreciate the best in Light Music.

From the late 1950s onwards Cyril Ornadel (1924-2011) made many fine orchestral albums with his ‘Starlight Symphony’, aimed primarily at the American market. His regular arranger was Brian Fahey (1919-2007), known in Britain as a busy musical director, arranger and composer. Very Nice Man is a lesser-known number from the 1961 Broadway show "Carnival".

Corrida receives a spirited performance from the Richard Hayman (b. 1920) Orchestra. Also known as a harmonica player, he worked on the MGM musical "Meet Me In St. Louis" and was put under contract by Mercury Records in 1950, for whom he made many singles and albums, the best-seller being his version of Ruby from the film "Ruby Gentry". He also arranged for the Boston Pops, serving as back-up conductor for Arthur Fiedler.

Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was also closely associated with the Boston ‘Pops’ for many years as its chief arranger. Many of his compositions also made their debut under conductor Fiedler’s baton, but for this CD Frederick Fennell returns (this time with the Eastman-Rochester ‘Pops’ Orchestra) playing China Doll, one of Anderson’s less familiar melodies which deserves to be heard more often.

Viennese Raymond Stuart Martin (1918-1988) was born Raymond Wolfgang Kohn, but after he fled from the Nazis and settled in England before the outbreak of World War 2 he wished to be known as ‘Ray Martin’. He became one of the biggest names in British popular music during the 1950s. As well as conducting his orchestra for records, radio and television, he was also a talented composer. Assembly Line was one of his early compositions and it is included in response to requests from several of his loyal admirers.

In 1958 Everest Records of the US commissioned an album of original compositions (including Goblin’s Gavotte) from Tony Tamburello (who died in 1992 aged 72) which it called "Music Tailored To Your Taste". The Robert Farnon Orchestra was engaged, and sessions took place during the summer of 1958 in London at the Friends’ Meeting House and the IBC Studios in Portland Place. Bruce Campbell did most of the arrangements, but Farnon’s name could not appear on the record for contractual reasons. So his orchestra was renamed ‘The Everest Concert Orchestra’ and the conductor was credited as ‘Derek Boulton’ – actually Farnon’s manager!

Londoner Norman (Norrie) William Paramor (1914-1979) tended to be better known by the public for his work with pop stars as Artists and Repertoire Manager on EMI’s Columbia label, but he also made numerous instrumental recordings and wrote several catchy numbers that greatly appealed – such as Cornflakes under the pseudonym ‘Sidney Norman’ (on Guild GLCD5130). Evening On Tokyo’s Sumida comes from a collection recorded in London for EMI’s US subsidiary Capitol Records.

Although he was a talented arranger who was capable of producing the many different styles that a busy musician working in films and television – as well as recordings – was expected to provide, Texas born Les Baxter (1922-1996) tended to be asked by his record companies to record pieces with an ‘exotic’ appeal. Maracaibo also allows him to exhibit his talents as a composer.

Xavier Cugat (1900-1990) was a Spanish born bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, but achieved fame in the USA. He provided the resident orchestra at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria before and after the Second World War, and he was also a cartoonist and successful businessman. His four marriages provided fodder for gossip columnists, but his lasting legacy is appearances in several Hollywood films and many fine recordings - usually of Latin American music. The French song Mon Homme has been around for a long time; it was a success for Mistinguett in 1916, and Fanny Brice introduced the English version in 1921.

The composer Hugo Emil Alfvén (1872-1960) is a legend in his native Sweden. His composition Swedish Rhapsody (written in 1903) gained him fame around the world in the 1950s, thanks to the version on this CD by Percy Faith (1908-1976).

The Secret Of Happiness brings Tony Osborne (Edward Benjamin Osborne, 1922-2009) back to a Guild collection. He became a familiar name in post-war Britain due to his broadcasts and recordings, originally playing piano with many top orchestras before embarking on his own career.

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’ – such as for Carefree Character. In recent years Ernest has worked tirelessly to preserve thousands of music manuscripts that would otherwise have been destroyed, and he is the President of the Light Music Society.

Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein 1912-1996) was one of America’s top arrangers and conductors, whose orchestral collections such as ‘Music For Dreaming’ and ‘Music For Memories’ were to provide the springboard for many future albums. All Through The Day is a typical example of the hundreds of tasteful arrangements he created during his long career. In 1971 the Trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave him its Trustees Award.

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. Towards the end of the 1940s Campbell realised that he possessed some skills as a composer, and Farnon encouraged him and provided some valuable guidance. The fruits of this meeting of talents have already been experienced on Guild CDs in titles such as Cloudland (GLCD5145), Windy Corner (GLCD5150) and Skippy (GLCD5125). Caress comes from a very rare LP which appears to have only been released in the USA. Campbell’s name wasn’t even mentioned as conductor of the album.

Our final track features Charles Williams(born Isaac Cozerbreit 1893-1978), another composer/conductor whose work is now familiar once again through his many Guild recordings. He had numerous pieces published by Chappells when he was the main contributor to their Recorded Music Library, and almost forty of his compositions have already been featured on Guild CDs. Sidewalk originally appeared in the Chappell Recorded Music Library in 1954, but Williams’ own commercial recording for Columbia has been chosen to complete this varied collection of Light Music.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5192

Stereo Into The Sixties

1 Night And Day (from the film "The Gay Divorcee") (Cole Porter, arr. Brian Fahey)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3843 1960
2 Bidin’ My Time (George Gershwin, arr. Rayburn Wright)
FREDERICK FENNELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury CMS 18050 1961
3 Bobsled (Wayne Robinson; Caesar Giovannini; Herman Clebanoff)
CLEBANOFF AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury PPS 6019 1961
4 Italia Mia (Annunzio Paolo Mantovani)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4135 1961
5 London Serenade (Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone PCS 3019 1961
6 Coney Island (Don Banks)
THE SINFONIA OF LONDON Conducted by DOUGLAS GAMLEY
HMV CSD 1333 1961
7 Carioca (from the film "Flying Down To Rio") (Gus Kahn; Edward Eliscu; Vincent
Youmans)
JACK SHAINDLIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Brunswick STA 3055 1961
8 What Is There To Say (Vernon Duke; E. Y. Harburg)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 4155 1961
9 Jockey On The Carousel (Jerome Kern, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSC 2559 1961
10 Pedro The Fisherman (from "The Lisbon Story") (Harold Vousden Purcell; Harry Parr-Davies, arr. Johnny Douglas)
THE LIVING STRINGS Conducted by JOHNNY DOUGLAS
RCA SF 5072 1960
11 Petite Waltz (Joe Heyne)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SML 30022 1961
12 Amparito Roca (Jaime Texidor)
ASTMAN-ROCHESTER POPS ORCHESTRA Conducted by FREDERICK FENNELL
Mercury SR 90144 1960
13 One Eyed Jacks – Love theme from the film (Hugo Friedhofer)
FERRANTE AND TEICHER at two pianos, with Orchestra and Chorus
HMV CSD 1407 1961
14 Lisa (Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8360 1961
15 Ruby (from the film "Ruby Gentry") (Heinz Roemheld; Mitchell Parish)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA LSP 2412 1961
16 On The Beach At Waikiki (Henry Kaikimai; G.H. Stove, arr. William Hill Bowen
THE LIVING STRINGS Conducted by WILLIAM HILL BOWEN
RCA Camden CAS 661 1961
17 Dream Of Olwen (from the film "While I Live") (Charles Williams)
RUSS CONWAY, Piano, with MICHAEL COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia SCX 3299 1960
18 Nobody’s Heart (Richard Rodgers, arr. Frank Cordell)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring NEILL SANDERS, horn
HMV CSD 1294 1960
19 The Alamo - Theme from the film (Green Leaves Of Summer) (Paul Francis
Webster; Dimitri Tiomkin)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25349 1960
20 Fete Circassienne (Wal-Berg)
WAL-BERG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Barclay BB 42 1960
21 Mayfair (from ‘London Again’ Suite) (Eric Coates)
ERIC JOHNSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Westminster WPS 103 1961
22 Away Out West (from the film "Around The World In Eighty Days") (Victor Popular Young; Harold Adamson, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 3804 1960

All tracks in stereo

By the time 1960 arrived the record industry was gradually getting used to its latest asset – stereo. The initial excitement that had greeted its arrival a few years earlier was being replaced by a desire to use the new technology to its best advantage. Gone (in most cases!) were the ‘ping-pong’ novelty recordings, where instruments flitted about from left to right: they may have helped novices to set up their new stereo equipment correctly, but musically they quickly became tedious. The technology itself was still developing: separate mono and stereo versions of new recordings were issued because old mono pickups could not satisfactorily reproduce the new stereo discs. When production of the mono versions was phased out in the late 1960s owners of mono record players had to either replace them with a stereo one, or change their mono cartridge to a stereo compatible one.

The prize for providing the opening track for this collection goes to a man who was already well-known in Britain, mainly through his television work, but whose recording career owed much to the USA. From the late 1950s onwards Cyril Ornadel (1924-2011) made many fine orchestral albums with his ‘Starlight Symphony’, aimed primarily at the American market. His regular arranger was Brian Fahey (1919-2007), recognised in Britain as a busy musical director, arranger and composer. Night And Day by Cole Porter (1891-1964) first delighted audiences in 1932 in the Broadway musical "The Gay Divorce" which starred Fred Astaire. Two years later it was filmed by RKO with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers: for the cinema the title was changed to "The Gay Divorcee".

Following their first Guild appearances with Love Is Sweeping The Country (Guild GLCD5189) and ’S Wonderful (GLCD5191), Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) returns with his Orchestra for another popular George Gershwin (1898-1937) title, Bidin’ My Time. The gifted arranger of these numbers was Rayburn Wright (1922-1990) an American conductor, trombonist and arranger who taught jazz and film scoring at the Eastman School of Music, where Frederick Fennell was also an important presence. Fennell conducts the Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra later in this collection in Spanish composer Jaime Texidor’s (1884-1957) familiar Amparito Roca which dates from 1925. Apparently it was named after his 12-year-old music student.

Chicago-born Herman Clebanoff (1917-2004) had a sound education in classical music and was an experienced violinist and concertmaster before he was 20. Usually just known as ‘Clebanoff’, he had a long association with NBC, and later Mercury Records. Bobsled is one of several bright string numbers he composed with Wayne Robinson and Caesar Giovannini.

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 (especially when stereo arrived) 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 Italia Mia is one he wrote for an album devoted to his native Italy.

Ronald (Ron) 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, such as London Serenade, he became in demand for film scores and among his best-remembered are "633 Squadron" (1964), "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" (1965) and Alfred Hitchcock’s "Frenzy" (1972). In 1994 his talents were recognised when George Martin presented him with the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement in Music. His big album sales also earned him gold and platinum discs.

The Australian composer Don Banks (1923-1980) gained his basic musical education ‘down under’, then came to Europe in 1950 to continue his studies. He also earned his living in London as a professional orchestrator and composer of music for feature films, documentaries, advertisements, publishers’ libraries and the theatre. In fact he became widely known and recognised within the music business for his abilities, and his Coney Island (a tribute to New York’s famous amusement park) is an outstanding work of light music. It receives a fine performance from fellow Australian Douglas Gamley (1925-1998) conducting the Sinfonia of London.

Carioca first caught the attention of film audiences in 1933 in "Flying Down To Rio", the movie usually quoted as launching the screen career of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It receives a lively performance under the baton of Jack Shaindlin (1909-1978) who was a big name in American music circles for most of his life. He worked as a pianist for silent films, and his career eventually embraced composing, arranging and conducting (in the late 1940s he was musical director of the Carnegie Pops Orchestra). His music was used extensively in films and television, ranging from documentaries to cartoons. He was musical director of the March of Time newsreels which became a part of US popular culture.

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 What Is There To Say reveals the lush string sound of his superb orchestra at its very best.

The towering talents of two great American musicians combine in Jockey On The Carousel by Jerome Kern (1885-1945). Kern was responsible for some of the finest popular music of the last century, and Morton Gould (1913-1996) conducts a version that would surely have met with the composer’s approval.

The legendary American record producer, Ethel deNagy Gabriel (b. 1921), is reputed to have created ‘The Living Strings’ as a foremost easy listening icon for RCA’s budget label Camden at the end of the 1950s. It was an immediate success, but far from being one orchestra it was, in fact, many different ones. Leading arrangers and conductors were engaged to make mood music albums, and many of these were recorded in London, using top session musicians. Two are featured in this collection: first is the catchy Pedro The Fisherman arranged and conducted by Johnny Douglas (1920-2003). He made his first professional appearance as a pianist in 1939 but soon afterwards he was called up for war service in the Royal Air Force where he formed his own dance band. Later an arm injury prevented him from playing the piano for about two years, so he concentrated on his real love – arranging and composing, winning a Melody Maker Jazz Jamboree award for the best dance band composition. After the war he began scoring for many famous bands, gradually expanding his arranging skills. He recorded over 500 titles for Decca, and received many commissions for radio and television work. In 1958 he was asked to arrange and conduct "Living Strings Play Music of the Sea" for RCA, which was recorded at the Kingsway Hall, London, with an orchestra of 61 musicians. This began his long association with RCA, New York, and during the next twenty-five years he made 80 albums for RCA alone and received a Gold disc for the RCA album entitled "Feelings". Johnny has to his credit over 100 albums and 36 feature films, the most well-known of the latter being "The Railway Children" for which he received a British Academy Film & TV Arts Nomination.

Six tracks later On The Beach At Waikiki finds the Living Strings conducted by William Hill-Bowen (1918-1964). He was George Melachrino’s right-hand man in the years immediately following World War 2, often appearing on piano but, perhaps, more importantly as a brilliant arranger who managed to recreate his master’s famous style to perfection. He was also a talented composer, and The Living Strings especially gave him the opportunity to showcase his own creations.

Petite Waltz features David Carroll (1913-2008) – real name Rodell Walter ‘Nook’ Schreier – who was well-known in his native USA as a conductor and arranger. In the mid-1940s he joined the newly formed Mercury Records where he spent the next 15 years. Initially employed as an arranger and conductor, he progressed to being a producer and was later promoted as head of artists and repertoire. He was particularly successful writing TV jingles for advertising, and became familiar to the American public through his work with The Smothers Brothers, eventually becoming their General Manager.

Arthur Ferrante (1921-2009) and Louis Teicher (1924-2008) decided to form a piano duo when they met as students at the famous Julliard School of Music in New York. They launched their full-time concert career in 1947, and many of their recordings became big sellers. Film themes seemed to suit them particularly well, such as Hugo Friedhofer’s (1901-1981) Love Theme from "One Eyed Jacks".

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, and his compositions, such as Lisa, confirm his mastery of the light orchestra.

The haunting theme from the 1952 film "Ruby Gentry" is played by the fine orchestra conducted by George Miltiades Melachrino (1909-1965), one of the big names in British light music from the 1940s to the 1960s. Born in London, he became a professional musician, competent on clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, violin and viola, and he worked with many British dance bands in the 1930s – sometimes as a vocalist. After war service he built an orchestra which became one of the best in the world; when long playing records arrived, Melachrino’s sold in vast quantities, especially in the USA.

Russ Conway (born in Bristol 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 backed by full orchestras, resulting in accomplished performances such as Charles Williams’ (1893-1978) Dream Of Olwen.

Frank Cordell (1918-1980) was a highly regarded English composer, arranger and conductor whose work first became noticed through the tuneful backings he often supplied to some contract singers on HMV singles in the 1950s. Occasionally he was allowed his own 78s, and he was also responsible for several distinctive LPs which quickly became collectors’ items. From one of these we hear Richard Rodgers’ (1902-1979) Nobody’s Heart which originally appeared in the 1942 Broadway musical "By Jupiter".

The 1960 United Artists’ film "The Alamo" was directed by John Wayne, who also starred as Davy Crockett. The main theme became a popular song as The Green Leaves Of Summer, and the version by Billy Vaughn (1919-1991) concentrates more on the drama of the story, rather than the tender moments which have influenced some other arrangers.

Wal-Berg (born Voldemar Rosenberg, 1910-1994) studied at both the Berlin and Paris Conservatories of Music, and for a while during the 1930s he was closely associated with French recordings by Marlene Dietrich. In his later career he made many orchestral recordings which often had a Russian, Austrian and Gypsy feel – this is clearly felt in his atmospheric Fete Circassienne. One of his best-known works is Danse du Diable (Devil’s Dance) which Mantovani conducts on Guild GLCD5181.

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. For much of his life he lived in London, and many of his works portray his love of the city. Mayfair comes from his suite "London Again" which was a sequel to his famous "London Suite" which contained his Knightsbridge march; this is already featured on Guild in versions by the Band of H.M. Grenadier Guards (GLCD5147) and Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra (GLCD5115). Eric Johnson and his Orchestra perform Mayfair on a rare stereo LP from 1961.

Canadian-born Robert Farnon (1917-2005) is widely regarded as one of the greatest light music composers and arrangers of his generation. His melodies such as Portrait Of A Flirt (on Guild GLCD 5120) and Jumping Bean (GLCD5162) are familiar to millions around the world. Farnon conducts the closing track Away Out West which Victor Young composed for the Mike Todd Todd-AO big screen version of Jules Verne’s "Around The World In Eighty Days" in 1956. Todd died in an air crash eighteen months after the film’s premiere, and composer Victor Young died (on 10 November 1956, aged 56) before he knew that his score had won an Oscar.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5193

The Art Of The Arranger – Volume

1. A Wonderful Guy (from "South Pacific) (Richard Rodgers; Oscar Hammerstein
II, arr. Conrad Salinger)
THE CONRAD SALINGER ORCHESTRA Conducted by BUDDY BREGMAN
Verve MG VS-6012 1958
2 These Foolish Things (Jack Strachey; Eric Maschwitz, arr. Angela Morley)
ANGELA MORLEY AND HER ORCHESTRA (as ‘Wally Stott’)
Philips SBBL 501 1958
3 And This Is My Beloved (Robert Craig Wright; George Forrest, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 3895 1961
4 Soliloquy (from "Carousel") (Richard Rodgers, arr. Brian Fahey)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3817 1960
5 Oh, Lady, Be Good (George Gershwin, arr. Rayburn Wright)
FREDERICK FENNELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury CMS 18050 1961
6 When You Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline; Ned Washington, arr. Annuzio Mantovani)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4067 1959
7 East Of Fifth (also known as ‘Stateside Stroll’) (Anthony Tamburello, arr. Bruce
Campbell)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA (LP label credits ‘Everest Concert Orchestra Conducted by Derek Boulton’)
Everest SDBR 1018 1958
8 September Song (from "Knickerbocker Holiday") (Kurt Weill; Maxwell Anderson,
arr. Roland Shaw)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4002 1958
9 Zandunga - Jesusita E Chihuahua (The Dancing Donkey) (Traditional, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8038 1957
10 The London I Love (Harold Purcell; George Posford, arr. Leon Young)
FRANK CHACKSFIELD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4057 1958
11 Where Or When (from "Babes In Arms") (Richard Rodgers, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Victor LSC-2552 1961
12 The Lincolnshire Poacher (Traditional, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LF 1123 1953
13 Yesterdays (Jerome Kern, arr. Frank Cordell)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV CSD 1251 1958
14 A Little White Gardenia (from the film "All The King’s Horses") (Sam Coslow, arr. Ronald Binge)
RONALD BINGE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSP 1890 1959
15 Dancing On The Ceiling (Richard Rodgers, arr. Gordon Jenkins)
GORDON JENKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA, featuring GORDON JENKINS, piano
Decca DL 8077 1954
16 The Paratroopers’ March (original title Marche des Parachutistes) (Pierre Jules Leemans, arr. Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Polydor 46076 LPHM 195817 If Ever I Would Leave You (from "Camelot") (Alan Jay Lerner; Frederick Loewe, arr. William Hill Bowen)
THE LIVING STRINGS Conducted by WILLIAM HILL BOWEN
RCA Camden 657 1961
18 Ebb Tide (Robert Maxwell, arr. Johnny Douglas)
THE LIVING STRINGS Conducted by JOHNNY DOUGLAS
RCA Camden 639 1960
19 Volveré (Maria Grever, arr. Laurie Johnson)
AMBROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA WITH STRINGS Conducted by LAURIE JOHNSON
MGM E 3478 1957
20 Romance (Anton Rubinstein, arr. Arthur Wilkinson)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV DLP 1083 1955
21 Ill Wind (Harold Arlen, arr. Nelson Riddle)
NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST 1571 1961
22 Elizabeth And Essex Love Theme (George Martin, arr. Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone PCS 3019 1961
23 The British Grenadiers (Traditional, arr. Clive Richardson)
CHARLES WILLIAMS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 3271 1953
24 Scheherazade Themes (Rimsky Korsakov, adapted and arranged by David Carroll)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury PPS 6002 1960

Stereo tracks 1-11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22 & 24; rest in mono.

Guild’s first album dedicated to arrangers (GLCD5188) explained the importance of these often neglected, but very essential, members of the music fraternity. Their special gifts of being able to transform often simple melodies into masterpieces of orchestration are largely taken for granted by the general public. Hopefully this collection will go a small way to give a few of them the recognition they deserve.

First on the music stands this time is (I’m In Love With) A Wonderful Guy - the work of Conrad Salinger (1901-1961). Guild introduced his inventive charts in the "Strings And Things Go Stereo" collection (GLCD5153) when it was explained that Buddy Bregman (b. 1930), A&R Manager of the fledgling Verve Records label, had taken his orchestra into Studio A at Capitol Records on 20 & 21 March 1957 to conduct an album honouring Salinger. Such was Bregman’s esteem for him that he retitled his orchestra ‘The Conrad Salinger Orchestra conducted by Buddy Bregman’ for the LP "Conrad Salinger – A Lovely Afternoon".

Angela Morley (1924-2009) needs no introduction to Guild ‘regulars’. These Foolish Things was arranged while she was still known as ‘Wally Stott’, and it draws on her early days when she played alto sax with bands such as Geraldo. When the strings surge in to join the small group her experience of working with Robert Farnon becomes obvious. In her later career she left England for the USA where she worked on several big budget movies (one example is the "Star Wars" series assisting John Williams), and on TV shows such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty".

London-born David Rose (1910-1990) became one of the truly great light orchestra leaders in the USA, and his compositions such as Holiday For Strings (on Guild GLCD 5189) and The Stripper sold millions. Many of his original compositions have already been reissued on Guild, but this time the spotlight falls on his skill as an arranger. And This Is My Beloved is one of the glorious melodies that Messrs Wright and Forrest ‘borrowed’ from Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) for their hit musical "Kismet".

Oscar Hammerstein II’s lyrics to Soliloquy probably caused many a proud young parent to shed a tear the first time they encountered this touching scene in the musical "Carousel". The father-to-be automatically assumes that his unborn child will be a boy, but then it dawns upon him that he may be mistaken. Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) cleverly captured the change of mood from rumbustious to tender, and the arrangement by Brian Fahey (1919-2007) perfectly captures the mood of this show-stopping moment. Fahey was born in Margate, Kent, but while still in his twenties he spent five years as a Prisoner of War, where he put his early studies on piano and cello to good use by honing his musical skills, especially arranging which became his passion. During the 1950s he worked for London publishers Chappell & Co and Cinephonic Music, providing numerous scores for dance bands, singers and orchestras, mainly for radio broadcasts. For a while he was Shirley Bassey’s musical director and he was also employed by Cyril Ornadel to provide numerous arrangements for a series of LPs by the Starlight Symphony – mainly aimed at the American market, but released around the world. The lush orchestral sounds conjured up by Fahey were miles away from his ‘pop’ numbers such as Fanfare Boogie, which won him an Ivor Novello Award in 1955.

Rayburn Wright (1922-1990) was an American conductor, trombonist and arranger who taught jazz and film scoring at the Eastman School of Music, where Frederick Fennell was also an important presence. He was a trombonist and arranger in the United States Army Band as well as the Tony Pastor and Glenn Miller-Tex Beneke Orchestras. In 1965 he was named co-director of music and conductor of the orchestra at Radio City Music Hall. He also appeared as a guest conductor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Wright composed film scores for the prize-winning television documentary series "Saga of Western Man." Such was the high esteem in which he was held that the Eastman School of Music established the Rayburn Wright Award in 1989 recognising distinguished students.

In his book "Mantovani – A Lifetime in Music" (Melrose Books 2005) Colin MacKenzie describes Mantovani’s own arrangement of When You Wish Upon A Star as "remarkable…which begins and ends with a descending run from the high strings to the low basses in imitation of a falling star". Although he regularly employed top arrangers such as Cecil Milner (1905-1989), Ronald Binge and Roland Shaw, the maestro occasionally found the time to orchestrate a melody that specially appealed to him. He was also a composer, though few people realised it because he used a variety of pseudonyms, such as ‘Pedro Manilla’, ‘Paul Remy’, ‘Roy Faye’, ‘Leonello Gandino’, ‘Paul Monty’ and ‘Tulio Trapani’. 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 (especially when stereo arrived) brought him worldwide acclaim. Although there is no doubt that he retained a warm affection for the land of his birth, he became a British citizen in 1933.

When Tony Tamburello died in September 1992 at the age of 72 a short report on his passing in the New York Times described him as a pianist and vocal coach. But he also loved to compose tunes like East Of Fifth, but lacked the expertise to arrange for a full orchestra. An ideal choice for this work was Bruce Campbell, 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. Towards the end of the 1940s Campbell realised that he possessed some skills as a composer, and Farnon encouraged him and provided some valuable guidance. (East Of Fifth was renamed Stateside Stroll when the music was leased to the Chappell Recorded Music Library).

Mantovani’s Orchestra returns with September Song arranged by Roland Edgar Shaw-Tomkins (better known as Roland Shaw, b. 1920), who Colin MacKenzie reveals in his Mantovani biography was affectionately known as ‘young Roly’ by Monty. Shaw’s long career (usually out of the limelight) involved working with countless stars and orchestras, many of them in the Decca ‘stable’. Colin explains that "when arranging for Mantovani Shaw usually received the newest material containing the dodgier harmonies but managed with his taste and ability to soften the edges. Roland did most of his arranging at night when the phone had stopped ringing, sitting at a piano with a board in front of him, sometimes until 3 am. He went to the recording studios for the sessions and sometimes helped out in the control box, using his scores".

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 had a particular love of Latin American music: his contribution to this CD will be better known to many as The Cactus Polka.

Leon Young (1916-1991) learned the piano with organist and composer Percy Whitlock (1903-1946), and the trombone with the Salvation Army. After war service in the Royal Navy, back in civilian life within two years he was contributing arrangements for Tommy Handley's "ITMA", then the most popular and prestigious show on radio. In 1953 Decca issued two 78s containing two of Leon's most famous and memorable arrangements, Charlie Chaplin's theme from Limelight and Ebb Tide. The label had recently signed up Frank Chacksfield with a 40-piece orchestra comprising a large string section and Leon was approached to provide the arrangements. From one of the many products of this fortuitous partnership we hear The London I Love. Leon would eventually be a regular broadcaster in his own right on the BBC, notably with his ‘String Chorale’.

Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers and conductors. He generally also arranged the works he conducted in the concert hall and on records (such as Where Or When), and from 1986 to 1994 he held the important position of President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The Canadian composer Robert Joseph Farnon (1917-2005) produced a wealth of light music, and he had a special affection for folk tunes, such as The Lincolnshire Poacher from a collection of music from the British Isles in celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Frank Cordell (1918-1980) was a talented English composer, arranger and conductor, and it is his latter two talents that produce the ethereal version of Yesterdays chosen for this collection.

Today it is well-known that the English musician Ronald Binge (1910-1979) deserves recognition as the talented arranger responsible for creating the distinctive string sound (sometimes called ‘cascading strings’) which made Mantovani famous throughout the world. He was also an accomplished conductor and composer (Elizabethan Serenade on GLCD5162 springs immediately to mind), and his arrangement of A Little White Gardenia comes from one of his LPs aimed at the American market.

Gordon Jenkins(1910-1984) arranged for many of the top bands in America before carving out an impressive career for himself in radio and films. He signed with US Decca in 1945, and eventually became their managing director. Dancing On The Ceiling comes from that period of his career. When he later moved to Capitol he created some fine arrangements for Nat ‘King’ Cole and Frank Sinatra.

Viennese Raymond Stuart Martin (1918-1988) was born Raymond Wolfgang Kohn, but after he fled from the Nazis and settled in England before the outbreak of World War 2 he chose to be known as ‘Ray Martin’. He became one of the biggest names in British popular music during the 1950s, and The Paratroopers’ March comes from one of several LPs he arranged and conducted for the German label Polydor.

The Living Strings make a welcome return to Guild in the next two tracks, with performances arranged and conducted by two top English musicians. William Hill-Bowen (1918-1964) takes to the podium first for If Ever I Would Leave You, closely followed by Johnny Douglas (1920-2003) for a memorable version of Ebb Tide.

Laurie Johnson (b.1927) has been a leading figure on the British entertainment scene for 50 years. A gifted arranger and composer, Laurie has contributed to films, musical theatre, radio, television and records, with his music used in many well-known productions such as "The Avengers" and "The Professionals". Early in his career he was asked by MGM to make a series of recordings as conductor and arranger, but at the time the bandleader Ambrose was still well-known, so it was his name that appeared on the labels. Volveré was included on an LP of Latin-American melodies.

Arthur Harold Wilkinson (1919-1968) was a British musician who began composing while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Back in civilian life he became known through his work as a composer and arranger for radio, television and films, and he was commissioned to write the music which opened the daily broadcasts from the UK’s Tyne Tees Television station – he called it Three Rivers Fantasy. From his arrangements for George Melachrino (1909-1965) we have selected Rubinstein’s charming Romance.

Nelson Riddle (1921-1985) was a trombonist during his early career, which could explain why that particular instrument was featured in some of his most inventive arrangements for Frank Sinatra. Riddle’s scores also enhanced the recording careers of many top stars, from Nat ‘King’ Cole and Dean Martin to Judy Garland and Peggy Lee. Fortunately for us he made a few instrumental albums on his own, and Ill Wind showcases his scoring for strings.

Ronald (Ron) Alfred Goodwin(1925-2003) was a brilliant British composer, arranger and conductor, who excelled in the spheres of recording, broadcasting and films. Elizabeth And Essex Love Theme was originally written for a projected LP which was intended to contrast the two Elizabethan periods in British history. The LP never materialised, but the gently lilting love theme by George Martin (yes, the same man who recorded The Beatles) deserved to be heard, so Ron Goodwin included it on his "Serenade" album.

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. He seems to have enjoyed making amusing versions of popular traditional tunes, such as The British Grenadiers.

The final track is courtesy of David Carroll (1913-2008) – real name Rodell Walter ‘Nook’ Schreier – who was well-known in his native USA as a conductor and arranger. In the mid-1940s he joined the newly formed Mercury Records where he spent the next 15 years. Initially employed as an arranger and conductor, he progressed to being a producer and was later promoted as head of artists and repertoire. Guild recently reissued his version of Dance Of The Slave Maidens (GLCD5189), and the requests for more from the same collection are answered here with the haunting music that Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) created for Scheherazade.

David Ades