Robert Farnon Society

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.

If you need help in obtaining any of them, please click on to our RFS Record Service for details of how to order by mail.

For 2011:

VOCALION REISSUE FOUR VINTAGE FARNON PHILIPS/MERCURY LPs FROM THE 1960s

Robert Farnon & His Orchestra
THE HITS OF SINATRA & A PORTRAIT OF JOHNNY MATHIS

THE HITS OF SINATRA
THE ORIGINAL LP SFL 13048 (1965) STEREO

Second Time Around (Van Heusen; Cahn)
All the Way (Van Heusen; Cahn)
Come Fly with Me (Van Heusen; Cahn)
A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening (McHugh; Adamson)
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning (Mann; Hilliard)
Only the Lonely (Van Heusen; Cahn)
Young at Heart (Richards; Leigh)
Call Me Irresponsible (Van Heusen; Cahn)
(Love is) The Tender Trap (Van Heusen; Cahn)
All or Nothing at All (Altman; Lawrence)
Nancy (With the Laughing Face) (Van Heusen; Silvers)
My Kind of Town (Van Heusen; Cahn)

A PORTRAIT OF JOHNNY MATHIS
THE ORIGINAL LP SBL 7659 (1965) STEREO

Misty (Garner; Burke)
The Twelfth of Never (Livingston; Webster)
It's Not for Me to Say (Allen; Stillman)
What Will My Mary Say? (Vance; Snyder)
When Sunny Gets Blue (Segal; Fisher)
Maria from 'West Side Story' (Bernstein; Sondheim)
Chances Are (Allen; Stillman)
A Certain Smile (Fain; Webster)
Gina (Vance; Carr)
Small World (Styne; Sondheim)
Wonderful, Wonderful (Edwards; Raleigh)
Someone (Kaempfert; Ilene)

Vocalion CDLK 4455

Robert Farnon & His Orchestra
MY FAIR LADY AND OTHER MUSICAL BOUQUETS & THE SENSUOUS STRINGS

MY FAIR LADY AND OTHER MUSICAL BOUQUETS
THE ORIGINAL LP SFL 13047 (1964) STEREO

Get Me to the Church on Time (Lerner; Loewe)
Wouldn't it be Loverly (Lerner; Loewe)
On the Street Where You Live (Lerner; Loewe)
I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face (Lerner; Loewe)
Button Up Your Overcoat (De Sylva; Brown; Henderson)
Black Bottom (De Sylva; Brown; Henderson)
Dancing in the Dark (Schwartz; Dietz)
The Best Things in Life are Free (De Sylva; Brown; Henderson)
I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All? (De Sylva; Brown; Henderson)
Sunnyside Up (De Sylva; Brown; Henderson)

THE SENSUOUS STRINGS
THE ORIGINAL LP 852011 BY (1962) STEREO

The Touch of Your Lips (Noble)
To a Young Lady (Farnon)
Isn't it Romantic? (Rodgers; Hart)
La Casita Mia (Farnon)
Moonlight Becomes You (Van Heusen; Burke)
When I Fall in Love (Young; Heyman)
Two Cigarettes in the Dark (Pollack; Webster)
I'm in the Mood for Love (McHugh; Fields)
Hey There (Adler; Ross)
Something to Remember You By (Schwartz; Dietz)
Just a Memory (De Sylva; Brown; Henderson)
Alone Together (Schwartz; Dietz)

Vocalion CDLK4462

Mike Dutton, of the UK Vocalion label, has been responsible for restoring almost all of Robert Farnon's early recordings to availability in recent years. Farnon fans owe him a deep debt of gratitude for making available once more those glorious 1950s sounds on Decca, but there has been a gap waiting to be filled regarding the 1960s -; until now.

Surprising the copyright owners have shunned the 1960s Philips LPs for decades, despite false hopes being raised on a few occasions. For years it had seemed to RFS members that the pairing of Bob's Sinatra and Mathis collections was a 'natural' for reissue, but it has taken until late 2011 for this to happen. Mike Dutton has now obliged, but he has gone one step further, by reissuing the 'My Fair Lady' and 'Sensuous Strings' albums as well.

Readers will not need reminding that these two CDs contain fine examples of Farnon's mastery of string writing, as well as his instinctive feel for the swing era that played an important part of his upbringing. What stands out today, is that these recordings do not sound dated: they could have been recorded a month or two ago, such is the timeless quality of beautifully crafted music such as this.

A long held appreciation of Farnon's work must have been the main reason why Quincy Jones signed him up to make a series of LPs for US Philips, a division of Mercury Records, also released in Britain by Philips. This produced five outstanding orchestral albums, the first of which was "The Sensuous Strings of Robert Farnon", released in October 1962. As the title suggests, "Sensuous Strings" focuses on Farnon's mastery of string writing, rather than his command of the full forces of a modern concert orchestra.

The sessions took place on 10 and 11 May 1962 at the Cine-Tele Sound (CTS) studios then situated at 49-53 Kensington Gardens Square in Bayswater, London. In some ways Farnon was thumbing his nose at Decca for their failure to fully promote his work while under contract with them, because these were new stereo recordings of numbers that had previously appeared in mono on various LPs of the 1950s.

In JIM 18 (August 1962) David Ades reported on the final session on the evening of 11 May, which he was able to attend. David wrote: "The first tune played at my visit was Just A Memory and it took well over an hour before everyone was satisfied with the result. The other three tunes -; When I Fall In Love, Hey There and To A Young Lady -; were recorded with very little trouble. Of these, To A Young Lady was the most memorable for me. It was about 9:40 and the session was due to end at 10:00pm. Only the string session and a flautist were left in the studio, and the almost haunting quality of the flute introduction had everyone in the control room amazed. The first 'take' was perfect, but with a few minutes left it was decided to play safe and have another run-through. This second performance turned out to be one of the few occasions when it has been possible to improve upon perfection!"

David also spoke with producer Quincy Jones: "Quincy Jones, A & R Manager for Mercury Records, couldn't hide his enthusiasm for Bob's music. 'I'd like to record fifty albums with him!' he told me." Douglas Gamley was also present, sitting with the balance engineer and closely checking the score to make sure that all the notes were finding their way on to the tapes.

Although the emphasis was on strings, Farnon makes subtle use of occasional woodwinds and brass. It is also good to hear two of his own compositions, the afore-mentioned To A Young Lady (dedicated to his daughter Judith) and La Casita Mia, blending perfectly with the standards making up the rest of the collection. On numerous occasions we hear the sublime violin of Raymond Cohen, for many years Farnon's concertmaster.

In later years Robert Farnon's recording sessions would be regularly reported in Journal Into Melody, but a glance through back issues in the 1960s reveals very little about the other sessions that Bob did for Philips. There were actually five instrumental LPs, the one still awaiting reissue being "Captain From Castile and other Great Movie Themes". This could be paired with the "Shalako" soundtrack, and we have suggested this to Vocalion. Will there be some good news to report about this one day soon?

This report is taken from 'Journal Into Melody', issue 191, March 2012.

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5182

A Second A-Z Of Light Music

1 At The Theatre ("Up For The Day Suite) (Graeme Stuart, real name Frank Tapp)
REGENT CLASSIC ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1200 1947
2 Bristol Cream (Toni Leutwiler)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 446 1959
3 Curtain Time (J. George Johnson)
NEW WORLD THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Stereo Fidelity SF-3000 1957
4 Downland (Cecil Milner)
L'ORCHESTRE DE CONCERT Conducted by PAUL O'HENRY
Chappell C 389 1950
5 Edelma (Pasilli) (Terig Tucci, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA with MITCH MILLER (Oboe)
Columbia CL 551 1954
6 Fairy Tiptoe (Julian Fredericks)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 406 1946
7 Gazelle (Montague Ewing)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 060 1950
8 Huckle Buckle (Robert Farnon)
LESLIE JONES and his ORCHESTRA OF LONDON
Pye-Nixa NSPL 83009 1959
9 In A Monastery Garden (Albert William Ketèlbey)
NEW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by STANFORD ROBINSON
Decca LK 4080 1954
10 Jack O'Lantern (Feux Follets) (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
Chappell C 470 1954
11 Kings Of Sport (Jack Beaver)
QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 295 1947
12 Let Us Live For Tonight (Adrian Bernard, arr. Sidney Torch)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by REG LEOPOLD
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2127 1948
13 Miss Melanie (Ronald Binge)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD (as 'Lansdowne Light Orchestra' on disc label)
Impress IA 125 1956
14 No Orchids For My Lady (Alan Stranks; Jack Strachey)
ERNEST MAXIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Top Rank International JAR 335 1960
15 On A Little Street In Singapore (Peter DeRose; Billy Hill)
MONTY KELLY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Trans-World TWLP 211 1957
16 Prairie Schooner (Ron Goodwin)
CYRIL STAPLETON AND HIS ORCHESTRA ( as 'Malcolm Peters')
Top Rank 39/668 1960
17 A Quiet Stroll (Charles Williams)
CHARLES WILLIAMS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 3215 1952
18 Romantic Illusion (Mischa Spoliansky)
THE HARMONIC ORCHESTRA Conducted by I. KARR
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 337 1952
19 Stereophonic March (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 3748 1959
20 Taxi (Bruce Campbell)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON ('Melodi Light Orchestra' on disc label)
Chappell C 546 1956
21 The Unstoppable Man (theme from the film) (Bill McGuffie)
BILL McGUFFIE, piano and conducting THE CINE-MUSICA OF LONDON
Philips BBE 12374 1960
22 Vienna City Of My Dreams (Rudolf Sieczynski, arr. Billy Ternent)
JACK HYLTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV BD 393 1936
23 A Waltz For Terry (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
24 Exotica (Philip Green) (from "Maku And The Monkey – Ballet)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM 180 1948
25 Young Man's Fancy (Peter Barrington, real name Felton Rapley)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes O 2208 1951
26 Zip Along (Edward White)
THE GROSVENOR STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Synchro FM 217 1959
Stereo tracks 3, 8 & 19; rest in mono

Just as two economists usually disagree, it would be difficult to find two music lovers who acknowledge where the exact boundaries of Light Music actually lie. The repertoire covered in this collection would certainly provide food for some serious arguments, but does it really matter? If music is enjoyable, then why do some people get so uptight about labels? At Guild we simply want to offer a varied selection that is pleasing upon a first encounter, and can become increasingly rewarding when it becomes better known, like a good friend.

Our first composer this time is Frank Harold Tapp (1883-1953) who was a contemporary of Eric Coates (1886-1957). Using the pseudonym 'Graeme Stuart', Tapp composed a suite "Up To Town which certainly contains the kind of atmosphere often generated by 'the uncrowned king of light music' when creating works dedicated to his adopted home city, London. Other suites by Tapp included "English Landmarks and "Land Of Fancy, but today his music seems largely forgotten, although two of his works have previously been featured on Guild CDs – Beachy Head Overture (GLCD5107) and Fighter Command (GLCD5164). From 1910 to 1919 he directed the Bath Pump Room Orchestra, which would have been a sizeable ensemble in those days.

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. Bristol Cream is another fine example of his mastery of string writing.

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 in Britain. His composition Curtain Time came from a collection of several pieces connected with New York, from which Guild has previously included his Central Park Romance (GLCD5155) and Greenwich Village (GLCD5167). He died in April 1994 aged 80.

Edward Cecil Milner (1905-1989) was a respected backroom boy in London music circles, arranging for many top orchestras such as Mantovani, for whom he supplied around 220 scores. He was also an accomplished composer (he was being recognised while still in his twenties), with his works, such as Downland for Chappells, willingly accepted by several background music publishers. He was also closely associated with Charles Williams since their days working on pre-war British films.

Terig Tucci (1897-1973) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but he achieved fame spending most of his working life in New York. He played the violin, piano and mandolin, but his affinity with Latin American music meant that the major US radio stations employed him mainly as an arranger and orchestra leader. He made numerous recordings for RCA, where he was an executive producer for a while during the 1930s. His composition Edelma has rightly become a light music standard.

Julian Fredericks' Fairy Tiptoe was published in 1911, and it is among at least 40 of his pieces which were accepted by leading publishers between around 1902 and 1927. Little seems to be known of him today.

The English composer Montague Ewing (1890-1957) also wrote under the name 'Sherman Myers' (to appeal to American audiences), and he had a most successful career mainly as a composer and arranger of light music and popular songs. Among his best known works are Policeman's Holiday (GLCD5139) and Butterflies In The Rain (on GLCD5106 and 5137). Gazelle is a piece he composed for the mood music library established by London publishers Francis, Day & Hunter.

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 GLCD5120) and Jumping Bean (GLCD5162) are familiar to millions around the world. He composed a vast amount of background music for the Chappell Recorded Music Library, and one of his lesser-known, but very appealing, pieces is Huckle Buckle. Around 40 of his works are already available on Guild Light Music CDs.

From the Lozells area of Birmingham, Albert William Ketèlbey (1875-1959) was a highly successful composer, who earned the equivalent of millions of pounds during the peak of his popularity. Pieces such as In a Monastery Garden (on this CD), 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.

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. He started writing for French films towards the end of the 1930s and after the Second World War he played piano and conducted a 35-piece orchestra for a major French weekly radio series "Paris Star Time" (Paris a l'Heure des Etoiles), which was sent all over the world and even broadcast in the USA. Roger's quirky compositions soon became available to radio, television and film companies, one of the earliest being Jack O'Lantern (original French title Feux Follets). His music is already well-represented on Guild.

Jack Beaver (1900-1963) was a 'backroom boy' in the music business – always busy composing and arranging, especially for theatrical productions. He has already been represented with a dozen of his mood music pieces on Guild, and Kings Of Sport was a gift to newsreel companies around 60 years ago.

Adrian Bernard wrote the words and music for the song Let Us Live For Tonight, but the credit for making it sound so special belongs to Sidney Torch (1908-1990) who arranged it for Boosey & Hawkes. It is conducted by Reginald Leopold (1907-2003), for many years a familiar name to BBC radio listeners, especially through his 17-year association with the "Grand Hotel programme.

Ronald Binge (1910-1979) is destined to remain forever remembered as the gifted arranger who designed the 'cascading strings' effect for Mantovani, but his true achievements deserve far greater recognition. He was a prolific composer in his own right - Elizabethan Serenade (on GLCD5162) The Watermill (GLCD5183) and Miss Melanie (on this CD) being three of his best-known works.

Jack Strachey (1894-1972) has ensured his musical immortality by composing These Foolish Things (GLCD5133). In the world of light music he is also remembered as the composer of In Party Mood (GLCD5120), the catchy number he wrote for Bosworths in 1944 which was later chosen for the long-running BBC Radio series "Housewives' Choice. No Orchids For My Lady was first made popular by Frank Sinatra in 1948.

Peter De Rose (1900-1953) was a prolific and successful American songwriter, whose most enduring standard is probably Deep Purple (on Guild GLCD5129). He wrote On A Little Street In Singapore in 1938.

Prairie Schooner 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'.

Charles Williams (born Isaac Cozerbreit, 1893-1978) composed a vast amount of music for films and production music libraries. He is one of the top contributors to Guild CDs, and A Quiet Stroll became familiar in Britain as a signature tune to a regular farming programme.

Mischa Spoliansky (1898-1985) was one of several Russian-born composers who left the German film industry during the 1930s to work in Britain, and later the USA. He provided a few pieces for London publishers of mood music, which is where his Romantic Illusion originated.

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 (Guild GLCD5120) made him world famous. When stereo arrived in the mid-1950s his record company asked him to write something that would exploit the new wonder, and Stereophonic March was the result – even though it was first released in some countries in mono only! Is there a faint similarity to the music for the TV series "Highway Patrol (on GLCD5130)? There has long been a rumour in the music business that the composer of that famous theme - credited as 'Ray Llewellyn' - was actually David Rose.

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). Taxi can now be added to Campbell's growing list of Guild credits.

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. The 1960 British crime film The Unstoppable Man may have vanished from cinema radar, but the music certainly deserves to be remembered.

The famous Austrian tenor Richard Tauber (1891-1948) made Vienna City Of My Dreams world-famous in the mid-1930s, so it came as no surprise when one of Britain's premier bandleaders, Jack Hylton (1892-1965), decided that it deserved what was termed in those days a 'concert arrangement'. His top arranger Billy Ternent (1899-1977) provided an inventive score that certainly put Hylton's polished musicians through their paces.

Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard Charles Trebilco, 1924-2005) was working as a BBC sound engineer when one of his first compositions, High Heels (on Guild GLCD 5124) made the light music world sit up and take notice. Eventually his successful and prolific output mushroomed to such an extent that he had to give up his 'day job' at the BBC, and also find several different publishers simply because he was writing too much for just one to handle. He was successful in many musical styles, and A Waltz For Terry finds him in a wistful mood.

We have had to admit defeat in our efforts to find a composition this time beginning with the letter 'X'. But Exotica sounds like it might start with an 'X' and we hope that the choice of music will forgive this lapse in precision. Its composer Philip Green (born Harry Philip Green 1911-1982) began his professional career at the age of eighteen playing in various orchestras. Within a year he became London's youngest West End conductor at the Prince of Wales Theatre. His long recording career began in 1933, and he is credited with at least 150 film scores.

Edmund Felton Rapley, ARCM, graduated from being a church organist in Gosport, to a familiar name on the BBC especially during the 1940s and 1950s. He studied at Winchester Cathedral School, and was a regular organist for the Gaumont British Picture Corporation– sometimes being given the prestigious invitation to perform the opening concert on newly installed organs. He was a prolific composer and arranger, seemingly at home in varied styles although many of his arrangements were hymns and religious works. His own pieces included the Overture Down The Solent (on Guild GLCD5140) and the catchy Peacock Patrol (written under the pseudonym 'Peter Barrington') on GLCD5143. He wears his 'Barrington' hat again for Young Man's Fancy.

Edward White (1910-1994) enjoyed considerable acclaim with his Runaway Rocking Horse when it emerged as one of the most popular pieces of light music in the immediate post-war years – the version by the Orchestre Raymonde can be heard on Guild GLCD5102. But he was to achieve even greater success a few years later with Puffin' Billy (featured on Guild GLCD5101), thanks to its use in Britain as the signature tune of "Children's Favourites, and as the theme for "Captain Kangaroo in the USA. Many other White originals found their way into the recorded music libraries of several London publishers, and this time we have chosen his lively Zip Along to complete this A-Z of Light Music.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5184

The Lost Transcriptions – Volume 3

MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA

1 Ad Infinitum (Kenneth Sydney Baynes, arr. Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-136A 1952
2 Dear Little Soldiers (from the show "Conversation Piece) (Noel Coward)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-135B 1952
3 Heykens' Serenade (Jonny Heykens)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-142B 1952
4 So In Love (from the show "Kiss me Kate (Cole Porter, arr. Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-115B 1952
5 Elizabethan Serenade (original title Serenade) (Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-146A 1952
6 Prima Donna (Paolo Cortese, pseudonym for Mantovani)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-146A 1952
7 The Deserted Ballroom (Morton Gould)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-123B 1952
++++++++++
8 Hallelujah (from "Hit The Deck) (Vincent Youmans; Leo Robin; Clifford Grey)
AL SACK AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Standard Radio Transcription Services Z-219-3 1945
9 Turkey In The Straw (trad. arr. Van Phillips)
VAN PHILLIPS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
BBC Transcription 12PM-18889 1943 or 1944
10 Malaguena (from "Boabdil) (Moritz Moszkowski)
THE ORCHESTRA OF H.M. ROYAL MARINES (PORTSMOUTH DIVISION) Conducted by Captain F VIVIAN DUNN, MVO ARAM RM
ORBS Cut 3080 (2EN 12169) Issue MK 6337 1940s
11 Lizards In The Lounge (Peter Yorke)
PETER YORKE AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
World Programme Service 370 c. 1952
12 Prunella (Leslie Bridgewater)
ARMY SALON ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC ROBINSON
ORBS Cut 2791 (2EN 10537) Issue MK 5509 1944
13 Stairway To The Stars (Park Avenue Fantasy) (Mitchell Parish; Matt Malneck)
CAPTAIN ROBERT FARNON Conducting THE CANADIAN BAND OF THE A.E.F. featuring DENNY VAUGHAN, piano
Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service for ENSA taken from "Canadian Caravan Broadcast on BBC Light Programme 27 August 1945
14 Handley's Seaside Holiday (based on It's That March Again : Michael North, arr. Hal Evans)
BBC VARIETY ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES SHADWELL
BBC Transcription c.1947
15 Flower Of Love (Dave Dreyer; Herman Ruby; Harry Akst; David Mendoza)
CARL CHANDLER ORCHESTRA [real name EMIL CADKIN]
Standard Radio Transcription Services Z-253-4 1949
16 Espanita (Edwin Franko Goldman)
HARRY HORLICK AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as 'Rene Savard' on disc label)
Standard Radio Transcription Services T 234-9 1945
++++++++++

DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA

17 Just A Memory (from the 1927 musical "Manhattan Mary) (Buddy De Sylva; Lew Brown; Ray Henderson, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Standard Radio Transcription Services Z-160-1 c.1942
18 A La Bien Aimée (Eduard Schutt, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Program Service 179 c. 1945
19 Green Moods (Raymond A. Bloch, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Standard Radio Transcription Services Z-154-5 c.1942
20 Puppet Serenade (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Programme Service (Australia) 012 c. 1945
21 Trees (Joyce Kilmer; Oscar Rasback, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Program Service 8419-8422 c. 1945
22 Won't You Be Mine (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Programme Service (Australia) 012 c. 1945
23 There's A Small Hotel (Richard Rodgers; Lorenz Hart, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Programme Service (Australia) 639 c. 1945
24 Rose Of Bel-Air (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Program Service 8419-8422 c. 1945
25 You Stepped Out Of A Dream (Gus Kahn; Nacio Herb Brown, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
World Programme Service (Australia) 006 c. 1945

The notes accompanying previous Guild collections of 'Lost Transcriptions' have explained in some detail what these recordings actually were. On this occasion suffice it to say that many of them were produced by broadcasters, although a large number came from commercial companies specialising in meeting the needs of radio stations. Others were produced for the Armed Forces during and after the Second World War, but they all had one thing in common: they were not available to private purchasers, and it was assumed that they would eventually be destroyed after they had served their initial purpose.

Happily for us some of them fell into the hands of enthusiasts and collectors, and in many cases they offer unique examples of work by leading composers and orchestras which was never made available in commercial recordings. The second "Lost Transcriptions CD (Guild GLCD5181) contained nine tracks from the Mantovani Orchestra, and from the same source we can enjoy seven more this time. 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) brought him universal acclaim.

In the immediate post-war years his Concert Orchestra was, in effect, a traditional light orchestra, similar to his peers such as Sidney Torch, Charles Williams and George Melachrino. Before Ronald Binge (1910-1979) created the now famous 'cascading strings' effect, Mantovani could be relied upon to produce superior performances of many light music 'standards', as well as original works that were 'missed' or 'neglected' by his contemporaries.

The first track Ad Infinitum was composed by Kenneth Sydney Baynes, one-time Head of Light Music at the BBC who was the son of Sydney Baynes (1879-1938), famous for his Destiny waltz (Mantovani's version is on GLCD5110).

Noel Coward (1899-1973) was a major force in British theatrical circles and his musical "Conversation Piece (1934) was just one of many similar productions. It was less successful than some of his other works, managing only 177 performances at His Majesty's Theatre. The big hit from the show was I'll Follow My Secret Heart, and the track on this CD is a comparative rarity. Mantovani was Coward's musical director after the war for "Sigh No More" (1945-46), "Pacific 1860" (1946-47) and "Ace of Clubs" (1950-51). His choice of Dear Little Soldiers is from an earlier era and must have been a particular favourite, although he did not record it for Decca. For the most part, he got on well with Coward and gave him great support in those ventures mentioned above. Coward was the only person who called him affectionately "Manti"; everyone else referred to him as "Monty."

Jonny Heykens (1884-1945) was a Dutch composer who was particularly popular in Germany. His most successful work became known as Heykens' Serenade (Ständchen) - the traditional Marek Weber version is on Guild GLCD5120, but Ron Goodwin also made a fine recording for the small British company Polygon in 1953 (on Guild GLCD5101).

So In Love hardly needs an introduction. It was just one of many hit songs in "Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter (1891-1964). The version heard here is a completely different arrangement from Mantovani's Decca recording of the same tune, recorded in the summer of 1960.

Another hit follows, but this took some while to become one of the best-known pieces of light music from the past century. Mantovani's one-time chief arranger Ronald Binge wrote a melody he called Serenade, and the maestro made its first recording for Lang-Worth before the title was changed to Elizabethan Serenade – possibly at the time of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It seems that this transcription recording was used as a signature tune by AFN in Germany, which probably led to the popular vocal recording by the Gunter Kallmann Choir. Strangely Mantovani didn't make a commercial recording for Decca, leaving the field wide open to Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) whose 1957 Parlophone single (reissued on Guild GLCD5162) was a steady seller for many years.

Mantovani demonstrates his skill as a composer in Prima Donna for which he used the pseudonym 'Paolo Cortese'. It also bears strong influences of Ronald Binge's work, suggesting that he may also have had a hand in it.

Another landmark piece of light music from the 20^th century was The Deserted Ballroom by the highly respected American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996). Among his best-known works were the ballet Fall River Legend and American Symphonette No. 3, which became better known as Pavanne (the mis-spelling was deliberate); versions have already appeared on Guild by Jay Wilbur (GLCD5139) and Percy Faith (GLCD5181). His distinguished career was crowned with a Pulitzer Prize (for his Stringmusic, commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich for the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington) just a year before his death at the age of 82. This Mantovani version is longer than his commercial recording for Decca.

Before David Rose takes centre stage for the third part of this CD, we feature a varied selection of orchestras and composers from both sides of the Atlantic. Al Sack (1911-1947) was an American arranger and conductor whose promising career was cut short when he died aged only 36. He was also an accomplished violinist and composer, and when he left his home town of Cleveland to settle in California he worked with the likes of David Rose and Paul Whiteman. As well as his own instrumental recordings (Hallelujah is one he made originally for Black and White Records), he also accompanied leading vocalists such as Tony Martin, Fred Astaire, Dinah Shore and even Gracie Fields.

The American Van Phillips (1905-1992) was a respected member of London's dance band fraternity from the late 1920s onwards, and for a while was Dance Music Director for Columbia Records. He had a gift for arranging (as evident in his whimsical Turkey In The Straw), and after the Second World War he discovered a new talent for writing background music for publishers' libraries. When this failed to satisfy his creative instincts he eventually became a highly regarded professional photographer.

Malaguena features the Orchestra Of The Royal Marines (Portsmouth Division) conducted by Captain F.Vivian Dunn (1908-1995). He was their Director of Music from 1931 to 1953, in which year he was promoted to be Principal Director Of Music, Royal Marines, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In later years his conducting duties included tours on the Royal Yacht, and he became the first military musician to be knighted when he became 'Sir Vivian' in 1969.

One of the benefits of transcription recordings is that they regularly contain material not available elsewhere – which seems to be the case with Lizards In The Lounge by Peter Yorke (1902-1966). Leslie Bridgewater's (1893-1975) charming Prunella did find its way into the Paxton Mood Music Library, but Eric Robinson (1908-1974) offers us a slightly longer version.

Born in Toronto, Canada, Robert Farnon (1917-2005) had a distinguished career in Canadian Radio during the 1930s including a spell as first trumpet player in Percy Faith's CBC Orchestra. When Faith went to the USA in 1940, Farnon picked up the baton, but the Second World War was to make a major impact upon his life and career. As Captain Robert Farnon, he was posted to Britain in the summer of 1944 conducting Canadian Band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, working alongside Glenn Miller and George Melachrino, who fronted the American and British bands. Farnon made numerous broadcasts for the BBC's AEF Programme, under such titles as 'The Canada Show', 'Night Cap', 'Canada Swing Show' and 'Canadian Caravan', which is the source of Stairway To The Stars. The piano soloist is Denny Vaughan (1922-1972) who also hailed from Toronto. He replaced Dick Misener as the band's pianist in April 1945, and also doubled as a vocalist. After the war he became known as the 'English Sinatra' through his work with Geraldo. He returned to north America in the early 1950s and made a successful career in radio and television. The Canadian Band's broadcasting schedule regularly involved around five new shows each week and, although Farnon did many of arrangements, the sheer volume of new music performed meant that he needed reliable orchestrators and copyists. The arranger of Stairway To The Stars wasn't credited on the original broadcast: it doesn't bear the usual hallmarks of a Farnon score, so it may have been the work Dick Misener, or possibly one of the regular team of arrangers which included Gary Hughes and Tony Braden.

During the Second World War comedian Tommy Handley's "ITMA ("It's That Man Again) BBC radio programme lifted the nation's spirits, and Charles Shadwell (1898-1979) (conductor of the BBC Variety Orchestra) was regularly featured to chat about the special orchestral interludes that became a popular part of the show. The programme actually continued until Handley's death in January 1949, and arrangers like Clive Richardson, Gordon Jacob and Charles Williams (to name just three) became better known as a result. Hal Evans took the show's signature tune It's That March Again as the theme for his Handley's Seaside Holiday, which amusingly traced the comedian's trip by train to the seaside, where he seems to have had difficulty finding somewhere to stay ('digs' being another word for a guest house). In the end Handley realises that 'there's no place like home' – maybe because he had to sleep on the beach with seagulls for company!

'Carl Chandler', the conductor of Flower Of Love, masks the true identity of Emil Cadkin (believed to have been born in 1920 – various references to his age differ), a prolific American musical director whose name crops up in films, television shows and as a composer of stock music, sometimes in collaboration with others such as Harry Bluestone (1907-1992) and William Loose (1910-1991). The Americans sometimes favour 'stock' as a description of production or mood music.

Russian-born violinist Harry Horlick (1896-1970) was the conductor of one of early American radio's most popular salon orchestras, largely due to his regular appearances on the long-running "A & P Gypsies show from 1924 to 1936. When this series ended, Decca signed him for almost twenty sets of 78s featuring what has been described as 'musically sturdy, if somewhat careful, albums, with a number devoted to popular and theatre music'. Such descriptions certainly apply to the recording of Espanita by a prolific American composer of band pieces, Edwin Franko Goldman (1878-1956), which Horlick recorded for Standard Radio Transcription Services in 1945, using the pseudonym 'Rene Savard'.

Finally the spotlight falls on David Rose (1910-1990) who needs no introduction to regular friends of Guild Light Music. Born in London, his family moved to the USA when he was four, and during his prolific career he became one of the biggest names in radio, films, television and – of course – records. Holiday For Strings (on Guild GLCD5120) gave his career a sudden boost in the early 1940s, and it proved to be one of the first in a string of memorable compositions that kept flowing from his fertile inspiration. During his very long career he made numerous commercial records, initially with RCA but mainly with MGM and, from 1967, Capitol. But at one time he was also active making transcription recordings, and these provide the final nine tracks in this collection.

To begin with he creates a distinctive brisk string sound (echoes of his famous Holiday For Strings) in his arrangement of Just A Memory, in contrast to some other arrangers who have tended to treat it as a slow, romantic ballad. Less familiar will be A La Bien Aimee and Green Mood, while Trees will bring back memories of rather strait-laced vocal versions by tenors long ago – happily it is reinvigorated in Rose's new 'canopy'.

The standards There's A Small Hotel and You Stepped Out Of A Dream complete the familiar titles in this collection, just leaving three original Rose compositions which may be less recognisable to many of his admirers. Puppet Serenade is hardly a serenade, sharing an affinity more in line with Parade Of The Clowns (the Charles Williams version is on GLCD5104). Won't You Be Mine certainly tears at the heartstrings; surely it deserved to be better known? It seems to be omitted from the list of his compositions on the David Rose Publishing website. Rose Of Bel-Air did become more familiar through later versions, although this early (was it the first?) version possesses its own special 1940s' ambience. The question arises: was this a self-portrait, or did David have another 'Rose' in mind when he composed it?

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5187

Light And Easy

1 Pyramid Dance (also known as "Heart Of Stone from the musical "Goldilocks) (Leroy Anderson)
LEROY ANDERSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Brunswick STA 3030 1960
2 Mack The Knife (also known as "Moritat from "The Threepenny Opera) (Kurt Weill; Eugen Berthold Brecht)
THE CLEBANOFF STRINGS AND ORCHESTRA
Mercury SR 60163 1960
3 I Love Paris (from "Can Can) (Cole Porter)
PARIS THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Somerset SF 2500 1957
4 Light And Easy (Harry Rabinowitz)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 451 1960
5 On A Cheerful Note (Cyril Watters)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as 'Paul Franklin' on disc label)
Paxton PR 681 1957
6 Wind-Bells (Mahlon Merrick)
MAHLON MERRICK AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Urania LP 9013 1957
7 A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich And You (Joseph Meyer; Billy Rose; Al Dubin)
JOHN CLEGG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1916 1959
8 Main Line (Bruce Campbell)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA ('Coronet Orchestra' on disc label)
MGM 30837 1953
9 Fashion Show (Angela Morley, as 'Walter Stott')
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANGELA MORLEY
Chappell C 693B 1960
10 Pan American Panorama (Philip Green)
QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C 322 1947
11 Las Vegas Lady (Clive Richardson)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERICH BÖRSCHEL
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 126 1954
12 Hilltop Holiday (Anthony Mawer)
COSMOPOLITAN ORCHESTRA Conducted by PHILLIPO ANDEZ
De Wolfe DW 2658B 1960
13 Bermuda Holiday (Kermit Leslie & Walter Leslie real surnames Levinsky)
KERMIT LESLIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Epic LN 3452 1958
14 Las Vegas (Laurie Johnson)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA Conducted by LAURIE JOHNSON
KPM Music KPM 041 1960
15 Gay Time (Alan Perry, real name Ernest Tomlinson)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERICH BÖRSCHEL
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 222 1959
16 Blues On The Rocks – Concerto (Bernie Wayne, real name Bernard Weitzner)
BERNIE WAYNE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
ABC Paramount ABC 182 1957
17 4:20 AM (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE 3748 1959
18 Lazy Day (Robert Farnon)
LESLIE JONES and his ORCHESTRA OF LONDON
Pye-Nixa NSPL 83008 1959
19 I'll Be Seeing You (Irving Kahal; Sammy Fain, arr. Glenn Osser)
GLENN OSSER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Kapp KL 1022 1955
20 Now I Know (from the film "Up In Arms) (Harold Arlen; Ted Koehler, arr. Reg Owen)
REG OWEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1907 1960
21 This Might Be Love (Jerry Bock)
ACQUAVIVA AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM E 3696 1958
22 Stella By Starlight (Victor Young; Ned Washington, arr. Richard Jones)
PITTSBURGH STRINGS Conducted by RICHARD JONES
Capitol LC 6816 1956
23 More Than You Know (from the musical "Great Day) (Vincent Youmans, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LF 1052 1951
24 There's A Lull In My Life (from the film "Wake Up And Live) (Gordon; Revel, arr. Frank Cordell)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring RONNIE CHAMBERLAIN, soprano saxophone
HMV CSD 1294 1960
25 Waitin' For The Dawn (Ron Goodwin)
CYRIL STAPLETON AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as 'Malcolm Peters')
Top Rank 39/668 1960
26 That's All (Bob Haymes, arr. Henry Mancini)
HENRY MANCINI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSP 2101 1959

Stereo tracks 1, 2, 3, 17, 18, 24 & 26; rest in mono

It's a pity that so many people insist upon attaching labels to all kinds of music, because they tend to erect barriers that may often lead to false impressions. This can create situations where those who are unwilling (or maybe simply scared?) to venture outside of their usual comfort zones could well be denying themselves of many pleasures. In the case of 'Light' music, the term can mean unworthy or lacking substance in the closed minds of some professed music 'experts', yet to dismiss the composers and arrangers represented in this collection in such terms is surely a gross injustice.

The opening track is a shining example of the wealth of talent that so many possess. Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) is widely regarded as America's foremost composer of what his fellow countrymen often refer to as 'concert music' during the last century. Partly through his long association with the Boston 'Pops', he crafted many appealing melodies such as Belle Of The Ball, Blue Tango (Hugo Winterhalter's version is on GLCD5114), Forgotten Dreams (GLCD5135) and Sleigh Ride (GLCD5185) which have become part of his country's proud musical culture. But these were just four titles among a considerable number, and Pyramid Dance suggests that many more of his works could have become better-known, given the necessary promotion.

When a particular orchestra becomes especially popular, rival record companies try to ensure that they have a similar sounding ensemble under contract. In the case of the American Mercury label they chose Chicago born Herman Clebanoff (1917-2004) as its answer to the likes of Mantovani, Percy Faith and George Melachrino who were selling vast numbers of long playing records. Yet he deserved to be recognised in his own right, since he 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 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 such as Mack The Knife, his contribution to this collection.

When stereo discs were launched in the second half of the 1950s, record producers did not hesitate to tempt the public with exotic sounding titles that disguised the fact that they were probably not quite what they may have seemed. The Paris Theatre Orchestra, together with 101 Strings, were names used by the American Miller International Company on their bargain basement priced Essex, Somerset and Stereo Fidelity labels. The recordings usually employed various European symphony and radio orchestras and were linked by the name of Joseph Francis Kuhn (1924-1962) who composed, arranged, scored or conducted most of the early ones. It is highly likely that I Love Paris was his own arrangement, which he also conducted.

Harry Rabinowitz (born Johannesburg, South Africa 1916) came to England in 1946 and was employed by the BBC, first as a pianist then as conductor of the BBC Revue Orchestra. He later worked in television, and conducted many film scores. His composition Light And Easy provides the title for this collection.

Henry Cyril Watters (1907-1984) was a backroom-boy in the music business in every sense of the word. From 1953 to 1961 he was chief arranger with Boosey & Hawkes, and worked in similar capacities with other publishers, including Chappells. His own compositions were willingly accepted for many mood music libraries, and On A Cheerful Note was one of several issued on 78s by Paxton.

The American composer and conductor Mahlon Merrick (1900-1969) studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, but the lure of working in early radio drew him to California in 1927. He was associated with comedian Jack Benny for around 30 years, and was particularly successful at composing advertising jingles.

The John Clegg Orchestra is making its Guild debut with a catchy version of A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich And You. In "Lullaby Of Broadway, the daughter of Al Dubin says her father's inspiration for this song was the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam which contains what she calls the classic line "A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou..." The lyrics were co-written by Billy Rose, who found Joseph Meyer to compose the music. It was sung by Gertrude Lawrence and Jack Buchanan in "Charlot's Revue of 1925.

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 and provided him with 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). Main Line comes from a very rare single which appears to have only been released in the USA.

Another composer and arranger who received encouragement from Robert Farnon is Angela Morley (1924-2009) – born 'Wally Stott' in Leeds, Yorkshire. Today she is regarded as one of the finest British arrangers and film composers of her generation. 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. But during the 1950s and 1960s she made numerous recordings under her former name, also contributing many light music cameos to the Chappell Recorded Music Library– from which comes Fashion Show.

Also from the Chappell library we hear Pan American Panorama composed by Philip Green (born Harry Philip Green, 1911-1982). Apparently he was a compulsive worker, responsible for numerous broadcasts, film scores and compositions during a career lasting from the 1920s to the 1980s. His work is already well-represented on Guild Light Music CDs.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was best-known as a pianist during his early career, but working on many pre-war British films (usually without any credit on-screen) honed his talents as an arranger and composer. His London Fantasia (on Guild GLCD5120) was widely praised, and thereafter his work was regularly commissioned by many leading publishers.

The English composer Anthony Mawer [1930-1999] started contributing occasional mood music pieces to De Wolfe in 1955 (his first was Palm Beach Interlude), before joining the staff in 1959, where he remained until 1965. During this period he composed almost 500 titles exclusively for them, and Hilltop Holiday is typical of the bright, tuneful music that was much in demand around 50 years ago.

Kermit Leslie (born Kermit Levinsky in New York City) often composed with his brother Walter (1929-1999), and it seems a pity that he appears to have made relatively few recordings. Bermuda Holiday is the tenth work by the Levinsky brothers to appear on Guild.

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. Las Vegas became very familiar in Britain through its use as the signature tune of BBC TV's "Animal Magic for many years from 1962 onwards.

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'. He often jokes that 'Alan Perry' has been more successful than him, especially the number Gay Time. 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.

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, Port-au-Prince(GLCD5130) and Veradero (GLCD5111). His mini-concerto Blues On The Rocks takes us from the 'light' numbers in this collection, to some which can be classified as slightly more 'easy' and, perhaps, sophisticated.

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 5120) and The Stripper sold millions. 4:20 AM was one of his earlier compositions, which he 'jazzed-up' a little when he recorded it again for MGM as stereo arrived on the scene.

The English conductor Leslie Jones (b. 1905), a solicitor by profession, gave a large number of Robert Farnon (1917-2005) compositions their first stereo versions in sessions for Pye towards the end of the 1950s. Several have already been featured on Guild, and Lazy Day perfectly suits the 'easy' ambience of this part of our CD. Farnon's own orchestra appears later with his 1940s-influenced version of More Than You Know.

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. I'll Be Seeing You was the perfect song to remind servicemen in World War II of their loved ones back home, although it was first published in 1938.

Reg Owen (born George Owen Smith, 1921-1978) was a busy British arranger and bandleader whose book "The Reg Owen Arranging Method" in 1956 inspired many fellow musicians. He worked in all areas of the music business, especially films and recordings.

The American composer and conductor Nick (Nicholas Paul) Acquaviva (1925-1998), although not a frequent visitor to the recording studios, gained recognition in the USA through his involvement with the Symphony of the Air orchestra and as conductor of the 135-strong New York 'Pops' Symphony Orchestra which promoted new works by young composers.

There was a time when record companies thought that the word 'Strings' added to an orchestra's title would enhance sales. It didn't seem to matter if there were other instruments as well, but a few were genuine string ensembles, such as The Pittsburgh Strings, for which Capitol Records engaged Richard Jones. He conducted and arranged for the complete string section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by their famous concertmaster Samuel Thavin.

Waitin' For The Dawn 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'.

Our final track is a tribute to two great men of music. Firstly the late Alan Dell, a much-missed broadcaster who used That's All to sign off his BBC Radio "Sounds Easy broadcasts. Secondly it allows us once again to feature Henry Mancini (born Enrico Nicola Mancini, 1924-1994), who became one of the top American film composers. During the 1950s his talents were widely recognised within the music business, and thereafter he was offered numerous commissions for television series, films and – of course – recordings. For the next three decades his name was constantly being noticed by the public, but his prodigious output was not achieved at the expense of quality.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5188

The Art Of The Arranger – Volume 1

1 Can Can (Jacques Offenbach, arr. Hal Mooney)
HAL MOONEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Time S 2005 1960
2 The Continental (from "The Gay Divorcee) (Con Conrad; Herb Magidson, arr. Conrad Salinger)
THE CONRAD SALINGER ORCHESTRA Conducted by BUDDY BREGMAN
Verve MG VS-6012 1958
3 Almost Like Being In Love (from "Brigadoon) (Alan Jay Lerner; Frederick Loewe, arr. Brian Fahey)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3781 1959
4 Birth Of The Blues (from "George White's Scandals Of 1926) (Buddy De Sylva; Lew Brown; Ray Henderson, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSC 2104 1960
5 Windows Of The East (Ya Mayla) (Rahbani Brothers, arr. Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Parlophone PCS 3002 1959
6 London By Night (Carroll Coates, arr. Angela Morley)
ANGELA MORLEY AND HER ORCHESTRA (as 'Wally Stott')
Philips SBBL 501 1958
7 Clopin Clopant (also known as 'Comme Ci, Comme Ca') (Pierre Dudan; Bruno Andre Coquatrix, arr. George Melachrino)
THE MELACHRINO STRINGS Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA Camden CAS 10173 1958
8 My One And Only Love (Robert Mellin; Guy Wood, arr. Henry Mancini)
HENRY MANCINI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LSP 2101 1959
9 Taboo (S.K. Stillman; Margarita Lecuona, arr. Les Baxter)
LES BAXTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol T 733 1956
10 The Thrill Is Gone (from "George White's Scandals Of 1931) (Lew Brown; Ray Henderson, arr. Gordon Jenkins)
GORDON JENKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST 884 1957
11 Old Man River (from "Show Boat) (Jerome Kern, arr. David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM 3555 1957
12 Please Be Kind (Sammy Cahn; Saul Chaplin, arr. Nelson Riddle)
NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol T 753 1957
13 Te Quiere Dijiste (Magic Is The Moonlight) (Maria Grever, arr. Mario Ruiz Armengol)
MARIO RUIZ ARMENGOL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1292 1956
14 Willingly (Melodie Perdue) (Carl Sigman; Hubert Giraud, arr. Monty Kelly)
MONTY KELLY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Carlton STLP 12/123 1960
15 Summertime (from "Porgy and Bess) (George Gershwin, arr. Frank Cordell)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring JACK LA ROQUE, violin
HMV CSD 1294 1960
16 The Song Is You (from "Music In The Air) (Jerome Kern, arr. Paul Weston)
PAUL WESTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8049 1958
17 Across The Wide Missouri (Shenandoah) (Traditional arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE3804 1960
18 Destiny (Sydney Baynes, arr. Sidney Torch)
SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone E 11454 1947
19 The Irish Washerwoman (Traditional, arr. Clive Richardson)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 063 1960
20 Symphonic Rhapsody on "With A Song In My Heart (Richard Rodgers, arr. Eric Coates)
COURT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COATES
Columbia DX 63 1930
21 Temptation (from the film "Going Hollywood) (Arthur Freed; Nacio Herb Brown, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8292 1960

BONUS TRACK

22 Percy Faith discusses his arrangement of Temptation with Goddard Lieberson for a Columbia Records TV advertisement 1960

Stereo tracks 1-8, 10, 14–17 & 21; rest in mono

The arrangers are some of the most important people in the music business, yet all too often their work is taken for granted and frequently ignored. Yet without the skill of the arranger, the glorious sounds that any musical ensemble can create might never emerge.

Some light music composers do not need arrangers. Usually music is conceived at the piano, and those who possess the necessary talents are able to produce a full score which sets out in fine detail how each instrument will play the work. Often these prove to be the definitive versions, which are used whenever the music is performed.

But other composers are blessed with a gift for being able to write a good tune, which they prefer to leave others to interpret. They may offer guidance as to how they feel their music should sound, but they are usually happy to trust their chosen arranger with the intricacies of deciding which instruments should play different sections of the music. In the case of well-known tunes, such as those first heard in shows or films, over the course of time there will be many different arrangements made of the songs which are most popular.

Sometimes there is confusion between the roles of the 'arranger' and the 'orchestrator', and it is true to say that there is not universal agreement on the precise meanings of these terms. Generally the arranger is regarded as the person who decides how the music should sound, indicating the points in the score where different instruments will be playing. Other guidelines such as tempo will also be identified, and in some cases an arranger may go on to complete the entire score. But a busy musician is likely to pass over the manuscript to an orchestrator, who will then proceed, according to the arranger's guidelines, setting out all the individual notes to be played throughout the piece. At this point the music will be in the form of a complete score, with all the instruments placed at the usually accepted points down the (quite large!) page. This will be used by the conductor when the work is performed, since it is possible to see at a glance which instruments should be playing.

The final stage is for the manuscript to be passed to a copyist, who will make separate scores for each of the instruments in the orchestra. This means that the violins will only see those parts of the music where they are playing, with similar scores for all the other sections of the orchestra.

The description above relates to the traditional method by which arrangements are created, and it certainly applies to the music in this collection. However modern technology – computers– now mean that a composer (if he or she wishes) can do all these tasks on their own, then simply press a button to get all the individual scores printed.

From the foregoing it will hopefully be clear that the arranger is the essential ingredient in ensuring whether or not a piece of music will succeed. Arranging is an art form in itself: there are good and bad arrangers - two different ones working on the same piece of music can produce settings that are poles apart. Without the skill of the arranger, the works of excellent tunesmiths such as Richard Addinsell and Vivian Ellis in Britain, and Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Frederick Loewe in the USA, might never have made such a big and lasting impact.

It is, perhaps, a strange coincidence that two of the greatest arrangers of quality popular music during the second half of the 20^th century were born in Toronto, Canada, and their paths crossed during their early careers. Percy Faith (1908-1976) sought fame and found fortune in the USA, whereas his fellow countryman Robert Farnon (1917-2005) decided to base himself in Britain after service with the Canadian Army during World War II. In the late 1930s Faith was conducting the CBC Orchestra for a popular series of programmes that were also heard in some areas south of the border. His lead trumpeter for a while was Robert Farnon, who also did some vocal arrangements for the show. When Faith eventually decided to accept one of the lucrative offers he kept receiving to work in the USA, Farnon took over the orchestra in 1940.

But the war dictated that Farnon's immediate future involved providing musical entertainment for the troops, and in 1944 he arrived in England to work alongside the US and British service orchestras fronted respectively by Glenn Miller and George Melachrino. When hostilities ceased Farnon remained in Britain, and became one of the top composer, arranger and conductors of his generation. Faith did the same in the USA, although it was his arranging, rather than his composing, that would ensure his lasting fame. Thanks to long playing records, both became known to music lovers around the world, and their styles have been text book examples for others to emulate, on occasions almost to the extent of plagiarism.

Unfortunately the space available in notes such as these does not allow the complete biographies that all of the arrangers featured on this CD fully deserve. However the advent of the internet has meant that it is now relatively easy to undertake more thorough research than has previously been possible, so maybe the following brief details will provide useful pointers.

Our opening track Can Can features the work of Harold (Hal) Mooney (1911-1995), an American composer, arranger and conductor who worked with most of the top bands and singers during a long career. It demonstrates how a brand-new approach to a familiar and often hackneyed melody can be given fresh life in the hands of an expert arranger.

Conrad Salinger (1901-1961) is now recognised as one of the great arrangers during the 'Golden Days of Hollywood' especially with his contributions to numerous MGM Musicals such as "Meet Me In St. Louis (1944), "Singin' In The Rain (1952) and "The Band Wagon (1953). During his lifetime he never received the recognition that his work deserved, but in recent years his inspired scores have been championed by the British conductor John Wilson.

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), well-known in Britain as a musical director, arranger and composer. Fahey's mastery of the full orchestra is given full rein in this version of Almost Like Being In Love from "Brigadoon.

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

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 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.

Angela Morley (1924-2009) – born 'Wally Stott' in Leeds, Yorkshire - is today regarded as one of the finest arrangers and film composers of her generation. 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. But during the 1950s and 1960s she made numerous recordings under her former name, also contributing many light music cameos to the Chappell Recorded Music Library.

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 of the finest in the world; when long playing records arrived, Melachrino's sold in vast quantities, especially in the USA.

Henry Mancini (born Enrico Nicola Mancini, 1924-1994) was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and became one of the top film composers. In 1952 he was fortunate in gaining a job at Universal Pictures in Hollywood, and during a six-year contract he worked on around 100 films, including "The Glenn Miller Story. By 1958 his talents were widely recognised within the music business, and thereafter he was offered numerous commissions for television series, films and – of course – recordings.

Texas born Les Baxter (1922-1996) tended to be asked by his record companies to record pieces with an 'exotic' appeal, 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.

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. When he later moved to Capitol he created some fine arrangements for Nat 'King' Cole and Frank Sinatra. Happily his new label commissioned him to arrange and conduct his own albums.

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 GLCD5120) made him world famous. His inventive version of Ol' Man River suggests the Mississippi is in full flood!

Nelson Riddle (1921-1985) was a trombonist who turned to arranging and conducting – with spectacular results. His work with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat 'King' Cole, Dean Martin, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee possibly prevented him from fully realising what could have been a highly successful career making instrumental albums on his own.

Don Mario Ruiz Armengol (1914-2002) has been compared by some musicologists as being Mexico's equivalent of David Rose, and his arrangements do contain certain snatches of Rose's unique style. During the middle years of the last century he was regarded as Mexico's foremost arranger and conductor of popular music, as well as one of its leading composers.

Monty Kelly (1910-1971) was a trumpeter, arranger and bandleader who was a regular in the recording studios, and managed to secure some success with singles such as Tropicana and Three O'Clock In The Morning (both on Guild GLCD 5105). This persuaded Cash Box magazine to name him 'most promising orchestra' in 1953, and a few years later he contributed to the universal success of the now legendary 101 Strings recordings.

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.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was best-known as a pianist during his early career, but working on many pre-war British films (usually without any credit on-screen) honed his talents as an arranger and composer. His London Fantasia (on Guild GLCD5120) was widely praised, and his Melody On The Move (GLCD5102) has deservedly become a light music classic.

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 in 1954 he provided the memorable march for the war film "The Dam Busters". His vast body of work is still attracting the attention of the new generation of conductors, resulting in welcome performances in the concert hall and on disc.

As a 'bonus' in this compilation Percy Faith discusses his approach to arranging Temptation, which is the final orchestral work we hear. It comes from a promotional interview with Goddard Lieberson.

The aim of this collection has been to illustrate the wide variety of beautiful orchestral sounds that gifted arrangers can create. From the nostalgia of Hollywood as personified in Conrad Salinger, to the sheer opulence of a Robert Farnon miniature tone poem; the sensitive approach to the music of the Middle East when married to the West by Ron Goodwin, and the reverence shown by one major composer to another in Eric Coates' glorious tribute to Richard Rodgers. Every track possesses its own special magic giving unquestionable confirmation of the importance of the arranger in making orchestral music like this so pleasing and thoroughly enjoyable.

David Ades

Robert Farnon & His Orchestra
THE HITS OF SINATRA & A PORTRAIT OF JOHNNY MATHIS

Vocalion CDLK 4455

Robert Farnon & His Orchestra
MY FAIR LADY AND OTHER MUSICAL BOUQUETS & THE SENSUOUS STRINGS

Vocalion CDLK4462

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5183

A Return Trip To The Library
Marches : Majestic Atmosphere

1 With Pomp And Pride (King Palmer)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 401 1946
Show Business
2 Happidrome (Paul Fenoulhet)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 021 1960
Romantic
3 Lovely Day (Tom Wyler, real name Toni Leutwiler)
THE HARMONIC STRINGS Conducted by TOM WYLER
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL328 1952
Light Atmosphere
4 Rue De La Paix (Laurie Johnson)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 033 1960
5 Looking Around (Colin Smith, real name Lloyd Thomas)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 386 1950
6 Making Merry (Cyril Watters)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as ‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Paxton PR 661 1956
Scenic Grandeur
7 Wide Horizon (Cecil Milner)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 419 1958
Animals
8 Dog Gone (George French)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COOK
KPM 008 1959
Children
9 Little Debbie (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by DOLF VAN DER LINDEN (as ‘Nat Nyll’)
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2340 1959
Small Groups
10 Secret Serenade (Reg Owen, real name George Owen Smith)
THE CLUB QUINTET
Conroy BM 161-A 1959
Dance Music
11 Dixielander (Robert Farnon)
THE DANCE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 351 1948
Modern Movement
12 Transcontinental (Anthony Mawer)
THE CONNAUGHT LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Conroy BM 182-B 1959
13 Holiday Excursion (Peter Yorke)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by PETER YORKE
Chappell C680B 1960
Humorous
14 This Old Man Came Rolling Home (Knick, Knack, Paddy Whack) (Traditional, arr. Clive Richardson)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 063 1960
National Character
15 Rickshaw Ride (Jos Cleber)
THE GROSVENOR STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Synchro FM 213 1959
16 Le Cabaret – French Overture (John Foulds)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 406 1946
Sea
17 Sea Piece (Jack Beaver)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 640 1959
Sports
18 Ascot Parade (Jack Strachey)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 455 1948
Comedy
19 Buffoonery (Van Phillips)
THE CONNAUGHT LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Conroy BM 106-A 1958
Novelty
20 Man From Mars (Dolf van der Linden)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS METROPOLE ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 581 1953
Pastoral
21 The Watermill (Ronald Binge)
THE LANSDOWNE LIGHT ORCHESTRA (probably STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD)
Impress IA 206-A 1959
22 Luccombe Common (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Charles Trebilco)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Charles Brull/Harmonic CBL 457 1960
Glamour
23 The First Waltz (Robert Farnon)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 639 1959
Costume Drama
24 Quality Street (Fredric Bayco)
GROUP-FORTY ORCHESTRA
KPM Music KPM 060 1960
Space
25 Stratosphere (Eric Spear)
THE NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 048 1948
Dramatic Atmosphere
26 Shades Of Destiny (Wilfred Burns, real name Bernard Wilfred Harris)
REGENT CLASSIC ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1257 1950
War
27 Blood And Sand March (Ronald Hanmer)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 044 1948
Industrial
28 A Machine Ballet (Charles Williams)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 228 1945

All tracks mono

The notes accompanying the first CD in this series ("A Trip To The Library" GLCD5164) explained in detail how leading publishers established libraries of recorded music to suit the requirements of the entertainment industry and documentary film makers. Although some had their origins in previous decades, it was during the 1940s that several major new publishers became involved, resulting in a surge in the availability of what were usually termed "Mood Music" recordings – partly to satisfy the requirements of newsreels during World War 2.

The positive response to the earlier Guild collection has prompted this sequel, which includes a number of vintage tracks included by special request. The opportunity has also been taken to widen the scope of music covered, because the talented composers who produced this specialised music catered for every kind of mood. Some pieces were very short, and not intended for listening on a CD such as this. Others were dramatic and, frankly, occasionally depressing. But some of the numbers describing ‘cops and robbers’ and the like deserve not to be dismissed entirely: who would have wanted Devil’s Galop by Charles Williams (on GLCD5162) to be consigned to oblivion?

The catalogues issued by the publishers often included sections identifying different styles of music. This assisted professional users to find exactly what they wanted without having to check through long numerical lists. Titles were important, and care was taken to describe the music through the chosen name, although this didn’t necessarily preclude certain pieces from being suitable for more than one kind of situation. For this collection this practice has been revived, with short sections each containing contrasting areas of production music. It is hoped that this will not prevent an enjoyable flow from one mood to another, but the advantage is that it will permit the inclusion of a greater variety of music reflecting the vast repertoire that was available.

Without exception, all of the composers included in this collection were important contributors to the production music libraries of the middle years of the last century. Many were also active in other areas of light music, but a few were content to concentrate on this frequently ignored niche of the music business which, in reality, was an essential ingredient in so many different productions. Not every composer could adapt to the requirements of these background music libraries, but those who were able to master this particular craft found themselves in constant demand for their special skills. They all deserve to be praised, and rather than place some on a higher pedestal than others we will simply give brief details in the order that they are represented on this CD.

Cedric King Palmer (1913-1999) was a prolific composer of mood music who contributed over 600 works during a period of 30 years to the recorded music libraries of several London publishers. He ceased composing mood music in the 1970s, and towards the end of his life he became a piano teacher.

If you lived in Britain during the middle years of the last century you will have been familiar with the name of Paul Fenoulhet (1906-1979) – even if you were unsure how to spell it! At one time he was conductor of the famous Skyrockets then moved on to work with several of the BBC’s light orchestras.

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, which Frank Chacksfield recorded commercially for Columbia. His music was in demand from many broadcasting stations, and he was reported to have created over 2,000 arrangements.

Rhys Donald Lloyd Thomas (1901-1961) was familiar to radio listeners with his popular organ recitals. He also wrote marches and light pieces, and as ‘Colin Smith’ he composed Looking Around for Chappells which was picked as signature tune for a popular BBC Children’s TV series "The Appleyards" in the 1950s. Born in South Wales, during his early career he played piano before becoming one of the major organists on the Granada circuit. His other pseudonyms included John Barclay and Pedro Gonzalez.

Henry Cyril Watters (1907-1984) was chief arranger with Boosey & Hawkes from 1953 to 1961, often providing appealing arrangements for melodies supplied by other composers who were either too busy, or insufficiently skilled, to orchestrate their own creations. However his position at Boosey & Hawkes did not prevent rival publishers from commissioning music from him.

Edward Cecil Milner (1905-1989) was a respected backroom boy in London music circles, arranging for many top orchestras such as Mantovani, for whom he supplied around 220 scores. He was also an accomplished composer with his works willingly accepted by several background music publishers. Since their days involved in pre-war British films he was closely associated with Charles Williams, and arranged some of his compositions. In the cinema Milner worked on some 50 films (often for Louis Levy) most notably the 1938 classic "The Lady Vanishes".

George French (b. 1921) was a British violinist who broadcast frequently on the BBC, sometimes fronting his own orchestra, but more often as leader for many well-known conductors in programmes such as "Music While You Work". He clearly had a gift for composing, but his recorded output was not substantial.

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). Over 20 titles have now been reissued, and among the best-known are his first success High Heels (on GLCD 5124), Grand Vista (GLCD 5124) and Panoramic Splendour (GLCD5111). Little Debbie was dedicated to his daughter.

Reg Owen (born George Owen Smith, 1921-1978) was regarded as one of England's leading orchestrators, and he published his book "The Reg Owen Arranging Method" in 1956. He is regarded as a ‘one hit wonder’ thanks to his best-selling recording of Manhattan Spiritual in 1958. His own film scores date from 1957 and include "Murder Reported" (1958), "Very Important Person" (1961), "A Coming-Out Party" (1961) and "Payroll" (1962). He moved to Brussels in 1961, though he continued to arrange, compose and conduct albums all over Europe, including France, Germany and Italy before moving finally to Spain where he died in 1978. His Secret Serenade came to prominence in Britain through its regular use in a TV coffee commercial.

Canadian born Robert Joseph Farnon (1917-2005) is featured as both composer and conductor in this collection. Light Music enthusiasts will not need reminding of his tremendous influence on this area of the international music scene during the second half of the last century. His beautifully crafted melodies, numbering several hundreds in total, have been heard throughout the world in radio, television and films.

Anthony Mawer [1930-1999] recently made his debut in Guild with Painted Carousels (GLCD5180) from the De Wolfe library. He was born in Sale, Cheshire and educated at Manchester Grammar School. Musically he was mainly self-taught and started contributing occasional mood music pieces to De Wolfe in 1955 before joining the staff in 1959, where he remained until 1965. During this period he composed almost 500 titles exclusively for them. But his talents had been noticed by other London publishers and after leaving De Wolfe his name appeared on discs issued by almost all of the major production music libraries.

Peter Yorke (1902-1966) is a regular contributor to this series of CDs, as composer, arranger and conductor. After a period 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.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was part of ‘Four Hands in Harmony’ (with Tony Lowry), but that was just a small interlude in a long and successful career. He accompanied several artists on the piano, and was an early contributor of scores to British films (especially some of the Will Hay comedies, although he wasn’t credited on-screen). London Fantasia (GLCD5120) was a big success in the 1940s, and other well-known Richardson compositions to succeed were Melody on the Move GLCD5102) and Holiday Spirit (GLCD5120), that exuberant theme for BBC Children’s Television Newsreel. The BBC radio programme "ITMA" regularly featured amusing arrangements of well-known tunes, and Clive Richardson contributed several, including This Old Man Came Rolling Home.

Jos Cleber (also known as Jozef Cleber and Josef van Cleber, 1916-1999) was a Dutch composer and conductor. For a while he played trombone in Dolf van der Linden’s orchestra, and conducted his own ensemble De Zaaiers before leaving the Netherlands in 1962 to settle in South Africa.

John Herbert Foulds (1880-1939) was a classical British composer who also succeeded in writing light music and theatre scores. He was unfairly neglected for much of the later years of the 20^th century, but there has recently been a revival of interest in his work. From 1927 to 1935 he lived in Paris, which was obviously the inspiration for Le Cabaret.

Jack Beaver (1900-1963) was reputed to be a workaholic, who would dash between engagements in various parts of the country, often completing scores for theatrical productions during long train journeys en route. He also worked on well over 100 films and documentaries. Beaver contributed original works to most of the London publishers who ran their own recorded music libraries.

Jack Strachey (1894-1972) has ensured his musical immortality by composing These Foolish Things (GLCD5133). In the world of light music he is also remembered as the composer of In Party Mood (GLCD5120), the perky number he wrote for Bosworths in 1944 which was later chosen for the long-running BBC Radio series "Housewives’ Choice". This is just one of a series of catchy instrumentals that have flowed from his pen, and he seemed particularly gifted at writing marches with a sporting or show business theme. Ascot Parade falls into the former category; there was a time when it seemed to be heard in almost every newsreel containing horse racing scenes.

The American Van Phillips (1905-1992) was a respected member of London’s dance band fraternity from the late 1920s onwards, but after the Second World War he discovered a new talent for writing background music for publishers’ libraries. When this failed to satisfy his creative instincts he eventually became a highly regarded professional photographer.

Dolf van der Linden (real name David Gysbert van der Linden, 1915-1999) was the leading figure on the light music scene in the Netherlands from the 1940s until the 1980s. As well as broadcasting frequently with his Metropole Orchestra, he made numerous recordings for the background music libraries of major music publishers. He also made transcription recordings for Dutch radio and other companies. His commercial recordings (especially for the American market) were often labelled as ‘Van Lynn’ or ‘Daniel De Carlo’.

Ronald Binge (1910-1979) is destined to remain forever remembered as the gifted arranger who designed the ‘cascading strings’ effect for Mantovani, but his true achievements deserve far greater recognition. He was a prolific composer in his own right and The Watermill was widely praised.

London-born Fredric Bayco (1913-1970) was an organist and composer who contributed pieces to several libraries, sometimes with an historical feel. During the 1960s he was Chairman of The Light Music Society.

Eric Spear (1908-1966) will forever be associated with the theme for the TV series "Coronation Street", but this was only one of many light music works he composed.

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 military service during the Second World War he worked at Elstree studios before eventually becoming a freelance film composer and musical director. He had many pieces accepted by various London publishers.

Former cinema organist Ronald Hanmer (1917-1994) composed over 700 pieces for various background music libraries, which must make him one of the most prolific composers specialising in this field.

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 appearances. He had numerous pieces published by Chappells when he was the main contributor to their Recorded Music Library, and his Machine Ballet was regarded as a landmark piece of industrial music when it first appeared in 1945. Like several pieces in this collection, it has been specially requested by production music enthusiasts, having never previously been available on a commercial release.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5185

Christmas Celebration

1 Jingle Bells (James Lord Pierpont, arr. George H. Greeley)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
2 We Three Kings Of Orient Are (Reverend John Henry Hopkins Junior, arr. Percy Faith) (An American carol from the 19^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958
3 Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley; Felix Mendelssohn, adapted William H. Cummings, arr. Billy Vaughn) (An English carol with origins in the 18^th century, although the popular version dates from a century later)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
4 Good King Wenceslas (Tempus Adest Floridum) (Traditional, arr. William Hill- Bowen) (Music based on 13^th Century Spring Carol ‘Tempus Adest Floridum’; Words John Mason Neale)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA LSP 2044 1959
5 Snowfall (Claude Thornhill, arr. Angela Morley)
ANGELA MORLEY AND HER ORCHESTRA (as ‘WALLY STOTT’ on LP label)
Warner Bros. WS 1341 1959
6 Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (John D. Marks, arr. Richard Hayman)
BOSTON ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER
RCA LSC 2329 1959
7 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Thomas Patrick Connor)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA LSP 2044 1959
8 White Christmas (from the 1942 film "Holiday Inn") (Irving Berlin, arr. Billy Vaughn)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
9 The First Noel (The First Nowell) (Traditional, arr. Percy Faith) (Believed to be based on an English carol, possibly Cornish, from the 18^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8176 1959
10 Joy To The World ( Handel; Lowell Mason; Isaac Watts, arr. Billy Vaughn) (Originally based on Psalm 98)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
11 Nazareth (Traditional, arr. Cecil Milner)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4022 1958
12 Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) (John Francis Wade, arr. Billy Vaughn) (An English carol which may have originated in the 13^th century)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
13 Deck The Hall With Boughs Of Holly (Welsh Traditional, arr. George H Greeley) (Based on a Welsh winter carol ‘Nos Galan’, dating from the 16^th century)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
14 Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson)
BOSTON ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER
RCA LSC 2329 1959
15 Fairy On The Christmas Tree (Roma Campbell Hunter; Harry Parr-Davies)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA LSP 2044 1959
16 Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard, arr. Jack Mason)
BOSTON ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER
RCA LSC 2329 1959
17 Christmas Sleigh Bells (Romance and Troika from "Lieutenant Kije") (Sergei Prokofiev, arr. Angela Morley)
ANGELA MORLEY AND HER ORCHESTRA (as ‘WALLY STOTT’ on LP label)
Warner Bros. WS 1341 1959
18 Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Fred J. Coots, arr. Jack Mason)
BOSTON ‘POPS’ ORCHESTRA Conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER
RCA LSC 2329 1959
19 Christmas Alphabet (Buddy Kaye; Jules Loman)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA LSP 2044 1959
20 God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Traditional) (English carol, believed to date from the 18^th century)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA LSP 2044 1959
21 Carol Of The Bells (Peter J. Wilhousky; Mykola Leontovich, arr. Percy Faith) (A Ukrainain carol, first performed in 1916)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958
22 Silent Night, Holy Night (Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht) (Joseph Mohr; Franz Xaver Gruber, arr. Percy Faith) (An Austrian carol from the 19^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8176 1959
23 It Came Upon The Midnight Clear (Edmund Sears; Richard Storrs Willis, arr. Billy Vaughn) (An American carol from the 19^th century)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
24 I Saw Three Ships (Traditional, arr. Percy Faith) (An English carol with origins in the 17^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958
25 O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Lewis Redner, arr. Billy Vaughn) (An American carol from the 19^th century)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25148 1958
26 Angels From The Realms Of Glory (Traditional, arr. Percy Faith) (An English carol from the 19^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958
27 Christians, Awake! (John Byrom; John Wainwright, arr. Percy Faith) (An English carol from the 18^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958
28 O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree) (Traditional, arr. Percy Faith) (A German folk tune with connections dating back to the 16^th century; the most popular version today dates from the 19^th century)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958
29 The Skaters’ Waltz (Émile Waldteufel)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4022 1958
30 Hallelujah Chorus (from "Messiah") (George Frideric Handel, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
COLUMBIA CS 8033 1958

All tracks in stereo

Somehow Christmas isn’t the same without Festive Music, whether traditional carols or the appealing popular melodies dreamed up by composers who know how to tear at our nostalgic heartstrings. Both categories can be found in abundance in this collection, which offers tasteful orchestral settings of some of the best known carols from various countries alongside the catchy novelties that make Christmas such a happy time of the year. In the hands of the top arrangers and orchestras assembled on this CD, there is every chance that the discerning listener will discover some new sounds that add a welcome vibrancy to old, familiar friends.

The six conductors performing the music for our enjoyment were among the most famous in the world towards the end of the 1950s, when these stereo recordings were made. First on the podium is Richard "Billy" Vaughn (1919-1991), born in Glasgow, Kentucky, who began his career playing piano and singing baritone in the group ‘The Hilltoppers’, before joining Dot Records as musical director where he accompanied many of the label’s top singers. He became one of the most successful orchestra leaders during the rock’n’roll era, and from 1955 to 1970 he managed to get 36 titles into the USA Top 200 charts, including a million seller Melody Of Love which earned him a gold disc. In 1965 he began touring internationally with his band, achieving considerable popularity in Japan, Korea and Brazil. His 1958 Christmas LP for Dot Records, from which the titles in this collection are taken, tastefully combined a small choir with the orchestra.

It is possible that Billy Vaughn may have surprised some of his usual fans with the restrained treatment of his Christmas melodies, given his reputation for recordings that were often more strident. But when Percy Faith (1908-1976) turned his attention to this repertoire there was no doubt that he would treat it with proper respect. Faith was born in Toronto, Canada, and originally he expected that his musical career would be as a concert pianist. But he injured his hands in a fire, which forced him to turn to composing, arranging and conducting. During the 1930s his programme "Music By Faith" was carried by the Mutual network in the USA, which prompted offers of work south of the border. He eventually succumbed in 1940, leaving Robert Farnon (previously his lead trumpeter) to conduct his Canadian orchestra. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Faith arranged all his own material, and his exciting and vibrant scores made his work stand out among the rest. Faith was always busy, whether working in the recording studios, radio, television or films. Today it is his numerous albums that have created a resurgence of interest in his work, thanks to their reissue on CD. More than once his record company commissioned him to produce superior albums for the Christmas market, and they remain highly collectable.

Like Percy Faith, George Miltiades Melachrino (1909-1965) was asked to conduct music for the Festive Season on several occasions. The LP era was the perfect vehicle for his inventive scores (including some by his right-hand man, William Hill-Bowen 1918-1964), although as early as 1950 his Christmas Fantasy (on two sides of an HMV 78 - reissued on Guild GLCD5138) had left his admirers hoping for more. Melachrino 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. He was also in demand as a singer, and can be heard on recordings with Carroll Gibbons and others. During World War 2 he became Musical Director of the Army Radio Unit, and his 50-piece ‘Orchestra in Khaki’ toured with the ‘Stars in Battledress’ (two of their rare wartime recordings can be heard on GLCD5174). When the Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme of the BBC began broadcasting to Allied troops on 7 June 1944 (one day after D-Day), George Melachrino was featured conducting the British Band of the AEF; his colleagues were Glenn Miller and Robert Farnon (whose recordings can be heard on many Guild CDs), fronting the American and Canadian Bands. After the war Melachrino retained the finest elements of his service band to form the magnificent orchestra that went on to achieve worldwide fame, mainly through its superb long-playing record albums which sold in millions. Many tuneful pieces of light music flowed from his pen, and he developed a unique arranging style which was instantly recognisable. Melachrino built up a thriving entertainment organisation also involved in films, theatre and broadcasting and EMI used his talents extensively when stereo arrived.

Angela Morley (1924-2009) originally played alto sax with bands such as Geraldo (under her former name, Wally Stott), and her orchestra was an essential ingredient in the overwhelming success of BBC Radio’s "Goon Show" starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. The positive reaction to her distinctive arrangements encouraged her to start composing, and one of her first was A Canadian In Mayfair (on Guild GLCD5157) dedicated to Robert Farnon. She recalled that it was just intended as a piece of fun, but Farnon insisted that it should be shown to his publishers, Chappells, who added it to their mood music library – appropriately conducted by Farnon himself. When Philips Records launched in Britain in 1952 she was placed under contract to arrange and accompany many of their stars, but she was also fortunate in being given the opportunity to record many orchestral numbers, both on singles and LPs. In 1958 an album of melodies associated with London received numerous plaudits from critics and fans alike, and it is still regarded as one of the finest musical tributes to Britain’s capital city. Undoubtedly this helped her to become known in the USA, and in 1959 Warner Bros. asked her to rework – this time in stereo – a collection of Christmas titles she had previously recorded on a 10" Philips LP, with a few extra tunes added. Two of the outstanding ‘new’ tracks can be found on this CD. Angela was also a frequent contributor to the Chappell Recorded Music Library, with several of her works at last available for the first time on previous Guild CDs. In her later career she was much in demand for film scores, and also assisted leading composers on major projects – working with John Williams on "Star Wars" being a prime example. Her TV credits included "Dallas" and "Dynasty".

For many years Arthur Fiedler (1894-1979) was always linked in the mind with The Boston ‘Pops’ Orchestra, although in Britain its records were released under the name Boston ‘Promenade’ Orchestra, which seemed more in keeping with its repertoire. It took quite a long while before the American term ‘Pops’ Orchestra finally gained acceptance outside the USA. Fiedler’s Austrian-born father played violin in the Boston Symphony Orchestra (from which the Boston ‘Pops’ is created for its lighter moments). Arthur 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 hastened his death two months later at the age of 84. For years Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was the full-time arranger, so it seems only right that the orchestra should play his Sleigh Ride on this CD. Such was its popularity that it managed to reach No. 34 in the Cash Box Top 50 in August 1954; but because it sold steadily over many years, its total sales probably exceeded those of many other records which hit the top for just a week or two. During the post-war years Anderson enjoyed considerable fame with his own compositions, sometimes introduced to the public by the Boston ‘Pops’, but more often through his recordings with his own ‘Pops’ Concert Orchestra. The arrangers of the other popular melodies played by the orchestra selected for this CD originally received due credit for their important contributions on the LP sleeve – something that rarely happened in those days. Although not so well-known, Jack Mason (1906-1965) was very prolific and he composed Pops Polka (on GLCD5166). On the other hand Richard (Warren Joseph) Hayman (b. 1920) as well as being a respected arranger and conductor, was also a harmonica virtuoso, and he sometimes adapted his scores of popular melodies so that he could perform on his favourite instrument. This formula brought him two chart successes in the early 1950s, with 78s of Ruby and April In Portugal. He followed Leroy Anderson as an arranger for the Boston ‘Pops’ Orchestra over a period of more than 30 years, and also served as Music Director of Mercury Records. He was regularly in demand to orchestrate Broadway shows and film soundtracks, and notable among his own compositions are No Strings Attached (GLCD5105) and Skipping Along (GLCD5131).

The father of Venetian-born Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (1905-1980) was principal violinist at La Scala, Milan, with the legendary Arturo Toscanini. Although details are difficult to confirm, Mantovani always maintained that he came to England when aged only four, and it is believed that he may have accompanied his father who was playing with a touring Italian opera company which performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1909. The family seems to have settled permanently in England in 1912. During his formal studies at Trinity College he excelled on the violin, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 when only 16. But the young Mantovani showed leanings towards the popular music of the day, and he embarked upon a career that was typical for many aspiring musicians in the early years of the last century. His studies had equipped him well as both a violinist and pianist, and it was not long before he became proficient at composing and arranging. Living in the capital city there were plenty of opportunities for work in restaurants, hotels and theatres, and while still in his teens he realised that conducting was another skill that came easily to him. In 1923 he took a quintet into the Midland Hotel in Birmingham; by 1925 he was at London’s Metropole Hotel where one of his later players was another talented youngster who would one day become one of the most famous light music conductors alongside Mantovani – none other than George Melachrino. This was the era that witnessed the birth of radio, and the emergence of gramophone records as a major source of home entertainment. Naturally Mantovani was in demand for both, and by 1932 his name was starting to be recognised by music lovers: it was in this year that he began his series of popular recordings conducting his Tipica Orchestra. There was a steady demand for dance music, and Mantovani tended to specialise in Latin American styles, resulting in two minor hits in the USA in 1935 and 1936 (Red Sails in the Sunset and Serenade in the Night). Gradually his recorded repertoire expanded to include pieces of concert-style light music, and this laid the foundations for the large orchestra, with the emphasis on strings, that was to bring him universal acclaim from the early 1950s onwards. In addition to all his other commitments, he conducted the theatre orchestra in West End productions such as "Sigh No More", "Pacific 1860" and "Ace of Clubs" (all Noel Coward shows), and Vivian Ellis’ "And So To Bed". But the world-wide acclaim that greeted Charmaine in 1951 forced him to devote all his energies thereafter to recording and performing concerts in Britain and overseas with the great orchestra that has ensured his well-deserved place in the history of popular music. Today it is well-known that Ronald Binge (1910-1979) deserved recognition as the talented arranger responsible for devising the distinctive string sound (sometimes called ‘cascading strings’) which made Mantovani famous throughout the world. But he was well served by some other talented arrangers, and Cecil Milner (1905-1989) created the delightful setting of the traditional air Nazareth.

Choosing the right melodies to open and close collections such as this can often pose problems for compilers. Happily this time Jingle Bells simply had to set the scene, leaving Handel’s magnificent Hallelujah Chorus, employing the full forces of the Percy Faith Orchestra, to provide the spectacular finale.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5186
Light Music While You Work – Volume 3

1 Fairy On The Clock (Sherman Myers, real name Montague Ewing)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 166 1944
2 Samum (Symphonic Foxtrot) (Carl Robrecht)
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 131 1944
3 With A Smile And A Song (from "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs") (Larry Morey; Frank E. Churchill)
REGINALD PURSGLOVE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 316 1945
4 Flapperette (Jesse Greer)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 148 1944
5 Step Lightly (Peter Anderson)
LONDON COLISEUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by REGINALD BURSTON
Decca Music While You Work MW 257 1944
6 Twinkle-Toes (Hugh Raeburn, real name Wynford Reynolds)
WYNFORD REYNOLDS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 130 1944
7 Casino Tanz (Ferenc Gungl)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS WALTZ ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 400 1946
8 Rag Doll (Nacio Herb Brown)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 82 1943
9 Flash Of Steel (Sidney Colin)
LONDON COLISEUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by REGINALD BURSTON
Decca Music While You Work MW 257 1944
10 Gold And Silver Waltz (Franz Lehár)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 79 1943
11 Wedding Of The Rose (Leon Jessel)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 83 1943
12 The Juggler (G. Groitzsch)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 167 1944
13 The Devil Ma Cares (Beechfield Carver)
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 333 1945
14 Fairies On The Moon (Montague Ewing)
WYNFORD REYNOLDS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 414 1946
15 Valse Bleue (Alfred Paul Margis)
LONDON COLISEUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by REGINALD BURSTON
Decca Music While You Work MW 301 1945
16 Up Guards And At ‘Em (Gordon Mackenzie)
HARRY FRYER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 333 1945
17 Doll Dance (Nacio Herb Brown)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 82 1943
18 Where The Lemon Trees Blossom (Johann Strauss II)
LONDON COLISEUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by REGINALD BURSTON
Decca Music While You Work MW 334 1945
19 Three Jolly Brothers (Robert Vollstedt)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 83 1943
20 Marche Tartare (Louis Ganne)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 213 1944
21 Rhythm Of The Clock (Eddie Hunt; Peter Kane)
WYNFORD REYNOLDS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 414 1946
22 The Way To The Heart – Intermezzo (Paul Lincke)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 242 1944
23 Wren’s Serenade (Joseph Engleman)
HAROLD COLLINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 190 1944
24 Marche Russe (Louis Ganne)
HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 213 1944
25 Mon Reve Waltz (Emile Charles Waldteufel)
RONNIE MUNRO AND HIS SCOTTISH VARIETY ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 252 1945
26 Grand March from "Carmen" (Georges Bizet)
RICHARD CREAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca Music While You Work MW 95 1943

All tracks mono

British people ‘of a certain age’ will still remember "Music While You Work", but it is appropriate to offer an explanation to the younger generation and Guild Music’s many friends in countries outside the United Kingdom. If you have already purchased the first two volumes in this series (on GLCD5128 and 5137) the next few paragraphs may be familiar to you, but it is important that the background behind these recordings is revealed.

When the full misery of the Second World War was becoming all too apparent in the early months of 1940, the BBC (the sole British broadcaster at the time) was persuaded that the public needed cheering up, and morale-boosting radio programmes would be an important addition to other forms of popular entertainment such as the cinema and variety theatres. Radio shows were gradually being relayed to factories to relieve the monotony of mass production, especially in the fields of armaments and other essential war supplies, and it was believed that bright and cheerful music might even increase output.

One can imagine the number of meetings and internal soul-searching that must have taken place before the BBC would embark upon such a step. Since its inception in 1922 it had nurtured a reputation as the guardian of the nation’s morals and this certainly extended to the kind of music that it would allow on its airwaves. ‘Popular’ music was viewed with grave suspicion, even though pre-war commercial broadcasts beamed to Britain from the near continent had demonstrated the public’s appetite for lighter musical fare.

But somehow a programme called "Music While You Work" did survive all the planning obstacles, and the first broadcast took place at 10.30am on Sunday 23 June 1940. It became something of an institution in British broadcasting, where it was to remain in the schedules for an unbroken run of 27 years. When the BBC celebrated its 60^th anniversary in 1982 "Music While You Work" was one of several popular programmes brought back for a few editions, and the positive public reaction resulted in several more ‘returns’ including yet another revival in 1995.

The man credited with the original idea – and its successful implementation – was Wynford Reynolds (1899-1958). ‘Live’ musicians were usually engaged for the programme, ranging from solo performers such as organists, to small groups, dance bands, light orchestras and military bands. After some early experiments with light classics the feedback from the factories soon indicated that workers preferred tunes they knew and to which they could sing along. The BBC could not be expected to broadcast to such a restricted formula throughout the entire day - after all, they had a large audience of listeners in their homes. Gramophone records provided the answer as far as the factories were concerned; when the radio programmes were not suitable for the workforce the Tannoy public address system resorted to records played by one of the staff.

This is when someone at Decca realised that a special series of 78s would fit the bill admirably and their own "Music While You Work" label was born; sensibly they sought Wynford Reynolds’ advice from the outset. These were not intended to be an accurate carbon copy of the BBC broadcasts, and the orchestras on the Decca records (mostly their contract artists) did not necessarily also perform on the radio. But they did succeed in conveying the ‘feel’ of the programme and have provided a fascinating subject for collectors to study over the years.

The first twenty records that were released, starting in 1942, were included in Decca’s usual blue and gold label ‘F’ series of popular 78s and given their own ‘MW’ prefix. Thereafter all issues were only on the black and white ‘Music White You Work’ label and by September 1943 some 27 discs were available. Following this rather slow start, the floodgates opened, and nearly 400 more were to be released before the final ones appeared in January 1947. 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 tracks on this CD is evidence of this.

The orchestras chosen for these recordings would have been familiar to the public at the time. The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) 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. 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 Reginald Burston, Harold Collins (c.1900 - c.1971) arold Collins, David Java

at one time was Musical Director 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 tracks 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.

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, 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.

Ronnie 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.

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. Numerous Commodore Grand Orchestra and two Troxy Broadcasting Orchestra recordings are on other Guild CDs, including GLCD5108, 5116, 5122, 5134, 5163 and 5168. 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 that 109 editions of "Music While You Work" during the programme’s first year. In November 1943 his 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. But such was its popularity that the programme continued under Sidney Davey for another twelve years.

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.

In common with so many musicians of his era, Harry Fryer (1896-1946) 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.

Richard Crean (1879-1955) became a familiar name in the 1930s through his association with the London Palladium Orchestra. Prior to that 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 as conductor of the London Palladium Orchestra (featured on several Guild Light Music CDs) which lasted for around five years, 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.

The BBC radio programme "Music While You Work" endeared itself to millions of British listeners for several decades, and its signature tune Calling All Workers by Eric Coates (on GLCD5128) is still instantly recognisable. It seems a shame that tuneful, uninterrupted music now seems totally absent from broadcasting schedules.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5180
Bright And Breezy
1 Bright And Breezy (Peter Dennis, real name Dennis Alfred Berry)
THE GROSVENOR STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Synchro FM 217 1959
2 Theme from 'The Apartment' (original title Jealous Lover) (Charles Williams, real name Isaac Cozerbreit)
BILLY VAUGHN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
DOT DLP 25322 1960
3 Carnival (Harry Warren; Bob Russell)
LES BAXTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol T 733 1957
4 They Call The Wind Maria (from 'Paint Your Wagon') (Alan Jay Lerner; Frederick Loewe, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM SE3804 1960
5 Ragazza Romanza (Roberts)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA SF 5049 1960
6 Painted Carousels (Anthony Mawer)
COSMOPOLITAN ORCHESTRA Conducted by PHILLIPO ANDEZ
De Wolfe DW 2668B 1960
7 Misty (Erroll Garner; Johnny Burke)
THE KNIGHTSBRIDGE STRINGS
Top Rank International 45-JAR 304 1960
8 Toy Town Trumpeters (William Davies)
THE CRAWFORD LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Josef Weinberger JW 247-A 1960
9 'Tiger Bay' - Theme from the Film (Laurie Johnson)
THE PINEWOOD STUDIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by PHILIP GREEN
Top Rank 45-JAR112 1959
10 'La Dolce Vita' (Theme from the film) (Nino Rota; Verde)
MANUEL AND THE MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAINS ('Manuel' is GEOFF LOVE)
Columbia 45-DB 4563 1960
11 Midi-Midinette (Christian Bruhn; Georg Buschor)
SIR CHAUNCEY (real name ERNIE FREEMAN)
Warner Bros 45-WB 35 1960
12 Begin The Beguine (from 'Jubilee') (Cole Porter, arr. Brian Fahey)
THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY Conducted by CYRIL ORNADEL
MGM SE 3843 1960
13 E Bello (Dante Vignali)
GEORGE MELACHRINO Conducting the Orchestra of the 6th San Remo Festival
HMV SCT 1519 1957
14 Bambalina (Vincent Youmans; Otto Harbach; Herbert Stothart; Oscar Hammerstein II, arr. Reg Owen)
REG OWEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1907 1960
15 Kristina (Maurice Grabmann)
THE BRUSSELS NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 511 1960
16 Sea Shore (Robert Farnon)
RAWICZ AND LANDAUER, at Two Pianos, with ANGELA MORLEY AND HER ORCHESTRA [as 'WALLY STOTT' on disc label]
Philips PB 1039 1960
17 Stringendo (Ivor Slaney)
HILVERSUM RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUGH GRANVILLE
De Wolfe DW 2652A 1960
18 Place Du Tertre (Arthur Dieudonne Charlier)
THE BRUSSELS NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 512 1960
19 Dancing Daffodils (Johnny Steggerda)
GUY LUYPAERTS AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as 'GUY LUPAR' on LP label)
RCA Victor LP 3254 1955
20 Up And Coming (Cyril Watters)
THE WESTWAY STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 501 1960
21 Spanish Gypsy Dance (Mariano Marquina)
JACQUES LEROY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Embassy WLP 5173 1960
22 San Francisco (Bronislaw Kaper; Walter Jurmann; Gus Kahn, arr. Carmen Dragon)
STANDARD SCHOOL BROADCAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by CARMEN DRAGON
Standard School Broadcast Transcription 2643 recorded in Capitol Studios, Hollywood 16 May 1960
23 Sweet Sue (Victor Young, arr. Melle Weersma)
JACK HYLTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV C 2856 1936
24 Summerdance (Hugo Emil Alfvén)
Orchestra Conducted by HUGO ALFVÉN
Philips PB 737 1957
'South Of The Alps' (Südlich der Alpen) (Ernst Fischer)
25 In A Harbour Town (In Einer Hafenstadt)
26 Terrace By The Sea (Terasse Am Meer)
27 Street Of Flowers (Blumencorso)
28 Tarantella (Tarantella)
CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by BRUNO SEIDLER-WINKLER
HMV EG 6221/2 1937

Stereo: tracks 2, 4, 5, 12, 13 ; rest in mono

Our opening track, Bright And Breezy, allows the spotlight to be turned on a talented and prolific composer who remains unknown to most music lovers. 'Peter Dennis' hides the true identity of Dennis Alfred Berry (1921-1994), who also composed (sometimes in collaboration with others) under names such as Frank Sterling, Charles Kenbury and Michael Rodney. He was born in London and in 1939 was employed by Francis, Day & Hunter as a copyist before moving on to Boosey & Hawkes as a staff arranger. Then he was taken on by publishers Lawrence Wright followed by Paxton Music as their representative based in Amsterdam. Paxton had a thriving mood music library, but a ban by the Musicians' Union at the end of the 1940s meant that London publishers could no longer record in Britain. Paxton decided that their mood music 78s should be recorded in the Netherlands by Dolf van der Linden and his Metropole Orchestra, and Berry's experience proved very useful in setting this up. He returned to the London office in 1949 and was responsible for producing numerous titles issued by Paxton during the 1950s. This did not prevent him from writing for other libraries such as De Wolfe, Charles Brull and Synchro, for whom he wrote our opening track Bright And Breezy. At the end of the 1950s Berry was head-hunted to start the Southern Library of Recorded Music (now owned by Universal) which issued its first recordings on 78s in 1960. Eventually he emigrated to South Africa, before finally returning to England to do freelance work including some film commissions in Germany. Eight of Den Berry's compositions have already appeared on Guild: his best-known piece is Holiday In Hollywood on GLCD5119.

Another composer and conductor who played a leading role in London's production music libraries was Charles Williams (born Isaac Cozerbreit, 1893-1978). Right from the start of the 'talkies' he provided scores for numerous British films, and his Dream Of Olwen is still remembered long after the film in which it appeared - 'While I Live'. In 1960 he reached the American charts with his theme for the film 'The Apartment', although in reality the producers had resurrected one of his earlier works Jealous Lover which itself originated in a British film 'The Romantic Age' (1949) starring Mai Zetterling and Petula Clark. Among many commercial versions around the world, Billy Vaughan (on this CD) produced one of the best although pianists Ferrante and Teicher made the hit version.

The Harry Warren standard Carnival was a big success as a virtuoso trumpet number for Harry James, but it is nice to hear how a fine orchestral arrangement can give it a new lease of life. Texas born Les Baxter (1922-1996) tended to be asked by his record companies to record pieces with an 'exotic' appeal, but this proves that he could turn his hand to many different styles.

Robert Farnon (1917-2005) conjures up the excitement of the American Wild West with his spirited version of They Call The Wind Maria, then George Melachrino (1909-1965) provides a pleasant contrast with a romantic portrait of an Italian young lady.

A new 'Guild' composer is Anthony Mawer (1930-1999) who makes his debut with Painted Carousels from the De Wolfe library. He was born in Sale, Cheshire and educated at Manchester Grammar School. Musically he was mainly self-taught and started contributing occasional mood music pieces to De Wolfe in 1955 (his first was Palm Beach Interlude), before joining the staff in 1959, where he remained until 1965. During this period he composed almost 500 titles exclusively for them. But his talents had been noticed by other London publishers and after leaving De Wolfe his name appeared on discs issued by almost all of the major production music libraries. For a while he worked part-time with Dennis Berry at Southern Music, and was closely involved in creating the Peer International Library, for whom his LP 'String Scene' was particularly successful. For many years, due to his work commitments, Anthony lived in North London and Elstree. He and his wife moved to North Wales in 1985, where he died on 30 April 1999 aged 68 following a heart attack.

A relaxed mood is restored with a sublime version of Erroll Garner's Misty. Regrettably the actual arranger was not credited on the label. The oboe is featured strongly, and the quality of the playing suggests that we may be hearing Ivor Slaney (1921-1998), who was a leading session musician. Later he appears as composer of Stringendo. For much of the time The Knightsbridge Strings was a 34-piece string ensemble which was started by the new label Top Rank at the end of the 1950s, and was directed by British conductor-arrangers Malcolm Lockyer (1923-1976) and Reg Owen (1921-1978).

William Davies (full name William Arthur Davies, 1921-2006) was a pianist, organist, composer and conductor who became a household name in Britain, thanks to his regular appearances on the BBC Light Programme and later Radio 2, especially in connection with the programme 'Friday Night Is Music Night'. He occasionally introduced his own compositions into programmes such as 'Music Box', 'The Organist Entertains' and 'Just William', and he makes a welcome first appearance on Guild with his catchy Toy Town Trumpeters.

Laurie Johnson (b. 1927) provided an excellent score for the 1959 film 'Tiger Bay' which included some memorable scenes between John Mills and his daughter Hayley in her first major role. Around the same time the Italian cinema regularly employed Nino Rota (real name Giovanni Rota Rinaldi, 1911-1979) to create inspired scores that lifted every scene, and 'La Dolce Vita' remains a landmark movie of that era.

Ernie Freeman (1922-1981) was an American pianist, organist, arranger and conductor. After early work in several swing-era bands, during the 1950s he was busy on many pop sessions, sometimes using pseudonyms. Midi Midinette finds him in the world of lush strings, in which he chose to hide his identity as 'Sir Chauncey'.

From the late 1950s onwards Cyril Ornadel (b. 1924) made many fine orchestral albums with his 'Starlight Symphony', aimed primarily at the American market. His regular arranger was Brian Fahey (1919-2007), well-known in Britain as a musical director, arranger and composer. Fahey's mastery of the orchestra is given full rein in this extended version of the Cole Porter classic Begin The Beguine.

E Bello is the sixth track on Guild from the 1956 San Remo Festival recorded by George Melachrino (1909-1965). The previously mentioned Reg Owen was definitely the arranger of Bambalina which he conducts on a rare RCA LP. Maurice Grabmann's Kristina is one of the early 78s on the newly-launched Southern Production Music Library label in 1960. From the same source, three tracks later we hear Place Du Tertre, dedicated by its composer to that famous part of Montmartre. The very first release by Southern was Up And Coming by Cyril Watters (1907-1984), and this completes the trio from a library new to Guild.

Robert Farnon is back, this time as composer of Sea Shore. He was commissioned by Players Cigarettes to write it for a series of TV commercials, and such was the public's response that Angela Morley (then working as 'Wally Stott') recorded it commercially with the famous piano duettists Rawicz and Landauer.

Guy Luypaerts (b. 1917) was born in Paris to Belgian parents during the First World War and he became well-known in French musical circles through conducting an orchestra called the Nouvelle Association Symphonique de Paris. Guild has previously included his imaginative sounds in the Cole Porter tribute (GLCD 5127) and conducting quirky cameos such as The Sleepwalker of Amsterdam by Johnny Steggerda (GLCD 5131). Conductor and composer are teamed up again in Dancing Daffodils.

The UK Embassy label sold its records through Woolworths stores, and much of their output consisted of cover versions of popular hits at lower prices. But they also made some interesting orchestral albums, and Jacques Leroy's version of the Spanish Gypsy Dance was one of the best available.

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

Although some British Dance Band purists might disagree, possibly the most famous of the pre-war bands was fronted by Jack Hylton, born John Greenhalgh Hilton (1892-1965). The band made numerous records and toured widely in Britain and overseas. At times its repertoire ventured into light music circles, such as Wedding Of The Rose (on Guild GLCD5163) and Dancing Tambourine (GLCD5106). His talented arrangers sometimes produced 'concert' versions of popular songs. Often these were created by Billy Ternent, but it was the Dutch bandleader and composer, Melle Weersma, who was responsible for the inventive treatment of Sweet Sue. After a spell with Hylton in 1935, he moved to the USA later in the year where he worked with Benny Goodman and Andre Kostelanetz.

Hugo Emil Alfvén (1872-1960) is a legend in his native Sweden where he was renowned as a violinist, composer, conductor, artist and author. Alfvén was 84 when he wrote his famous "Roslagsvår" (Swedish Polka) in 1956 (on GLCD5161). It was recorded in Hamburg (at the insistence of Philips), probably so they could maintain strict control over the music, since Alfvén was old and in poor health. The same sessions also produced Summerdance on this CD. The musicians are mainly German and the conductor (although it says Hugo Alfvén on the label) was actually jazz pianist, arranger and conductor Bengt Hallberg.

The celebrated German composer Ernst Fischer (1900-1975) was born in Magdeburg. During his early career he wrote many piano pieces, and he also played the organ using the pseudonym 'Marcel Palotti'. A holiday in Italy in 1935 was to provide the inspiration for his orchestral suite Südlich der Alpen (South of the Alps), which is widely regarded as one of the finest pieces of light music written in Germany during the 1930s. It has been performed by orchestras all over the world, and the first movement In A Harbour Town remains particularly popular. Possibly the composer's love of the organ was responsible for the few discrete passages in each movement; this instrument was absent from later recordings. Bruno Seidler-Winkler (1880-1960) conducted the first complete recording which was released by HMV's German subsidiary in 1937. Surprisingly this does not appear to have reached HMV's British catalogue. Bruno Seidler-Winkler was one of the early 'house orchestras' of the gramophone, having worked with Deutsche Grammophon from 1903 to 1923. He then spent two years in Chicago, before returning to conduct the Berlin Radio Orchestra from 1925 to 1933, finally taking up teaching. He has his place in musical history for making the original recording of Lili Marlene with Lale Anderson in 1939.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5181
The Lost Transcriptions - Volume 2
1 Falling In Love With Love (from the 1938 musical play 'The Boys From Syracuse') (Richard Rodgers; Lorenz Hart, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 31 1947
2 In The Still Of The Night (from the 1937 film 'Rosalie') (Cole Porter, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 29 1948
3 April Showers (from the 1921 Broadway musical 'Bombo') (Louis Silvers; Buddy De Sylva, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 98 1948
4 The Very Thought Of You (Ray Noble, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 28 1947
5 Why Do I Love You (from the 1927 musical 'Show Boat') (Jerome Kern; Oscar Hammerstein II, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 138 1948
6 Pavanne (Morton Gould, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 96 1950s
7 Night Creature (Edward 'Duke' Ellington)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring DUKE ELLINGTON, piano
VOA PO 80 1950s
8 Deep Blues (from Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra) (Elie Siegmeister)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring VINCENT J. ABATO, clarinet
VOA PO 87 1955
9 Hoedown (from 'Rodeo' Suite) (Aaron Copland)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
VOA PO 95 1950s
10 Play Orchestra Play (from the 1935 musical revue 'Tonight at Eight-Thirty') (Noel Coward)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Towers Of London 6 CTP 14802-1 1948
11 Imp On Broadway (Abner C. Rosen, pseudonym for Annunzio Paolo Mantovani and Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-136B 1952
12 Coronation Scot (Vivian Ellis, arr. Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-123B 1952
13 March Of The Robots (Annunzio Paolo Mantovani)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-136B 1952
14 Danse Du Diable (Devil's Dance) (Wal-Berg, real name Voldemar Rosenberg)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-141B 1952
15 Jamaican Juggler (William Davies)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-141B 1952
16 Invitation To The Waltz (from 'Pacific 1860') (Noel Coward)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Towers Of London 6 CTP 14802-1 1948
17 Snakes And Ladders (Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-142A 1952
18 Rhapsody In Rhythm (Henry Croudson, arr. Ronald Binge)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Lang-Worth Feature Programmes PC-147B 1952
19 Strike Up The Music (Sidney Torch)
SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
BBC Transcription c.1949
20 Barbecue (Sidney Torch)
THE CAVALCADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Towers of London Transcription Recording: 'Cavalcade of Music' programme 41 c.1952
21 Amore Mio (Sidney Torch)
THE CAVALCADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Towers of London Transcription Recording: 'Cavalcade of Music' programme 47 c.1952
22 Wood Nymphs (Eric Coates)
RAF CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
ORBS Cut 2447 (2EN 9358) Issue MK 4943 1944
23 As Long As There's Music (from the 1944 film 'Step Lively') (Jule Styne, arr. Sidney Torch)
THE CAVALCADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Towers of London Transcription Recording: 'Cavalcade of Music' programme 43 c.1952
24 Fandango (Sidney Torch)
THE CAVALCADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Towers of London Transcription Recording: 'Cavalcade of Music' programme 41 c.1952
25 Dearly Beloved (from the 1942 film 'You Were Never Lovelier') (Jerome Kern, arr. Sidney Torch)
THE CAVALCADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Towers of London Transcription Recording: 'Cavalcade of Music' programme 45 c.1952
All tracks mono

The booklet accompanying the first volume of 'Lost Transcriptions' (GLCD5174) explained in some detail exactly what these intriguing recordings actually are. For this second volume it is sufficient to say that the term usually refers to recordings made for use by broadcasting organisations before the advent of audio tape. Sometimes these were simply broadcasts that were recorded so that they could either be repeated, or sent on to other radio stations, frequently overseas. A few companies started making their own programmes to sell to national broadcasting organisations: in Britain the BBC does not seem to have been very receptive to such sources, but elsewhere they were often welcomed.

During World War 2 transcriptions became commonplace in the USA and they were distributed to American forces via the AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) and broadcast by many other services including AFN (American Forces Network) and AEFP (Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme). Britain established The British Forces Network (BFN), and The Army Welfare Department created The Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service (ORBS) to record and distribute recordings for use by BFN, other broadcasters and ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association). As well as providing live entertainment the latter was able to reach small groups of servicemen in remote areas by playing the recordings over PA systems installed in vans.

None of these wartime transcription discs were for sale, the intention being that they would be destroyed when the war ended. Fortunately some servicemen decided to keep them as souvenirs, preserving for posterity a unique record of the kind of music that played an important part in the morale of fighting troops. The sound quality of these discs is generally good, and modern digital restoration makes them very enjoyable. Only occasionally are there slight traces of distortion, which cannot be removed completely, but their historical importance dictates that they should not be rejected for such minor imperfections.

Transcription discs became an important part of the broadcasting scene for many countries, and they lasted long after the war ended. Only one track in this collection actually dates from the war years, unlike the first volume in this series which contained many from that troubled period in history.

Three major conductors are featured in depth this time - Percy Faith, Mantovani and Sidney Torch. All were leading figures in post-war orchestral popular music, and it is particularly interesting to listen to them in performances that were not meant to be heard again and again, unlike the case with all commercial gramophone records. Therefore they could allow themselves a certain freedom to experiment with new ideas, and the results can sometimes provide tantalising glimpses of the way in which their careers would develop and mature.

Percy Faith (1908-1976) was born in Toronto, Canada, and originally he expected that his musical career would be as a concert pianist. But he injured his hands in a fire, which forced him to turn to composing, arranging and conducting. During the 1930s his programme 'Music By Faith' was carried by the Mutual network in the USA, which prompted offers of work south of the border. He eventually succumbed in 1940, leaving Robert Farnon (previously his lead trumpeter) to conduct his Canadian orchestra. Initially Faith concentrated on broadcasting, and his occasional recording sessions during the 1940s were for several different companies. Things were to change when he signed a Columbia (CBS) contract in 1950, and he soon discovered that his singles sold well and the new long playing records needed the kind of popular instrumental sounds that had formed the basis of his broadcasts for so many years.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Faith arranged all his own material, and his exciting and vibrant scores made his work stand out among the rest. He accompanied many of Columbia's contract singers, and even contributed the odd popular song, such as My Heart Cries For You for Guy Mitchell. But today it is his numerous albums that have created a resurgence of interest in his work, thanks to their reissue on CD. Faith was always busy, whether working in the recording studios, radio, television or films. He died at Encino, California, on 9 February 1976, aged 67.

Details of Percy Faith's 'Voice Of America' recordings are as scarce as those for the RAF Concert Orchestra. VOA issued hundreds of 16' discs to the armed forces featuring Faith and other popular orchestras of the day such as Richard Maltby, Andre Kostelanetz and David Rose. They contained straight re-issues of their commercial recordings, alternate and out-takes of these recordings and different arrangements of pieces they had recorded commercially. In Faith's case, of most interest are the recordings he made which were unique to VOA, three of which were featured on Guild GLCD 5174 with a further nine here. It has not been possible to date all of them accurately as surviving VOA programme logs only go up to 1950 but, using the dates of the commercial recordings which are on some of the discs as a guide, they are probably from between 1951 and 1955.

What makes some of these VOA recordings of particular interest is that they gave Faith the opportunity to perform with artists he wouldn't normally work with as they were under contract to other record companies. One such piece is Night Creature where he collaborates with Edward Kennedy 'Duke' Ellington (1899-1974) in a fascinating arrangement. Vincent 'Jimmy' Abato (1919-2008) was a regular member of Faith's recording orchestra and also performed with most of the top symphony and popular orchestras in the USA. His clarinet is featured in Deep Blues from Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra by Elie Siegmeister (1909-1991).

Our second featured conductor is Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (1905-1980), who 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) brought him universal acclaim.

Noel Coward (1899-1973) composed Play Orchestra Play for his revue 'Tonight At Eight-Thirty', first staged in Manchester in 1935, and revived in London's West End in 1948. Around that time Mantovani was working closely with Coward in the theatre, and on recordings and radio productions. He conducted the theatre orchestra for Coward's 'Pacific 1860' (premiered in 1946) from which comes Invitation To The Waltz.

Imp on Broadway by the mysterious Abner C. Rosen seems to be a pseudonym for Mantovani and one of his main arrangers Ronald Binge (1910-1979). This 'Imp' has a humorous nod towards Richard Rodgers' Slaughter on 10th Avenue. Like several of the other pieces in this collection, it was written as a concert showpiece and was not considered for a commercial recording, thus making this the first time it has been available on record. It was first performed publicly in a Mantovani concert at Bournemouth on 27 September 1953.

Coronation Scot was the brainchild of Ronald Binge, who took the original arrangement by Cecil Milner of this famous Vivian Ellis melody and gave it a bright new livery. Described to Colin MacKenzie by Mantovani's recording manager, Tony D'Amato, as being 'masterfully scored with all the low instruments: probably two basses, cellos, trombones, euphonium, bottom piano keyboard, bassoon, bass drum (not tuned timps), tam-tam, wind machine (?), an "all aboard!" whistle, triangle, and so cleverly a horn and high woodwind (maybe flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet) recreating in dissonance a doppler effect, like the wailing of an ambulance siren going out-of-tune as it moves farther into the distance.'

March Of The Robots finds composer/conductor Mantovani in typical tongue-in-cheek, stylish and fun mood. He was clearly a gifted composer (usually hiding behind nom-de-plumes such as Tulio Trapani and Pedro Manilla), but rarely pushed his own works in preference to others, unlike some of his peers.

Danse du Diable (Devil's Dance) is a widely admired piece of light music by Wal-Berg (born in Istanbul as Voldemar Rosenberg 1910-1994) who was a leading figure in the French popular music scene. It was first conducted live by Mantovani in November 1952 at the Municipal Hall, Tottenham and was regularly included in concerts throughout the 1950s, being performed in Canada, USA, South Africa and Holland as well as the UK. A great favourite with audiences, it was a showcase for percussionist Charles Botterill.

Jamaican Juggler (with more than a nod towards Arthur Benjamin's famous Jamaican Rumba) was written by William Arthur Davies (1921-2006). He was a pianist, organist, composer and conductor who became a household name in Britain, thanks to his regular appearances on the BBC Light Programme and later Radio 2, especially in connection with the programme 'Friday Night Is Music Night'. He occasionally introduced his own compositions into programmes such as 'Music Box', 'The Organist Entertains' and 'Just William', and he made his first appearance on Guild with his catchy Toy Town Trumpeters (GLCD5180).

Ronald Binge returns as composer of Snakes and Ladders, and he was also responsible for the inspired arrangement of Henry Croudson's (1898-1971) Rhapsody In Rhythm which brings Mantovani's segment of this CD to a rousing finale. It is interesting to compare this concert arrangement with the composer's own shorter version for the Bosworth mood music library (on GLCD5104).

Now the spotlight falls on Sidney Torch (born Sidney Torchinsky 1908-1990). When he was called up for war service in 1941 he was posted to Blackpool where there was a large Royal Air Force Unit that provided entertainment for the tens of thousands of service personnel in the area. Regular shows by and for the forces were produced at several Blackpool theatres, and contemporary theatre programmes show that many well known names from the world of light music were involved with these orchestras.

Sidney Torch conducted an RAF radio series for ORBS called 'March Of The Movies', devised by Harry Alan Towers, who later worked with Torch on various projects after the war, including the 'Cavalcade of Music' programmes which a young David Jacobs introduced. From being one of Britain's finest theatre organists during the 1930s, after his discharge from the RAF he emerged as a leading light music composer and conductor. He became a frequent conductor and composer of mood music recordings for the Chappell Recorded Music Library, and many of his pieces have already appeared on previous Guild CDs.

Among the rare tracks included here are four Torch compositions: Strike Up The Music (his theme for 'London Studio Melodies' programmes on the BBC Transcription Service); Barbecue (which only originally appeared in the Chappell Recorded Music Library); Amore Mio (in a longer version than the recording for Chappells - Torch never made a commercial recording); and Fandango which was one of his popular orchestral cameos.

Eric Coates (1886-1957) needs no introduction to Guild 'regulars', but anyone in the fortunate position of discovering his music for the first time can be assured that he composed some of the finest light music of the last century. Wood Nymphs was one of his shorter works, especially under the baton of Sidney Torch who was noted for his brisk tempi.

The other two works conducted by Sidney Torch are his own concert arrangements of two popular melodies from 1940s films - As Long As There's Music by Jule Styne, and Jerome Kern's Dearly Beloved. Neither of these brilliant performances has previously been available on a commercial recording.

In 1953 the BBC decided that it needed a new programme whose brief was: "to help people relax after the week's hard work and put them in the right mood for a happy weekend". With Sidney Torch's full participation, the formula for "Friday Night Is Music Night" was devised - with such foresight that the programme survives to this very day. The BBC Concert Orchestra had been formed the previous year, and Torch conducted it for almost twenty years in this series, until his retirement in 1972. It is still regarded by many as 'his' programme, and his own compositions and arrangements are still regularly performed by 'his' BBC Concert Orchestra. Few musicians could have a better memorial to their talents.

David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5175

Confetti

1 Confetti (Bronislau Kaper)
MGM STUDIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by JOHNNY GREEN
MGM E 3694 1958
2 Champs Elysees Café (Joseph Kuhn)
PARIS THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Somerset SF 2500 1957
3 Manhattan Playboy (Robert Farnon)
LESLIE JONES and his ORCHESTRA OF LONDON
Pye-Nixa NSPL 83009 1959
4 Hora Staccato (Grigori Dinicu; Jascha Heifetz, arr. Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Victor LSP 1656 1958
5 Musik Klingt Durch Die Nacht (Hartel; Woltmann)
HANS GEORG ARLT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Ariola 71231 1959
6 In My Memoirs (Jimmy McHugh; Al Dubin, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA (LP label credits "Jack Saunders Orchestra")
Everest SDBR 1011 1958
7 Lina (Francis Lopez, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA with MITCH MILLER, oboe and cor anglais
Columbia CL 551 1954
8 I Concentrate On You (from "Broadway Melody of 1940") (Cole Porter, arr. Conrad Salinger)
CONRAD SALINGER ORCHESTRA Conducted by BUDDY BREGMAN
Verve MG VS-6012 1958
9 Pizzicato Rhumba (Salvatore "Tutti" Camarata)
MUSIC BY CAMARATA
Decca DL 5461 1952
10 Nota Per Nota (Guido Viezzoli)
GEORGE MELACHRINO Conducting the Orchestra of the 6^th San Remo Festival
HMV SCT 1519 1957
11 Via Amalfi (Joseph Kuhn)
ROBERTO ROSSANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Stereo Fidelity SF-4700 1959
12 Getting To Know You (from "The King And I") (Richard Rodgers; Oscar ammerstein, arr. William Hill Bowen)
WILLIAM HILL BOWEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Camden CAS 461 1958
13 Montevideo Bolero (Joseph Kuhn)
DOLORES VENTURA, Piano and the CARNIVAL ORCHESTRA
Valiant V-4926 1959
14 Bluebell Polka (F. Stanley, arr. Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Parlophone R 4094 1955
15 Joey"s Song (Joe Reisman)
JOE REISMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPS 1519 1957
16 Twice Around The Island (Joseph J. Leahy; Abe Olman)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury Wing SRW 12508 1957
17 Bees-A-Buzzin" (Edrich Siebert, real name Stanley Smith-Masters)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 563 1953
18 Mischief (Frederic Curzon)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 010 1946
19 Gadabout (Cyril Watters)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 639 1954
20 Utopia Road (Dolf Van Der Linden)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA ("Paul Franklin" on disc label)
Paxton PR 612 1954
21 Violins In Velvet (Leslie Begueley)
BOSWORTH STRING ORCHESTRA Conducted by LOUIS VOSS
Bosworth BC 1232 1949
22 Market Day (Wilfred Josephs)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes O 2305 1958
23 Treble Chance (Peter Dennis, real name Dennis Alfred Berry)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA ("Paul Franklin" on disc label)
Paxton PR 629 1954
24 Parade Of The Champions (George French)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS METROPOLE ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 585 1954
25 Florella (L.E. DeFrancesco)
GROSVENOR STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Synchro FM 242 1959
26 Who Killed Cock Robin? (Trad, arr. Paul Fenoulhet)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD ("Crawford Light Orchestra" on disc label)
Josef Weinberger Theme Music JW 152 1958
27 "Dear Miss Phoebe" - Selection (Harry Parr-Davies) Whisper While You Waltz, Spring Will Sing A Song For You, Living A Dream, March Of The Red Coats, I Can"t Resist The Music, All"s Well Tonight, When Will You Marry Me, I Leave My Heart In An English Garden

TOM JENKINS AND HIS PALM COURT ORCHESTRA
HMV B 10047 1951
Stereo: tracks 2-6, 8, 10-13, 15 & 16 : rest in mono

The word "confetti" describes small pieces of paper, of various shapes and colours, often thrown by guests at weddings. In musical terms it can equally apply to an assortment of pieces in different styles, conveying a variety of moods and emotions. In other words, almost a haphazard collection of tunes with no particular theme, except perhaps that they are all a little different. During the compilation of Guild Light Music CDs we sometimes come across enjoyable pieces of music which simply don"t fit in with particular projects. It seems a shame that they should suffer permanent neglect, which is why some previous compilations such as the earlier "Kaleidoscope" trio crop up every so often. Once more it is time to dust off some precious discs patiently awaiting rediscovery. Actually "rediscovery" may not be entirely accurate as many have never previously been available commercially and, for most of the others, this is their first appearance on CD, so it is unlikely that the majority of music-lovers will have heard them before.

New Yorker John Waldo Green, better known in the music business as Johnny Green (1908-1989), enjoys a lasting reputation for his work on MGM Musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, often in collaboration with his friend Conrad Salinger who gave Green the nickname "Beulah". To chronicle all his achievements would take several booklets such as this, since he combined songwriting (his biggest early hit was Body And Soul) with arranging, conducting and piano playing. Green"s contribution to this collection is the opening track Confetti, composed by Bronislau Kaper for the 1956 film "Forever Darling", in which he conducts the legendary MGM Studio Orchestra. Salinger (1901-1961) is featured as arranger of the Cole Porter classic I Concentrate On You.

When stereo discs were launched in the second half of the 1950s, record producers did not hesitate to tempt the public with exotic sounding titles that disguised the fact that they were probably not quite what they may have seemed. It is highly likely that The Cinema Sound Stage Orchestra, The Gaslight Orchestra, The (Rio) Carnival Orchestra, The Paris Theatre Orchestra, Roberto Rossani and his Orchestra and The New World Theatre Orchestra (all featured on various Guild CDs) are basically one and the same. Together with 101 Strings, they were names used by the American Miller International Company on their bargain basement priced Essex, Somerset and Stereo Fidelity labels. The recordings usually employed various European symphony and radio orchestras and were linked by the name of Joseph Francis Kuhn (1924-1962), Miller"s musical director, who composed, arranged, scored or conducted most of the early ones and was well known for his recording work in Hollywood, the US east coast and Germany. Unfortunately his untimely death at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital on 10 March 1962 at the age of 37 from a spinal cord injury meant he never attained the fame he was surely due. Kuhn has already been represented with five compositions on previous Guild Light Music CDs, but such was his prolific output during the early days of stereo that it is felt he deserves to have three more of his works made available once more. Champs Elysees Café and Via Amalfi are tuneful examples of the many pieces he wrote with a European flavour.

The pianist Dolores Ventura was married to British composer and oboe player Ivor Slaney (1921-1998), and it is possible that he was conducting the anonymous "Carnival Orchestra" in Kuhn"s Montevideo Bolero.

Manhattan Playboy was composed as the male counterpart to Portrait Of A Flirt (on Guild GLCD5120), one of the most successful pieces of light music ever, written by the Canadian Robert Farnon (1917-2005). He also excelled as an arranger, and In My Memoirs comes from his album of show tunes associated with Mike Todd.

On the subject of Light Music successes, one of the most played pieces in the last century was Hora Staccato, and the version by Morton Gould (1913-1996) ranks among the very best.

Hans Georg Arlt (b. 1927) 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. He was the Concert Master of choice for many leading German conductors, such as Werner Müller, Werner Eisbrenner, Heinz Kiessling and Hans Carste. In addition he recorded a vast amount of music for German radio stations with his own large string orchestra, employing the finest arrangers including Willy Hoffmann, Paul Kuhn, Jerry van Rooyen, Gustav Trost, Arno Flor, Günther Gürsch and Helmut Gardens.

For a while Mitch Miller (1911-2010) was Percy Faith"s recording manager at US Columbia. He was also regarded as a world class player on oboe and cor anglais, and Faith (1908-1976) recorded two albums which featured Miller as soloist. The bright melody Lina allows Miller to show off his expertise in a dazzling Faith arrangement.

Salvatore ("Tutti") Camarata (1913-2005) was an accomplished trumpet player, but he found his true musical niche during the 1930s as arranger for top bands such as Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Paul Whiteman. For a number of years he was musical director of ABC and Decca Records, and was a co-founder of London Records (the US arm of Britain"s Decca).

The special tribute to George Melachrino (1909-1965) in the Guild CD "The Hall of Fame - Volume 3" (GLCD5162) included a rare track, Aprite le Finestre, which was one of the two Italian entries for the first Eurovision Song Contest back in 1956; it was also the 6^th San Remo winner the same year. Melachrino recorded all the entries with the San Remo Festival Orchestra for an HMV "stereosonic" tape which was later released as an LP on their International label. Nota Per Nota is another track from those sessions and is reminiscent of much atmospheric Italian film music of the period.

William Hill Bowen (1918-1964) 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. In later years he fronted his own orchestra on many recordings for RCA and Reader"s Digest.

There was a time, back in the 1950s, where it was almost impossible to escape hearing Bluebell Polka. Happily the passage of time has dulled the memory of some of the many trite versions, leaving the bright Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) arrangement as something far more enjoyable.

Joe Reisman (1924-1987) earned a good living from playing saxophone and arranging for top bands, until he became Patti Page"s conductor on many of her 1950s hits. Thereafter he was in constant demand for recording and television work.

David Carroll (1913-2008) - real name Rodell Walter "Nook" Schreier - 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 public through his work with The Smothers Brothers, eventually becoming their General Manager.

It is unusual to find a composition by Frederic Curzon (1899-1973) being published by a company other than Boosey & Hawkes, where he was their Head of Light Music for many years. No doubt rivals Francis, Day & Hunter were happy to accept his jaunty Mischief, which receives a suitably polished performance from Sidney Torch (1908-1990) conducting an orchestra of the top session players on the London scene in the 1940s.

Another musician well represented in this collection is Dolf Van Der Linden (1915-1999), who conducts on five tracks, one of them his own piece Utopia Road. He wrote several works in this style which might be called "industrial" because they lend themselves for so many uses in films, especially documentaries. His real name was David Gysbert van der Linden and he was the leading figure on the light music scene in the Netherlands from the 1940s until the 1980s. It could be said that the famous Metropole Orchestra was his "baby". Shortly after the end of the Second World War, he was approached by the local broadcasting authorities Herrijzend Nederland (Rising Netherlands) and asked to form an orchestra of 40 musicians specialising in light music. The Metropole Orchestra performed their first broadcast on 25 November 1945, and under Dolf's leadership it soon became one of the finest ensembles of its kind in Europe. This was due in no small measure to the fact that Dolf succeeded in happily combining his own enthusiasm and aspirations with the outstanding technical qualities of the Metropole Orchestra and its talented musicians. As well as broadcasting frequently, the Metropole Orchestra made numerous recordings for the background music libraries of major music publishers, notably (but not exclusively) Paxton (from which the tracks on this CD originate), Boosey and Hawkes (under the pseudonym "Nat Nyll") and Charles Brull (as "David Johnson"). Dolf"s commercial recordings (especially for the American market) were often labelled as "Van Lynn" or "Daniel De Carlo".

The other recordings by Dolf van der Linden"s fine orchestra feature works by Edrich Siebert, Cyril Watters, Peter Dennis and George French. Siebert"s real name was Stanley Smith Masters (1903-1984) and his early musical career was as a boy musician in the Cheshire Regiment. When he left the Army in 1946 he concentrated on composing, often for military and brass bands, although his works seemed to adapt well for concert orchestras - Bees-A-Buzzin" being a good example. Peter Dennis hides the true identity of Londoner 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 Recorded Music Library, but also contributed titles to other publishers. His Treble Chance has been used extensively in British TV soap commercials in recent times. George French was a British violinist who broadcast frequently on the BBC, often as leader for many well-known conductors in programmes such as "Music While You Work". He clearly had a gift for composing, but his recorded output was not substantial. Parade Of The Champions is his third appearance on a Guild CD.

The other composer heard under Dolf van der Linden"s baton is Henry Cyril Watters (1907-1984). Originally a dance band pianist, Cyril realised that he had a talent to compose when he won a Melody Maker Song Contest in 1929, but throughout the 1930s he had to concentrate on performing because it was a continual struggle trying to get his music published. After serving in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, he became an arranger with several leading publishers, and his own works were soon being accepted by production music companies. One of them, The Willow Waltz, won an Ivor Novello Award in 1960. Although he was accomplished at writing in a variety of different moods, it is perhaps his bright and breezy pieces (such as Gadabout) that were so successful in the mood music libraries. Not content with just creating a strong main melody - always instantly appealing - his works are characterised by attractive middle themes which lift the composition to a higher level.

Leslie Begueley composed Canyon Canter which received much praise when it was included on GLCD5131. Violins In Velvet reveals another side to his composing talents.

The British composer Wilfred Josephs (1927-1997) probably first came to the attention of most music lovers through his work on top television series such as "The Great War" (1964) and "I Claudius" (1976). Newspapers frequently told their readers that he was really a dentist, who also happened to write music, but this trivialised his considerable achievements which included 12 symphonies, 22 concertos and numerous other works from overtures to film scores. His modest contributions to production music include Market Day which brilliantly captures the bustle and diversity of such happenings.

Every now and then one discovers an unusual piece of production music which fails to fit in with the usual recordings on offer. Florella is certainly a case in point: it was published in 1959 and, despite its 1920s style it sounds like it was a contemporary performance with musicians simply having fun.

If you lived in Britain during the middle years of the last century you will have been familiar with the name of Paul Fenoulhet (1906-1979) - even if you were unsure how to spell it! At one time he was conductor of the famous Skyrockets then moved on to work with several of the BBC"s light orchestras. No doubt his appealing arrangement of Who Killed Cock Robin was originally created for one of his numerous broadcasts.

For a while Tom William Jenkins (1910-1957) became a household name in Britain, when in 1948 the BBC asked him to succeed Albert Sandler (1906-1948) as conductor of the Palm Court Orchestra for the popular weekly Sunday evening radio programme "Grand Hotel". He was a brilliant violinist who was already highly regarded from his work in theatre and seaside orchestras. Sadly ill health cut short his career at the early age of 46. The music for the show "Dear Miss Phoebe" was composed by Harry Parr-Davies (1914-1955), who had been responsible for several of Gracie Fields" hits, such as Sing As We Go (played by the BBC Wireless Military Band on Guild GLCD5147). David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5176

From The Vintage Vaults

1 "The Arcadians" Overture (Lionel Monckton; Howard Talbot, arr. Arthur Wood)
ARTHUR WOOD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia DX 573 1934
2 Buffoon (Zez Confrey)
NEW LIGHT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
HMV B 4244 1932
3 Rondel (Sir Edward Elgar, arr. Haydn Wood); Mina (Sir Edward Elgar)
LIGHT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by HAYDN WOOD
HMV B8282 1935
4 Arpanetta (Ernst Fischer)
ROBERT GADEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Electrola EG 6286 1938
5 A Fantasy In Blue
The Birth Of The Blues, Blue Again, Blue Room, So Blue, There"s A Blue Ridge Round My Heart Virginia, Blue Is The Night, Beyond The Blue Horizon, Blue Hills Of Pasadena, Blue Skies, Where The Blue Of The Night, My Blue Heaven, Good-bye Blues.
FRED HARTLEY AND HIS QUINTET
Decca F 5168 1934
6 Lullaby Land (Reginald King)
LONDON CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1180 1944
7 The Dwarf"s Patrol - Fantasy (Otto Rathke)
THE LITTLE SALON ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 459 1930
8 Suite Orientale (Francis Popy) Les Bayadères, Au Bord du Gange, Les Almées, Les Patrouilles.
MAREK WEBER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV C 1845 1930
9 March Past Of The Kitchen Utensils (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
BBC THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by CLARENCE RAYBOULD
BBC Transcription Service 27692 1945
10 Gipsy Wine (Helmut Ritter)
BARNABAS VON GECZY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV B 8434 1936
11 Springtime Serenade (Jonny Heykens)
MAREK WEBER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV B 8199 1934
12 In Playful Mood (Montague Ewing)
INTERNATIONAL RADIO ORCHESTRA
Bosworth BC 1032 1937
13 "Gasparone" Potpourri (Carl Millöcker)
EDITH LORAND AND HER VIENNESE ORCHESTRA
Parlophone R 2035 1935
14 Püppchen - Two Step Intermezzo (Little Doll) (Jean Gilbert, real name Max Winterfeld)
CONTINENTAL NOVELTY ORCHESTRA
Regal Zonophone MR 565 1932
15 A Day In Naples - Tarantella (George W. Byng)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by JAY WILBUR
Boosey & Hawkes O 2040 1945
16 Mon Bijou (Robert Stolz)
ALFREDO CAMPOLI AND HIS SALON ORCHESTRA
Decca F 5904 1936
17 Songs Of The Fair (Easthope Martin)
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER GOEHR (as "George Walter" on record label)
Parlophone E 11268 1935
18 Summer Evening In Santa Cruz (Jose F. Payan; Fred Hartley)
ALBERT SANDLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia FB 2367 1940
19 Niagara (Carl Robrecht)
PALL MALL REVELLERS
Bosworth BC 1071 1938
20 Sousa Marches - Medley (John Philip Sousa, arr Major Williams) Washington Post, King Cotton, Stars and Stripes, Liberty Bell, El Capitan, High School Cadets, The Diplomat, Stars and Stripes.

JACK HYLTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca F 5216 1934

Famous composers of symphonies, marches, jazz and just about everything in-between can be found in this varied selection, mainly from the inter-war years, which surely qualifies for the adjective "eclectic". If anyone still needs convincing that the general term "Light Music" covers a wide variety of styles and performances, then surely the proof is here on this CD.

The reign of Edward VII lasted just nine years, following the death of his mother Queen Victoria in 1901, yet the Edwardian Era (as it has become known) witnessed considerable achievements in many fields, especially popular music. Lionel Monckton (1861-1924) was one of the main players, and most of his musicals reached the London stage during this period. Perhaps his most memorable was "The Arcadians" written in collaboration with Howard Talbot (1865-1928) which premiered at London"s Shaftesbury Theatre on 28 April 1909. The arranging and orchestrations of the music were usually entrusted to musicians well-known for these special skills, and the familiar Overture to "The Arcadians" is the work of Arthur Wood (1875-1953) whose lasting fame rests with his composition Barwick Green (on Guild GLCD5164), the signature tune of the long-running BBC radio serial "The Archers". Wood himself conducts his own orchestra in the 1934 recording which opens this collection.

Edward Elzear "Zez" Confrey (1895-1971) from Peru, Illinois, devoted most of his composing talents to jazz, but fame visited him while still in his twenties when his piano novelty Kitten On The Keys became a big hit in 1921. This prompted many other similar works such as Dizzy Fingers (on Guild GLCD5124) and Stumbling (GLCD5166). Equally popular in the 1930s was Buffoon which receives a charmingly measured performance from the New Light Symphony Orchestra with an unnamed conductor, although it is known that Clifford Greenwood sometimes conducted this kind of repertoire. This was HMV"s "house orchestra" for light music, novelty pieces and popular light classical works, and their previous appearances on Guild include Eric Coates" London Bridge March (GLCD5101) and Westward (GLCD5106).

Most of his major choral and symphonic works were written by Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) during a relatively short period from 1898 to 1914, but he composed what can be accurately described as "light music" throughout his life. Notable works in this genre include his Bavarian Dances, Chanson de Matin and Salut d"Amour (on Guild GLCD5122). Less familiar is Elgar"s Rondel, originally a song, which was arranged for the 1935 recording in this collection by its conductor, Haydn Wood (1882-1959). It is followed by what is probably Elgar"s last completed work, a musical portrait of his pet dog Mina.

Arpanetta is a charming piece of light salon music by the celebrated German composer Ernst Fischer (1900-1975), whose most famous work is his orchestral suite Südlich der Alpen (South of the Alps). It is performed by Robert Gaden (1893-1985), a sophisticated violinist born in Bordeaux, France, who led dance orchestras in Germany that were noted for their elegant style. It seems that Arpanetta was unpublished, and the manuscript has been lost, so it is fortunate that Robert Gaden took his orchestra (known as his Tanzsinfonie Orchester) into the Elektrola studios on 18 March 1938 and committed this lovely melody to wax.

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.

Reginald Claude McMahon King (1904-1991) was an accomplished pianist, who performed under the baton of Sir Henry Wood at the Proms soon after he completed his studies at London"s Royal Academy of Music. In 1927 he took an orchestra into Swan & Edgar"s restaurant at their Piccadilly Circus store, where they remained until 1939. He also started broadcasting regularly (during his career his number of broadcasts exceeded 1,400), and he made numerous recordings, often featuring his own attractive compositions. He made his last broadcast in 1964, but throughout a long retirement he continued composing until shortly before his death. One of his major works, the concert overture The Immortals, was featured on Guild GLCD5106 spotlighting music of the 1930s, and in a lighter vein his tuneful orchestra can be heard playing popular melodies on several Guild CDs such as Lullaby Of The Leaves (GLCD 5134) and Roses At Dawning (GLCD 5139). Once again we feature him as a contributor to one of London"s production music libraries with his wistful Lullaby Land.

The Dwarfs' Patrol was composed by Otto Rathke, who wrote a number of similar novelty pieces which were popular in central Europe in pre-war years. Unfortunately the name 'The Little Salon Orchestra' offers no clues as to the real identity of the talented musicians on this recording.

But no doubts can exist regarding the two 78s on this CD by Marek Weber (1888-1964), who was a major recording artist in the 1930s. He was born in the Ukraine, 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. His orchestra tended to specialise in show selections and novelty pieces. The clarity on his 1930 German recording of Francis Popy"s Suite Orientale is quite amazing, demonstrating the high standards being achieved by sound engineers in Berlin during the early years of electrical recording. Popy (1874-1928) was a French composer whose work epitomised the "Belle Époque" and there is a park named after him in his home city of Lyon. Jonny Heykens (1884-1945) was a Dutch composer who was particularly popular in Germany. His most performed work became known as Heyken"s Serenade (Ständchen) (the Marek Weber version is on Guild GLCD5120), and Springtime Serenade is one of several similar pieces - no doubt written in response to public demand.

The English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) has secured his musical legacy with some memorable symphonies, but this prolific composer also excelled in film scores, opera, choral music and in the adaptation of folk songs. March Past Of The Kitchen Utensils originated as incidental music for a Cambridge production of Aristophane"s comedy "The Wasps" (1909). Clarence Raybould (1886-1972) conducts the BBC Theatre Orchestra in this 1945 BBC Transcription recording. He joined the BBC in 1936 as Assistant Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 1945.

Barnabas Von Géczy [1897-1971] was born in Hungary although his family originally came from Venice. After the First World War his father was appointed concert master at Budapest Opera but Barnabas decided to try his luck in Berlin where in 1924 he obtained his first resident engagement at the Weinhaus Traube. From 1925 to 1937 he led the Hotel Esplanade house orchestra, and during this period he made numerous broadcasts and recordings and undertook frequent tours. He became one of the best-known hotel ensembles in Germany and gained an international reputation. After the Second World War he decided to relocate to the Munich area, and in 1952 he formed a new orchestra.

In Playful Mood is one of many works by Montague Ewing (1890-1957), who also composed under the name "Sherman Myers". He had a most successful career as a composer and arranger of light music and popular songs.

Edith Lorand [1898-1960] was born in Hungary, but spent most of her early career in Germany where she became world-famous as a violinist. She made numerous recordings, mostly light classical and "salon" works, but the changing political situation forced her to return to Hungary in the mid-1930s. Even in her homeland she felt unsafe, so in 1937 she went to the USA where she spent the rest of her life. "Gasparone" is an operetta in three acts by Carl Joseph Millöcker (1842-1899) with a German libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Genée.

We are back in unknown territory with "The Continental Novelty Orchestra" but this is likely to be a German ensemble. The catchy number Püppchen is by a composer who adopted the name "Jean Gilbert", but he was actually Hamburg-born Max Winterfeld (1879-1942). He was responsible for over 50 operettas before and after the First World War, but left Germany in 1933 and settled in Argentina where he died in Buenos Aires.

Born in Dublin, George W. Byng (1862-1932) was a busy conductor and composer, especially in London theatres. He was a regular visitor to the recording studios, and accompanied many leading artists such as Peter Dawson and Harry Lauder. At one time he conducted the famous Queen"s Hall Light Orchestra, and was also involved with scoring around 30 ballets. His orchestral suite A Day In Naples was among his most popular works.

The Italian violinist Alfredo Campoli (1906-1991) has occupied a warm place in the affections of British music lovers, since his debut at London"s Wigmore Hall in 1923. He played in many light orchestras, and was also a prolific broadcaster and recording artist in his own name. Mon Bijou is typical of the many light pieces that demonstrated the virtuosity of the maestro and the musicians who played with him. It was composed by Robert Stolz (1880-1975), an acclaimed Austrian composer, highly regarded in his homeland who went to Hollywood to escape the Nazis. In America he enjoyed success writing music for films such as "Spring Parade" and "It Happened Tomorrow".

Frederick John Easthope Martin (1882-1925) was known mainly for his popular songs, which proved popular at ballad concerts. There were three sets of Songs Of The Fair of which the most popular was the familiar Come To The Fair which features at the beginning and end of our recording. The noted English arranger Henry Ernest Geehl (1881-1961) arranged several of Martin"s songs into suites, and it is possible that he was responsible for this familiar score. Walter Goehr (1903-1960) was one of the many talented musicians who left Germany due to the developing political situation in the 1930s. Born in Berlin, he studied conducting with Arnold Schoenberg but was forced to leave his position with German radio in 1932. The Gramophone Company (later to become EMI) invited him to London as a music director, and he made many recordings for their labels, often using the pseudonym "George Walter". His varied career included teaching composition and conducting, and one of his pupils was Wally Stott (1924-2009), later to be known as Angela Morley who was widely praised for her work in Hollywood. In 1945 Goehr was appointed conductor of the BBC Theatre Orchestra, and he also composed several film scores, notably David Lean"s "Great Expectations" in 1946.

Albert Sandler (1906-1948) is remembered by many of the older generation in Britain through his BBC broadcasts "Grand Hotel" from 1943 to 1948. The music featured was known as "Palm Court" and Sandler"s own 1940 Columbia recording of Summer Evening In Santa Cruz is typical of a style that surprisingly still survived for quite a while after the war, although it had its roots decades earlier - Sandler himself had been musical director of the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne from 1924 to 1928.

Carl Robrecht (1888-1961) is remembered for his pseudo-oriental novelty Samum, still much loved by brass bands. The Henry Hall version was included on Guild GLCD5106 and another of his pieces in similar vein, Fata Morgana, was featured on GLCD5163. That came from the Bosworth Mood Music Library, which also recorded our version of Niagara by a group of anonymous session musicians. Robrecht appears to have been prominent in hotel band circles in Berlin between the wars, and there is reference to him using the pseudonym "Robby Reight".

Although some British Dance Band purists might disagree, possibly the most famous of the pre-war bands was fronted by Jack Hylton, born John Greenhalgh Hilton (1892-1965). The band made numerous records and toured widely in Britain and overseas. At times its repertoire ventured into light music circles, such as Wedding Of The Rose (on Guild GLCD5163) and Dancing Tambourine (GLCD5106). Hylton provides a rousing finale to this collection with a selection of Sousa marches arranged by a "Major Williams". John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was universally regarded as the American "March King" and his music is still regularly performed today. David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5177

The Composer Conducts - Volume 1

1 Jet Journey (Ron Goodwin)
RON GOODWIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Parlophone R 3649 1953
2 Courses de Toros (Bull Fights) (Gérard Calvi, real name Grégoire Elie Krettly)
GÉRARD CALVI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Pye NPL 28003 1958
3 Fun In The Sun (Angela Morley, as Wally Stott)
TELECAST ORCHESTRA Conducted by ANGELA MORLEY (as WALLY STOTT)
Chappell C 688 1960
4 Les Parfums De Paris (Cedric Dumont)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CEDRIC DUMONT
Boosey & Hawkes O 2325 1958
5 Parisian Mode (Woolf Phillips)
WOOLF PHILLIPS AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 2873 1951
6 Sagittarius (Hal Mooney)
HAL MOONEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury SR 60073 1958
7 The Phantom Regiment (Leroy Anderson)
LEROY ANDERSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Brunswick STA 3030 1960
8 City Of Veils (Les Baxter)
LES BAXTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST 868 1958
9 Puppets On Parade (Rudolf Friml)
101 STRINGS Conducted by RUDOLF FRIML
Stereo Fidelity SF-6900 1959
10 Subway Polka (Harold Geller)
HARRY GELLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA LPM 1032 1955
11 Bad Timing (from "Billion Dollar Baby") (Morton Gould)
MORTON GOULD, HIS PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Columbia ML 4451 1951
12 Along The Avenue (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER AND HIS CHAMPS ELYSEES ORCHESTRA
Chappell C 644A 1959
13 Montana Round-Up (Kermit Leslie & Walter Leslie real surnames Levinsky)
KERMIT LESLIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Epic LN 3452 1958
14 Huckleberry Duck (Raymond Scott, real name Harry Warnow)
RAYMOND SCOTT AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Coral CRL 57174 1957
15 Neiani (Axel Stordahl; Oliver)
AXEL STORDAHL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Dot DLP 25282 1960
16 Pam Pam (David Rose)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM D 149 1957
17 La Bardinetta (André Popp)
ANDRÉ POPP AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia WL 130 1958
18 Fiddle Derby (Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia 4-39491 1951
19 Without Your Love (Guy Luypaerts)
GUY LUYPAERTS AND HIS ORCHESTRA (as "GUY LUPAR" on LP label)
RCA Victor LP 3254 1955
20 Fandango (Frank Perkins)
FRANK PERKINS AND HIS "POPS" ORCHESTRA
Brunswick LA 8708 1955
21 Sports Arena (Wilfred Burns, real name Bernard Wilfred Harris)
HARMONIC ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILFRED BURNS
Harmonic HMP269A 1948
22 Trolley Bus (Charles Williams, real name Isaac Cozerbreit)
QUEEN"S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 283 1946
23 Boulevardier (Frederic Curzon)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by FREDERIC CURZON
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2089 1946
24 Jack The Dancer (Dolf van der Linden)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS METROPOLE ORCHESTRA
Paxton PR 582 1953
25 Blende Auf (Werner Müller)
RIAS DANCE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WERNER MüLLER
Polydor H 49 262 1954
26 Symphony In Jazz (First Movement) (Otto Cesana)
OTTO CESANA AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CL 631 1955

Stereo: tracks 6-9 & 15 - rest in mono.

When composers conduct their own music one assumes that it is being performed exactly as they intended. Therefore such recordings are particularly valuable, and Ron Goodwin (1925-2003) certainly needed no encouragement to pick up the baton. From the 1950s onwards the recording scene in Britain was treated to a succession of his inventive and charming instrumentals which still sound fresh and appealing today. Internationally Ron"s fame would depend largely on his successful film scores such as "633 Squadron" (1964), "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" (1965) and Alfred Hitchcock"s "Frenzy" (1972). After several recordings for smaller labels, Ron was signed to EMI"s Parlophone in 1953 and his first recording for them was his own Jet Journey. Although he recorded it later in stereo, it is the first version which opens this CD that many regard as the best.

Gérard Calvi (real name Grégoire Elie Krettly, born 1922) first came to the attention of the public in his native France when he contributed the music in 1948 to a show called "Les Branquignols". The following year he composed the score for "La Patronne", launching a career in mainly European films that would continue for the rest of the 20^th Century. By far his best known cinematic work was for the "Asterix" films, but Calvi was equally at home in the theatre and recording studio, and writing popular songs - over 300 in total. Probably his most successful composition internationally was One Of Those Songs - thanks to Will Holt adding the English lyric to a catchy orchestral piece called Le Bal de Madame de Mortemouille (on Guild GLCD5160). This time we feature his description of bull fights - Courses de Toros.

During the 1950s Angela Morley (1924-2009, at the time working as "Wally Stott") composed many light pieces for Chappell & Co., the leading London publishers of background music. Fun In The Sun is typical of the bright, tuneful pieces that became her trademark. Angela Morley went on to enjoy a long and successful career in recordings and films, eventually being much in demand in Hollywood to assist leading composers on major projects - working with John Williams on "Star Wars" being a prime example. Her TV credits included "Dallas" and "Dynasty".

Cédric Dumont (1916-2007) was born in Hamburg, Germany, but during his long career he became known as "Mr. Music Man of Switzerland". Growing up in the 1930s he came into contact with Jack Hylton in England, and over in the USA he seems to have worked briefly with Teddy Wilson, Harry James and Benny Goodman. He settled in Switzerland at the outbreak of World War 2 and was soon broadcasting from the studios in Basel. His career touched the classics as well as jazz, but it was in the sphere of light music that he became known throughout Europe. British mood music libraries engaged him to conduct their works when they were unable to record in Britain due to a Musicians" Union ban, particularly during the 1950s, and his own Les Parfums de Paris is one such example.

Woolf Phillips (1919-2003) did not have the same high public profile as many of his fellow British bandleaders in the middle years of the last century, yet his talent and accomplishments were greater than many of them. However he did get noticed when conducting the orchestra at the London Palladium between 1947 and 1953, and most big band fans knew him through his association with the Skyrockets and later the Geraldo and Ted Heath bands. Before the war he learned orchestration from his famous brother Sid, who played clarinet with Ambrose and contributed some of the most notable arrangements for that band. While at the Palladium Woolf conducted for visiting American stars such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Tony Martin, and in 1966 his friend Donald O"Connor (of "Singin" In The Rain" fame) persuaded him to relocate to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life. His Parisian Mode was a rare orchestral recording, which was used for a while by BBC Television as the signature tune for the panel game "What"s My Line".

Hal (born Harold) Mooney (1911-1995) is making another Guild appearance with his composition Sagittarius, which comes from a collection spotlighting each sign of the zodiac. In 1956 Mooney became A&R Director and chief arranger at Mercury Records, where he remained until Philips phased out the label towards the end of the 1960s. Mooney then moved to Universal Studios, working as MD on many of the top TV shows of the period, before retiring in 1977.

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 its famous conductor, Arthur Fiedler, introduced many Anderson novelties to an appreciative public. He was so prolific that some of his numbers have tended to become unfairly overlooked, such as The Phantom Regiment.

Texas born Les Baxter (1922-1996) decided to abandon a career as a concert pianist, and chose to concentrate on popular music. He played the tenor sax and is reported to have been influenced by Coleman Hawkins and the Duke Ellington Band. At the age of 23 he joined Mel Tormé"s Meltones and recorded with Artie Shaw, but his heart was set on arranging. As his career progressed he worked for Capitol and RCA, and tended to be asked to record pieces with an "exotic" appeal, like his City Of Veils.

Once again we are pleased to welcome Rudolf Friml (1879-1972) to conduct one of his own compositions. Puppets On Parade seems a far cry from his famous operettas such as "Rose-Marie" and "The Vagabond King", but it surely serves to confirm his versatility.

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. Subway Polka comes from an album of tunes he composed about New York for the American market. 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 the violin and conducting.

Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers, and his distinguished career was crowned with a Pulitzer Prize (for his Stringmusic, commissioned by Mstislav Rostropovich for the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington) just a year before his death at the age of 82. His Bad Timing comes from a Broadway show that has been overshadowed by his other greater achievements as a composer.

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 admirers internationally. Along The Avenue is one of many works he wrote for the Chappell Recorded Music Library.

Kermit Leslie (born Kermit Levinsky in New York City) often composed with his brother Walter, and it seems a pity that he appears to have made relatively few recordings. Montana Round Up is the ninth work by the Levinsky brothers to appear on Guild.

Raymond Scott was an American bandleader and pianist who composed a melody that is instantly recognisable to the older generation - Toy Trumpet (the version by Reginald Pursglove and his Orchestra is on GLCD5137). This was just one of a number of quirky novelties with similarly quirky titles, such as Twilight In Turkey, Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner and Huckleberry Duck, the choice for this collection. Scott"s real name was Harry Warnow (1908-1994) but he used a pseudonym to avoid being accused of nepotism, since his older brother Mark conducted a CBS house orchestra which used to play his tunes.

The name Axel Stordahl (1913-1963) will be familiar to many collectors of American popular music, mainly through his backing for Frank Sinatra during a period known as the singer"s "Columbia years". In 1936 he joined Tommy Dorsey as a trumpet player, and was encouraged to develop his arranging talents. He realised that his style was more suited to slow, sentimental ballads, which became his trademark, and this is evident in his composition Neiani.

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 GLCD5120) and The Stripper sold millions. The choice of Pam Pam for this collection has been dictated by the fact that it is one of his lesser known works, yet his mastery of the light orchestra shines through in every bar.

André Charles Jean Popp (b. 1924) is a Frenchcomposer, arranger and screenwriter whose main claim to fame rests with his composition Love Is Blue which was a big hit for Paul Mauriat in 1968, reaching number one in the US charts. But Popp"s long career has embraced many styles, often leading to eccentric arrangements, much of it for his broadcasts on French radio. In contrast with some of his works, La Bardinetta is relatively sedate!

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 Fiddle Derby confirm his mastery of the light orchestra.

Guy Luypaerts (b. 1917) was born in Paris to Belgian parents during the First World War and he became well-known in French musical circles through conducting an orchestra called the Nouvelle Association Symphonique de Paris. Guild has previously included his imaginative sounds in the Cole Porter tribute (GLCD5127) and conducting inventive cameos such as The Sleepwalker of Amsterdam (GLCD5131), Masquerade In Madrid (GLCD5132), Jose Fontaine"s catchy Whimsy, and his own composition Chatter Box (both on GLCD5160). This time it is the turn of his more conventional Without Your Love.

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 BBC television series "Dad"s Army" in 1971. Sports Arena is one of his many pieces accepted by various London publishers.

Charles Williams (real name Isaac Cozerbreit, 1893-1978) is yet another composer/conductor whose work is now familiar once again through his many Guild recordings. Trolley Bus is one of numerous pieces published by Chappells at a time when he was the main contributor to their Recorded Music Library.

Frederic Curzon (1899-1973) spent most of his early career working in the theatre and like so many of his contemporaries he gradually became involved in providing music for silent films. Later he was appointed Head of Light Music at London publishers Boosey and Hawkes, for whom he composed many highly praised pieces. Several appear in a special concert selection in the second volume of this series, but on this CD we hear his famous Boulevardier in the original full-length version.

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 and his own Jack The Dancer remains one of his most popular works.

Werner Müller (1920-1998) was a bassoonist who became the conductor of the RIAS (Radio In American Sector) Dance Band based in Berlin, which gave its first concert on 24 April 1949. The band soon built up a strong following through its Polydor recordings, with exciting performances such as his own Blende Auf.

Italian born Otto Cesana (1899-1980) spent much of his early career in California where he lived from 1908 to 1930. His piano studies commenced at the age of ten, and he became an accomplished organist; he also learned about orchestration and harmony which he put to good use working in radio and Hollywood film studios. Most critics regarded Cesana"s work as being "easy listening", although the distinguished jazz critic Leonard Feather considered him worthy of an entry in the 1960 Encyclopaedia of Jazz through his acclaimed composition Symphony In Jazz. The first impressive movement makes a fitting finale to this collection. David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5178

The Composer Conducts - Volume 2

1 March from "Things To Come" (Music from the film) (Arthur Bliss)
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIR ARTHUR BLISS
Decca SDD 255 1959
2 "Pinky" Music from the film (Alfred Newman)
ALFRED NEWMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury MPL 6500 1956
3 Scherzofrenia (from Symphony No. 5 ½ - "A Symphony For Fun") (Don Gillis)
NEW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF LONDON Conducted by DON GILLIS
Decca LM 4510 1950
4 State Occasion (Robert Farnon)
QUEEN"S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C294 1947
5 Dawn Fantasy (Peter Yorke)
PETER YORKE AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA with ARTHUR SANDFORD, piano
Columbia DB 2639 1950
"The League Of Gentlemen" Music from the film (Philip Green)
6 Golden Fleece Theme
7 League Of Gentlemen March
PINEWOOD STUDIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by PHILIP GREEN
Top Rank International JAR-355 1960
8 Salute The Soldier (Eric Coates)
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COATES
EMI JG 214 1944
9 Les Jeux (Playing) (George Melachrino)
THE MELACHRINO STRINGS Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
HMV C4250 1954
10 Amethyst March (soundtrack recording from the film "Yangtse Incident") (Leighton Lucas)
LEIGHTON LUCAS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Parlophone 45-R 4342 1957
11 Strings In The Mood (Walter Collins)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR454 1948
12 Naval Occasion (Hubert Clifford)
MELODI LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUBERT CLIFFORD
13 Chappell C428 1953
13 "The Dancing Years" - Three Ballet Tunes (Ivor Novello)
THE DRURY LANE THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by IVOR NOVELLO
HMV B 8897 1939
14 International Sports March (Sidney Torch)
QUEEN"S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C299 1947
15 Rendezvous With Curzon (Frederic Curzon) Cachucha from "In Malaga" Suite; Maid Marian from "Robin Hood" Suite; Bravada; Serenade Of A Clown; March Of The Bowmen from "Robin Hood" Suite
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by FREDERIC CURZON
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2090 1946
16 Selection of Radio Novelty Tunes (Montague Ewing) Fairy On The Clock; Soldier On The Shelf; The Queen Was In The Parlour; Butterflies In The Rain; Little Dutch Clock
MONTAGUE EWING, Piano, with NOVELTY BAND
Rex 8364-A 1935
Three Dale Dances (Suite founded on Yorkshire Folk Tunes) (Arthur Wood)
17 First Movement
18 Second Movement
19 Third Movement
ARTHUR WOOD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia DX 971 1940
20 Wedgewood Blue (Albert William Ketèlbey)
ALBERT W. KETÈLBEY, Piano, and his CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DX 27 1930
21 Thrills (Charles Ancliffe)
CHARLES ANCLIFFE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 339 1932
22 Cornish Rhapsody (featured in the film "Love Story") (Hubert Bath)
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUBERT BATH, with HARRIET COHEN, piano
Columbia DX 1171 1944

Stereo: track 1 - remainder in mono.

The second collection of composers conducting their own works opens with a significant work for British cinema of the 1930s. When Arthur Bliss (later to be "Sir" Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, 1891-1975) composed the music for the film of H.G. Wells" 1933 novel "The Shape Of 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. While the film was in production during 1935 Bliss was apparently only partly satisfied with the way in which his music was used, although it seems that he was prepared not to apply any kind of veto. When the film appeared, the music was widely acclaimed and Bliss recorded part of the score for commercial release on Decca. For some reason it was left to the film"s musical director, Muir Mathieson (1911-1975), to conduct the famous March, which soon achieved fame through many other uses especially in newsreels. 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 was finally conducted by the composer.

Alfred Newman (1901-1970 - some references give his birth date as 1900) is occasionally overlooked as an important film composer, yet for much of his career he was probably the most influential and respected among his peers. His Hollywood career began in 1930 and one of his early scores was "Street Scene" in 1931 (the music is included on Guild GLCD5153), and until John Williams finally overtook him in January 2006 he was the most Oscar-nominated composer/conductor, with a tally of 44 nominations resulting in 9 Academy Awards. From 1939 until 1959 he was the musical director at 20^th Century Fox, reputed to have worked on around 225 films. "Pinky" from 1949 supposedly dealt with racial problems in southern USA; as one respected critic observed "it has about as much daring as a cheese-mite".

During his lifetime it seems that the American composer Donald Eugene Gillis (1912-1978) did not get the full attention from the American record industry which his talents deserved. It was the British Decca label that brought him to London in 1950 for several sessions at the Kingsway Hall which have preserved for posterity some of his best - and most quirky - creations. Anyone who can compose a piece of music called "Symphony No. 5½" is almost demanding not to be taken too seriously, and to make sure that nobody missed the joke Gillis subtitled his work "A Symphony For Fun". The first movement Perpetual Emotion is on Guild GLCD5156; now we have the third movement Scherzofrenia, which is so typical of the carefree, almost whimsical, work that he offered to music lovers in the middle years of the last century.

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 GLCD5120) and Jumping Bean (GLCD5162) are familiar to millions around the world. He composed a vast amount of background music for the Chappell Recorded Music Library, and one of his most used pieces was State Occasion. Strangely he was never asked to make a commercial recording, but we can hear him conducting the original version for Chappell in 1947.

Peter Yorke (1902-1966) was a leading arranger, composer and conductor in Britain for many years, with many recordings and broadcasts to his credit. Among his compositions the mini-concerto Dawn Fantasy ranks as one of the best. It comes from the era when the Warsaw Concerto (composed by Richard Addinsell for the 1941 film "Dangerous Moonlight") spawned a glut of similar works, which broadcaster Steve Race astutely dubbed "the Denham Concertos", after the film studio which often featured such works on their soundtracks.

Philip Green (born Harry Philip Green 1911-1982) began his professional career at the age of eighteen playing in various orchestras. Within a year he became London"s youngest West End conductor at the Prince of Wales Theatre. His long recording career began with EMI in 1933, and he is credited with at least 150 film scores, including "The League Of Gentlemen". The music has been sequenced on this CD as it was used in the film.

Eric Coates (1886-1957) was asked to write a piece of music to assist the National Savings Movement during the Second World War. The result was Salute The Soldier which was the name given to the campaign to raise as much money as possible during those difficult times. Although he conducted the work in Trafalgar Square to gain maximum publicity, the special recording issued was made in No. 1 Studio, Abbey Road on 1 February 1944 with Coates and the London Symphony Orchestra.

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. He was also a very good composer, and his strings are shown in their full splendour in his Les Jeux.

Leighton Lucas (1903-1982) seems to have been at home in the fields of more serious music (especially ballet and opera) yet he also produced some pleasing light music and enjoyed success with scores for several prestigious films. In 1954 he wrote the incidental music for "The Dam Busters" (Eric Coates only contributed the famous march), and other projects included "Target for Tonight" (1941 - the theme is on Guild GLCD5118) and "Yangtse Incident" (1957) from which comes the Amethyst March, named after the ship involved in the action.

Walter R. Collins is remembered for his days as the distinguished Musical Director of the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, and also for conducting the London Promenade Orchestra for the Paxton Recorded Music Library during the 1940s. Several of his own compositions have already appeared on Guild CDs (Laughing Marionette on GLCD5134; Linden Grove GLCD5112; possibly his best loved piece Moontime GLCD5168; Paper Hats And Wooden Swords GLCD5144; and Springtime GLCD5138). Strings In The Mood can now be added to this list.

Born in Tasmania, Hubert Clifford (1904-1959) composed several mood music pieces for Chappell"s Recorded Music Library, one of them being Naval Occasion. He provided scores for three British Transport Films in the 1950s, and "Round The Island", which featured the Isle of Wight, impressed him so much that he made his home there.

Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies 1893-1951) was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who created some of the most popular shows in London"s West End during the first half of the last century. He was not particularly known for orchestral recordings, so it is nice to be able to include some less familiar music from one of his best shows, "The Dancing Years", in this collection. Apart from many of his songs which have become standards, he continues to be remembered for the annual music awards which bear his name, held in London each Spring.

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. He was also a frequent conductor and composer of mood music recordings for the Chappell Recorded Music Library, which is the source of his International Sports March.

For some years Frederic Curzon (1899-1973) was the Head of Light Music at London publishers Boosey and Hawkes. His famous Boulevardier was included in the first volume of "The Composer Conducts" (GLCD5177) but this was just one of many well crafted piece of light music that flowed from his pen. In 1946 he recorded a Concert Suite which he called "Rendezvous With Curzon" featuring five contrasting pieces. Alongside the better known numbers is the middle section of a charming rarity, Serenade Of A Clown, which he does not appear to have recorded in full for the Boosey & Hawkes Recorded Music Library.

Next to its tunefulness, perhaps the greatest appeal of Light Music is its variety of styles. This aspect is surely displayed in his Selection of Radio Novelty Tunes by London-born Montague Ewing (1890-1957), who sometimes used the American-sounding pseudonym Sherman Myers to make his music more acceptable in the USA. The composer himself plays and conducts a selection of his catchy melodies which audiences of the 1930s certainly appreciated and would have instantly recognised.

Arthur Wood (1875-1953) was a busy theatrical conductor (like many of his fellow composers at that time), and at the age of 28 had the distinction of being the youngest musical director in London"s West End. For a while he was a staff composer with Boosey and Hawkes, creating dozens of short suites, and he was a frequent visitor to the recording studios pre-1914. He made at least two early acoustic recordings of his Three Dale Dances, but fortunately EMI invited him back in 1940 for electrical re-makes.

When Gustav Holst sat an entrance examination for the Trinity College of Music, he was just beaten for a place by Albert William Ketèlbey (1875-1959) who later went on to become one of the most distinctive Light Music voices of his era. Fortunately for posterity, Ketèlbey was a regular visitor to the recording studios as well as a prolific composer. Wedgewood Blue has the bonus of the composer conducting his orchestra from the piano.

Irishman Charles W. Ancliffe (1880-1952) will forever be associated with Nights Of Gladness, (the Mantovani version on Guild GLCD5113 does the famous waltz full justice) but he was a military bandmaster as well as a successful composer. This was illustrated in his march The Liberators (GLCD5163) but he is back in familiar waltz territory with Thrills - his seventh composition to be featured on a Guild CD.

Hubert Charles Bath (1883-1945) composed another of those "Denham Concertos" (mentioned above) for the 1944 British film "Love Story". It told the story of a concert pianist who learned that she had an incurable illness, so she moved to Cornwall. Cornish Rhapsody was the appropriate title of her major concert piece in the film, performed on screen in London"s Royal Albert Hall by Margaret Lockwood; the actual pianist on the soundtrack was Harriet Cohen (1895-1967). Although he worked on around twelve feature films (one was "Rhodes of Africa" which included his Empire Builders March - on GLCD5136), Hubert Bath is almost forgotten today. His composition Out Of The Blue was used for many years to introduce BBC Radio"s "Sports Report", but he had died before it was chosen in 1948. His son John Bath (1915-2004) was also a composer (he wrote Sportsman"s Luck on GLCD5115).Although Rawicz and Landauer, with Mantovani and his Orchestra, gave a splendid rendition in stereo of Cornish Rhapsody around fifteen years later (on GLCD5153), it is perhaps the distinctive sound of the original 1944 recording that suits the atmosphere of the work so perfectly. It provides the climax to two collections featuring some possibly historic occasions when composers allowed us to hear their music, presumably just as they intended. David Ades

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5179

Portrait Of My Love
1 Portrait Of My Love (Cyril Ornadel)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM 45-MGM 1090 1960
2 Impression Of A Princess (Eric Coates)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON ("Melodi Light Orchestra Conducted by Ole Jensen" on disc label)
Chappell C 542 1956
3 I Love You Samantha (Cole Porter)
VICTOR SILVESTER AND HIS SILVER STRINGS
Regal SREG 1015 1959
4 April Love (from the film "April Love") (Sammy Fain: Paul Francis Webster)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca SKL 4067 1959
5 The Prince and Princess Waltz (Dimitri Tiomkin; Ned Washington)
DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Mercury MG 20301 1957
6 Wedding Day (Douglas Brownsmith)
NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by R. de PORTEN
Boosey & Hawkes OT 2223 1953
7 One Night Of Love (Victor Schertzinger, arr. Robert Farnon)
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LK 4055 1953
8 You Are Too Beautiful (Richard Rodgers; Lorenz Hart, arr. Glenn Osser)
GLENN OSSER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Kapp KL 1022 1955
9 Two Hearts In Three-Quarter Time (Robert Stolz)
ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CL 863 1956
10 Like Someone In Love (Johnny Burke; Jimmy Van Heusen, arr. Paul Weston)
PAUL WESTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8042 1958
11 Beguine For Lovers (Joseph Kuhn)
DOLORES VENTURA, piano and the CARNIVAL ORCHESTRA
Valiant V-4926 1959
12 Can"t Help Loving That Man (from "Show Boat") (Jerome Kern)
MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LK 4215 1957
13 Take Me In Your Arms (Alfred Markus; Fritz Rotter; Mitchell Parish)
LEROY HOLMES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM E 3378 1956
14 If I Should Fall In Love Again (Jack Popplewell, arr. Peter Yorke)
PETER YORKE AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Delyse Envoy ES 7041 1959
15 Tenderly (Walter Gross; Jack Lawrence)
DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MGM E 3067 1953
16 Dancing in The Starlight (Trevor Duncan, real name Leonard Trebilco)
THE SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by CURT ANDERSEN
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 461 1960
17 Deep In My Heart, Dear (Sigmund Romberg, arr. William Hill Bowen)
THE MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA Conducted by GEORGE MELACHRINO
RCA Victor LSP 2106 1960
18 You"re My Thrill (Jay Gorney; Sidney Clare)
JACKIE GLEASON AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring BOBBY HACKETT, trumpet
Capitol W 1147 1959
19 Star Eyes (Don Raye; Gene De Paul)
CYRIL STAPLETON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca LK 4177 1957
20 If She Should Come To You (La Montana) (Augusto Alguero; G. Moreu; Alec Wilder)
FRANK DE VOL AND HIS RAINBOW STRINGS
Philips PB 1038 1960
21 For Those Who Love (Frank Cordell)
FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA
HMV 45-POP 755 1960
22 "Sons And Lovers" - Theme From The Film (Mario Nascimbene)
THE CASCADING STRINGS Conducted by JOHNNY GREGORY
Fontana H 251 1960
23 To A Young Lady (Robert Farnon)
LESLIE JONES and his ORCHESTRA OF LONDON
Pye-Nixa NSPL 83008 1959
24 You Are Beautiful; Love Look Away (from "Flower Drum Song") (Richard Rodgers, arr. Brian Fahey)
CYRIL ORNADEL AND THE STARLIGHT SYMPHONY
MGM SE 3817 1960
25 Amor (from film "Broadway Rhythm") (Gabriel Ruiz, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca 23344 1944
26 The Wedding Dance (Paul Lincke)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC ROGERS
Decca LF 1166 1954
27 The Wedding Song (Horan, real name Geoff Love)
MANUEL AND THE MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAINS ("Manuel" is GEOFF LOVE)
Columbia SCX 3297 1960

Stereo: tracks 3, 4, 10, 11, 14, 17, 23, 24 & 27; rest in mono.

"Love like youth is wasted on the young" - thus sang Frank Sinatra to Sammy Cahn"s perceptive words in 1960, although many believe the sentiments originated with playwright George Bernard Shaw. If writers and composers are to be believed, love knows no age boundaries and most of us on the planet will be lucky enough to experience it at least once during our lifetimes. It provides such strong inspiration for all kinds of creative people that few can resist expressing it in words and music, as witnessed in this collection that should mist up the bifocals of those whom Sinatra was originally serenading. Hopefully it will also appeal to a younger generation, where wedding bells may be in the offing.

The honour of providing the title, and the opening track, of this CD goes to Cyril Ornadel (b. 1924) who rose to prominence in Britain during the 1950s, largely due to his weekly appearances conducting the orchestra for the popular television series "Sunday Night at the London Palladium". He was MD for numerous top musicals in London"s West End, and his composing credits include the hit show "Pickwick" and the song Portrait Of My Love which gave Matt Monro an international hit when lyrics were added by "David West", a pseudonym for Norman Newell. Cyril returns later with two love songs from "Flower Drum Song".

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, which helped to establish his high profile with the public, especially in Britain where he became known as "the uncrowned king of light music". Impression Of A Princess was composed as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth"s sister, Princess Margaret, who was the subject of much speculation regarding her romantic private life during the 1950s. Sadly history tells us that she did not always enjoy the carefree, happy lifestyle vividly portrayed in Coates" charming composition.

I Love You Samantha was one of several hit songs in the 1956 film "High Society". The critics thought it dull, but it still appeals to new generations - possibly due to the music from that master who also provided his own witty lyrics, Cole Porter (1891-1964). The British ballroom dancing legend Victor Silvester (1900-1978) makes a welcome return to Guild with his Silver Strings.

From the earliest flickering moments of silent movies on a silver screen, love and romance have been guaranteed to fill cinema seats. Several of the songs featured in this collection were written for films, beginning with April Love from the 1957 movie starring Pat Boone. Mantovani (1905-1980) makes his first of two appearances in this collection with a wistful performance that perfectly captures the sentiments in the lyrics.

David Carroll (1913-2008) - real name Rodell Walter "Nook" Schreier - 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. The Prince and Princess Waltz was composed in honour of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco.

Douglas Brownsmith (1902-1965 - he preferred not to use his first name which was Reginald) was a pupil at St Paul"s Choir School. His first big success as a composer came in 1927 when Down the Mall - written in collaboration with Tony Lowry - was published. In the following years it was heard frequently in radio broadcasts by organists and light orchestras, and commercial recordings were made by Philip Green (on Guild GLCD5116) and Charles Shadwell (GLCD5171) - also Fodens Motor Works Band (GLCD5147). After the Second World War, production music publishers needed a vast amount of original orchestral compositions to service the requirements of radio, films and the emerging television stations around the world: Bosworth (See-Saw GLCD5144, Time For Fun And Games GLCD5125), Boosey & Hawkes (for whom he composed Wedding Day), Charles Brull (Continental Holiday GLCD5132) and Francis Day & Hunter all published a number of his works. During the 1930s Douglas purchased and ran the only bakery in the village of Ticehurst, Sussex, which he eventually sold and exchanged for a small restaurant in Bexhill-on-Sea. Apart from his music (and his love of cricket) this kept him fully occupied until his death from a sudden heart attack in 1965 at the age of 63.

It"s back to the cinema for the next four melodies, starting with the title song from One Night Of Love starring Grace Moore in 1934. Robert Farnon (1917-2005) conducts his orchestra in one of the polished arrangements that made his 1950s Decca LPs set new standards among fellow musicians. Farnon is heard later as the composer of To A Young Lady, dedicated to his daughter Judith in 1954.

You Are Too Beautiful escaped from Al Jolson"s 1933 movie "Hallelujah, I"m A Bum", giving Glenn Osser (b. 1914) the chance to shine as a conductor as well as an arranger, which had been his forté for many years with the likes of Les Brown, Jan Savitt, Bob Crosby, Bunny Berigan and Charlie Barnet.

Robert Stolz (1880-1975) originally wrote Two Hearts In Three Quarter Time for a 1930 German film, and a quarter of a century later the great maestro Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) gave it a welcome new lease of life.

Dinah Shore introduced Like Someone In Love in her 1945 film "Belle Of The Yukon". 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. In 1971 the Trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave him its Trustees Award.

Jerome Kern"s "Show Boat" premiered in New York in 1927, but it will have been more familiar to most people through the several film versions that followed. Can"t Help Loving That Man is one of the enduring songs from the show, performed for us here by Mantovani conducting his orchestra for his last Decca mono sessions in 1957.

Ruth Etting introduced Take Me In Your Arms back in 1932. Leroy Holmes (born Alvin Holmes, 1913-1986) scored Hollywood films and radio programmes during his early career, before becoming one of the mainstays of MGM"s conducting "team", also arranging many of their recordings. Eventually he moved on to United Artists where he conducted many of their contract singers and also recorded albums under his own name. His screen credits include the films "The Bridge In The Jungle" (1970) and "Smile" (1975).

If I Should Fall In Love Again won Jack Popplewell the first prize in a 1940 newspaper competition, launching his successful songwriting career. Peter Yorke (1902-1966) is a regular contributor to this series of CDs, as composer, arranger and conductor. After an apprenticeship 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.

Tenderly became a standard soon after it was published in 1946. London-born David Rose (1910-1990) was one of the truly great light orchestra leaders in the USA, and his compositions such as Holiday For Strings (on Guild GLCD 5120) and The Stripper sold millions. Over forty of his recordings have already been featured on previous Guild CDs.

Trevor Duncan (real name Leonard Charles Trebilco, 1924-2005) was working as a BBC sound engineer when one of his first compositions, High Heels (on Guild GLCD 5124) made the light music world sit up and take notice. Eventually his successful and prolific output mushroomed to such an extent that he had to give up his "day job" at the BBC, and also find several different publishers simply because he was writing too much for just one to handle - Dancing In The Starlight was published by Charles Brull.

Sigmund Romberg"s operetta "The Student Prince", first produced in 1924, gained a new lease of life when MGM filmed it for the second time in 1954. Cinemagoers witnessed Mario Lanza"s strident tenor voice coming from Edmund Purdom"s lips, after the producers dropped Lanza in the starring role because he had put on too much weight. Deep In My Heart, Dear was one of many fine songs in the score, and William Hill-Bowen (1918-1964) arranged it beautifully for the George Melachrino (1909-1965) Orchestra.

Jackie Gleason (1916-1987) was an American comedian, actor and would-be musician, although apparently he could not read or write music. His name appeared on many top-selling Capitol LPs, but legend has it that he did not conduct the music and his input was restricted to merely suggesting ideas that he conceived in his head and persuaded others to write down for him. It seems that it was Gleason"s concepts for each album that were the main selling points, and a shroud of secrecy descended upon the actual arrangers, soloists and conductors. An exception was the trumpeter Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett (1915-1976), an Americanjazzmusician who had played with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman, and solos on You"re My Thrill.

Star Eyes was composed for an unmemorable 1943 MGM "potboiler" "By Hook Or By Crook" (original US title "I Dood It"). The song managed to outlive the movie, and it is given a creditable performance by Cyril Stapleton (1914-1974), who was a well-known orchestra leader in Britain and overseas during the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to his regular BBC broadcasts and his many recordings.

In the USA Frank De Vol (1911-1999) is known primarily as the composer for the radio and TV series "The Brady Bunch", but light music fans appreciate that his career has been far more substantial. It was not uncommon to see the credit "Music by De Vol" on many films, and he had an executive position at Columbia Records, for whom he made a number of successful mood music albums. The continental melody If She Should Come To You enjoyed modest success - partly due to Alec Wilder"s English lyrics.

Frank Cordell (1918-1980) was a fine 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. The cinema beckoned with some prestigious projects and he was nominated for an Oscar for his work on "Cromwell" (1970). For Those Who Love was originally composed as the music behind a famous soap powder TV commercial in the UK.

Mario Nascimbene (1913-2002) scored numerous international films from the 1940s until his last in 1982, with the most notable including "The Vikings", "Alexander the Great" and "Room at the Top". Sons And Lovers (1960) was based on a novel by D.H. Lawrence about a young Nottinghamshire miner"s growing pains, and the version of the theme by Johnny Gregory (born Giovanni Gregori, 1924) fully exploits the lovely melody.

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. Amor is one of his earliest commercial recordings, which he conducted in Chicago for US Decca on 20 April 1944.

The German composer Paul Lincke (1866-1946) became known around the world for his Glow Worm (there are different versions on GLCD5106 and 5143), but this was just one number in a large body of musical works. His waltz The Wedding Dance is conducted by Eric Rogers (1921-1981) who is best remembered for scoring several "Carry On" films, although he was involved with numerous other projects in Britain and the USA.

Yorkshireman Geoff Love (1917-1991) succeeded in so many musical fields during his busy career. Internationally he achieved success as "Manuel and his Music of the Mountains" although his identity was a closely-kept secret for many years. His 1960 recording of The Wedding Song (which Geoff himself composed under the pseudonym "Horan") provides a fitting finale for this collection of music for romantics and lovers of all ages. David Ades