In its March/April issue, the American music magazine
'Fanfare' included a survey on Guild Music.
David Ades was interviewed by the magazine's regular
light music reviewer, Paul A. Snook, to discuss the story
behind the "Golden Age of Light Music" series
of CDs.
Light Music: A Reconsideration (An Interview With
David Ades)
By Paul A. Snook
Over the past several years some 70-plus volumes titled
Golden Age of Light Music have emanated from the
unlikely source of the Swiss label Guild. Under the authoritative
guidance of compiler David Ades, this series now represents
the most comprehensive and diversified cross section of
a kind of orchestral music that during the first 60 years
of the last century appealed to a large and varied audience
that has now unfortunately dwindled to a handful of dedicated
enthusiasts.
This sorry state of affairs is no doubt due to the
accelerated dumbing-down of the standards of so-called
popular music over the past half-century, due to the unthinking
canonization of adolescence and the resulting lemming-like
embrace of Neanderthal - or perhaps more accurately
Lumpenproletariat - culture by the educated
elites, for whom the sound of even a Leroy Anderson miniature
constitutes a form of "classical" music. Conversely
the classical crowd for the most part harbours a reflexive
contempt for any work whose primary aim is to entertain
in a musically intelligent manner within a compressed
two-to-three-minute framework.
Ades and his cohorts are making a brave - and
perhaps foolhardy? - effort to reverse these lamentable
trends, or at least to document an era when there was
an unquestioned acceptance and appreciation of much more
elevated levels of musical artistry than obtains today
among the general populace.
Here is how David Ades perceives his role in this musical
wasteland:
Q. Before we talk about the Golden Age series proper,
perhaps you could fill in the background of your personal
involvement with light music.
A: Growing up in Britain during the 1940s and 1950s
I heard a lot of light music on the radio. Unless we were
prepared to endure often awful reception from stations
based in Europe (usually Radio Luxembourg), our radio
entertainment came from the non-commercial BBC, and they
employed a large number of musicians. There were orchestras
based in all the main regions of the United Kingdom, and
the schedules included a lot of live music - partly
because the airtime allocated to playing records was restricted
to avoid musicians losing their jobs. Things gradually
changed during the 1960s, when many broadcasting ensembles
were either reduced in size or simply disbanded. Partly
this was due to the public's changing musical tastes,
but BBC radio was also being starved of funds, which were
increasingly diverted to its television channels. However,
during the immediate post-war years radio reached its
peak of popularity, and it produced an amazing array of
all kinds of light-entertainment programs. Many of these
had signature tunes selected from the recorded music libraries
of major music publishers, and even today people still
talk about the themes associated with their favourite
shows. Public demand resulted in some of them being recorded
commercially, which many people avidly collected. As a
teenager I was curious to learn more about the composers
and conductors whose work I admired, especially as I was
starting to see them in their own television shows -
notably Robert Farnon and Ray Martin. Through a friend
I learned in 1956 that a Robert Farnon Appreciation Society
was being formed by a group of enthusiasts based in London.
A magazine was launched and the society made slow but
steady progress in the following years. This allowed music
lovers elsewhere to become involved, and the society gradually
expanded to include all composers and musicians working
in the light-music field. Today the scope of music the
Robert Farnon Society (the word "appreciation"
was dropped early on) covers is even wider, with members
in all five continents. I was asked to become honorary
secretary and treasurer in 1962, a commitment that continues
to this day. For much of that time I have also edited
the society's magazine, Journal Into Melody.
Q. What was the origin of the idea for this kind
of series?
A: Guild Music is an independent record label that
now operates from Switzerland. For many years it concentrated
mainly on historical classical recordings (and it still
does), building up a fine reputation internationally.
The managing director is Kaikoo Lalkaka, and during 2003
he happened to mention to the company producing his CD
booklets that he was thinking of expanding the range of
his releases. It so happened that the same company was
designing booklets for another record company that regularly
employed me to compile their CDs of light music, including
writing the booklet notes. They told Mr. Lalkaka what
I was already doing elsewhere, and he approached me to
ask if I thought there was a future in a series of light-music
CDs. Initially I suggested that the market should be tested
with just one compilation, but he said that it would make
a better impact if we issued three at once. To be honest,
I thought that might be all we would do, and I tended
to include some of the very best pieces of light music
in those first three CDs! But to my slight surprise and
delight, the CDs sold sufficiently well to continue with
the series and I was asked to prepare new compilations
at a rate of two CDs every two months. I am now working
on the 80th collection. This certainly is the "Golden
Age of Light Music": there has never been a time
when so much of it was available to the public on compact
discs and Internet downloads.
Q. Why did you decide to use the concept of themes
for each release instead of some other basis as an organizing
principle?
A: As a lifelong collector myself, I am very much on
the side of record buyers. I have always thought it unfair
that so much music gets duplicated in new releases. I
have a wide knowledge of what is available, so I think
I have a good idea of what keen music lovers will already
have. It should also be emphasized that there is no duplication
of tracks within the series, although, of course, there
are instances of more than one recording of the same piece
as interpreted by different orchestras. The vast majority
of other releases of light music are simply reissues of
LPs. This means that a lot of other music (especially
older 78s) is automatically excluded. By allowing each
collection to contain music from many different sources
it is possible to include a vast range of music and, hopefully,
a lot of pleasant surprises. It is necessary to create
different themes to give the collections a foundation
for the repertoire chosen, although every so often I compile
what I acknowledge is a haphazard selection to mop up
some of the tracks that inevitably get excluded because
they may not fit specific themes. I like to think that
my deliberate policy of trying to include some rare pieces
in most collections is helping to get certain composers
far better known, and encourage people to seek out some
of their other work.
Q. Why the decision to include instrumental pop
standards instead of only actual light-music compositions?
A: The simple answer is to try and make the collections
more attractive, especially to casual purchasers who may
only come across them when browsing in record stores.
Although there is a vast amount of what might be termed
"pure" recorded light music available (much
of it locked away in publishers' libraries, never
previously available), the majority of it is probably
unknown to all except the most serious students of the
genre. People coming across unfamiliar titles by composers
unknown to them are going to need some persuading before
they will make a purchase, and I have little doubt that
the Golden Age of Light Music series would probably have
come to an end fairly quickly if I had adopted a narrow
approach toward the repertoire. "Light music"
(or concert music, easy listening, middle-of-the-road,
etc.) covers a wide range that can embrace the traditional
styles of light music (perhaps a bit prim and proper to
some younger people) and lush orchestral arrangements
of popular music, especially show tunes. If these CDs
don't sell in sufficient quantities the series will
come to an end. I have to make new CDs appealing to casual
buyers as well as confirmed enthusiasts (an amazing number
of people automatically buy each new release unheard),
so from time to time I include a collection of general
interest, such as the Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers
CDs. With around 2,000 tracks now included in the series
there should be something for everyone. Compared with
pop music, one has to acknowledge that light music appeals
to a relatively small number of people, and probably over
90 percent of the music reissued on the Guild CDs is no
longer of any commercial interest to others. I should
add that, as the series has progressed, we get an increasing
number of contacts from regular purchasers asking for
pieces of music to be included; most new collections now
contain several tracks in response to specific requests.
Q. I imagine locating some of these long-out-of-print
78s, LPs, and single 45s must be quite a chore. What are
your sources?
A: Initially the music came from my own collection
with additional titles supplied by Alan Bunting, who handles
the digital sound restoration and remastering. But very
quickly collectors around the world sensed our mission
to try and make available a whole range of recordings
that had been neglected by other record companies, and
I have been amazed at the generosity of fellow enthusiasts
in many countries, such as the U.S.A., Canada, South Africa,
Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and Portugal
- as well as a large number in Britain. They have
allowed us access to their precious recordings, and the
result has been the creation of the foremost library of
light orchestral music in the world. It would be nice
to hope that future generations of music lovers will appreciate
the importance of our work.
Q. In this connection, many of these older recordings
probably require a good deal of tuning-up, right?
A: In some respects we have made a rod for our own
backs in deciding that each CD would include music from
a variety of different sources. Some collections feature
music recorded well over 30 years apart, from a period
when the techniques of sound recording went through many
different stages. Collectors will know that contemporary
recordings made today in different studios can have a
distinct sound; when you add that to the advances made
in microphones since electrical recording was introduced
in 1925 - not to mention stereo - you can
appreciate the challenge in trying to avoid too many harsh
fluctuations in sound quality. I am very fortunate in
having Alan Bunting as my colleague handling all the technical
aspects. He shares my passion for light music and is widely
recognized as a world leader in his field, going to great
lengths to obtain the finest possible sound quality from
the often less than perfect discs that come our way. We
spend hours listening and refining the sound of each collection,
with test CDs going back and forth several times before
we are both satisfied with the results. Only very rarely
do we allow something of historical importance to sway
our judgment of what is acceptable. It is not unusual
to use passages from more than one disc where there may
have been needle damage, and I frequently experiment with
different styli. Perhaps the greatest satisfaction comes
from records made in the 1930s, which sound superb when
processed with the latest state-of-the-art restoration
tools. In one collection we even restored one of the very
earliest stereo tests from 1934. Strangely some of the
recordings that give us most problems are LPs from the
1950s, where there were often excessive amounts of treble
(particularly from some U.S. labels), which made the strings
sound distinctly harsh.
Q. How would you define "light music"
in all its ramifications?
A: It would be difficult to find two people who agree
on the exact definition of "light music."
Music has been called the international language, and
in its many guises it is probably as diverse as all the
spoken tongues around the world. Individual styles constantly
develop and change in response to various influences,
and there is no doubt that our ancestors who listened
to what we might term "their" light music
in the 1800s would find the sounds of the 1950s too avant-garde
for their ears. Light music is not alone in this; some
of today's best-loved classical works were harshly
criticized at their premieres. My own personal idea of
light music is that it is essentially non-vocal and performed
by an ensemble that can range in size from a quartet to
the full forces of a symphony orchestra. But often it
is a case of "less is better." An orchestra
that is too large can struggle with the delicate nuances
that are a feature of many of the finest light-music cameos.
For many works, a concert orchestra of around 30 musicians
is often ideal, with perhaps a few extra soloists as the
composer (or arranger) demands. Tasteful orchestral arrangements
of songs also impress me as light music, although I am
aware that not everyone will agree with me.
Q. How do you perceive the role and place of light
music in the wider context of music as a whole?
A: It is a pity that some musicologists find the need
to pigeonhole different styles of music. They are often
the losers, because their blinkered attitude prevents
them from exploring a lot of the available repertoire.
Many concerts of "serious" classical music
could benefit from the inclusion of a lighter work as
an opening number, or to fill a short gap between longer
works. During its best years radio used to offer such
a wide variety of music: you could tune in to one station
early in the day and if you left it playing you would
come across many different styles - often providing
pleasant surprises. Today that doesn't happen, and
broadcasters are to blame for fostering generations with
a very shallow knowledge of music as a whole. I have heard
critics say that pop music (especially in the 1950s and
1960s) was to blame for the demise of light music, but
I believe that is a fallacy. Light music has always been
squeezed between other music forms, and the main losers
from the Presley and Beatles generation were the crooners
and swing bands of the 1940s.
Q. What are the differences between the U.S., U.K.,
and the Continent in their awareness and appreciation
of light music?
A: I think that the more traditional style of light
music has a slightly stronger base in the U.K. and Europe,
but the U.S. and Canada (don't forget that Robert
Farnon and Percy Faith came from Canada) have had a major
impact on the development of this genre. It is impossible
to overstate the importance of people like André
Kostelanetz, David Rose, Morton Gould, and the Boston
Pops in keeping light music alive internationally.
Q. Do you envision any future hope for a wider audience
for light music in any form?
A: In Britain there are several young conductors who
are doing a good job in keeping light music going -
John Wilson and Gavin Sutherland immediately spring to
mind. They make the valid point that - unlike the
older generation - it has nothing to do with nostalgia
as far as they are concerned; it is simply well crafted
and very enjoyable music. The problem is that radio stations
tend to ignore it. Unless people are allowed to hear this
music, they won't know it is out there. When young
people (such as amateur youth orchestras) are exposed
to it, the reaction is usually favourable. Light music
won't go away, but it needs enthusiasts to keep
giving it the kiss of life!
The above interview appeared in the March/April
issue of the American music magazine "Fanfare",
and is reproduced with due acknowledgments.
The interviewer, Paul A. Snook writes regularly
for Fanfare, and he has been a member of The Robert Farnon
Society for many years.
Paul was born in 1935 in the Bronx, and during his
childhood years in the 1940s he was constantly exposed
to radio broadcasts by the big bands and their vocalists
doing mostly "Hit Parade" material. At the
same time he responded instinctively to the sounds coming
off the screen when his mother took him to the movies.
After eight years of piano lessons, he had learned to
read music, but his teacher told him he would never go
beyond competency, whereas at playing the phonograph he
was a virtuoso! So he naturally began to focus more on
the music he heard over the air and on early television.
At the age of 14 he took a survey course on the history
of classical music, realizing that the harmonic and rhythmic
characteristics of late Romantic and early 20th-century
composers paralleled those of Ellington, Goodman, and
Kenton, together with the Hollywood composers, all of
whom he loved. With the advent of long-play records, he
began to haunt Sam Goody's and other stores, to
acquire the music he began to unearth from the Schwann
catalogue - Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel, Bartók,
Prokofiev, Hindemith, Milhaud, Honegger, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff,
as well as the American symphonists. Most of what he learned
about this repertoire he absorbed by listening to the
records and reading the liner notes.
After graduating from Princeton with a BA in English,
Paul fulfilled his dream of moving to the Upper West Side
of Manhattan to attend graduate school at Columbia. His
record collection grew exponentially as he discovered
the many composers in other countries who derived from
his favourite modern masters, while at the same time rediscovering
the great pop artists of his earlier years.
Eventually he amassed over 20,000 LPs - which
he still plays and enjoys - plus some thousands
of tapes and cassettes exchanged with fellow collectors
throughout the world, which were ultimately donated and
housed in a special archive located at Columbia University,
to which Paul maintains lifetime access.
Meanwhile, to pay for all this, he held jobs in public
relations (Queens College) and public information writing
(United Nations), but his most musically significant posts
were three years as classical music director for Riverside
Radio (WRVR) and most of the 1970s working for his friend
Will Lerner at his legendary record store, Music Masters.
Now a grandfather, Paul says he plans to go on reviewing
recordings of 20th-century music for 'Fanfare'
until he is too weak to load the tray on his CD player!
This feature appeared in 'Journal Into Melody'
- September 2011
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