The proceedings
get off to a great start with a smoochy, smoky little number by Robert Katscher
– ‘When Day is Done’. I guess that this piece epitomises the selection of music
on this disc. This Laurie Johnson arrangement emphasises it as a late-night
piece. There is a particularly moody break for trumpets before the music closes
with a violin solo.
Many of the
numbers derive from various ‘shows’ or ‘films’. There is a fine arrangement of ‘I
could have danced all night’ from My Fair
Lady. The beautiful ‘I’ve told every Star’ comes from the Hammerstein/Kern
musical Music in the Air which was
premiered in Broadway in 1932. The Bob
Hope and Bing Crosby knockabout comedy The
Road to Morocco has given the world the romantic ‘Moonlight becomes
you’. The classic Kurt Weill number
‘Speak Low’ comes from the largely forgotten ‘One Touch of Venus’, whilst ‘During
One Night’ is the eponymous title from the 1961 film staring Susan Hampshire
and Don Borisenko with a musical score by Bill
McGuffie. I am not sure that the harmonica quite supports the mood of
Starlight!
I am
always pleased to find a number of ‘classic’ British (Commonweath) light music
composers represented in these Guild CDs. This disc is no exception. Steve Race’s ‘In Paris, In Love’ opens with a
vamp that could be an introduction to an Adam Faith song! Later, the Parisian
mood takes over this well-constructed little tone-poem. A little closer to home
Robert Farnon has painted a picture of a ‘typical ‘Home Counties’ evening with
his thoughtful ‘How Beautiful is the Night.’ Equally ‘English’ in its mood is Cecil
Milner’s ‘Melody for Lovers.’ This composer, who lived in Wimbledon for much of
his life, deserves to be better known.
Angela Morley can always be relied upon to deliver an effective and
romantic piece of mood music and ‘A Tender Mood’ is quietly restrained and
probably reflects lost love rather than an evening of romance. More positive is Peter Yorke’s ‘Cocktails by
Candlelight’. This hints at the magic of two lovers sipping Snowball’s or Cosmopolitans
in the Dorchester or Claridges.
Our
American allies are well represented here too. ‘Manhattan in Satin’ by Willis
Schaefer is evocative of the lamented Rainbow Room in the Rockefeller Center – an
elegant lady sitting by the picture windows with all the lights of Manhattan behind
her. Cole Porter’s standard ‘Mind if I
make love to you’ is near perfect, whilst up the road Harry Revel has painted a
picture of an evening ‘Underneath a
Harlem Moon’ which is a little edgier with a few blue notes, muted trumpets,
big band-style breaks and a good part for clarinet. Further south ‘Moon over
Miami’ by Edgar Leslie and Joe Burke is Mancini-like with its use of sweeping
strings. Over in the Caribbean, David Rose has scored a hit with his ‘Night in
Trinidad’. This has the trappings of calypso worked over by a London-born, but Chicago-raised
composer. There is a Latin mood in ‘Midnight Tango’ by Hiller, Hiller and
Newman: this is the most lively and least starry piece on this CD. I am not
sure what the balalaika is doing in the Argentine though?
Balalaikas
and accordions inform Hubert Giraud’s attractive ‘Sweet Surrender Waltz’ –
something between a music box and a Paris café scene. ‘Orchid’s in the
Moonlight’ by Vincent Youmans has a sinister beat, yet the romantic strings play
down any suggestion of ‘things of the night.’ Other tunes include the wistful ‘Thinking
of You’ by Harry Ruby that makes such effective use of sweeping strings. ‘Take
my Lips’ by Teo Usuelli is an upbeat little tune whilst ‘Stranger in Town’ by
Malcolm Lockyer reflects on the dichotomy of its title – lonely but full of possibilities.
Adolph Deutch’s ‘Lonely Room’ is not quite as sad as the title would imply. ‘Love
me if you wish’ penned by Vittorio Mascheroni’s is quite simply beautiful and
contains a luxurious trumpet solo.
The
final number has gained a double entendre – ‘After Hours Joint’ by J. George
Johnson. But perhaps to the innocent all things etc… For me this piece
epitomises my idealised view of a nineteen-fifties night club down some half-lit,
back street in Fitzrovia. Drum and bass gently supporting strings and piano
give just the right atmosphere for a late night hang-out. It is a good place to
conclude this exploration of music inspired by the ‘Starlight Hours’.
There is only
one issue I have with this CD: I do wish that Guild would provide all the composers’ dates. It is
important that the listener is able to ‘contextualise’ these pieces, even
although they are ‘only’ light music. I do not expect the dates of composition
to be given as I imagine that in many cases this will be well-nigh impossible.
As always with
the Guild Light Music series the recording is superb: all the pieces have
scrubbed up well.
I enjoyed this
relaxed selection of music designed to be heard during the ‘starlight hours.’ It
is to be hoped that many more ‘chilled’ tunes are available and will duly be
presented in this hugely impressive series of recordings.
Guild
Light Music GLCD5196
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this
review was first published.
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