Mátyás Seiber: By the Fountains of Rome - a Pop Song

It is unusual to have a Top Twenty Pop Chart ‘hit’ by a classical composer. It is even rarer when that composer is a ‘modernist’ who has flirted with twelve tone music (Serialism) and the more approachable reaches of the avant-garde.

Hungarian-born émigré composer Mátyás Seiber did just that. The song ‘By the Fountains of Rome’ written in 1956 became a ‘top ten’ hit and subsequently won an Ivor Novello award.

The key to understanding Mátyás Seiber’s place in musical history is always to recognise the various stylistic trajectories which he explored during his short life. This included Bartok, folk music and Schoenbergian twelve-tone techniques. His catalogue of work is wide-ranging and includes an opera, three string quartets, a variety of concerted works and many songs and folk-song arrangements.  In the 1920s, Seiber lectured in Jazz Studies at Frankfurt. This was influential in his music. There were the Two Jazzolettes and the ‘blues’ movements in the String Quartet No.2. One other distinguishing feature of his music was his ‘impish sense of humour.’ So, it comes as no surprise to find Seiber composing a ‘pop’ song.

By the Fountains of Rome

By the Fountains of Rome, we were dreaming

By the Fountains of Rome, you were mine.

As the Moon on the water was gleaming

I believed you’d be mine for all time…

But the Fountains of Rome heard you whisper

That our wonderful dream could not be

Now as I walk alone by the Fountains of Rome

Your Lovely reflection I see….

In 1956 Mátyás Seiber set the words of ‘By the Fountains of Rome’ written by Norman Newell (1919-2004).  Newell was an English record producer and co-writer of many songs. He worked with a star-studded group of singers an musicians including Judy Garland, Petula Clark, Russ Conway, David Carroll and Shirley Bassey.

 ‘By the Fountains of Rome’ is very much a product of its time. To be sure, it is the kind melody that could be sung by a crooner or a light operatic singer such as Mario Lanzo.

Both words and music are romantic, idealistic and largely sentimental. It would have appealed to a British audience who were only just beginning to start taking Continental holidays in the aftermath of the Second World War.  Just two years previously, filmgoers had enjoyed the comedy Three Coins in the Fountain, starring Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan and Maggie McNamara. It featured the title song sung by an uncredited Frank Sinatra. In 1953 Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck had wowed audiences with Roman Holiday.  Things Italian were the order of the day.

Stylistically, ‘By the Fountains of Rome’ is a million miles away from the raunchy ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ released by a certain Mr Elvis Presley in January 1956. That was the delight of the ‘pop’ charts in the 1950s and 1960s: it was possible to have a wide aesthetic range of music, from Rock and Roll, to novelty songs by way of Latin Beat-infused ballads.

During 1956 two ‘covers’ of the song appeared in the record charts. The earliest hit was by the Canadian baritone Edmund Hockridge (1919-2009) released on Pye-Pixa (N15063). The ‘B’ side was ‘I’ll need your love.’ Hockridge was accompanied by the Beryl Stott Chorus with Tony Osborne and His Orchestra. The record first charted in 6 September 1956 and reached No.17 in the Hit Parade. It remained in the charts until 4 October. 

The second version was by ‘pop’ and ‘opera’ singer David Hughes (1925-72) on the Phillips label (B26237H).  The ‘flip’ side of this single was ‘Tombolee, Tombola.’ Here, the supporting band was Wally Stott with his Orchestra and Chorus.  This song was to be Hughes only hit single in the UK charts.  By contrast to Hockridge, David Hughes only made it to No.27, first appearing in the listings on 27 September 1956. He remained in the charts for a single week. (Official Charts Database Webpage).

Subsequent ‘covers’ of this song have been made by Eddie Calvert, Harry Secombe, Vera Lynn and my personal favourite, the instrumental version by Manuel and the Music of the Mountains on his LP Magic Fountains issued in 1968 on the Studio 2 Stereo label.

The three versions of ‘By the Fountains of Rome’ have been conveniently uploaded to YouTube:  Edmund Hockridge David Hughes Manuel and the Music of the Mountains.