Charles Williams’s Let's Go Shopping

When I lived in Glasgow, I always enjoyed a Christmas walk as they say, “Up Sauchie, doon Buckie an alang Argyle” – translated as Up Sauchiehall Street, Down Buchanan Street and Along Argyle Street! These were (and to a certain extent still are) the main shopping streets in Glesga.

As a child there was magic in the streets themselves. At dusk, the Christmas lights would come on. There was always a great display at George Square, complete with tree and nativity. Occasionally, the carol singers would be out and about.

The highlight of a Winter Saturday morning was a visit to Lewis’s department store in Argyle Street. This venerable shop (no relation to John Lewis) was a large six story building that sold everything from cheese to lawnmowers. But what most appealed to youngsters was the toy department on the top floor. Not only were there displays of Triang trains and Meccano sets, along with every toy a child could imagine, but Santa’s Grotto beckoned. Sadly, Lewis’s closed in 1991. It became Debenhams, which also shut its doors some thirty years later.

Things have changed since my childhood in Glasgow. For one thing the trams have gone. The three above mentioned streets are partly pedestrianised and George Square has been dug up for remodelling.

Yet one constant remained for many years – House of Fraser’s at the bottom of Buchanan Street. This was formerly McDonalds and Wylie & Lochhead. Every year it was festooned with fairy lights, both inside and outside the store. Sadly, last year this display was missing.

Charles Williams (1893–1978) was a prolific figure in British light music - genre crafted not for the concert hall, but for film, radio, and newsreel. His works, including Devil's Galop and The Dream of Olwen, remain instantly recognizable, even if his name does not. Among his lesser-known gems,

Like many pieces in the 1950s and 1960s, Let's Go Shopping was composed as mood music for sound libraries, possibly Chappell, where Williams conducted the Queen's Hall Light Orchestra. It could have been used by filmmakers and TV producers to accompany scenes of commercial bustle or shopping sprees. It sets the mood for a brisk Saturday’s outing in the days of post-war optimism.

Just because it is classified as light music does not mean that it is carelessly written. Like so much in this genre it is a masterclass in orchestration, catchy melodies and rhythmic vitality. Listen out for the syncopated section in the opening bars which suggests the hurry of a shopper on a mission. The orchestration is bright, with chirpy woodwind, sweeping strings, restrained brass and a battery of percussion, including glockenspiel and triangle.

Let's Go Shopping is not profound. Its charm lies in its ability to conjure a series of evocative images for the mind, a world of pleasant, mundane experiences. Like many of Williams’s pieces, it creates a miniature cinematic scene - no visuals required. It is all in the mind, and, especially for older people, in the memories.

Listen to Charles Williams’s Let's Go Shopping on YouTube, here.  Robert Farnon is conducting the Danish State Radio Orchestra under the pseudonym Melodi Light Orchestra conducted by Ole Jensen.