I always consider that I am
having an adventure when I first listen to a new volume of The Golden Age of Light Music. It is quite definitely an exploration
in sound and mood. In the present CD, it is a contemplation of ‘Nature’s Realm’.
Like most of these CDs there is a good balance between arrangements of
standards from the ‘shows’ or the world of cinema and ‘original’ pieces. I
admit that the later genre is of most interest to me.
However, the arrangements on
this album are all first-class. The opening Johann Strauss Thunder and Lightning Polka is a great place to start. Well-known
to virtually everyone, it is given a vibrant performance by Sidney Torch and
his Orchestra. This is presenting nature at it most thrilling and spectacular.
Harold Arlen’s lovely Stormy Weather
is probably more about the ‘atmospherics’ in a lover’s hearts rather than in
Nature –‘stormy weather since my man and I ain't together, keeps raining
all the time.’ It is good to have
Malcolm Arnold’s characteristic tune from the film Whistle Down the Wind on this disc. It is not a film I relate to –
but the music is classic Arnold. I love
the sparkling score from the 1949 psychological thriller Whirlpool starring Gene Tierney and Richard Conte. It is so typical
of the period with gorgeous romantic strings and swirling harps. A slightly more relaxed mood is created by the
song ‘Softly as in a Morning Sunrise’ from Sigmund Romberg’s 1927 operetta The New Moon. Here are lots of romantic
strings in the Mantovani style. Three
men collaborated to provide the ravishing September
in the Rain – Al Dubin and Harry Warren’s original was given the Ronald
Binge touch which certainly has echoes of Binge’s more famous ‘Sailing By.’
The remainder of the numbers on
this disc are miniature tone poems describing a geological, meteorological or
geographical feature: it may paint a picture or portray an emotional response
by the onlooker.
Peter Yorke has written an
attractive little piece that perfectly (if a little romantically) describes a Misty Valley. Not to be out done Trevor
Duncan has contributed an essay of English pastoral music called Meadow Mist. This is one of the
loveliest works on this CD and probably deserves inclusion in ‘samplers’ of
English landscape music. It is at times almost ‘Delian’ in its harmonies and
orchestration. I have not heard of Lotar Leonard Olias before, however his
‘Tango in the Rain’ is a little bit of a novelty: a good tune complete with
‘rain and thunder sounds’ in the background and also a melodeon (I think).
It is good to hear another piece
from Frederick Curzon. He is best known for pieces such as The Boulevardier, the Dance
of the Ostracised Imp and Punchinello.
The present accomplished arrangement is a setting of the well-known song ‘Over
the Hills and Far Away’. The original dates back to the late 17th
century. Clive Richardson has contributed a film score-like Saga of the Seven Seas. This big, expansive
piece conjures up images of sailing ships and wartime convoys. It is full of
the salt tang of the sea.
Leroy Anderson must be one of the
best-known composers of light music. His contribution Summer Skies is sultry piece that echoes its title: ideal for
daydreaming. I have not come across Leslie Coward before, however his Wandering the King’s Highway is an
attractive little arrangement of a song that was once popular. It dates from
the nineteen-thirties. A touch of Elgar and Coates here along with a bit of a
swing.
Peter Yorke’s Fireflies is a typically colourful piece
of whimsy. Beautifully scored it vacillates between a deliciously romantic
nocturnal mood and the delicate tracery of the beasties in question. One of my
favourites on this CD. The liner notes are right in suggesting that Percy
Faith’s Blue is the Night reflects
the composer’s mastery of the orchestra. This is a haunting number that is both
romantic and descriptive. I imagine a lady or gentleman looking out over the
blue Bay of Naples on a warm, still night and regretting the absence of their
lost love. Listening to the progress of the music suggests they will not
return…but there are plenty of other fish in the sea!
Another fine musical picture is
provided by Anthony Mawer with his idyllic Countryside.
I believe it not an English landscape – but just where is harder to suggest but
most likely somewhere a touch warmer. However, it has a lovely melody and is
well arranged.
Thunder in Louisiana by Gerard Calvi is quite explicit – it starts
off quietly, but the jazz infused mood takes over. Beating drums and wa-wa
brass move the music onto a different level. The score builds up to an iddy bit
of a storm before subsiding. There are lots of good orchestral devices, especially
in the percussion department. Domenic
Savino’s Twilight on Las Pampas is quintessential
Latin American mood music.
I guess that no compilation of
light music would be complete without at least one example of Robert Farnon’s
craft. In this present CD, it is his magnificent Headland Country. It is almost like a score for a 1950’s travelogue
film advertising Cornwall or the Dorset Coast.
However, the liner notes suggest a possible Canadian background. Whatever
the geographical setting it is a lovely expansive and undeniably romantic
piece. Trotting Class by Bruce Campbell is another ‘novelty’ number. Lots
of good tunes and a clip-clop accompaniment would have made this an ideal score
to for a romantic Ealing Comedy featuring a day’s pony-trekking on the South
Downs.
Roger Roger (I knew of someone
called William William Williams once) is a French composer who has contributed
his quixotic (imaginary) Landscape to
the Chappell Recorded Music Library.
I just love the varied movement
of George Trevare’s The Mad Mountain Ride. This is quite a
complicated piece of music with contrasting themes and moods. However, the
basic premise would appear to be some kind of trek/ski/sledge in the high
hills. The penultimate track on this CD
is Cyril Watters Spring Idyll. Somehow,
this does not quite work for me: it is just that little bit too intense. Yet
there are some lovely moments that exhibit an accomplished ability at orchestration
that goes well beyond much that appears as light music.
The final number on this
exploration of ‘Nature’s Realm’ needs no introduction. Ferde Grofé stunning ‘Sunrise’ from
the Grand Canyon Suite is one of the masterpieces
of American descriptive music. It holds impressionistic description with high
drama in perfect equilibrium.
As usual, the sound quality of
these restored tracks is excellent, bearing in mind that they have been re-mastered
(by Alan Bunting) from old 78 r.p.m. and vinyl records. The accompanying notes
are helpful, giving an insight into both the composers and orchestras.
This is the 94th release
in the Golden Age of Light Music
series: it shows no sign of being the last. It never ceases to amaze me how many
numbers in this genre there is. If I were honest I would have imagined that
after all these CDs they would be scraping the bottom of the barrel. The
opposite would appear to be the case: each new release presents surprises and
delights that the listener can barely imagine. Long may the series continue!
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review first appeared
Please see link to GuildLight Music GLCD5194 for a detailed track listings
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