GLCD 5140 The Golden Age of Light Music - Musical Kaleidoscope – Volume 2
MUSICWEB WEDNESDAY MARCH 26 2008
Dolf van
der LINDEN (1915-1999)
1. Kaleidoscope [3:08]; 2. Park Lane Serenade [1:25];
Garfield de MORTIMER (real name
Trevor BOSWELL) 3. Circus Polka [2:27];
Richard RODGERS
(1902-1979) 4. Bewitched [2:59];
George MELACHRINO
(1909-1965) 5.
Bobbysox Bounce [2:59];
Michael CARR (real name Maurice COHEN)
(1904-1968) 6. Shadow of a Man (Film theme)
[2:42]; Felton RAPLEY
(d.1976) 7.
Down the Solent (Overture) [5:33];
Wilfred BURNS (real name Bernard Wilfred
HARRIS) (1917-1990) 8.
The Broken Horseshoe (Film theme) [3:08];
Sir Granville BANTOCK
(1868-1946) 9. Sea Reivers
(from "Two Hebridean Sea Poems") [3:49]; 10. Oriental Dance [2:58];
Alberto Borras DOMINGUEZ & Leonard WHITCUP
11. Frenesi [3:20];
Leighton LUCAS
(1903-1982) 12. Columbine [3:32];
Cecil MILNER
(1905-1989) 13. Saluting Base [2:58];
Maurice GREW
14. Jay Walker [2:27];
Sidney TORCH
(1908-1990) 15. Ticker Tape [1:05];
Charles WILLIAMS
(1893-1978) 16. Pioneer Trail
[1:26]; 17. Follow that Car [1:27];
Ronald HANMER
(1917-19??) 18. Intermission [1:22]; 19. The Four
Horsemen [3:06]; Len STEVENS
20. Cigarette Girl [2:12];
Sherman FELLER
21 Skiddles. (arr Robinson) [2:47];
G POWELL 22.
A Pinch of Salt [2:35]; Andrew
ACKERS & Sunny SKYLAR 23. Doreen [3:05];
Victor HERBERT
(1859-1924) 24. Dagger Dance
[1:47]; PERRY
25. Pizzicato Tango [2:40];
Edward MACDOWELL
(1860-1908) 26. Three Pieces
from Woodland Sketches Op 51 [3:50];
Sidney TORCH
(1908-1990) 27. The Duel [2:29];
Trevor DUNCAN (real name Leonard TREBLICO)
(b.1924) 28. Inhumanity
[3:51]
Dolf van der Linden and his
Metropole Orchestra (1,2); Reg Owen and his Orchestra (3); Felix King, his piano
and Orchcestra (4); George Melachrino and his Orchestra (5); Jackie Brown and
his Orchestra (6); New Century Orchestra, Sidney Torch (conductor) (7); Wilfred
Burns and his Orchestra (8); London Promenade Orchestra, Walter Collins
(conductor) (9,10); Don Felipe (Philip Green) and his Cuban Caballeros (11);
Leighton Lucas and his Orchestra (12); Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra - Charles
Williams (conductor) (13); - Sidney Torch (conductor) (27); - Robert Farnon
(conductor) (17); Lansdowne Light Orchestra (Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Kurt
Rehfeld – conductor) (14); Telecast Orchestra, Elliott Mayes (conductor)
(15,20}, Danish State Radio Orchestra, Robert Farnon (conductor) (16);
L’Orchestre Devereaux, Georges Devereaux (conductor) (18); George Liberace and
his Orchestra (21); Ray Ventura and his Orchestra (22); Monty Kelly and his
Orchestra (23); Alfonzo d’Artega and his Orchestra (24); Arturo Chaite and his
Orchestra (25); Camerata and his Orchestra (26); Harmonic Orchestra, Hans May
(conductor) (19); New Concert Orchestra, Frederic Curzon (conductor) (28)
As usual with this fascinating series, this is a very well filled disc, full of varied and in many cases rare recordings of short, some very short, pieces of light music. The devotee of the period or the genre will be buying each volume of the series as they come out, and for them the present disc may well fill a number of intriguing holes in their collections. Those with a less consuming interest may well want to select individual discs that have some special appeal. My own personal favorites so far have included GLCD 5108 (British Cinema and Theatre Orchestras) and GLCD 5141 (Globetrotting) but others will no doubt produce different lists.
All of this is by way of preface to saying that although there were a few enjoyable and memorable pieces here, I found all too many merely ordinary. I usually enjoy the short pieces from the 1940s and 1950s which form a large part of the contents of this series, but here the pieces that stood out in a positive sense were the two items by Bantock and the three by MacDowell, all from earlier periods. Otherwise whilst there is certainly much variety here there is little likely to attract anyone not already hooked by the genre. Perhaps the problem is that this is a disc intended for items that do not fit into any of the categories chosen for earlier discs. It is notable that the best parts are the two short sections with a series of linked pieces – "Short and sweet", which includes the Park Lane Serenade and Cigarette Girl, and "Drama, menace and excitement", including The Four Horsemen" and "Follow that car".
One continued curiosity of the series is the apparent assumption that purchasers are acquiring the whole series, so that whilst there are detailed notes about composers and orchestras who have not featured before, there is no mention at all of the items where they have done. This is frustrating for those wanting only a selection of discs, and I would imagine that even those with the whole series might well find it useful to have some form of cross-reference to where more detailed information can be found. Indeed, having now issued over 40 discs, it is perhaps time to produce some form of index to help the collector find particular pieces and orchestras.
I am sorry to be so luke-warm about this disc as this is generally a valuable and enjoyable series whose issues I look forward to. Perhaps you will enjoy it more than me – the restoration and remastering are done as skilfully as ever and certainly the contents are never less than characteristic of the craftsmanship and professionalism of the composers and arrangers of their time John Sheppard
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