GLCD 5124 Great Light Orchestras Salute The hall of Fame - Volume II Reviews & Broadcast

THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC The Hall Of Fame - Volume II PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA featuring The Magic Voices - DAVID ROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA - FRANK CORDELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA - ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA - ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS Conducted by LESLIE BAXTER with Dr. SAMUEL HOFFMAN, Theremin - DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by JACK LEON - MORTON GOULD AND HIS ORCHESTRA - MONTY KELLY AND HIS ORCHESTRA - AMBROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA - RICHARD HAYMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA - DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by HUBERT CLIFFORD - DAVID CARROLL AND HIS ORCHESTRA - ACQUAVIVA AND HIS ORCHESTRA - FRANK DE VOL AND HIS ORCHESTRA - MEYER DAVIS AND HIS ORCHESTRA - HARRY DAVIDSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA - KURT BURLING’S ROCOCO ORCHESTRA   09 Over The Rainbow (from “The Wizard Of Oz”) 10 Majorca (also known as ‘Midinette’) 16 Always Late But Lovely 22 Grand Vista (from “Title Music”)

Contents:

In order to qualify for inclusion in any kind of Hall of Fame, there is a pre-requisite that recognition should already have been given for outstanding achievement. In the case of Light Music, if only the most famous melodies and orchestras are considered worthy for a CD such as this, the result would probably be a rehash of what may have been done many times before.

The Guild “Golden Age of Light Music” series is compiled by enthusiasts who understand that keen collectors probably already have many of the “best of” pieces in their music libraries. So you are not being offered a compilation featuring only the best known works performed by each orchestra, but a careful choice which mixes the familiar with – occasionally – the unknown. These aims were explained more fully in the first volume to bear this name, and this second collection attempts to complement the first selection of worthy candidates. If you only ever have the two “Hall of Fame” CDs in your Light Music collection, you will possess music by many of the finest composers and conductors in the genre.

Percy Faith (1908-1976) was born in Toronto, Canada, and originally became known during the 1930s for his programme “Music By Faith” which was also carried by the Mutual network in the USA. The opening track Dizzy Fingers (like all his recordings, arranged by Faith himself) includes a small choir which Faith described as adding a touch of ‘vocalese’. Back home in Canada he discovered that he had a few dollars to spare from the budget for one of his radio shows, so he engaged a small number of singers who happened to be in the same studio block. The idea was instantly popular, and many of his singles would later have some voices alongside the orchestra. In 1940 he relocated to the USA where he became one of the most successful broadcasters and recording artists of his time.

David Rose (1910-1990) was born in London, England, and the family moved to the USA when he was just four-years-old. Eventually he began working in movies and is credited with scoring 36 films. In 1943 he had a big hit with his own composition Holiday For Strings which firmly launched him as a light music composer in the eyes of the public. He later wrote scores and themes for over 20 television series and in 1962 had a worldwide smash hit with another of his own tunes, a humorous and satirical piece called The Stripper. In total he won five Grammy awards and six gold records.

The British musician Frank Cordell (1918-1980) was a fine composer, arranger and conductor whose work first became noticed through the tuneful backings he often supplied to some contract singers on HMV singles in the 1950s. Occasionally he was allowed his own 78s, and he was also responsible for several fine LPs which quickly became collectors’ items. The cinema beckoned with some prestigious projects including “Cromwell” (1970) for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

Andre Kostelanetz (1901-1980) was one of the biggest names in American light orchestral music in the middle of the 20th century. During a period of 20 years from around 1940 onwards he conducted a series of recordings that stand as fine examples of the art of the orchestral arranger. Sadly his later records were not so well received by his fans, who believed that his record company forced him to bow to commercial pressures.

Early in his career Les Baxter (1922-1996) played the tenor sax, but he was attracted towards arranging. The British composer Harry Revel (1905-1958) had composed a suite inspired by the fragrance of different perfumes, and RCA agreed to record it for a set of three 78s, later transferred to LP. Revel had been captivated by the sound of the theremin, an early electronic instrument first patented by Russian physicist Lev Sergeivitch Termen in 1921. It had been used by Miklos Rozsa in his score for the 1945 film “Spellbound”, and he decided that this should form the basis for his work. But he needed strings and voices, and RCA engaged the unknown Leslie Baxter to arrange and conduct the album. The project was not successful commercially at the time, but Baxter fortunately went on to make his own name with hits such as Unchained Melody and Quiet Village.

Robert Farnon (1917-2005) is regarded as one of the foremost personalities in Light Music. His compositions and arrangements inspired generations of fellow musicians, and many believe that the influence of his own catchy creations such as Jumping Bean and Portrait of a Flirt helped to ensure the survival of Light Music during the second half of the last century.

Another leading composer alongside Farnon was Charles Williams (1893-1978) (real name Isaac Cozerbreit) who achieved international fame with his Dream of Olwen (from the 1947 film “White I Live”) to be followed some years later with similar success in 1960 when his theme for the film “The Apartment” topped the American charts. Happily Williams has been reasonably well served with reissues of his music on CD in recent years, so a choice for this collection has not been easy. The Good Earth is a good example of his melodic gifts, and it is believed that this is the first time it has been available on a commercial recording.

Morton Gould (1913-1996) became one of the most highly respected American composers, and among his best-known works were the ballet Fall River Legend and American Symphonette No. 3, which became better known as Pavanne (the mis-spelling was deliberate). His American Salute (based on When Johnny Comes Marching Home) also caught the public’s attention. From 1986 to 1994 Gould was President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Monty Kelly (1910-1971) was a trumpeter, arranger and bandleader who played with the Paul Whiteman and Skinnay Ennis bands before landing a job with NBC in New York. Cash Box magazine named him ‘most promising orchestra’ in 1953, but by then the era of popular instrumentals was starting to wane in the USA. His albums continued to do well, and they are still sought by light music fans.

Bert Ambrose (1897-1971) was one of Britain’s top dance band leaders of the 1930s, and his name was still sufficiently important in the mid-1950s to generate record sales. Tango Capriccioso is one of a number of tracks for MGM in his name, although the arranger and conductor was actually Laurie Johnson (b. 1927) at the start of his own impressive career.

As well as being a respected arranger and conductor, Richard Hayman (b. 1920) was also a harmonica virtuoso, and he sometimes adapted his scores of popular melodies so that he could perform on his favourite instrument. He followed Leroy Anderson as an arranger for the Boston Pops Orchestra over a period of more than 30 years, and also served as Music Director of Mercury Records. He was regularly in demand to orchestrate Broadway shows and film soundtracks, and notable among his own compositions are No Strings Attached (on GLCD5105) and Skipping Along.

David Carroll (b. 1913) was musical director of Mercury Records from 1951 to the early 1960s, during which time he accompanied many of the label’s contract singers as well as making some instrumental recordings of his own. Several of his LPs had a ‘dance’ theme, often including his own compositions, and he employed the cream of Chicago’s session musicians.

Nicholas Acquaviva was not a frequent visitor to the recording studios, but he gained recognition in the USA through his involvement with the Symphony of the Air orchestra and as conductor of the New York ‘Pops’ Symphony Orchestra.

In the USA Frank De Vol (1911-1999) is known primarily as the composer for the radio and TV series “The Brady Bunch”, but light music fans appreciate that his career has been far more substantial. It was not uncommon to see the credit ‘Music by De Vol’ on many films, and he also appeared as a character actor in several US television series, such as "I Dream of Jeannie", "Bonanza" and "Petticoat Junction".

Meyer Davis (1893-1976) was not a bandleader in the usual sense, but more a contractor supplying orchestras whenever and wherever required – often at top social events in leading ballrooms. He formed his first orchestra as early as 1915, and went on to control the market share of society functions in Washington, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston for over 30 years.

Geraldo (Gerald Bright, 1904-1974) was a major figure on the British entertainment scene for four decades, having fronted just about every kind of ensemble and influenced the successful careers of numerous top singers. For his broadcasts he varied the style of his orchestra quite considerably, and a particular series “Tip Top Tunes” (employing a full string section alongside the usual dance band) enjoyed great popularity. Several commercial recordings were made, spotlighting the considerable arranging talents of Wally Stott (b. 1924 and later to be known as Angela Morley), heard on this CD in March Of The Toys.

Our featured composer this time is an Englishman who preferred to adopt a low profile yet his compositions were regularly heard by millions across the world. Leonard Trebilco (1924-2005) wrote most of his music under the pseudonym ‘Trevor Duncan’, and he was working as a BBC sound engineer when one of his first compositions, High Heels made the light music world sit up and take notice. Eventually his successful and prolific output mushroomed to such an extent that he had to give up his ‘day job’ at the BBC, and also find several different publishers simply because he was writing too much for just one to handle. The Girl From Corsica and his March from “A Little Suite” (used as the theme for BBC TV’s “Dr. Finlay’s Casebook”) were two more big hits with the public, but a vast amount of his work still remains undiscovered.

Our brief selection commences with Grand Vista which will immediately sound familiar to British cinemagoers around 50 years ago since it used to introduce the Pearl and Dean advertising features. Posterity is an early example of his gift at writing concert marches, and Lady In Love is a long neglected work he contributed as ‘Steve Bretton’ to the Francis, Day & Hunter Mood Music Library.

One very satisfying aspect of the Guild “Golden Age of Light Music” series is that music lovers are regularly contacting us with their requests for particular pieces to be considered for inclusion in future releases. Thanks to a number of tracks on earlier Guild CDs, collectors now know that a vast amount of Light Music was recorded specially for professional use by radio, television and films, and it was never intended that this would be available for sale to the general public. Much of this repertoire is tuneful, melodic music, but there is also a vast amount of what can be described as ‘dramatic’ music, composed specifically for use in the background of productions requiring an appropriate score to underline and enhance the action. Although sometimes lacking a proper beginning and ending, there are many examples where music of this nature has acquired something of a ‘cult’ status, and some of Leonard Trebilco’s work certainly falls into this category.

As a final “bonus” track in our tribute to this gifted composer, one of his intensely atmospheric pieces for Boosey and Hawkes provides the perfect choice as yet another of the varied styles in which he excelled. In the early 1950s he composed three works in a mini-suite entitled “Pictures In a Fog”. Two movements were called Wharfside and Shrouded Trees but the one which attracted the most attention was Backstreet. One can imagine walking down a deserted street at night towards a run-down dive. Usually the piece was heard before the honky-tonk piano emerges from the gloom, but as atmospheric pieces of music go, this one surely takes some beating. David Ades

Page revised Friday November 17 2006