Reviews
GLCD 5121
The Golden Age of Light Music
: Haydn Wood
International Record Review, February 2007
Several CDs in this series are devoted to one composer, and I welcome with
pleasure `]oyousness - Music of Haydn Wood'. Here is another master of his craft
at the top of his
form. It
opens with the unforgettable `Horse Guards - Whitehall' (from his
London Landmarks
suite) and includes items conducted by Wood himself, as well as - of
course - the haunting
Roses
of Picardy. To
show
the esteem in which Wood (1882-1959) was held, a mention of some conductors on
this disc should suffice: Robert Farnon, Charles Williams, Peter Yorke and
Charles Shadwell among them. This is superbly crafted and orchestrated music, as
one expects from a Stanford pupil, in which capacity the most interesting (and
rarest) item here is Wood's
Stanford Rhapsody,
a
purely orchestral work founded entirely upon Stanford's
Songs
of the Sea,
played by the Debroy Somers Band. This album constitutes a valuable collection
of music by a truly fine composer
(Guild GLCD5121,
1
hour 18 minutes).
Robert Matthew-Walker
SOURCE NOT
KNOWN, 11-2006
Joyousness-The Music of
Haydn Wood.
19 tracks played by various orchestral and conductors including
Joyousness-Concert Waltz, Roses of Picardy, Mannin Veen (Dear Isle of Man),
Stanford Rhapsody, etc. Guild GLCD 5121. TT: 77:57. (Albany).
Guild has started to
release single-composer CD's in its Golden Age of Light Music series. Not all of
these focus an British composers, but this one is a winner and a revelation to
all lovers of Haydn Wood's music. Three tracks are conducted by the composer
himself with the Light Symphony Orchestra all dating from the 1930's an HMV
78's. The title tune for this CD is a famous tune which comes from the Moods
Suite and has been recorded by many others up to the present day an various
light music CD's. But this famous recording is worthy of your attention. Wood's
own version of Mannin Veen has especially decent sound for 1936 and is
his tribute to his childhood home, The Isle of Man. The composer also conducts
the Homage March written for George V's Jubilee in 1935 and quotes "God
Save the King" towards the end.
There are two nautical
medleys of special interest: The Seafarer- A Nautical Rhapsody based on a
host of sea chanteys in a very good 1952 Performance by Charles Williams and his
Concert Orchestra plus a very rare Stanford Rhapsody based an Stanford's
Songs of the Sea. Four of the five numbers are included while "Outward
Bound" is omitted. The Debroy Somers Band is featured an this 1946 Columbia and
is really a large orchestra, the largest that the conductor ever used. All his
recordings used the same name regardless of the size of the forces.
The oddest version ever
of Roses of Picardy by Peter Yorke and His Concert Orchestra features
Freddy Gardner an saxophone. Was this somewhat strange sound produced an a
soprano sax? Other favorites might include the Montmarte Manch, Nelson's
Column-Overture, and Wood's arrangement of Charles Marshall's I Hear You
Calling Me played by the famous London Palladium Orchestra under Richard
Crean.
There is much to enjoy
and learn from this release. If light music appeals to you, go for it.
MusikWeb Wednesday July 05 2006
Wood’s
recipe for cheerful and bright, easily accessible music is provided in many
different and original forms. ... Ray Walker
Haydn WOOD
(1882-1959)
Horse Guards
-
Whitehall (from London Landmarks Suite)
 Orchestre
Raymonde/Robert Preston [3:11]
Joyousness - Concert Waltz (from Moods Suite)
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [4:18]
Laughing Cavalier (Haydn Wood)
New Concert Orchestra/Jack Leon [3:01]
Longing
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [3:02]
Roses of Picardy
Peter Yorke and his Concert Orchestra featuring Freddy Gardner, saxophone [2:33]
Seville (from Cities of Romance Suite)
BBC Variety Orchestra/Charles Shadwell featuring Reginald Foort, organ [2:35]
The Seafarer - A Nautical Rhapsody (Haydn Wood) Intro: Hulla
Balloo Balay, Rio Grande, Leave Her Johnnie Leave Her,
Drunken Sailor, Shenandoah, When Johnnie Comes Down To Hilo,
Roving
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra [7:38]
Montmartre (from Paris Suite)
Debroy Somers Band [2:47]
Nelson's Column - Overture (from London Landmarks Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [3:05]
Soliloquy
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Robert Farnon [3:11]
Homage March
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [4:13]
Bird of Love Divine
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [3:37]
Vienna (from Frescoes Suite)
New Concert Orchestra/Serge Krish [4:07]
Mannin Veen (Dear Isle Of Man)
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [8:55]
Caprice (from Moods Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [2:18]
Tower Hill (from London Landmarks Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [3:15]
I Hear You Calling Me (Charles Marshall arr. Haydn Wood)
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [4:15]
Torch of Freedom - Grand March
New Concert Orchestra/Jack Leon [2:34]
Stanford Rhapsody (founded on Sir Charles Villiers Stanford's Songs of
the Sea) (Haydn Wood) Intro: Drake's Drum, Homeward Bound,
Devon O Devon In Wind And Rain, The Old Superb
Debroy Somers Band [8:19]
Recorded 1933-52. ADD
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD 5121 [77.57]
The music of Haydn Wood has been largely forgotten since
the 1950s, before which time many pieces were regularly played alongside those
of Eric Coates on the BBC Light programme. Some of the melodies linger in our
minds following their use as signature tunes for ‘Down Your Way’ and other
programmes of the ’seventies.
The career of Haydn Wood may well have taken a different path had it not been
influenced by his marriage to concert hall singer, Dorothy Court. Born in
Yorkshire, he spent much of his formative years growing up on the Isle of Man,
which explains the existence of Mannin veen, written in 1936. An
excellent violinist from his teens, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of
Music where he studied composition under its principal, Stanford. By 1905 he had
composed a Piano Concerto and String Quartet and was seemingly locked on the
path to becoming a serious classical composer, possibly emulating the stilted
output of Stanford.
His marriage changed his direction for ever more, because the songs and ballads
written for his wife to perform became good money earners. By 1918, Roses of
Picardy grossed £100,000 alone and royalties from recordings all helped
cushion a good style of living even before his exposure to the new wireless that
not only broadcast his works, but also provided commissions.
On this disc, Wood’s recipe for cheerful and bright, easily accessible music is
provided in many different and original forms. The recordings span 1930-1949 and
three tracks remind us of the existence of the now long-forgotten Queen’s Hall
orchestra; their home bombed in the 2nd World War. After the war when
the BBC grew in stature, publishers like Booseys and Chappells launched a series
of ‘mood music’ records in return for payment by royalty. These would be
internally provided to producers of radio, TV and film to give ready access to
incidental background music in return for a royalty. Most of the ‘mood music’
recordings, rightly included here, have been generally unknown to the public.
Wood had the skill to provide styles reminiscent of popular identities: there
are numbers that remind us of Edward German (Nelson’s Column, Caprice),
William Walton (Torch of Freedom), and Eric Coates (Horse Guards).
The Spanish idiom is well conveyed by the fast moving Seville number from
his Cities of Romance suite, even if the castanets are almost lost in
this recording. Roses of Picardy has a wonderfully good vocal line, which
is not done justice by this decorated saxophone arrangement. The composer’s
skill as an arranger can be found in his nautical rhapsody The Seafarer
[tr. 6] where folk tunes are provided with interesting variations. Perhaps the
most catchy is Montmartre with its contemporary Kern/Rodgers image for
1937.
Six other Haydn Wood numbers can be found on other Guild discs. The transfers
from the 78 rpm originals are excellent. The booklet gives interesting and
useful background information but only in English.
Raymond Walker
Klassik.com Thursday June 29
2006
Mit
britischer Noblesse
Interpretation:  
Klangqualität:
Repertoirewert:
Booklet:
Wenn einem schon der
Name ‘Haydn’ in die Wiege gelegt wird, was anderes kann man dann noch werden als
Komponist? Haydn Wood gehörte zu den produktivsten Schöpfern auf dem Gebiet der
britischen ‚Light Music’. Anders als auf den vielen anderen Kompilationen mit
‚Easy Listening’-Kost längst vergangener Jahrzehnte, die ‚Guild’ überschwänglich
ediert und in der wunderbaren Reihe ‚The Golden Age of Light Music’ zugänglich
macht – wieder zugänglich macht, widmet sich diese CD zum ersten Mal dem Werk
eines einzelnen Komponisten. Einem, der es redlich verdient hat, aus dem
Schatten eines Eric Coates, der zeitgleich mit Wood das Feld der leichten Muse
bestellt hat, heraus zu treten. Haydn Wood gehörte zu jener Spezies Komponist,
die ständig zwischen so genannter U- und E-Musik hin- und herpendelten. Diese
Gratwanderung hat Wood wie kaum ein anderer meisterhaft beherrscht, wie die
Aufnahmen dieser Veröffentlichung belegen, worunter sich auch so manche
discographische Kostbarkeit und Rarität befindet. Er komponierte für die BBC,
den Konzertsaal und versuchte sich sogar an ‚musical comedy’. Wood hatte das
Talent eines Melodikers. Dass seine Stücke nie in das Grenzgebiet der Plattheit
und Beliebigkeit geraten, liegt vor allem aber auch daran, dass er zudem die
Gabe eines Symphonikers und guten Orchestrators hatte. Und nicht zuletzt trat er
auch als Dirigent eigener Werke auf.
Seine eigenen Aufnahmen aus den 1930er Jahren sind
tontechnisch natürlich nicht vergleichbar mit den Einspielungen anderer
Orchesterchefs wie Peter Yorke, Charles Williams, Robert Farnon oder Richard
Crean aus den 40er und frühen 50er Jahren. An Schwung (Swing wäre hier nicht
angebracht), Elan und Stringenz ist Woods eigenes Dirigat aber unschlagbar. 19
Appetithäppchen präsentiert diese CD, Ausschnitte aus den zahlreichen Suiten des
Komponisten, die allesamt Lust auf die kompletten Werke machen. David Ades
steuert wieder einen wunderbar ausführlichen Begleittext bei. Ein Anhang listet
wiederum discographische Querverweise auf. Bitte weiter so,
‚Guild’
Erik Daumann
Haydn WOOD
(1882-1959)
The Golden Age of Light Music – Joyousness – The Music of Haydn Wood
Horse Guards -
Whitehall (from London Landmarks Suite)
Orchestre
Raymonde/Robert Preston [3:11]
Joyousness - Concert Waltz (from Moods Suite)
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [4:18]
Laughing Cavalier (Haydn Wood)
New Concert Orchestra/Jack Leon [3:01]
Longing
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [3:02]
Roses of Picardy
Peter Yorke and his Concert Orchestra featuring Freddy Gardner, saxophone [2:33]
Seville (from Cities of Romance Suite)
BBC Variety Orchestra/Charles Shadwell featuring Reginald Foort, organ [2:35]
The Seafarer - A Nautical Rhapsody (Haydn Wood) Intro: Hulla
Balloo Balay, Rio Grande, Leave Her Johnnie Leave Her,
Drunken Sailor, Shenandoah, When Johnnie Comes Down To Hilo,
Roving
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra [7:38]
Montmartre (from Paris Suite)
Debroy Somers Band [2:47]
Nelson's Column - Overture (from London Landmarks Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [3:05]
Soliloquy
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Robert Farnon [3:11]
Homage March
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [4:13]
Bird of Love Divine
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [3:37]
Vienna (from Frescoes Suite)
New Concert Orchestra/Serge Krish [4:07]
Mannin Veen (Dear Isle Of Man)
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [8:55]
Caprice (from Moods Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [2:18]
Tower Hill (from London Landmarks Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [3:15]
I Hear You Calling Me (Charles Marshall arr. Haydn Wood)
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [4:15]
Torch of Freedom - Grand March
New Concert Orchestra/Jack Leon [2:34]
Stanford Rhapsody (founded on Sir Charles Villiers Stanford's Songs of
the Sea) (Haydn Wood) Intro: Drake's Drum, Homeward Bound,
Devon O Devon In Wind And Rain, The Old Superb
Debroy Somers Band [8:19]
Recorded 1933-52. ADD
GUILD
LIGHT MUSIC GLCD 5121 [77.57]
I came to the
music of Haydn Wood by way of his Piano Concerto. This may seem rather
strange when one considers that the composer’s most popular piece is undoubtedly
‘Roses of Picardy.’ Even today this Great War song is seen as being
something of an ‘anthem for a lost generation’. It is only necessary to look at
any CD catalogue for confirmation – there are some seven versions currently
available. And following as a close second is the song A Brown Bird Singing.
Orchestrally, the London Landmarks Suite is well known and is played
relatively often - especially the march Horse Guards - Whitehall.
Yet it was
Hamish Milne playing Haydn Wood’s Piano Concerto in D minor that
made me think about this man and his music. It may not be a ‘masterpiece’ or
exhibit pure genius but it is a fine concerto and makes one feel better about
life after hearing it – what more could you ask for?
And there was
another thing. I often used to take the train from York to Manchester. Just
after Huddersfield the train passed through the town of Slaithwaite - not
pronounced, apparently, as it is spelt. I had learnt that Haydn Wood had been
born in this little town on the Yorkshire side of the Pennines. Every time the
train puffed - or motored, these days - up the hill to Standege Tunnel I used to
spare the composer a thought. However any notion that his ‘sly shade’ still
haunts these wild moorlands was expelled by finding out that he moved to the
Isle of Man with his parents at an early age. And the Isle of Man was to be
important for the composer in the ensuing seventy odd years. But a little more
of that later.
It was only
after hearing the Piano Concerto that I explored Wood’s music more
systematically. I found the two Marco Polo recordings in a second-hand CD shop
in York. Here were some classic tunes that captured the imagination – Variations
on a Once Popular Song, the ubiquitous but charming Sketch of a Dandy,
the metropolitan London Cameos, the delightfully named Dance of a
Whimsical Elf and many others. Of course the two potboilers mentioned above
were included. Sadly these two discs appear to have been deleted from the
Naxos/Marco Polo catalogue – so listeners have lost a fine opportunity to hear
over two hours of Haydn Wood’s music. And lastly there is
Philip Scowcroft's excellent essay on MusicWeb which brought me up to speed
with the composer’s background and achievements.
One of my
favourite pieces on this present CD is the ‘concert waltz’ Joyousness
which has all the charm and panache of the best of light music. It is the final
movement of the Moods Suite – which explores Dignity,
Allurement, Coquetry, Pensiveness, Felicity and our
present feeling of ‘Joy.’ Also recorded is the Caprice which is, in fact
the third movement – Coquetry. This turns out to be a fine little
scherzo. Interestingly, if we do our sums this suite must add up to nearly half
an hour of music – not far short of a veritable ‘light’ symphony.
There is a
nautical flavour to this disc represented by three works. Firstly the attractive
medley Seafarer: this is in many ways as impressive as the more famous
Sea Songs by another Wood! And of course Nelson sitting on his
Column certainly has a salty tang to it. Yet the most impressive marine
piece has got to be the unusual and slightly sycophantic Stanford Rhapsody.
Wood was taught by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music
and this work is ‘a heartfelt tribute’ to the elder composer. The Stanford
enthusiast will not need to be told that the work derives from the great
‘Songs of the Sea’ thankfully recently released by Chandos [CHSA5043] It is
certainly an attractive way to hear this music – minus, of course, the soloist
and the choir. I prefer the original, I hasten to add – but this is an enjoyable
‘take’ on what is now probably regarded as a dated and politically incorrect
piece: Drake coming to save the nation in times of trouble.
Haydn Wood
certainly enjoyed writing marches – and the three presented here are excellent.
I have mentioned Horse Guards – Whitehall which is definitely ‘marchy,’ –
but it is the lesser known Homage March which appeals to me most.
Strangely the programme notes suggest that the Festival March, written in
1949, is present on the CD. I initially guessed this from the fact that Guild
appears to italicise all works recorded and print other work references in
normal type. Festival March is in italics – yet I cannot find it listed
as a track – which is a pity. Torch of Freedom is another ‘grand march’
which was apparently used by radio and television companies. It is a classic
example of a signature tune for a nineteen-fifties wireless production. It has a
lovely ‘trio’ theme which nods to Elgar and everyone else who has ever written a
stirring march.
The
Laughing Cavalier (as opposed to the Laughing Policeman) is a novelty
pure and simple. Nothing profound here – just fun. Yet we often tend to lose
that particular mood in our musical listening.
In a more
reflective frame of mind we have the delicious Longing which is a little
character piece that will remind everyone of what it is/was like being in love.
This is just pure romance – a heart on the sleeve job. Yet Soliloquy goes
deeper: this is almost ‘Delian’ in its soundscape and none the worse for it. It
is perhaps my favourite piece on this CD. Simply gorgeous. The imagery may
suggest a landscape but it is certainly not the Isle of Man: to me it is a
reflection of a summer’s afternoon on the ‘downs.’
Seville
from the Cities of Romance appeals to me for its exuberance – and the
‘cinema ‘organ.’ It features Reginald Foort on the Wurlitzer. Montmartre
(Paris Suite) is another little piece that is pleasant – but somehow does
not really remind me of Paris, France or anywhere else. Where is the Can-Can,
for example?
The ‘Vienna’
movement from the Frescoes Suite is a good opportunity for the composer
to indulge in an enchanting waltz.
In London we
are on safer ground and each of the three movements of the London Landscapes
hit the target. Nelson (a great hornpipe here), Tower Hill and
Horse Guards – what better introduction can there be to the pageantry of the
great city of London? And yet there is a wistfulness and even reflectiveness
about some of this music that goes way beyond sheer ‘postcard’ writing.
Perhaps the
pieces I am least enthusiastic about are the song arrangements. I positively
dislike the saxophone solo in Roses of Picardy – yet it may be to
someone’s taste. The Bird of Divine Love seems to be something from the
past that perhaps does not strike many chords these days. And I Hear you
Calling is in fact an arrangement by Haydn Wood of a number by Charles
Marshall.
The
weightiest piece on this CD is Mannin Veen. This is well described in the
programme notes by David Ades as being Haydn Wood’s ‘Manx Tone Poem’. It may not
have the depth or profundity of Bax or Strauss yet here is a work that is
certainly worth playing and listening to. The title means ‘Dear Isle of Man’ and
it is exactly the kind of work I would expect someone who had been brought up on
the island to compose. It could be argued that it is in some ways a rhapsody – a
concatenation of Manx folk tunes – and this may be true. Yet Haydn Wood uses his
material in a way that does not allow us to hear the work as a patchwork. The
transitions between tunes are virtually seamless. Much of this music is quite
moving but it is never overtly sentimental.
I have only
been to the Isle of Man on a couple of occasions. Yet this work strikes a chord
with me. I recall walking on Spanish Head in the south of the island one
summer’s night. It was nearly dark and we could see all six kingdoms – Blackpool
Tower and the Pleasure Beach, the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse in Scotland, the
glow of Larne in Ulster, the light off Anglesey and of course the Isle of Man
itself. But then there was the sixth – the Kingdom of Heaven! – Not to mention
anything about the realm of the fairies. All this magic, I am sure, was in the
thoughts of the composer as he wrote this fine work.
I am not a
great enthusiast of historical recordings – usually because the thought of noise
and scratches tends to put me off. However this is not a problem on this CD. All
these tracks have been beautifully re-mastered and restored by Alan Bunting. Of
course it is obvious that these are not recent recordings, but there is nothing
here to distract from the enjoyment of the music. Naturally those pieces
recorded post-war tend to be of a better audio quality than those from the early
nineteen-thirties.
Now back to
my only criticism. I do wish that Guild had been able to include entire ‘suites’
as opposed to selections. For example we have extracts from Moods,
Paris, Cities of Romance, and Frescoes Suites. The London
Landmarks Suite is represented by all three movements – Horse
Guards, Tower Hill and Nelson’s Column. However they do not follow on
in the track-listing, they are not by the same band, nor in the correct order. I
accept that this Suite is available elsewhere on CD but do wish it was
given again here. Any of the other suites in their entirety would have been
great although I concede that they may not be in the sound archives that were
used to compile this present release.
There are a
number of great bands and orchestras represented here, including the London
Palladium Orchestra, the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra and the Debroy Somers
Band. However pride of place – at least for historical reasons, must go to the
Light Symphony Orchestra’s versions of Horse Guards – Whitehall,
Homage March and Mannin Veen – all conducted by the composer himself.
A great CD that captures the
spirit of Haydn Wood’s light music. A good introduction that certainly does not
supersede, but complements the deleted Marco Polo CDs mentioned above. And the
bottom line is this – after listening to this CD you will feel great – the sun
will shine – I promise you! John France
Gramophone July 2006
GLCD 5119 – THE 1950s VOLUME 3 – SAY IT WITH MUSIC
GLCD 5120 – THE HALL OF FAME – VOLUME ONE
GLCD 5121 – THE MUSIC OF HAYDN WOOD – JOYOUSNESS
In March 2005 I welcomed the first
10 releases in the Guild Light Music collection, featuring transfers from 78s
and early LPs. Already the series has expanded to 21 volumes. Of the latest
three releases, THE HALL OF FAME – VOLUME 1 offers a rich helping of light-music
classics beginning with David Rose’s Holiday for Strings under Morton
Gould and ending with a spotlight on Clive Richardson including his celebrated
Holiday Spirit and London Fantasia. Among relatively few less
familiar items I especially welcome the delightful My Love to You by the
sadly underrated Percy Fletcher. ‘THE 1950S VOLUME 3 – SAY IT WITH MUSIC is
devoted specifically to early-1950s recordings, and it covers a wide range of
composers, orchestras and styles.
Whether it’s a plus or minus for a
single CD to range through Roger Roger conducting his own music, the Hamburg
Radio Orchestra playing Straus’s Waltz Dream, and Geraldo and His New
Concert Orchestra playing a piece by Joyce Cochrane will depend on individual
taste, but there will surely be welcome discoveries for all.
For me the greatest attraction lies
in ‘JOYOUSNESS – THE MUSIC OF HAYDN WOOD, not least because it includes several
items omitted from the Marco Polo collections of music by this British
light-music master (8/92,8/97). Of the London Landmarks suite, for instance, we
have not only the celebrated Horse Guards — Whitehall but also
Nelson’s Column and Tower Hill, even if sadly scattered around the CD
rather than grouped together.
I indicated previously that a major
downside of the series was the curious attitude towards vocal items Rather than
authentic vocal versions, we have here, for instance, a souped-up and distorted
Vilia by the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, an over-the-top Till the Clouds
Roll By by the Gordon Jenkins Orchestra, and a cringingly awful Roses of
Picardy featuring Freddy Gardner on the saxophone. Truly one man’s meat is
another’s poison!
For the most part, at least, these
CDs make happily undemanding and highly pleasant listening. Alan Bunting has
reprocessed the recordings expertly, and they come with informative notes by
David Ades.
Andrew Lamb
In Tune International – June 2006
GLCD 5119 THE 1950S VOLUME 3 - SAY IT WITH MUSIC
GLCD 5120 THE HALL OF FAME - VOLUME ONE
GLCD 5121 - THE MUSIC OF HAYDN WOOD - JOYOUSNESS
This wonderful series, the best light
orchestral library ever assembled on compact disc, continues to weave its magic.
A batch of five new discs is now available and three are reviewed this month
with a further two covered in the next IT. For those readers yet to discover the
Guild series may I summarise a few facts that are common to the project. The
series draws on recordings made by commercial labels and music publishing
companies during the 1930s, 1940s and the 1950s up to the existing copyright
cut-off point. The compilation discs aim to offer light music items not
available elsewhere. All recordings are digitally remastered to the highest
standards. Two of the most dedicated and knowledgeable light music collectors
combine their talents in creating the project which now totals 23 compact discs.
David Ades is series producer and compiler and Alan Bunting is responsible for
audio restoration and remastering.
For many of us who collect light
orchestral recordings the “golden age” of the music began in the immediate post
second world war years with the 1950s seeing the zenith. With the issue of GLCD
5119, SAY IT WITH MUSIC, the resourceful Guild team offer volume three of a
sequence of discs featuring leading orchestras of the Fifties. A 27 track 77
minute long CD contains sumptuous performances of great “evergreens”, in a
tastefully blended programme designed to provide maximum listening pleasure.
That is guaranteed with the participation of Stanley Black, David Rose, Leroy
Anderson and Robert Farnon to name just some of the great maestros who dominated
the genre. To stimulate the enthusiasm of the serious collector any Guild CD
invariably contains a rarity and/or a surprise. In the case of GLCD 5119 it is
gratifying to find three recordings made under the baton of the distinguished
Dutch conductor DoIf Van Der Linden. Light music is renowned for providing
original compositions in “mood music” of a descriptive nature. On this disc,
pieces such as Leroy Anderson’s famous Sandpaper Ballet, Phil Green’s
Wagon Trail and Big Ben Waltz played by Frank Cordell’s Orchestra are
typical examples. A disc that really hits the right note!
With THE HALL OF FAME – VOLUME 1 (GLCD
51120) the Guild team very sensibly take stock of the fact that light music has
its newcomers who deserve to have the opportunity to buy CDs containing classic
recordings by the music’s leading lights. In presenting a compilation of well
known works the more seasoned collector is not forgotten as GLCD 51120
demonstrates. Alongside recordings of Holiday For Strings, Serenata, Portrait
Of A Flirt and the like are fairly obscure pieces by leading orchestras,
examples being Wedding Of The Rose (Ron Goodwin) and Wooden Shoes
(Harry Horlick). Another nice feature is the “tribute” to a particular composer,
in this instance, pianist-composer, the late Clive Richardson is remembered in
three works, including his superb concert piece London Fantasia.
The work of a single composer is
celebrated in depth with THE MUSIC OF HAYDN WOOD on GLCD 51121-JOYOUSNESS. 19
recordings by different orchestras illustrate the music penned by one of
Britain’s most distinguished light music figures. Haydn Wood’s music has been
represented before on Guild releases with regular selections from his large
repertoire but “Joyousness” provides a substantial survey of his entrancing
music, of which much is so very English in structure and content. The collection
takes in recordings from the entire period of Guild’s scope, the 1930s to the
early 1950s. Wood’s famous ballad, Roses Of Picardy is heard in the
celebrated Peter Yorke recording with the great Freddy Gardner. The composers
supreme versatility is demonstrated in compositions that don’t prompt thoughts
of all things English via Seville, which features Reginald Foort at the
organ and in the New Concert Orchestra’s playing of Vienna (from the
“Frescoes Suite”). A collection of outstanding quality with the accent on the
more serious style of light music that particularly illustrates the superb sound
engineering work carried out by Alan Bunting for this unique series. More next
time.
Brian Belton
MusicWeb Wednesday May 17 2006
Haydn Wood
interpreted with engaging brio ... All is set fair for a rip-roaring programme
and so it proves. ... Jonathan Woolf
Haydn WOOD
(1882-1959)
Horse Guards - Whitehall (from London
Landmarks Suite)
Orchestre Raymonde/Robert Preston [3:11]
Joyousness - Concert Waltz (from Moods Suite)
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [4:18]
Laughing Cavalier (Haydn Wood)
New Concert Orchestra/Jack Leon [3:01]
Longing
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [3:02]
Roses of Picardy
Peter Yorke and his Concert Orchestra featuring Freddy Gardner, saxophone [2:33]
Seville (from Cities of Romance Suite)
BBC Variety Orchestra/Charles Shadwell featuring Reginald Foort, organ [2:35]
The Seafarer - A Nautical Rhapsody (Haydn Wood) Intro: Hulla
Balloo Balay, Rio Grande, Leave Her Johnnie Leave Her,
Drunken Sailor, Shenandoah, When Johnnie Comes Down To Hilo,
Roving
Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra [7:38]
Montmartre (from Paris Suite)
Debroy Somers Band [2:47]
Nelson's Column - Overture (from London Landmarks Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [3:05]
Soliloquy
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Robert Farnon [3:11]
Homage March
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [4:13]
Bird of Love Divine
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [3:37]
Vienna (from Frescoes Suite)
New Concert Orchestra/Serge Krish [4:07]
Mannin Veen (Dear Isle Of Man)
Light Symphony Orchestra/Haydn Wood [8:55]
Caprice (from Moods Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [2:18]
Tower Hill (from London Landmarks Suite)
Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [3:15]
I Hear You Calling Me (Charles Marshall arr.
Haydn Wood)
London Palladium Orchestra/Richard Crean [4:15]
Torch of Freedom - Grand March
New Concert Orchestra/Jack Leon [2:34]
Stanford Rhapsody (founded on Sir Charles Villiers Stanford's Songs of
the Sea) (Haydn Wood) Intro: Drake's Drum, Homeward Bound,
Devon O Devon In Wind And Rain, The Old Superb
Debroy
Somers Band [8:19]
Recorded 1933-52
GUILD
LIGHT MUSIC GLCD 5121 [77.57]
It’s always a pleasure to encounter
Haydn Wood interpreted with such engaging brio as here; not least in the three
composer-conducted items where Wood leads the Light Symphony Orchestra. The
recordings span pretty well two decades and there are some scions of the Light
Music establishment on the rostrum: Charles Williams, Debroy Somers and Robert
Farnon prominent among them.
All is set fair for a rip-roaring
programme and so it proves. Wood’s versatility in the genre was never in doubt
and the selection gives us an enviable smorgasbord of waltzes, Nauticalia,
Elgariana, fantasias, selections from suites, overtures and the like. Throughout
there is the air of spruce command – crisp orchestration from Wood and
understanding articulation by the appointed bands. The title track for instance,
conducted by Wood, is a delightfully brisk affair whereas The Laughing
Cavalier is a deft study in mock pomposo and contrasting avuncularity.
Some interesting period details
emerge; the London Palladium Orchestra’s fiddles –though relatively few in
number – stand on the cusp of a portamento/non portamento dilemma - some do and
some don’t - which is appropriate for the time of the recording. And then
there’s the magnificent Freddy Gardner, with Peter Yorke’s band, unfolding his
golden saxophone in Roses of Picardy with glutinous delight - too much
for me but there’s no arguing with it.
There are the occasional rather
generic pieces that fail to make much impact – Seville from the Cities
of Romance suite, even with Reginald Foort and Charles Shadwell plying its
trade in this recording, sounds rather suburban. But The Seafarer gives
us Wood on home ground, or water, spinning out some nautical tunes with
effortless élan; note the tightly muted trumpet in The Drunken Sailor.
Wood’s affection for Elgar’s music is evident in Nelson’s Column but even
more so in his 1935 salute for the Silver Jubilee of George V, the Homage
March, which has Pomp and Circumstance No.6 (or 7 – it’s so hard to
keep up with Elgar reconstructions these days) written all over it.
Mind you I was brought up short by
the Delian writing that informs Soliloquy. It was written in 1947 and is
here conducted by Farnon who understands it perfectly and is an unusual sideline
on Wood’s musical tastes and affinities. His Isle of Man tribute – he spent his
childhood there – gets rather Hebridean but the tribute to his old teacher,
Stanford’s Songs of the Sea, goes with the old man’s vigorous panache.
The notes are up to Guild’s
usual standard in this extensive series. The transfers are strong on reducing 78
hiss to very listenable levels – no intrusive background – but at some expense
in the treble so that they can sound a touch airless. A small caveat in the
light of the extensive pleasures here. Jonathan
Woolf
Page revised Thursday May 31 2007
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