The liner-notes give a very good description of what this CD
is all about: it is worth quoting: ‘The word ‘confetti’ describes
small pieces of paper, of various shapes and colours, often
thrown by guests at weddings. In musical terms it can equally
apply to an assortment of pieces in different styles, conveying
a variety of moods and emotions. In other words, almost a haphazard
collection of tunes with no particular theme, except perhaps
that they are all a little different.’
One of the delights of the Golden Age of Light Music series is the fact that the compilers have endeavoured to ‘theme’ each successive release. Inevitably, they came across many pieces of music that did not quite ‘fit’ with the chosen topics. Yet it would have been a pity to have ignored these numbers, so Confetti, like Kaleidoscope before it, aims to ‘sweep up’ some of these ‘lost’ works. It is a job well done.
This is not music that needs to be analysed: its raison d’être is simply to be enjoyed. However there is an interesting balance between composers who are well-known to the average listener and those that are only celebrated by the light music specialist or enthusiast. One surprise is Market Day by Wilfred Josephs, a composer who is perhaps better known for his concert, film and television scores. Yet this jolly piece from the late fifties, is both enjoyable and well-wrought: it certainly succeeds in providing a good mental image of its subject.
Other big names include Robert Farnon’s imaginative Manhattan Playboy – who would not like to be associated with this glamorous character? Frederic Curzon’s Mischief is exactly that: a little piece that is slightly naughty but not wicked.
How does one listen to this CD? I guess that it is like a finger buffet: a little nibble here and there. It would be a pity to just through-play this disc with no reference to the track listing. Some of the joys of light music are the titles and the moods that they can evoke in an imaginative mind. Who will not be impressed by romantic notions such as Violins in Velvet, Musik Klingt Durch Die Nacht (Music sounds through the night) and Confetti? Or there are the topographical images of Via Amalfi, Utopia Road, Champs Elysées Café with romantic tune accordion and car horns, and the previously mentioned Market Day? Then there are the novelty numbers such as Who Killed Cock Robin? Bees a Buzzin’, Bluebell Polka and Treble Chance. And finally Joey’s Song pushes gently towards a soft Rock and Roll complete with electric guitar.
And then the musicals are not ignored on this CD: Rodgers and Hammerstein contribute Getting to Know You, Cole Porter is represented with I Concentrate on You and the music for the show Dear Miss Phoebe is by Harry Parr-Davies.
A number of delightful dance numbers include Camerata’s Pizzicato Rumba, Joseph Kuhn’s Montevideo Bolero and F. Stanley’s Bluebell Polka. There are many other pieces that make up this smorgasbord of delights
Yet it is the overall ambience of virtually all of this music
that will appeal to most listeners. It is a subtle balance between
well-crafted music, a feeling of lost innocence, a mood of joyfulness
and happiness and an appeal to the imagination that characterises
this music. On all these accounts this is a highly successful
and enjoyable disc.
John France
Full track listing
Bronislau KAPER Confetti
(1958) [2:18] MGM Studio Orchestra Conducted by Johnny Green.
Joseph KUHN Champs Elysées
Café (1957) [3:31] Paris Theatre Orchestra
Robert FARNON Manhattan
Playboy (1959) [2:30] Leslie Jones and his Orchestra of
London
Grigori DINICU; Jascha
HEIFETZ, arr. Morton GOULD
Hora Staccato (1958) [3:11] Morton Gould and his Orchestra
HARTEL; WOLTMANN
Musik Klingt Durch Die Nacht (1959) [3:05] Hans Georg
Arlt and his orchestra
Jimmy MCHUGH; Al
DUBIN, arr. Robert FARNON
In My Memoirs (1958) [2:21] Robert Farnon and his orchestra
(LP label credits ‘Jack Saunders Orchestra’)
Francis LOPEZ, arr. Percy
FAITH Lina (1954) [2:49] Percy Faith and his
Orchestra with Mitch Miller, oboe and cor anglais
Cole PORTER arr.
Conrad SALINGER I Concentrate
On You (1958) [2:42] (from “Broadway Melody of 1940”), Conrad
Salinger Orchestra Conducted by Buddy Bregman
Salvatore ‘Tutti’ CAMARATA
Pizzicato Rhumba (1952) [3:21] Music by Camarata
Guido VIEZZOLI Nota Per
Nota (1957) [2:58] George Melachrino conducting the Orchestra
of the 6th San Remo Festival
Joseph KUHN Via Amalfi
(1959) [3:04] Roberto Rossani and his Orchestra
Richard RODGERS; Oscar
HAMMERSTEIN, arr. William
Hill BOWEN Getting To Know You from “The King
And I” (1958) [2:45] William Hill Bowen and his Orchestra
Joseph KUHN Montevideo
Bolero (1959) [2:41] Dolores Ventura, Piano and the Carnival
Orchestra
F. STANLEY, arr. Ron
GOODWIN Bluebell Polka (1955) [2:21] Ron Goodwin
and his Concert Orchestra
Joe REISMAN Joey’s Song
(1957) [2:11] Joe Reisman and his Orchestra
Joseph J. LEAHY; Abe
OLMAN Twice Around the Island (1957) [2:02]
David Carroll and his Orchestra
Edrich SIEBERT Bees-A-Buzzin’
(1953) [2:10] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra
Frederic CURZON Mischief
(1946) [2:20] New Century Orchestra conducted by
Sidney Torch
Cyril WATTERS Gadabout
(1954) [2:18] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra
Dolf Van Der LINDEN Utopia
Road (1954) [2:25] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra
(‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Leslie BEGUELEY Violins
In Velvet (1949) [3:00] Bosworth String Orchestra conducted
by Louis Voss
Wilfred JOSEPHS Market
Day (1958) [2:55] New Concert Orchestra Conducted by Cedric
Dumont
Peter DENNIS Treble Chance
(1954) [2:48] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra (‘Paul
Franklin’ on disc label)
George FRENCH Parade
Of the Champions (1954) [3:02] Dolf Van Der Linden and his
Metropole Orchestra
L. E. DE FRANCESCO Florella
(1959) [1:48] Grosvenor Studio Orchestrra
Trad, arr. Paul
FENOULHET Who Killed Cock Robin? (1958) [3:15]
Stuttgart Radio Orchestra Conducted by Kurt Rehfeld (‘Crawford
Light Orchestra’ on disc label)
Harry PARR-DAVIES Dear
Miss Phoebe– Selection (1951) [6:50] ‘Whisper While You
Waltz’, ‘Spring Will Sing A Song For You’, ‘Living A Dream’,
‘March Of The Red Coats’, ‘I Can’t Resist The Music,’ ‘All’s
Well Tonight’, ‘When Will You Marry Me’, ‘I Leave My Heart In
An English Garden.’ Tom Jenkins and his Palm Court Orchestra
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5175 [78:04] 
