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Scenic
Grandeur – The Golden Age of Light Music
Kermit LESLIE
Sequoia
(1956) [2:52]
Kermit Leslie
and his orchestra
Len STEVENS
Golden Highway
(1957) [2:38]
Louis Voss and his Orchestra
Robert FARNON
Scenic Grandeur (1956) [2:02]
Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Robert Farnon
Gordon JENKINS
Green (1956)
[4:03]
Symphony Orchestra, cond. By Frank Sinatra
Ted FIORITO
October Mist
(1957) [2:12]
David Rose and his Orchestra
Alan PERRY
Great Panorama
(1956) [2:17]
Robert Farnon and his orchestra
Mahlon MERRICK
Whispering Pines (1957) [3:06]
Mahlon Merrick and his Orchestra
Gideon FAGAN
Pastoral Montage (1947) [3:14]
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra, cond. Robert Farnon
Trevor
DUNCAN
The Tall Ships
(1957) [3:19]
Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, cond. Kurt Rehfeld
Salvatore CAMARATA
Evening Mist
(1954) [4:29]
Conducted by Camarata
Tony LOWRY
Seascapes
(1947) [2:38]
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Peter YORKE
Quiet Countryside (1948) [2:59]
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra/Sidney Torch
Bruce CAMPBELL
Cloudland
(1950) [2:54]
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Charles WILLIAMS
Hills of Brecon
(1954) [2:54]
Danish State Radio Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Clive RICHARDSON
Atlantic Crossing (1956) [2:33]
Danish State Radio Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Cyrill WATTERS
Melody at Moonrise (1946) [2:51]
New Concert Orchestra/Frederic Curzon
Harry RABINOWITZ
Table Bay
(1956) [2:33]
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Robert FARNON
Open Skies (1957)
[3:13]
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Jack BEAVER
Yacht Race
(1949) [2:34]
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra/Robert Farnon
Trevor DUNCAN
Still Waters
(1953) [3:23]
New Concert Orchestra/Frederic Curzon
Frederick Peter HARGREAVES
Piper in the Heather (1954) [2:13]
Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra
Dolf van der LINDEN
Forest Fantasy
(1954) [2:59]
Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra
Victor
YOUNG
Arizona Sketches (1956) [9:15]
Victor Young
and his Orchestra
[Recordings re-mastered from a variety of recorded sources and the
dates given are the original record release date, not the date of
composition]
GUILD GLCD5145
[76:03] 
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The title of this disc might make you think immediately of vast
scenic vistas with mountains, forests and awesome sunsets. There’s
an element of that in the music, but booklet writer David Ades
is quick to broaden the scope of the disc to take in other scenic
scales, such as “a wild-flower meadow in the morning mist” (?!).
The titles of much of the music here are certainly grand (Sequoia,
Atlantic Crossing, Open Skies), but nothing on this disc really
captured my imagination as the title suggests. Instead it’s a
collection of rather forgettable trivialities, which has its attractions,
but doesn’t really make for repeated listening.
Tracks such as Sequoia, and The Tall
Ships are good at evoking mood. The latter is particularly
effective for the feel of a seascape, and it feels like it could
have been lifted out of a film of the time (it wasn’t). Table
Bay has a nice feel to it. But is this really the Scenic
Grandeur the title promises us? On the whole the gentler music
is more successful. Whispering Pines has an attractive
line for the woodwind (at last a break from the slushy violins!)
and Scenic Grandeur (track 3) has a nice kick-back-and-relax
feel to it. Similarly, Evening Mist and Still Waters
are gently evocative in an entirely predictable way. Some of
the titles, however (and, I’m afraid, the music that goes with
them), just sound a bit naff: Quiet Countryside anyone?
The longest track on this disc, Arizona Sketches is probably
the most successful because it’s the most varied, with sound-pictures
ranging from a music-box to the vast sweep of the Grand Canyon.
I suppose my fundamental problem with this disc
is the lack of variety. Yes, the simple aspects of tone and
speed vary from track to track, but nearly all of these tracks
feature a simple, steady pulse, while the main theme appears
in gushing, effulgent tone on the first violins. It then recedes
into the background and is repeated by the lower strings while
ornamented by the wind. It’s when the instrumentation changes
slightly (and that doesn’t happen often) that you really notice
a track. After a while the general feel gets a bit wearing and
you long for something a bit different.
All of this aside,
if you like this style of music then you’ll enjoy this disc.
To a Light Music Philistine like me, it’s probably better to
listen to the tracks with long intervals in between. If you
do that then you’ll probably get more from this disc. Just don’t
expect the “Sweep” that the title promises you.
Simon Thompson
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