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
