Nikolay RIMSKY–KORSAKOV (1844
1908): Flight Of The Bumble Bee, from
The Tale
of Tsar Saltan (1900) (arranged by
Ralph
STERLING, pseudonym for
David
CARROLL, pseudonym for
Rodell
Walter “Nook” SCHREIER (1913 – 2008)) [1:24]
Claude DEBUSSY (1862 – 1918):
Clair De Lune, from
Suite bergamasque (1890)
(arranged by Ralph Sterling) [4:34]
Gustav HOLST
(1874 – 1934): The Dargason from St Paul’s Suite, op.29/2
(1912) (arranged by
Angela MORLEY (at that time known as
Wally STOTT))
(1924 - 2009)) [3:06]
William WALTON
(1902 – 1983): Popular Song from “Façade” Suite No.2 (1922
– 1938) [2:22]
Mitchell PARISH (1900 – 1993),
Peter de ROSE (1900 – 1953) and
Bert A SHEFTER (1902 – 1999): The Lamp Is Low (based
on
Maurice RAVEL’s (1875 – 1937)
Pavane (1899)) (arranged by
Frank
de VOL (1911 – 1999)?) [2:45]
Franz LEHÁR (1870 – 1948): Gipsy Love – Waltz (arranged by
Sidney TORCH (pseudonym for
Sidney
TORCHINSKY (1908 – 1990)) [5:33]
Stanley BLACK (pseudonym
for
Solomon SCHWARTZ) (1913 – 2002): Overture To A Costume Comedy (1947)
[3:51]
Portrait Of Clare, from the film Portrait Of Clare, transcribed
and arranged from
Robert SCHUMANN’s
(1810 – 1856) Devotion by
Felton
RAPLEY [3:16]
Alexandre LUIGINI (1850 – 1906):
Finale from Ballet Egyptien (1875) [2:40]
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840
– 1893): Barcarolle (arranged by
Philip
GREEN (1911 – 1992)) [3:00]
Robert FARNON (1917 – 2005):
Lake Of The Woods [7:52]
Aram KHACHATURIAN (1903 – 1978):
Waltz from Masquerade Suite (1944) [3:35]
Dorchas COCHRAN (c.1903 – 1991)
and
Ralph STERLING: Beyond
The Moonlight, based on
Felix MENDELSSOHN’s
(1809 – 1847) On Wings Of Song [2:34]
Alexander BORODIN (1833 – 1887)
(arranged by
Robert WRIGHT (1914
– 2005) and George FORREST
(1915 – 1999) He’s In Love from Kismet (1953) based on
Polovtsian
Dances from Prince Igor (1869 – 1887) (arranged by
Percy
FAITH (1908 – 1976))
[2:49]
Edvard GRIEG (1843 – 1907):
Last Spring, op.34/2 (1880) [4:21]
Dimitri KABALEVSKY (1904 – 1987):
Comedians’ Galop, op.26/2 (1938 – 1940) [2:10]
Haydn WOOD (1882 – 1959):
Brown Bird Singing [2:59]
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY: Theme
from Swan Lake (arranged by Ray CONNIFF) [2:44]
Jules MASSENET (1842 – 1912):
Meditation from Thais (arranged and adapted by
Herman CLEBANOFF and
W
ROBINSON) [2:58]
Aram KHACHATURIAN: Sabre
Dance from Gayaneh (1942 rev 1952 rev 1957) [2:41]
Igor STRAVINSKY (1882 – 1971):
The Firebird Ballet (1910) – Dance Of The Princesses [4:12],
Dance Of Kastchei [3:04] and Berceuse and Finale [4:16] (arranged
by
David ROSE (1910 – 1990))
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Three well deserved cheers for this
fantastic collection – it’s one of the most entertaining from
this source. And what a variety of music we are offered!
Rimsky’s Bumble Bee is a real mover in this performance,
the poor thing’s wings must have hurt when he landed – and it
must be a male bee for no female bee would rush quite like this.
Clair De Lune is exactly what it should be, were it written
for Hollywood, but it never goes over the top as it so easily
could.
The finale from Holst’s St Paul’s Suite is given a very
breezy performance by Angela Morley, and, although it claims
to be an arrangement I fail to hear it, and my score proved
it – I wonder what this could mean? Walton’s Popular Song
is as delightful as ever – and deserving of a place in such
a collection – and the first revelation for me was the popular
song based on Ravel’s stately Pavane for a Dead Infanta.
I was intrigued as to how Ravel’s beautiful little dance could
be so transformed into a different medium with such ease. I’d
like to hear it with lyrics to see how it works in its “original”
format.
The classics are plundered, as you’d expect in such a collection
as this. Schumann’s Devotion sounds as English as anything
to come out of Elstree and Mendelssohn could never have imagined
his On Wings Of Song receiving such rich handling. Tchaikovsky
receives “the treatment” twice. Barcarolle becomes a
piece of mood music and the “theme” from Swan Lake, the
famous Swan theme, here has a chorus and off-beat guitar chords.
Meditation from Thais is a lovely interlude for violin
and orchestra but here it’s a piano solo, then a swooping string
arrangement, culminating with the fiddle. Irreverent these arrangements
may be, but they are great fun.
I was particularly taken with Sidney Torch’s arrangement of
Franz Lehár’s Gipsy Love, marvellously infused with Magyar
sounds and spirit before letting go in a modern-sounding waltz.
The Finale from Luigini’s Ballet Egyptien is great fun,
memories of Wilson, Keppel and Betty – there were many Bettys
over the years – abound. The Waltz from Khachaturian’s
Masquerade Suite is very fleet of foot, surely too fast
for dancing, and his Sabre Dance seems quite small-scale
by comparison with the composer’s own version. But we mustn’t
forget that this has been made for a more commercial market
than the Russian’s ballet. Kabalevsky’s Galop from his
Comedians Suite includes a super part for xylophone –
perhaps this was issued because, in the days of spa concerts,
a xylophone solo would have been regular fare.
More seriously, Grieg’s Last Spring is a touching interlude,
Robert Farnon’s Lake Of The Woods is an intermezzo in
the Delius mould, Haydn Wood’s Brown Bird Singing appears
in a beautiful sub-Delian orchestral hue. One of the best of
the original works is Stanley Black’s very Schubertian Overture
To A Costume Comedy. This is a perfect piece of light music
which marries a good tune to a good idea and carries it out
with aplomb and total affection for the style it celebrates.
The biggest surprise is kept for the end. I have no problem
with the fact that the great Igor Stravinsky should appear in
the Golden Age of Light Music series, for he did write a few
things which would seem to be real contenders for inclusion
– the Scherzo ŕ la Russe or the Circus Polka,
for instance, but four excerpts from The Firebird might
seem a ballet step too far. But here’s the clever part – the
dances are performed in arrangements by David Rose! Dance
Of The Princesses (the Princesses Round Dance) starts,
more or less, as you’d expect but when the saxophones enter
we’re in another world. Here Stravinsky meets swing. Likewise
the version of Dance of Kastchei (Infernal Dance of
the Subjects of King Kaschei), there’s certainly nothing
really infernal about this dance; I wondered if Kaschei had
become a bobby–soxer! Rose’s editing of this piece is fascinating.
The Berceuse has a nice lazy swing to it – I especially
like the walking bass, not to mention the Laura–style
brass refrain. The Finale has a jaunty air to it – everybody
here lives happily ever after! It’s known that Igor liked his
cash – I wonder how well he was paid for allowing this arrangement?
This is so enjoyable as to be worth the price of the disk alone.
Fantastic stuff. Great programming, good variety and every track
a winner. What more can you want?
Bob Briggs
David Carroll (Beyond the Moonlight), Pierre Challet (Rimsky and
Debussy), Frank de Vol (Ravel), Percy Faith (Borodin), Philip Green
(Tchaikovsky Barcarolle), Ronnie Munro (Luigini), David Rose (Stravinsky),
Wally Stott (Holst), Sidney Torch (Lehár), John Scott Trotter (Sabre
Dance) and Charles Williams (Schumann), all conducting “his” Orchestra;
Ray Conniff and his Orchestra and Chorus (Swan Lake); Clebanoff
Strings (Massenet); Leslie Jones and his Orchestra of London (Farnon);
Eric Jupp and the Melodi Strings (Wood); Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra,
conducted by Robert Farnon (Kabalevsky); The Merlachrino Strings,
conducted by George Melachrino (Grieg); London Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by Pierino Gamba (Black); Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted
by William Walton (Walton); Philharmonic–Symphony Orchestra of New
York, conducted by Andre Kostelanetz (Masquerade Waltz) 
