This delightful double
CD set from Vocalion presents some true
gems of light music – a genre that,
despite negative press, has a great
deal to offer. This is a re-mastering
of two 1970 long playing records. The
first disc includes some of Grainger's
best-known and loved arrangements (Country
Gardens, Londonderry Air
and Shepherd's Hey) and compositions
(Handel in the Strand and Mock
Morris). These are followed by the
Children's Overture - again,
a better-known work, by the inimitable
Roger Quilter. This piece lacks the
refinement, poignancy and stunningly
beautiful sensitivity of Quilter’s songs
but has a different charm of its own.
It is an overtly joyful and exuberant
celebration of nursery rhymes. Quilter
includes a dozen of these, ranging from
Oranges and Lemons to Baa
Baa Black Sheep and Sing A Song
of Sixpence, which come and go,
sometimes reappearing in a brilliant
and masterly amalgamation. Dunn’s performance
captures effectively the simple innocence
and gorgeous allure that is so characteristic
of this understated and under-rated
composer. Toye's ensuing The Haunted
Ballroom is rather less well known.
Toye wrote and composed the Haunted
Ballroom ballet at Sadlers Walls,
where he was a Governor. The waltz was
arranged from the ballet by Frank Tapp.
Sumptuous, rich and romantic, this is
most appealing music. The next work
on the disc, Dusk, is taken from
Gibbs' orchestral suite Fancy Dress,
of which it was originally the third
movement, and to which he later added
words. The Light Music Society Orchestra
revels in the luscious string writing
and produces an aptly luxurious sound.
The first disc concludes with a piece
by Balfour Gardiner, who must be remembered
primarily as a most generous patron
of English music. Our debt to him for
supporting so many of our superb composers
in the early part of the last century
must not be under-estimated. An occasional
composer himself, the Fennel Dance,
after an episode in Hardy's Wessex
Tales, is one of his most popular
pieces, characterised by its catchy
tune and the skilful and memorable writing.
The second disc, entitled
Britain’s Choice, comprises works
by slightly later light music composers,
writing in the mid-late twentieth century
as opposed to the turn of the century
years on the first disc. They include
delights such as Farnon's stunning A
La Claire Fontaine with its sheer,
yet opulent sound, Tomlinson’s charming
and characterful Suite of English
Folk dances - taken from Playford's
The English Dancing Master, Duncan's
well known and sprightly Little Suite
March, Binge's evocative and lyrical
The watermill and Peter Hope's
powerful The Ring of Kerry suite,
which portrays scenes from the popular
Irish tourist route. All of these are
performed with spirit and panache.
This is a disc that
I heartily recommend to any lovers of
light music – although those who are
suspicious of the genre would, I am
sure, find much to surprise and beguile
them here as well ...
Em Marshall
The Light Music Society Orchestra/Sir Vivian
Dunn 
