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Bandstand in the Park
Hopwood, Lionel Monckton (1861-1924) Soldiers in the Park
BBC Wireless Military Band/Lieutenant Bertram Walton O’Donnell, MVO, ARAM later FRAM (1932) [2:14]
Jose Padilla El Relicario
National Band of New Zealand/K.G.L. Smith (1953) [2:14]
Emil Waldteufel (1837-1915) Acclamations Waltz
The Band of the Grenadier Guards/Lt.-Col. George Miller (1932) [4:08]
André de Basque, alias of Albert William Ketèlbey (1875-1959) A Japanese Carnival
Callender’s Senior Band (1938) [3:06]
Partridge Coronation Bells
The Band of the Grenadier Guards/Major F. J. Harris, MBE (1952) [2:48]
Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) arr. Lang The Syncopated Clock
The Capitol Symphonic Band/Louis Castellucci (1950) [2:40]
Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) arr. O’Donnell Dance Of the Tumblers – from "The Snow Maiden"
BBC Wireless Military Band/Lieutenant Bertram Walton O’Donnell, MVO, ARAM later FRAM (1929) [3:27]
Henry WALFORD Davies (1869-1941) Royal Air Force March Past
Central Band of the Royal Air Force/Wing Commander A. E. Sims, MBE (1951) [2:34]
HEINI Kronberger; MARY Marriott Frog King’s Parade
National Band of New Zealand/K.G.L. Smith (1953) [2:25]
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Golliwog’s Cakewalk – from "Children’s Corner" Suite
BBC Wireless Military Band/Lieutenant Bertram Walton O’Donnell, MVO, ARAM later FRAM (1929) [2:35]
Kühne Parade of the Puppets
Band of the Coldstream Guards/Major James Causeley Windram (1932) [3:00]
Eric Coates (1886 - 1957) London Bridge March
Band of HM Grenadier Guards/Captain George Miller (1934) [2:56]
MORITZ Moszowski (1854 - 1925) arr. Lake Malaguena – from "Boabdil"
BBC Wireless Military Band/Lieutenant Bertram Walton O’Donnell, MVO, ARAM later FRAM (1935) [3:41]
Wheeler The Little Clock on the Mantle – Characteristic Piece
Eastbourne Municipal Band/H.G. Amers (1929) [2:45]
Carl Michael Ziehrer (1843 - 1922) Auersperg March
Deutschmeister Kapelle/Julius Herrmann (1952) [2:54]
Caneva & McAllister Fiesta Paso Doble
Band of the Welsh Guards/Captain F. L. Statham (1949) [2:51]
Clare Grundman (1913-1996) An American Folk Rhapsody
Band of the Irish Guards (1948) [5:18]
Jack Beaver (1900-1963) The Gay Cavalier
The "All Star" Concert Brass Band/Harry Mortimer, OBE (1954) [3:19]
Kenneth Anthony Wright, arr. Arthur J. Wood Dainty Lady
Callender’s Senior Band (1938) [2:58]
Roger Barsotti Mariquita
Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall)/Major M. Roberts (1944) [2:31]
Edrich Siebert alias of Stanley Smith MASTER (1903-1984) Three Jolly Sailormen
The "All Star" Concert Brass Band/Harry Mortimer, OBE (1952) [3:14]
Archibald Joyce (1873-1963) Victorious – Military Waltz
Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall)/Major M. Roberts (1944) [2:42]
Hans Mainzer The Merry Musicians
Band of the Queen’s Royal Regiment/Roger Barsotti (1943) [2:43]
Ronald Binge (1910-1979) Cornet Carillon
The "All Star" Concert Brass Band/Harry Mortimer, OBE (1954) [2:58]
Karl Komzak (1850-1905) Andreas Hofer March
Deutschmeister Kapelle/Julius Herrmann (1952) [3:28]
Dates of composers given where known
Recordings re-mastered from a variety of recorded sources
GUILD GLCD 5117 [76:52]

Guild seems to go from strength to strength with their ‘light music’ series. I have had the pleasure and privilege of reviewing four or five of these excellent CDs. And the present offering is no less worthy of praise.

However I must put my cards on the table - the sound of the military band is less my cup of tea than the earlier releases of orchestral music. Even allowing for matters of taste, I find this an extremely enjoyable listening experience.

There seems little point in a detailed analysis of all the tracks. A few general remarks will suffice.

Firstly the repertoire is wide-ranging: from Claude Debussy’s Golliwog’s Cakewalk through to the attractive ‘The Little Clock on the Mantle’ by a certain Mr. Wheeler. There is a good selection of descriptive music. We can visit a Fiesta with a Paso Doble, or perhaps it is time to watch a Parade of Puppets. We can visit a Japanese Carnival, dance the Acclamation Waltz or join the Gay Cavalier for a ride on the Downs. And we must not forget the ‘First of the Few’ with Walford Davies’ Royal Air Force March Past and Archibald Joyce’s ‘Victorious’.

London is not ignored, with the eponymous Bridge March by the great Eric Coates. We can ‘hoe-down’ with Clare Grundman’s American Folk Rhapsody. Novelties are not forgotten: we can go to sea with the Three Jolly Sailors, foot tap with the Merry Musicians, wave at the Frog King’s Parade or perhaps become hypnotised by the well-known Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson. And there are plenty more!

Some fine bands are represented – including the Band of the Irish Guards, the Royal School of Music (Kneller Hall and the BBC Wireless Military Band (how evocative is that word ‘wireless’).

I am impressed by the quality of the sound recording. OK – I can accept that those made in the early ’fifties should be pretty sharp. But the surprising thing is how clear the numbers ‘laid down’ in the late ’twenties and ’thirties are. This is surely down to the committed audio restoration and re-mastering by Alan Bunting.

I would maintain that this CD is not to be listened to en masse. Pick a few tracks, programme the CD player and sit back with an ice cream or real lemonade and think of days gone past that somehow seemed simpler and summers that were almost certainly warmer and sunnier.

John France

 

 


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