This mammoth series from Guild continues with Confetti,
a mixed recital of all sorts of things that turns up intriguing,
sometimes serendipitous things during the course of its 78 minutes.
In pole position is the elite MGM Studio Orchestra directed
by Johnny (John Waldo) Green presenting the album’s title, Confetti.
We then embark on a mini world tour, starting in a Champs
Elysees Café courtesy of Joseph Kuhn, who also probably
conducted the Paris Theatre Orchestra complete with inevitable
accordion and insouciant romance. Then we fly to meet Robert
Farnon’s Manhattan Playboy, a zippy chap whistling an
jaunty tune on the flute, brought to us by Leslie Jones and
his Orchestra of London. There’s big band Hora Staccato,
played by Morton Gould and his orchestra, as we move to Eastern
Europe, thence west to Germany for some Hans Georg Arlt, a real
stalwart of this series.
Mitch Miller pipes away on Lina whilst Melachrino conducts
the sonorously, if temporarily named Orchestra of the 6th
San Remo Festival. The piece is Viezzoli’s Nota Per Nota,
a lovely piece here undone by tom-tom percussion. This Italian
excursion is cemented by the next track, Via Amalfi.
By now I think I’ve sussed the geographical shenanigans of the
compiler. William Hill Bowen, fine pianist and arranger, can
be heard with his own orchestra on an RCA disc essaying Getting
To Know You, with some especially sheeny strings.
A couple of peppy numbers follow; there’s Bluebell Polka,
a spruce evergreen, and Joey’s Song, another light opus.
Things get amusing in Bees-A-Buzzin’ composed by Edrich
Siebert – or Stanley Smith-Masters if you want his real name
– which is a straight Rimsky-Korsakov paraphrase. Frederic Curzon’s
Mischief reflects this elegant composer’s craftsmanship.
Then we meet Wilfred Josephs, better known perhaps as a symphonist,
concerto, and orchestral composer, amongst other genres. His
Market Day fits right into the Light groove. George French’s
Parade of the Champions, played by Dolf van der Linden
and his Metropole Orchestra, is a very Elgarian affair – a real
Pomp and Circumstance march. To finish, there’s an extended
seven minute selection from Dear Miss Phoebe, composed
by Harry Parr-Davies, and played by Tom Jenkins and his Palm
Court Orchestra. Both successive leaders of this group, Albert
Sandler and Jenkins, near contemporaries, died in their mid-forties.
Let’s not end on a maudlin note. This is another ingeniously
compiled selection, giving as ever great value for money.
Jonathan Woolf
See also review by John
France
Review Index: Guild's
Golden Age of Light Music
Track listing
Bronislau KAPER Confetti
(1958) [2:18] MGM Studio Orchestra Conducted by Johnny Green.
Joseph KUHN Champs Elysées
Café (1957) [3:31] Paris Theatre Orchestra
Robert FARNON Manhattan Playboy
(1959) [2:30] Leslie Jones and his Orchestra of London
Grigori DINICU;
Jascha HEIFETZ, arr. Morton GOULD
Hora Staccato (1958) [3:11] Morton Gould and his Orchestra
HARTEL;
WOLTMANN Musik Klingt Durch Die Nacht
(1959) [3:05] Hans Georg Arlt and his orchestra
Jimmy MCHUGH; Al DUBIN,
arr. Robert FARNON In My Memoirs (1958)
[2:21] Robert Farnon and his orchestra (LP label credits ‘Jack
Saunders Orchestra’)
Francis LOPEZ,
arr. Percy FAITH Lina (1954) [2:49] Percy
Faith and his Orchestra with Mitch Miller, oboe and cor anglais
Cole PORTER
arr. Conrad SALINGER I Concentrate On You
(1958) [2:42] (from “Broadway Melody of 1940”), Conrad Salinger
Orchestra Conducted by Buddy Bregman
Salvatore ‘Tutti’ CAMARATA Pizzicato
Rhumba (1952) [3:21] Music by Camarata
Guido VIEZZOLI Nota Per Nota
(1957) [2:58] George Melachrino conducting the Orchestra of
the 6th San Remo Festival
Joseph KUHN Via Amalfi
(1959) [3:04] Roberto Rossani and his Orchestra
Richard RODGERS; Oscar HAMMERSTEIN,
arr. William Hill BOWEN Getting To Know
You from “The King And I” (1958) [2:45] William Hill Bowen
and his Orchestra
Joseph KUHN Montevideo Bolero
(1959) [2:41] Dolores Ventura, Piano and the Carnival Orchestra
F. STANLEY,
arr. Ron GOODWIN Bluebell Polka (1955)
[2:21] Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra
Joe REISMAN Joey’s Song
(1957) [2:11] Joe Reisman and his Orchestra
Joseph J. LEAHY; Abe OLMAN Twice
Around the Island (1957) [2:02] David Carroll and his Orchestra
Edrich SIEBERT
Bees-A-Buzzin’ (1953) [2:10] Dolf Van Der
Linden and his Orchestra
Frederic CURZON Mischief
(1946) [2:20] New Century Orchestra conducted by
Sidney Torch
Cyril WATTERS Gadabout
(1954) [2:18] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra
Dolf Van Der LINDEN Utopia
Road (1954) [2:25] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra
(‘Paul Franklin’ on disc label)
Leslie BEGUELEY Violins In
Velvet (1949) [3:00] Bosworth String Orchestra conducted
by Louis Voss
Wilfred JOSEPHS Market Day
(1958) [2:55] New Concert Orchestra Conducted by Cedric Dumont
Peter DENNIS Treble Chance
(1954) [2:48] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra (‘Paul
Franklin’ on disc label)
George FRENCH Parade Of the
Champions (1954) [3:02] Dolf Van Der Linden and his Metropole
Orchestra
L. E. DE FRANCESCO Florella
(1959) [1:48] Grosvenor Studio Orchestrra
Trad, arr.
Paul FENOULHET Who Killed Cock Robin? (1958)
[3:15] Stuttgart Radio Orchestra Conducted by Kurt Rehfeld (‘Crawford
Light Orchestra’ on disc label)
Harry PARR-DAVIES Dear Miss
Phoebe – Selection (1951) [6:50] ‘Whisper While You Waltz’,
‘Spring Will Sing A Song For You’, ‘Living A Dream’, ‘March
Of The Red Coats’, ‘I Can’t Resist The Music,’ ‘All’s Well Tonight’,
‘When Will You Marry Me’, ‘I Leave My Heart In An English Garden.’
Tom Jenkins and his Palm Court Orchestra
Stereo: tracks 2-6, 8, 10-13, 15, 16: rest in mono. ADD 
