alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS
Sound Samples & Downloads

The Golden Age of Light Music; The Composer Conducts - Volume 1
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD 5177 [79:06]

Jet Journey (Ron Goodwin) Ron Goodwin and his Concert Orchestra [2:36]
Courses de Toros (Bull Fights (Gérard Calvi) Gérard Calvi and his Orchestra [3:20]
Fun In The Sun (Angela Morley) Telecast Orchestra/Angela Morley as Wally Stott [2:57]
Les Parfums De Paris (Cedric Dumont) New Concert Orchestra/Cedric Demont [2:54]
Parisian Mode (Woolf Phillips) Woolf Phillips and his Concert Orchestra [2:21]
Sagittarius (Hal Mooney) Hal Mooney and his Orchestra [2:11]
The Phantom Regiment (Leroy Anderson) Leroy Anderson and his orchestra [3:09]
City Of Veils (Les Baxter) Les Baxter and his orchestra [4:16]
Puppets On Parade (Rudolf Friml) 101 Strings/Rudolf Friml [3:06]
Subway Polka (Harold Geller) Harry Geller and his orchestra [2:25]
Bad Timing from 'Billion Dollar Baby' (Morton Gould) – Morton Gould, his piano, and his orchestra [3:40]
Along The Avenue (Roger Roger) Roger Roger and his Champs Elysees Orchestra [2:13]
Montana Round-Up (Kermit Leslie & Walter Leslie) Kermit Leslie and his orchestra
[2:01]
Huckleberry Duck (Raymond Scott) Raymond Scott and his orchestra [2:45]
Neiani (Axel Stordahl) Alex Stordahl and his orchestra [3:02]
Pam Pam (David Rose) David Rose and his orchestra [2:58]
La Bardinetta (André Popp) [2:53]
Fiddle Derby (Percy Faith) Percy Faith and his orchestra [2:09]
Without Your Love (Guy Luypaerts) Guy Luypaerts and his orchestra as ‘Guy Lupar’ on LP [2:03]
Fandango (Frank Perkins) Frank Perkins and his ‘Pops’ orchestra [3:03]
Sports Arena (Wilfred Burns) Harmonic Orchestra/Wilfred Burns [2:55]
Trolley Bus (Charles Williams) Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams [2:58]
Boulevardier (Frederic Curzon) New Concert Orchestra/Frederic Curzon [3:37]
Jack The Dancer (Dolf van der Linden) Dolf van der Linden and his Metropole orchestra [2:40]
Blende Auf (Werner Müller) RIAS Dance Orchestra/Werner Müller [3:01]
Symphony In Jazz; First Movement (Otto Cesana) Otto Cesana and his orchestra [7:04]

 
Composer-conductors are the cocks of the walk in the first volume of Guild’s series-within-a-series. Thus Ron Goodwin gets us off to a flying start with Jet Journey followed briskly by the brash matador evocations summoned up by Gérard Calvi in Courses de Toros. Cedric Dumont encourages his orchestra to pile on acres of luscious romance and he is followed by Woolf Phillips in Parisian Mode in a typically imaginative, here Gallic-inclined, conjunction. Leroy Anderson, meanwhile, evokes a ghostly march in his clever The Phantom Regiment.
 
For Capitol, Les Baxter unleashes City of Veils, a typically exotic picture postcard opus with glowering lower brass and evocative percussion – bazaar music. Friml’s Puppets on Parade is pertly interpreted by its composer in 1959 whilst Harry Geller is an Australian in New York rolling out Subway Polka with plenty of action, for RCA. Morton Gould ruminates on piano during his contribution with his orchestra, but Kermit Leslie heads for the hills with a yee-haw on his lips as he takes us on a Montana Round-Up – folksy cowboy stuff. You’ll hear from many of the maestri of the genre – the unmistakeable David Rose pizzicatos, for example, announcing his presence on Pam Pam.
 
There’s a firm march from Wilfred Burns – or Bernard Wilfred Harris, to give his real name – and then two princes of British Light Music; Charles Williams (Isaac Cozerbreit to those who knew him best) and Frederic Curzon, whose own name sufficed. Williams’s Trolley Bus is a delight but the relaxed Curzon charm in Boulevardier is even better. This brace was recorded in 1946 for Chappell and Boosey & Hawkes respectively. A continental and steadfast member of Guild’s restoration programme is ubiquitous Dolf van der Linden and his saucy badinage in Jack the Dancer is pleasurable. Another elite continental practitioner was Werner Müller whose RIAS Dance Band seems to nod in Glenn Miller’s direction.
 
This is an enjoyable selection with Guild’s boffins doing their best to keep some esoteric tricks up their sleeve; it’s good, for instance, to see labels such as Paxton, Harmonic, Coral and Dot covered. Purchase with confidence.
 
Jonathan Woolf