I seem to have missed the first three volumes of this collection
of ‘Music While you Work’ (MWYW). However, I get
the general idea. I used to sit and listen to the eponymous
radio show on the Light Programme with my grandmother. This
was 1966 and I guess the style of this music acted as a good
counterweight to my usual diet of ‘pirate’ radio
stations. Not quite as rebellious, but at least it gave me a
lasting love of Eric Coates. When I first began gainful employment
with a ‘summer job’ in the 1970s I worked for a
short while in a factory as a labourer. I remember chatting
to one of the staff, a lady in her fifties, who told me about
the factory broadcasts ‘during the war’. She had
worked assembling radios for the army.
The programme was broadcast twice daily from June 1940 - which
was just after Dunkirk and just before the Battle of Britain
got underway. The series was to last until September 1967. The
original ethos of the programme was to include only popular
or light music with the hope that the steady rhythms would encourage
the factory workers to be more productive. The music was non-stop
with no announcements. The show began and ended with Eric Coates
‘Calling all Workers’.
However, the project did not stop there: there was a spin-off.
Decca ‘Music While you Work’ records first appeared
in 1942 as 78rpm discs. The last ones were issued in January
1947. This was part of a ‘hush-hush’ wartime project
to produce music that could be played over the public address
system in the factories. There were eventually some 400 discs
in the catalogue.
Apparently, a wide variety of music was recorded including dance
bands, jazz and various instrumental ensembles - however the
present CD concentrates on what is generally considered to be
‘light music’.
The CD liner-notes point out that the series was soon deleted
and suffered from bad publicity. Apparently, the record-buying
public were largely unaware of what was available. One interesting
feature was the use of ‘full frequency range recording’
in the production of the records - this led to a much-improved
sound quality.
The CD opens with a fine medley of ‘martial’ songs
including such delights as ‘The Tin-Can Fusiliers’
and ‘When a Soldier is on Parade’. Harry Fryer and
his Orchestra were stalwarts of the MWYW programmes and recordings.
Included is the excellent ‘Rhythmic Paraphrase’
on Bizet’s Carmen. This seems to have been a hit
for Harry as there is also one based on Charles Gounod’s
Faust. Ronnie Munro and his Waltz Orchestra give sweeping
accounts of some of Johann Strauss Jr’s best loved waltzes
including ‘Roses from the South’, the delightful
‘Voices of Spring’ and the ‘Artists Life’.
However, Munro does not restrict his interest to Strauss. The
‘Danube Waves’ are recalled in Iosif Ivanovici’s
attractive waltz and Emile Waldteufel’s less well known
‘Les Sirenes’ is given an airing. I love his ‘um-pa-pa’
performance of Ernesto Becucci’s ‘Tesoro Mio’
(My Treasure).
Two Eric Coates numbers are included here. Richard Crean and
his Orchestra play ‘In a Country Lane’ and ‘At
the Dance’ from the Summer Days Suite. Both these
numbers are perfect evocations of the ‘things we were
fighting for’ - a Britain that existed, but for most people
only in the imagination. They are beautifully played, however
I hope I may be allowed to add here that I do like my Coates
played by a full ‘symphony’ orchestra. Another piece
in the Crean listings is Gabriel Marie’s ‘La Cinquantaine’.
The title means ‘The Fiftieth’ and possibly refers
to a wedding anniversary. This tune, which was originally scored
for cello and piano is ‘sweetly romantic and is signed
to be played ‘in olden style.’ It is given all sentiment
here.
Harry Davidson and his Orchestra are well represented on this
CD. Abe Holzmann’s ‘Old Faithful’ is one of
those tunes that you seem to know, even if you cannot name it.
Archibald Joyce’s ‘Vision of Salome’ is a
restrained waltz: there is nothing here to inflame the passions.
This is not Richard Strauss’ ‘Dance of the Seven
Veils’ - but something very prim and proper. It was not
John the Baptist’s head on a plate here, but an Egg and
Cucumber Sandwich. ‘Tick of the Clock’ by James
Perry is a little novelty piece -with another of those tunes
that you have always known. Paul Linke is a name that often
crops up in the world of light music. He was a German composer/conductor
who is best remembered for his ‘Berliner Luft’ from
his operetta Frau Luna, and ‘The Glow-Worm’
from Lysistrata. Harry Davidson plays his ‘Amina
- Intermezzo’, which is wistful and gentle. Abe Holzmann
is represented again with his jaunty march ‘Yankee Girl’.
Harold Collins and his Orchestra play a rather eccentric little
number by George Blackmore called ‘Knuckledust.’
Now I am not quite sure what to make of the title. What is Knuckledust?
Let’s hope it has nothing to do with Knuckledusters! Archibald
Joyce was known, as ‘The English Waltz King’ or
‘The English Waldteufel’ such was his popularity
during Edwardian times. Collins performs the well-known ‘hesitation’
waltz called ‘Dreaming’: it is actually more wistful
than a reverie.
David Java seems to be little-known in light music circles:
his career is ‘poorly documented’ Apparently there
are only four ‘sides’ recorded by him for the Decca
MWYW series - two are presented here - ‘Love Dance’
which is an old-fashioned’ intermezzo from the vaudeville
musical Madame Sherry (1910) composed by a certain Karl
Hoschna. The other is Jonny Heyken’s ‘Heyken’s
Serenade No.2. I winder what happened to No.1?
Two loose ends are the offerings from Reginald Pursglove and
his Orchestra and the London Coliseum Orchestra. The former
is an attractive little dance number called 'Lonesome and Sorry'
by Benny Davis and Con Conrad. The latter is called ‘Waldmere’
and is a little foursquare in its working out but enjoyable
all the same.
Once again, Guild has come up trumps with this fine new release.
As always the sound quality is perfect. In fact, many of these
recordings sound better than ones made later. This may well
be to do with the ‘hush-hush’ ‘full frequency
range recording’ mentioned above. The liner-notes are
extremely helpful and put all the music and the artists into
context.
I noted above that there were 400 records in this series. Assuming
two numbers on each disc, that is 800 tunes. There are 25 tracks
on this CD. Four have been released in the MWYW series. Therefore,
that leaves only another twenty-eight volumes to conclude
the complete survey of the entire run of these Decca ‘Music
While You Work’ records. Guild, please keep them coming!
John France
Track listing
Horatio NICHOLLS also used name EVERETT Lynton
(1888-1964) - Noel GAY (1898-1954) Cavalcade of Martial
Songs - The King's Horses - The Toy-Town Artillery - The Tin-Can
Fusiliers - When the Guards are on Parade - There's Something
about a Soldier - When a Soldier's on Parade - When the Band
goes Marching By - The Toy Drum Major arr. Harry Fryer and
his Orchestra (1943) [5:31]
Johann STRAUSS, Jr. (1825-1899) Roses
from the South, Ronnie Munro and his Waltz Orchestra (1946)
[3:22]
Benny DAVIS, Con CONRAD (1891?-1938) Lonesome
and Sorry, Reginald Pursglove and his Orchestra 1944) [3:02]
Georges BIZET (1838-1875) arr. Arthur LANGE (1889-1956)
Carmen - Rhythmic Paraphrase, Harry Fryer and his Orchestra
(1944) [3:02]
Bernard BARNES (1893-1947) Dainty Miss, Harold
Collins and his Orchestra (1943) [2:35]
Karl HOSCHNA (1876-1911) Love Dance - Intermezzo
(from 'Madame Sherry'), David Java and his Orchestra (1944)
[2:52]
James PERRY Tick of the Clock, Harry Davidson
and his Orchestra (1945) [2:53]
Johann STRAUSS, Jr (1825-1899)Voices of Spring,
Ronnie Munro and his Waltz Orchestra (1945) [3:13]
Wynford REYNOLDS as 'Hugh Raeburn' Light and Shade,
Harold Collins and his Orchestra (1944) [3:07]
Eric COATES (1886-1947) At the Dance (from 'Summer
Days' Suite), Richard Crean and his Orchestra (1944) [2:58]
Eric COATES (1886-1947) In a Country Lane (from
'Summer Days' Suite), Richard Crean and his Orchestra (1944)
[3:06]
George BLACKMORE Knuckledust, Harold Collins and
his Orchestra (1944) [3:02]
Archibald JOYCE (1873-1963) Dreaming, Harold Collins
and his Orchestra (1943) [3:00]
Gabriel MARIE (1852-1928) La Cinquantaine, Richard
Crean and his Orchestra (1945) [3:06]
Charles GOUNOD (1818-1893) arr. Arthur LANGE
(1889-1956) Faust - Rhythmic Paraphrase, Harry Fryer
and his Orchestra (1943) [3:02]
Ernesto BECUCCI (1845-1905) Tesoro Mio, Ronnie
Munro and his Waltz Orchestra (1946) [3:03]
Abe HOLZMANN (1874-1939) Old Faithful, Harry Davidson
and his Orchestra (1945) [2:55]
Archibald JOYCE (1873-1963) Vision of Salome,
Harry Davidson and his Orchestra (1945) [3:14]
Jonny HEYKENS (1884-1945) Heyken's Serenade No.
2, David Java and his Orchestra (1944) [3:06]
Emile WALDTEUFEL (1837-1915) Les Sirenes, Ronnie
Munro and his Scottish Variety Orchestra (1944) [3:06]
Frank Hoyt LOSEY (1870-1931) Waldmere, London
Coliseum Orchestra conducted by Reginald Burston (1946) [2:42]
Iosif IVANOVICI (1845-1902) Danube Waves, Ronnie
Munro and his Scottish Variety Orchestra (1945) [3:01]
Paul LINCKE (1866-1946) Amina - Intermezzo, Harry
Davidson and his Orchestra (1945) [2:41]
Johann STRAUSS, Jr. (1825-1899) Artists Life,
Ronnie Munro and his Waltz Orchestra (1946) [2:55]
Abe HOLZMANN (1874-1939) Yankee Grit, Harry Davidson
and his Orchestra (1945) [2:57]
All tracks in mono
Dates refer to recording, not composition.
Review index: Guild
Light Music
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5198 [78:25]