For better or worse, I have always associated ‘light music’
with travel and holidays. The first piece I consciously became aware
of was ‘Coronation Scot’ by Vivian Ellis. I can recall
that even as a youngster, I could imagine one of Sir William Stanier’s
powerful pacific locomotives pounding up Beattock Bank or Shap Summit.
I could picture the passengers in the first-class dining car enjoying
their lunch as the hills of the Lake District rolled past. All this
was before I got into philosophical arguments about ‘programme’
and ‘absolute’ music. However, the feeling has remained.
I can easily settle into a holiday mood whilst listening to any number
of ‘light music’ tunes - even if the title does not necessarily
imply carefree days at the seaside.
Now, the present CD is a cornucopia of delight for me - and I guess
for many others. To be sure, not all the pieces are evocative of a
stroll along the prom at Morecambe or watching Punch and Judy at Fleetwood
or going for a dip at Blackpool’s long departed and lamented
Derby Baths. Nevertheless there is a lot to tease the imagination
in these tracks.
The proceedings open with the first of the ‘transport’
numbers - ‘Skyways’. This is an impressive, gutsy piece
by Wally Stott with a big, romantic tune complete with swirling harps
and bells and whistles but then the mood changes to something a little
more up-tempo. It is power all the way. I am tempted to say that the
first, in this case, is the best. We are certainly well and truly
airborne before our next mode of travel appears on the scene. Alain
Nancey’s ‘En Bateau Mouche’ is not a quiet drift
down the Seine: it more of a party. Malcolm Lockyer has taken the
concept of ‘holidays’ out of this world with a trip to
‘Venus and Back’ - even Sir Richard Branson is not currently
offering that particular vacation. It is a great up-beat piece. ‘Transcontinental’
is a real railway work complete with whistles, the rhythm of the rails
and the hiss of steam. Robert Docker is obviously an enthusiast. Something,
perhaps the ‘cowboy’ tune, tells me that this piece is
inspired by railroads of the good ole’ US of A. The song ‘The
Only Way to Travel’ from the knockabout Crosby/Hope/Lamour film,
The Road to Hong Kong is given a romantic turn of phrase by
its arranger Robert Farnon. Steve Race has produced a slightly more
exotic feel with his ‘Camel Train’; I was reminded of
Latin America rather than Libya with this tune’s rhythm. I do
not know if the purist would regard ‘Water Skiing’ as
a mode of travel, but Toni Leutwiler has contributed a wonderful,
skittish little tune in the best tradition of light music. Mantovani
has elected to go for a trip on a ‘Rickshaw’. This piece
has all the clatter and bustle of Shanghai or Hong Kong. Finally,
on the travel front, Anthony Mawer has penned a lovely piece called
‘Holiday Highway’. It is exactly the kind of tune that
I was referring to at the start of this review - I can see in my mind’s
eye my father driving the old Hillman Minx down the A6 past - or,
I hoped, stopping at - ‘The Jungle’ transport café
on the way to Blackpool.
Part of any holiday is visiting places - some new and some old favourites.
Anyone who has been to Rome is always sad to leave: most will have
thrown ‘three coins in the Trevi fountain’ but it eventually
comes time to say ‘Arrivederci Roma’ and head out to the
airport. It is a great song whether sung by Dean Martin or played
here by Richard Hayman’s orchestra. Many years ago the ambition
of many British holiday-makers was to leave the wet seaside resorts
of Clacton and Cleethorpes and head for the ‘Costa Brava’.
Philip Buchel has painted a somewhat sophisticated portrait of this
long stretch of coast: it is full of atmosphere, only lacking castanets
and flamenco guitar. I am not sure how many people visit ‘Indiana’,
but James Hanley and Ballard MacDonald have painted a cool image -
complete with electric guitar and sweeping strings. Heading further
east we get into a sultry mood with Dolf Van Der Linden’s ‘Jamaica
Road’. This is not to be confused with Jamaica Street in Bermondsey.
It begins as a dark, moody work, but suddenly bursts into the light.
Still in the Caribbean, there is Joseph Kuhn’s image of ‘Haiti’.
This is such a gorgeous, evocative picture of an island that has such
a tragic history. So the message is a wee bit confused. Call it ‘Martinique’
and the imagery is perfect. I enjoyed the South Seas piece ‘Tiara
Tahiti’ by Philip Green with all the composer’s tricks
for creating the required mood; sounds like the score of an Elvis
Presley film. I did wonder if I would be bored by ‘The Olive
Grove’ by Trevor Duncan: nothing much seems to happen in those
sorts of places. This is a dishy little tune; it has a decided Mediterranean
feel. The same composer’s ‘The Wine Harvest’ is
a number with zing - it has a melody that one seems to already know.
It could be anywhere, but Spain is probably the best bet: it is more
to do with the celebrations rather than the actual harvest and ‘treading’
of the vintage. The final ‘place’ tune is Werner Richard
Heyman’s evocation of ‘Monte Carlo’. All the pizzazz
is here: all the opportunities to spend money and dance or bet the
nights away. There is a touch of romance too. It is really a little
tone poem.
Holidays can mean other things than transport and places. It refers
to anticipation, reflection and people met. Clifton Johns has given
us a classic piece of light music called ‘Holiday Bound’
- it is the enthusiasm engendered in the days before your hols. It
does not describe the queues at the airport, the traffic jams on the
Brighton Road or the discovery that the tickets were left on top of
the piano. Ivor Slaney has written a short, but big in intention,
piece for piano and orchestra - ‘Midsummer Madness’. I
guess that love is behind this tune. O how wonderful and how hurtful
can a holiday romance be! Maybe the cause of the lover’s grief
was John Carmichael’s ‘French Flirt’ who no doubt
leaves a trail of broken hearts behind. This is a lovely, lively cheeky
piece that lacks French colour - no accordions! Sidney Torch has also
meditated on the Gallic mood with his ‘Oo La La’. In spite
of a little bit of stereotyping this is full of fun and panache. Anyone
would be sorry to have to leave all this gaiety behind. On the other
hand, maybe the lover’s regret is because of some athletic ‘Beachboy’.
Peter Dennis has painted a charming picture of a lively fella’
who is also a pure gentleman.
The classic tune ‘Volare’ (To Fly) by Domenico Modugno
is given a fine reworking by William Hill Bowen. This is a master-class
in orchestration with beautiful brass and string passages. The main
melody is important, but is surrounded by attractive subsidiary material.
The whole holiday enterprise can be summed up by Ian Sutherland’s
‘Here’s to Holidays’ which is the eponymous track
of this CD. This is an exuberant tune that exudes all the excitement
of holidays past and present. Fortunately this composer is still alive
- let us hope he is still knocking out tunes as good as this one.
I think, on this hot, sultry, sunny London day I will jump on a train
to Eastbourne and have a walk along the pier, listen to the brass
band and finish off with fish and chips - and mushy peas - on the
prom.
I have raised this issue about Guild recordings before: I wish that
they would provide all the composer dates in the track-listings or
a least in the liner-notes. I believe that this is important, even
on a ‘light music’ disc.
Like all the previous releases in this series that I have reviewed,
I was impressed with the audio recording which is excellent. In spite
of my comment about dates, the liner-notes are fulsome and give many
interesting details about the composers and the artists.
Needless to say, I enjoyed this wonderful selection of ‘holiday’
music. It brought back many happy memories and filled me with new
enthusiasms as I picked my way through these tracks. I never listen
to Guild CDs end to end, as I enjoy concentrating at least a little
bit on each tune. It is how I suggest that listeners approach this
excellent and enjoyable disc.
John France
Track listing
Walter STOTT (1924-2009) Skyways - Queen's Hall
Light Orchestra/Walter Stott (1962) [2:51]
Renato RASCEL (1912-1971) Carl SIGMAN (1909-2000)
Arrivederci Roma - Richard Hayman and his Orchestra (1957) [2:45]
Philip BUCHEL Costa Brava - Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Robert
Farnon (1962) [2:30]
James HANLEY (1892-1942) Ballard MACDONALD (1882-1935)
Indiana - Red Nichols and The Augmented Pennies (1957) [2:10]
Alain NANCEY En Bateau Mouche - The Mode Symphony/ Roger Roger
Orchestra (1962) [2:16]
Iain SUTHERLAND (b.1936) Here's To Holidays - Symphonia
Orchestra/Curt Andersen (1961) [2:32]
Howard SHAW (1923-1976) real name Malcolm Lockyer Venus
and Back - Bruce Campbell and His Orchestra (‘Coronet Orchestra'
on disc label) (1953) [3:06]
Trevor DUNCAN (1924-2005) The Wine Harvest -
The New Concert Orchestra/Cedric Dumont (1958) [3:13]
Clifton JOHNS Holiday Bound - The Sydney Light Concert Orchestra/Hal
Evans (1962) [2:54]
Ivor SLANEY (1921-1998) Midsummer Madness - Ivor Slaney
and his Orchestra featuring Dolores Ventura, piano (1961) [2:20]
Dolf Van Der LINDEN (1915-1999) Jamaica Road - Dolf
Van Der Linden and his Orchestra (‘Harmonic Orchestra conducted
by David Johnson' on disc label) (1953) [3:10]
Robert DOCKER (1918-1992) Transcontinental - The Envoy
Strings (1962) [2:48]
Sammy CAHN, James Van HEUSEN (1913-1990) arr.
Robert FARNON (1917-2005) The Only Way to Travel (featured
in the film 'The Road to Hong Kong') - Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
(1962) [2:28]
John CARMICHAEL (b.1930) French Flirt - Telecast Orchestra/Charles
Williams (1962) [2:33]
Philip GREEN (1911-1982) 'Tiara Tahiti' - theme from
the film - Philip Green and his Orchestra (1962) [2:14]
Peter DENNIS, (1921-1994) real name Dennis Alfred Berry,
Beachboy - Dolf Van Der Linden and His Orchestra (‘Harmonic
Orchestra conducted by David Johnson' on disc label) (1954) [2:48]
Steve RACE (1921-2009) Camel Train - Peter Knight and
his Orchestra (1962) [2:25]
Toni LEUTWILER (1923-2009) Water Skiing - from 'Summer'
- Suite - Westway Studio Orchestra (1962) [2:34]
Annunzio Paolo MANTOVANI (1905-1980) Rickshaw - Mantovani
and his Orchestra (1962) [2:53]
Trevor DUNCAN The Olive Grove - The New Concert Orchestra/Cedric
Dumont (1958) [3:17]
Anthony MAWER (1930-1999) Holiday Highway - Hilversum
Radio Orchestra/Hugo De Groot (1962) [2:06]
Sidney TORCH (1908-1990) Oo La La - Queen's Hall
Light Orchestra/Charles Williams (1962) [2:10]
Domenico MODUGNO , arr. William Hill BOWEN (1918-1964)
Volare - The Hill Bowen Concert Orchestra/Hill Bowen (1962) [3:27]
Joseph F. KUHN (1924-1962) Haiti - The Rio Carnival
Orchestra (1958) [4:41]
Werner Richard HEYMANN (1896-1961) One Night in Monte
Carlo - Monte Carlo Light Symphony Orchestra/Erwin Halletz (1962)
[3:42]
All track in mono except Cahn, Bowen, Kuhn and Heymann
Dates refer to recording, not composition.
