20.06.11 Light Music

[PJPJ]

Back on topic, can the 'greats' write'light' music? The 'Badinerie' from Bach's orchestral Suite no 2,

music by Mozart, Dvorak and others come to mind. And what aboutShepherd Fennel's Dance by Balfour Gardiner, Hely Hutchinson's Carol Symphony for starters?

Hely Hutchinson's "the Young Idea" is wonderful!

http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=CDLX7206

Elgar wrote quite a bit of Light Music. Does Telemann's unfairly termed Muzak de Table count? And Dame Ethel wasn't above writing entertaining fluff either. I've just been listening Danny Driver's new Hyperion CD of Dale and Bowen which has a couple of miniatures delightfully Light.

Dare I mention Shostakovich?

[PJPJ]

This is an entertaining collection (for those who enjoy this sort of music; for those who don't it's not entertaining at all).

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//ABC4423742.htm

I see today's programme has some of my most favourite British Light Music, most of it extremely well-known. As this series has concentrated on British works, I think there's room for R3 to investigate light music from other countries and continents. Morton Gould's Symphonettes and Concertettes are enormous fun (for those..... etc)

We could have weeks and weeks of this!

[rauschwerk]

I'm beginning to wonder what anyone's definition of light music might be. Something short and quick?

The best definition I know is "music in which the tune is more important than what happens to it." This is due to Andrew Gold, a BBC producer. By that definition, of course, many composers have written such music but when we in the UK use the phrase, are we not usually referring to British light music? Much of this was written by composers who specialised in the genre.

[ahinton]

I'm obviously not listening to it carefully enough

Your wisdom in not doing so is commendable.

I think that the issue here is not going to be helpd by broadening the topic to include "light music" from elsewhere, simply because this series concentrates on British - and in almost all cases English - "light music" and this mainly from around WWI up to the 1960s. Yes, Elgar did indeed write "light" miniatures and Malcolm Arnold contributed a number of "light" works to the repertoire, but these composers are far better known, even in their own country, as composers of non-"light" works and it does seem as though most of the repertoire explored in this series was indeed composed by people who specialised in this genre - the Ketèlbeys, the Woods (Haydn and Arthur), the Curzons, the Coatses and a number of other figures whose names have all but passed into obscurity in circles other than those who attempt to keep awareness of this kind of music alive.

It seems to me that, as often as not, the very considerable ability to turn out the kinds of thing that these people did as frequently as they did is ultimately of more inherent interest than what they actually turned out; the sheer professionalism required to get reasonably memorable ideas assembled into miniatures (it's almost always miniatures) where getting the points across is almost as important as the points themselves is undeniable, but even in its heyday much of it seemed to be possessed of some kind of inbuilt anachronism, as though its very presence was somehow dependent to a great extent on the co-existence of those ear-gratingly teeth-on-edgedly clipped BBC English voices uttering bland statements and seeking to create and promote a kind of complacent anglo-Utopia that never existed outside the imaginations of their creators and promoters.

In the recent R4 programme on the subject, I'm surprised that no one thought to mention the fact that the Pump Room Trio in Bath kept this kind of thing alive on a 363-days-per-year basis for decades and (I believe) still does so.

[rauschwerk]

" Composer of the Week"

I was wondering why Ketelbey has been pushed aside - surely one of the finest British light music composers (or maybe I misread the schedule).

That's a mercy as far as I am concerned. I have never, ever, been able to take Ketelbey seriously and to my mind his music has dated far more than anything by Coates, Tomlinson or Farnon.

[antongould]

music by Mozart, Dvorak and others come to mind. And what aboutShepherd Fennel's Dance by Balfour Gardiner,
Hely Hutchinson's Carol Symphony for starters?

The Carol Symphony is, IMHO, wonderful but going back off topic so is Napoleon 3!!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In the recent R4 programme on the subject, I'm surprised that no one thought to mention the fact that the Pump Room Trio in Bath kept this kind of thing alive on a 363-days-per-year basis for decades and (I believe) still does so.

The Scarborough Spa Orchestra is still going too. However, since the retirement of Max Jaffa in 1987, the orchestra has been progressively shrunk and no longer has a decent sound balance, with wind instruments dominating. However, it's still there, which is remarkable.

[ahinton]

At the risk of sullying the proceedings here, I cannot help but wonder - especially given the further reference to Ketèlbey - about the extent to which financial considerations played a part in this "tradition". It's pretty obvious that Ketèlbey in particular was laughing all the way to the bank (probably Coutts & Co. at that) and he more or less admitted as much to a now deceased violinist that I used to know, but it's hard not to speculate upon what might have happened had the composition of symphonies, string quartets, concertos etc. been vastly more lucrative than the kinds of work on which the Coatses, Woods et al made their name; would these people have made more of an effort with concert work than they did in the climate in which they worked?

[aeolium]

At the risk of sullying the proceedings here, I cannot help but wonder - especially given the further reference to Ketèlbey - about the extent to which financial considerations played a part in this "tradition". It's pretty obvious that Ketèlbey in particular was laughing all the way to the bank (probably Coutts & Co. at that) and he more or less admitted as much to a now deceased violinist that I used to know, but it's hard not to speculate upon what might have happened had the composition of symphonies, string quartets, concertos etc. been vastly more lucrative than the kinds of work on which the Coatses, Woods et al made their name; would these people have made more of an effort with concert work than they did in the climate in which they worked?

I think that's missing the point, though, which is surely that there was a definite and considerable audience for this kind of music at least up to the 1960s, and that composers like Coates stepped in to satisfy the demand. If you look at the sort of composers who are being featured this week on CotW, I can't imagine too many of them being interested in (or perhaps capable of) producing serious works in the longer format - perhaps someone will correct me here. Surely it was an early sort of classical/popular crossover music and perhaps the reason for its decline is partly the upsurge in the various forms of pop music, film music (light music also being used as 'occasional' music) and partly the increasing dissociation of post-war classical music from popular forms.

I don't care much for the British light music tradition (though like G&S) but I respect its validity as a tradition which gave pleasure to many (and perhaps still does).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Days of the Future Past, and album by the Moody Blues in the 60s, contains an orchestral interlude that must be one of the last bastions of British light music. I remember one of my friends at school saying how much it sounded like "Look at Life".

[PJPJ]

I don't care much for the British light music tradition (though like G&S) but I respect its validity as a tradition which gave pleasure to many (and perhaps still does).

Judging from a healthy Robert Farnon Society, yes, it still does.

http://www.rfsoc.org.uk/

For those interested, Musicweb has multiple "Garlands" on the subject by Philip L Scowcroft whose book "British Light Music" could do with a reprint.

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Thames Publishing (1 Jan 1990)
ISBN-10: 0903413884
ISBN-13: 978-0903413886

Farnon wrote several substantial and more serious works, including symphonies.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Farnon-Symphony-Scherzo-Captain-Hornblower/dp/B000JLPNOI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1308648738&sr=8-3

Guild, in one its most recent releases, has issued Bruno Seidler-Winkler's pre-war recording of another one of my favourite light works, Ernst Fischer's Suite "South of the Alps", the series now in its 81st volume:

http://www.guildmusic.com/shop/wbc.php?sid=28017b8bacf&tpl=produktliste.html&rid=260

[salymap]

Does anyone else remember 'Eugene and his Serenaders' who played for several years in Hastings? A serious musician friend of mine, a really good pianist, took asummer job with them. The diet was largely Ketelbey and pieces like that and it was hellish for my friend to warble the necessary 'Backsheesh or whatever it was in the Ketelbey. Still in brought in some money. Happy days.

[ardcarp]

It's pretty obvious that Ketèlbey in particular was laughing all the way to the bank (probably Coutts & Co. at that)

So it's OK to make a fortune out of computers/cars/vacuum cleaners... but not music? If I could work out how to make a packet by turning a few catchy tunes I'd be there with the rest of them. I've had this argument occasionally with Mrs Ardcarp when I moan and groan about the musicality of a certain writer of West End Shows...and she says Well why don't you go off and do it then?...and of couses she's right (as usual).

Listening to today's offerings I was struck by the amazing powers of tune-smithing and especially orchestration on show. Even Ron Grainer wrote a pretty amazing countermelody to 'Magnificent Men'. One hardly needs to add that RRB was just brilliant in everything he did (does), Does anyone remember the music he wrote for the (not very successful) TV adaptation of Gormenghast? Superb. And all these guys were able to work to oreder and to produce quality stuuff to satisfy maybe a film producer at very short notice. No communing with the muse for years on end before inspiration strikes.

I'm wondering if my old friend Gordon Langford is going to pop up this week? Agreed he is known more as arranger than composer (although I've premiered a double flute and viloa concerto by him) but he shares with the others a truly awesome toolbox of musical techniques and abilities. I was reminded of him by Brian Kay's use of the expression 'squeaky gate music' to describe the art-music of the later 20th century. This is one of Gordon's favourite expressions.

[french frank]

Brian Kay's use of the expression 'squeaky gate music'

Hmmm, I would rather wonder about the context in which R3/BK uses such a phrase. Sounds a bit like JJ telling listeners that very early Webern isn't at all 'scary' so they shouldn't switch off as soon as they hear his name

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Hmmm, I would rather wonder about the context in which R3/BK uses such a phrase. Sounds a bit like JJ telling listeners that very early Webern isn't at all 'scary' so they shouldn't switch off as soon as they hear his name

Barbirolli gave a speech along similar lines in a Halle concert in 1963(?) fore conducting Berg's Concerto for Violin, Piano & 13 Wind Instruments. He assured us: "It is music." It put my father off the music before we had heard a note.