37-534: Annunzio Paolo Mantovani ( Italian: [anˈnuntsjo ˈpaːolo mantoˈvaːni] ; 15 November 1905 – 30 March 1980) was an Italian British conductor , composer and light orchestra -styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums stated that he was "Britain's most successful album act before the Beatles ... the first act to sell over one million stereo albums and [have] six albums simultaneously in
74-456: A string quartet . Much of his catalogue has reappeared on CD. There are also many compilations. A large number of CDs are available containing unauthorised recordings, billed as Mantovani or Mantovani Orchestra; for example the CD titled "The Mantovani Orchestra" released in 1997 contained a track from the 1980s Andrew Lloyd Webber musical " Cats ", which would have required posthumous conducting on
111-563: A "lighter" tradition of classical music in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the UK, the light-music genre has its origin in the seaside and theatrical orchestras that flourished in Britain during the 19th and early 20th century. These played a wide repertoire of music, from classical music to arrangements of popular songs and ballads of the time. From this tradition came many specially written shorter orchestral pieces designed to appeal to
148-429: A Sunday . He also had a big influence on Brian May , Queen guitarist. During his lifetime, Mantovani did not always get respect from his fellow musicians. When George Martin first suggested overdubbing Paul McCartney 's recording of "Yesterday" with strings, McCartney's initial reaction, according to Martin, was that he did not want it sounding like Mantovani. Martin therefore used a more classical sound, employing
185-674: A factory in Irlam near Manchester, several light music concerts from the Southbank Centre and a number of documentaries about the genre. Light music is also frequently used as incidental music in radio and television programmes, for example Charles Williams ' " Devil's Galop " (once famous as the theme to Dick Barton: Special Agent ) is now often used in spoofs of 1950s action programmes, such as Mitchell and Webb 's The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar sketches. Mitchell and Webb also use Acker Bilk 's " Stranger on
222-611: A jaunty, cheery feel. Light music pieces are usually presented individually or as movements within a suite, and are often given individual descriptive titles. These titles can sometimes be unusual or idiosyncratic, such as Frederic Curzon 's "Dance of the Ostracised Imp ". In keeping with this tradition of levity, pieces can also feature musical jokes at the expense of more "serious" works, such as Eric Fenby 's overture Rossini on Ilkla Moor or Arthur Wilkinson 's Beatlecracker Suite , which arranges songs by The Beatles in
259-484: A wider audience. Composers such as Sir Edward Elgar wrote a number of popular works in this medium, such as the " Salut d'Amour ", the Nursery Suite , and Chanson de Matin . The conductor Sir Thomas Beecham became famous for concluding his otherwise serious orchestral concerts with what he termed "lollipops" , meaning less serious, short or amusing works chosen as a crowd-pleasing encore . Influenced by
296-479: A wider context and audience than more sophisticated forms such as the concerto , the symphony and the opera . Light music was especially popular during the formative years of radio broadcasting , with stations such as the BBC Light Programme (1945–1967) playing almost exclusively "light" compositions. Occasionally also known as mood music and concert music , light music is often grouped with
333-732: Is Music Night and Music While You Work . In the United States , " pops orchestra " such as the famous Boston Pops Orchestra began to emerge in the 19th century. The Boston Pops was founded in 1885 as a second, popular identity of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), founded four years earlier. They commissioned light pieces by composers such as Leroy Anderson , Ferde Grofé , and George Gershwin to write original works, along with theatre music, film music and arrangements of popular music and show tunes. The British light music composer Ernest Tomlinson stated that
370-804: The easy listening genre. Light music was popular in the United Kingdom, the United States and in continental Europe , and many compositions in the genre remain familiar through their use as themes in film, radio and television series. Before Late Romantic orchestral trends of length and scope separated the trajectory of lighter orchestral works from the Western Classical canon , classical composers such as Mozart and Haydn won as much fame for writing lighter pieces such as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as for their symphonies and operas. Later examples of early European light music include
407-456: The "cascading strings " effect (also known as the "Mantovani sound"). His records were regularly used for demonstration purposes in stores selling hi-fi stereo equipment, as they were produced and arranged for stereo reproduction. He became the first person to sell a million stereophonic records. In 1952, Binge ceased to arrange for Mantovani but the distinctive sound of the orchestra remained. Mantovani recorded for Decca and London Records
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#1732791164239444-414: The 1950s, the 1960s and the 1970s, the background music were light orchestral arrangements of popular music played in shops, hotels and airlines. In the 1950s and 1960s many light composers wrote Production Library music for use in film, radio and television, and as a result, many light music compositions are familiar as theme music , an example being Trevor Duncan 's March from a Little Suite , used by
481-586: The BBC as the theme to Dr. Finlay's Casebook in the 1960s, or Edward White's "Puffin' Billy" being the theme to both the BBC radio series Children's Favourites and the CBS children's programme Captain Kangaroo . Eric Coates' marches in particular were popular choices as theme music. The " Dambusters March ", possibly his most famous work, was used as the title theme to the 1954 film and has become synonymous with
518-633: The Shore " as the theme music of their radio sketch show . There are hundreds of composers who can be considered to have written "light music", although composers who overall focussed primarily on lighter works include Charles Ancliffe , Ronald Binge , Eric Coates , Frederic Curzon , Trevor Duncan , Robert Farnon , Adalgiso Ferraris , Ron Goodwin , Heinz Kiessling , Albert Ketèlbey , Billy Mayerl , Angela Morley , Ernest Tomlinson , Sidney Torch , Edward White , Charles Williams , Alberto Semprini and Haydn Wood . Each of these composers worked during
555-558: The UK, and XLNC1 in Mexico. A nationwide participatory festival of light music called "Light Fantastic" was organised by BBC Radio 3 in June 2011 as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of the 1951 Festival of Britain . This included events in London, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow, from both professional and amateur ensembles, including a live revival of Music While You Work from
592-752: The US Top 30 in 1959". Mantovani was born in Venice , Italy, into a musical family. His father, Benedetto Paolo "Bismarck" Mantovani, was a violinist and served as the concertmaster of La Scala opera house's orchestra in Milan , under the baton of Arturo Toscanini . The family moved to England in 1912, where young Annunzio studied at Trinity College of Music in London. After graduation, he formed his own orchestra, which played in and around Birmingham . He married Winifred Moss in 1934, having two children: Kenneth (born 12 July 1935) and Paula Irene (born 11 April 1939). By
629-806: The US arm of the Decca Record Company, exclusively. He recorded in excess of 50 albums on that label, many of which were Top 40 hits . His single tracks included " The Song from Moulin Rouge ", which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in 1953, the first instrumental track ever to do so; " Cara Mia " (with him and his orchestra backing David Whitfield ) in 1954; " Around the World " in 1957; and "Main Theme from Exodus (Ari's Theme)" in 1960. In
666-500: The United States, between 1955 and 1972, he released more than 40 albums with 27 reaching the "Top 40", and 11 in the "Top Ten". His biggest success came with the album Film Encores , which attained number one in 1957. Similarly, Mantovani Plays Music From 'Exodus' and Other Great Themes made it to the Top Ten in 1961, with over one million albums sold. Mantovani starred in his own syndicated television series, Mantovani , which
703-488: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 185971166 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:52:44 GMT Light music Light music is a less-serious form of Western classical music , which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues today. Its heyday was in the mid‑20th century. The style is through-composed , usually shorter orchestral pieces and suites designed to appeal to
740-517: The earlier " promenade concerts " held in London pleasure gardens, a similar spirit embued many of Henry Wood 's early Queen's Hall Proms concerts, especially the " Last Night of the Proms ". With the introduction of radio broadcasting by the BBC in the 1920s the style found an ideal outlet. This increased after the launch of the BBC Light Programme in 1945, featuring programmes such as Friday Night
777-894: The film and the mission itself. Other Coates works used as theme music include "Calling All Workers" for Music While You Work , "Knightsbridge" for In Town Tonight and "Halcyon Days" as the theme to The Forsyte Saga . Coates was also commissioned to write original marches for television stations including the " BBC Television March", ATV 's "Sound and Vision March" and Associated Rediffusion 's "Music Everywhere". Other noteworthy television startup themes include William Walton 's Granada Preludes, Call Signs and End Music for Granada Television , Robert Farnon's Derby Day for Radiotelevisão Portuguesa , Richard Addinsell 's Southern Rhapsody for Southern Television , Ron Goodwin 's Westward Ho! for Westward Television and John Dankworth 's Widespread World for Rediffusion London . Several pieces of light music are used on BBC Radio 4 to
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#1732791164239814-836: The first time. This was followed by new recordings of light music by orchestras such as the Royal Ballet Sinfonia , the New London Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra , as well as continued public concerts by orchestras such as the Cambridge Concert Orchestra, the Scarborough Spa Orchestra and Vancouver Island's Palm Court Light Orchestra. The style also found a new home on BBC Radio 3 on Brian Kay 's Light Programme , although this programme
851-408: The genre as "original orchestral pieces, often descriptive but in many cases simply three or four minutes of music with an arresting main theme and a contrasting middle section." David Ades suggests that "it is generally agreed that it occupies a position between classical and popular music, yet its boundaries are often blurred". He goes on to cite broadcaster Denis Norden who said that light music
888-471: The genres of lounge music or Exotica , but light music generally does not feature vocals, synthesisers or popular music instruments. It can also sometimes be grouped with the background music and elevator music created for commercial background music players such as the Seeburg 1000 by Seeburg Corporation or Cantata 700 ( 3M ) as well as the works of Muzak Orchestra ( Muzak as a company): back in
925-728: The later part of his life, as well as composing for television, for example Colditz . The light composers' skills of classical orchestration and arrangement were appreciated by composers such as John Williams , with both Angela Morley and Gordon Langford asked to help orchestrate his film scores for Star Wars (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) amongst others. Many orchestras specialising in playing light music were disbanded. Small palm court orchestras, once common in hotels, seaside resorts and theatres were gradually lost in favour of recorded music. The BBC began to discard its archive of light music, much of which
962-412: The main distinction of light music is its emphasis on melody . This is certainly a major feature of the genre, although the creation of distinctive musical textures in scoring is another aim, for example the close harmony of Robert Farnon or Ronald Binge 's "cascading string" effect, which later became associated with the "sustained hum of Mantovani 's reverberated violins". Lyndon Jenkins describes
999-514: The most "rich and mellifluous" of the emerging light music style during the early 1950s. He stated that Mantovani was a leader in the use of new studio technologies to "create sound tapestries with innumerable strings", and that "the sustained hum of Mantovani's reverberated violins produced a sonic vaporizer foreshadowing the synthesizer harmonics of space music ." His style survived through an ever-changing variety of musical styles prompting Variety to call him "the biggest musical phenomenon of
1036-459: The operettas of composers such as Franz von Suppé or Sir Arthur Sullivan ; the Continental salon and parlour music genres; and the waltzes and marches of Johann Strauss II and his family. The Straussian waltz became a common light music composition (note for example Charles Ancliffe 's "Nights of Gladness" or Felix Godin 's "Valse Septembre"). These influenced the foundation of
1073-657: The part of Mantovani. There have also been CDs released under the Mantovani name of recordings made by others while Mantovani was still alive. Following Mantovani's death in 1980, the Mantovani Estate continues to authorise numerous concerts worldwide and recordings using original and newly commissioned arrangements. Italian Brits Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
1110-542: The present day, with Eric Coates's " By the Sleepy Lagoon " being the theme of Desert Island Discs , Arthur Wood 's " Barwick Green " the theme of The Archers and Ronald Binge's " Sailing By " preceding the late-night shipping forecast . During the 1960s, the style began to fall out of fashion on radio and television, forcing many light composers to refocus their energy on writing more serious works or music for film. Robert Farnon completed several symphonies in
1147-399: The style of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker . The genre is often associated with the easy listening orchestral arrangements of Mantovani, Percy Faith and Henry Mancini , although with the exception of Mancini these composers are better known for their arrangements rather than through-composed original compositions. As a result of this association, the music is sometimes linked to
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1184-536: The time World War II broke out, his orchestra was one of the most popular British dance bands , both on BBC radio broadcasts and in live performances. He was also musical director for a large number of musicals and other plays, including Noël Coward 's Pacific 1860 (1946) and Vivian Ellis 's musical setting of J. B. Fagan 's And So to Bed (1951). After the war, he concentrated on recording, and eventually gave up live performance altogether. He worked with arranger and composer Ronald "Ronnie" Binge , who developed
1221-613: The twentieth century". From 1961 to 1971, David McCallum Sr was leader of Mantovani's orchestra. At this time, his son David McCallum Jr was at the height of his fame, prompting Mantovani to introduce his leader to audiences with the quip, "We can afford the father but not the son!" Mantovani is referred to by name in The Kinks song "Prince of the Punks" and Don Black and Andrew Lloyd Webber ’s “Letter Home to England” in Tell Me on
1258-430: Was "not just tuneful round the outside, but tuneful right through." Often, the pieces represent a mood, place, person or object, for example Farnon's "Portrait of a Flirt", Albert Ketèlbey 's In a Monastery Garden or Edward White 's "Runaway Rocking Horse". The genre's other popular title "mood music" is a reference to pieces such as Charles Williams ' A Quiet Stroll , which is written at an andante pace and has
1295-500: Was discontinued in February 2007. In 2007, BBC Four broadcast an evening of light music as part of a themed evening celebrating British culture between 1945 and 1955, which included Brian Kay's documentary Music for Everybody and a televised version of Friday Night is Music Night . In the UK, US and Canada, light music can still be heard on some of the radio channels that specialise in classical music: for example Classic FM in
1332-694: Was produced in England and which aired in the United States in 1959. Thirty-nine episodes were filmed. Mantovani made his last recordings in the mid-1970s. He died at a care home in Royal Tunbridge Wells , Kent . The cascading strings technique developed by Binge became Mantovani's hallmark in such hits arranged by Binge as " Charmaine ". Binge developed this technique to replicate the echo experienced in venues such as cathedrals and he achieved this goal through arranging skill alone. Author Joseph Lanza describes Mantovani's string arrangements as
1369-502: Was saved by composer Ernest Tomlinson and is now kept at his Library of Light Orchestral Music. However, the genre was kept in the public consciousness by its use in advertisements and television programmes, often used as a nostalgic evocation of the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1990s, the genre began to be re-discovered and original remastered recordings by orchestras such as the Queen's Hall Light Orchestra were issued on compact disc for
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