The Band
Wagon (Fred Astaire, Cyd
Charisse) (1953)
Saturday 31st October, 2.30 pm
BBC2, repeated Thursday 5th
November, 8 pm BBC4
Music by Arthur Schwartz, lyrics
by Howard Dietz
The above films
might only stay on iPlayer for 30
days after transmission.
However.......
More can
be found on BBC iPlayer: -
A number of
classic movie musicals are still
available on BBC iPlayer to perk
up viewers as venues remain shut
and large-scale live performances
remain impossible.
The films come
predominantly from the Golden Age
of Hollywood
Top Hat
(1935)
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
are the go-to for musical movies
and Top Hat, featuring music and
lyrics by Irving Berlin, may be
one of their finest. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074r4k/top-hat
Carefree
(1938)
The perfect pairing of Astaire
and Rogers continues with this
comedy, which also features the
work of Berlin. The film
controversially (at the time)
featured a "long on-screen
kiss", which shocked
audiences in their droves. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078lxg/carefree
The Gay
Divorcee (1934)
Based on Dwight Taylor's 1932
musical of the same name (but
controversially leaving out a lot
of Cole Porter's original tunes)
this was another of the ten
movies Astaire and Rogers did
together. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074r43/the-gay-divorce
Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra - A new
piece of British Light Music
On 30 September,
in their first Spotlight Series
concert, musicians from the RPO
brass and percussion sections
performed Jim Parker's 'A
Londoner in New York' to a
socially distanced audience at
Cadogan Hall.
Experience the
hustle and bustle of the Big
Apple through this live recording
in association with ILC Music
Degrees (West Suffolk College)
and enjoy an extract from a
conversation with Jim Parker and
trombonist Matthew Knight as the
introduction. You can listen to
the full interview with the
composer here.
Find out more
about the Spotlight Series of
concerts here.
September 2020
BBC
Instrumental Sessions
As part of the BBC
Instrumental Sessions, the
bassoons of the BBC orchestras
perform Eric Coates’s
Calling All Workers, arranged by
Steve Magee.
More information
about these sessions can be found
HERE
August 2020
Did you
hear Brian Reynolds on Serenade
Radio?
CALLING
ALL WORKERS
Remember 'Music
While You Work' on the BBC? The
programme began 80 years ago this
year.
Announced in the
Radio Times as a “half
hour’s music meant specially
for factory workers to listen to
as they work”, it soon
proved a favourite with all
listeners, as its familiar
signature tune by Eric Coates
rang out.
On August Bank
Holiday Monday, Serenade's Brian
Savin traced the programme's
fascinating history along with
Brian Reynolds.
You can
listen to the programme again via
our Streaming Audio page HERE
August 2020
'Lockdown'
videos from The Aspidistra
Drawing Room Orchestra
'Heather on the
Pampas' by Sydney del Monte,
arranged by Anastasia Arnold
La Morenita by
Mátyás Seiber arranged by Roy
Bell
The Donkey
Serenade by Rudolf Friml arranged
by Adam Bakker
August 2020
Light
music featured as background
music for TV shows
You might like to
know that light music is often
used as background music in the
BBC TV programme 'Antiques
Road Trip'.
A recent episode
in the series was particularly
productive with the following
items spread over two programmes:
On a Spring
Note
Coronation Scot
Runaway Rocking Horse also Swedish Rhapsody,Tick
Tock Tango and Fun Fair
(these three items were played by
Ray Martin and his Orchestra, the
latter two being adjacent items
on a CD.
Not all of the
programmes feature as many items
of light music as the example
above but there is quite often
something to delight us. Also 'Car
SOS' uses light music in
some episodes.
If you feel so
inclined you might still be able
to view these programmes on
'catch-up' TV.
09/10/2020
DELIBES : BALLET SUITES
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
/ Neeme Järvi
05/10/2020
RESPIGHI
Riccardo Chailly- Filarmonica
Della Scala
29/09/2020
THE NDO PROJECT – a short
history and a review of its
latest CD release , 'Autumn
Leaves'
29/09/2020
THE MAGIC OF MANTOVANI
The Original Recordings with
Joseph Calleja
19/09/2020
GREAT CLASSIC FILM MUSIC
Volume II
Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra
Iain Sutherland
19/09/2020
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
AIRLINES
Emmanuel Pahud flute
Orchestre National de France /
Desplat
11/09/2020
ANDRÉ PREVIN / DAVID ROSE
LIKE YOUNG & LIKE BLUE
07/09/2020
ERIC COATES: ORCHESTRAL WORKS
VOL. 2 BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra / John
Wilson
The London
Light Music Meetings Group was
formed in 2014 to continue to hold the
meetings which were formerly organised by
the Robert Farnon Society.
Each of these takes the
form of a Sunday afternoon event during
which recorded musical items are
presented and discussed; they are held in
May and October of each year.
The range of music genres
is broadly as before embracing Light
Orchestral, Film, TV and Theatre -
related, Big Band and similar material.
The previous successful
format is retained with a central
feature/guest speaker and includes live
performances from time to time.
We
have now expanded this website to include
news items, details of other musical
events, CD and book reviews, and
obituaries.
We
welcome contributions in respect of any
of the above, also comments and articles.
