CD REVIEW
– Robert
FARNON
The
Westminster Waltz
Colditz March / State Occasion /
A Star is Born
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra /
Adrian Leaper
Naxos 8574323
[69:58]
'
I imagine that a
majority of readers will already
own this album, which was
originally issued by Marco Polo
in 1992. But if you are new to
the wonderful world of light
music or did not get the CD first
time around, it should not be
missed.
Robert Farnon
(1917-2005) was widely regarded
as one of the foremost living
composers of light orchestral
music for most of the second half
of the 20th century. He was also
dubbed by Frank Sinatra as
"The Guv'nor" in honour
of his impeccable arranging
skills.
An attractive
collection of his works is
contained in the 17 tracks on
this disc. Firstly, there are
three of the jauntily brilliant
pieces for which he is probably
best known: Portrait of a
Flirt, Peanut Polka and Jumping
Bean. Another well-known
work is The Westminster Waltz
from 1956 when it won one of the
three coveted Ivor Novello Awards
for light music compositions he
received. In 1991 a special
"Ivor" for Outstanding
Services to British Music and in
1996 a US Grammy for arranging
were his too.
Farnon wrote
around 40 film scores, the main
theme for the 1949 'Paper Orchid'
becoming Melody Fair and
the signature tune for radio
programmes and 'Contrasts' on TV.
Also written for a very popular
TV series was the rousing The
Colditz March, winning a
third Ivor Novello Award. These
pieces are included here along
with A La Claire Fontaine
and Gateway to the West,
both inspired by Canada the
country of his birth, the gentle How
Beautiful is Night, and A
Star is Born, it too used as
a signature tune on a number of
occasions.
The album is
completed by In the Calm
and Manhattan Playboy
(the second and third of 'Three
Impressions for Orchestra'),
Pictures in the Fire, Little
Miss Molly, Lake in the Woods,
Derby Day and State
Occasion. A small regret
that there would have been room
for something from another of his
highly regarded works, the Captain
Horatio Hornblower RN (Suite).
The Gramophone
reviewer at the time of the
original issue – obviously a
fellow alliteration addict –
describes "Robert Farnon's
enduring, and indeed endearing,
contribution to the world of
light music". And that,
under Adrian Leaper's direction,
the Czech musicians "prove
themselves to be unquestionably
adept and idiomatic
interpreters." I share the
writer's enthusiasm for this
release as a purveyor of
unalloyed listening pleasure.
An afterthought:
it is a cause for lament that
nowadays if you wanted to build a
physical library of Bob's many
recordings, one can only find the
majority of them available
second-hand at high prices.
© Peter
Burt 2022
|
