the music

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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Joseph 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 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 a "lighter" tradition of classical music in the 19th and early 20th centuries...from the likes of Binge and Coates to Farnon.

GUILD LIGHT MUSIC...recordings



Guild Light Music is a world-wide label, restoring the cream of the vast light music repertoire of yesteryear with original recordings by the composers or by artists associated with them. The originals have been outstandingly transferred, enhancing their unique qualities to ensure this music is fast reaching today's new audiences.

 CLICK on the album cover, above right, to see the complete catalog of available recordings in the GUILD LIGHT MUSIC collection...from Amazon.com

VIDEO: Canadian-born Robert Farnon (1917-2005) was one of the finest light music composer / arrangers of the post-war years in England. From a recent Guild CD, splendidly played and recorded in 1948, he conducts the Queens Hall Light Orchestra in his own composition "Grandstand." (Guild GLCD 5220.)

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