The tradition known in Britain as light music and in North America as easy listening was once everywhere, then went into near-total eclipse and has lately shown signs of a revival. The Guild label has issued valuable compilations, but missing has been in-depth explorations of the music of single composers. This album is devoted to Ronald Binge, for many years an arranger and key forger of Mantovani's elaborate orchestrations, but also a composer of note himself. Indeed, Britons of a certain age will likely remember several ...
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The tradition known in Britain as light music and in North America as easy listening was once everywhere, then went into near-total eclipse and has lately shown signs of a revival. The Guild label has issued valuable compilations, but missing has been in-depth explorations of the music of single composers. This album is devoted to Ronald Binge, for many years an arranger and key forger of Mantovani's elaborate orchestrations, but also a composer of note himself. Indeed, Britons of a certain age will likely remember several pieces here, including the potpourri Elizabethan Serenade, and Sailing By, which is still heard as interstitial music on the BBC 4 radio network. However, this collection also introduces Binge's wide range, including an Alto Saxophone Concerto, which is a fascinating fusion of the light music language and the more formal concerto idea, and some terrifically evocative shorter light music pieces such as Trade Winds. The conductor is Ernest Tomlinson, himself a composer and a specialist...
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