Light music
Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly
British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which began post-
World War I and had its heyday during the mid-
20th century, although arguably lasts to the present day. The style is also known as
mood music or
concert music.
The genre has its origins in the
seaside orchestras that flourished in Britain during the 19th and early 20th century. These played a wide repetoire 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 a wider audience. Notably, even serious composers such as
Sir Edward Elgar wrote a number of popular works in this medium.
However, it was in the 1930s, with the introduction of radio broadcasting by the
BBC that the style found an ideal outlet, particularly after the
BBC Light Programme was launched in
1945, and featured programmes such as
Friday Night is Music Night and
Music While You Work. The halcyon days of the genre can be said to date from this period until the early 1960s.
The notable light composer,
Ernest Tomlinson has been quoted as saying that 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, as can be seen with
Ronald Binge's "cascading string" effect or the close harmony of
Robert Farnon. Also, the pieces are usually written to represent a mood or object, for example Farnon's
Portrait of a Flirt, and often feature musical jokes at the expense of more "serious" works. 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 a jaunty, cheery feel. Music is often written as individual pieces, or as part of a suite and are usually given individual descriptive titles.
The music is often linked to the
easy listening and
library music genres, as in the 1950s and 60s many light composers wrote royalty-free music for use in film and television, for example
Trevor Duncan's
March from a Little Suite being used as the theme to
Dr. Finlay's Casebook in the 1960s.
During the 1960s, the style began to fall out of fashion on radio and television, forcing many light composers to re-focus their energy on writing more serious works or music for film. Also, many orchestras specialising in playing light music were disbanded. The BBC began to discard its archive of light music, much which was fortunately saved by composer
Ernest Tomlinson, and is now kept at his
Library of Light Orchestral Music. However, the genre was kept in the public conscience by its use in advertisements and television programmes, perhaps as a nostalgic reference to the past.
During the 1990s, the genre began to be re-discovered, and original remastered recordings were issued on
compact disc. 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. The style also found a new home on
BBC Radio 3 on
Brian Kay's Light Programme.
*
Ronald Binge*
Eric Coates*
Frederic Curzon*
Trevor Duncan*
Robert Farnon*
Angela Morley*
Ernest Tomlinson*
Sidney Torch*
Charles Williams*
Haydn WoodFor a more expansive list, see
Category:Light Music ComposersAlthough the genre was most prevalent in the
United Kingdom, light music exists in many countries, particularly in
America, which has many popular light pieces by composers such as
Leroy Anderson and
George Gershwin. It can also be argued that many famous works of classical composers class as being similar to light music, for example
Mozart's
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
*
Brian Kay's Light Programme website*
The Robert Farnon Society*
Scarborough Spa Orchestra*Lyndon Jenkin's CD notes to "British Light Music" (EMI)
*Brian Kay: "Music Everywhere" (2005 BBC Television programme)
