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British Light Music

Famous for its harmonically unchallenging, smooth and entertaining melodic lines, BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC grew from the indulgent and sentimental music of the 19th Century, from composers such as Arthur Sullivan, to become one of the most popular classical musical styles in Britain during the first half of the 20th Century. British Light Music is often referred to as easy listening and usually instantly recognisable. Whilst the genre may not advocate ground-breaking compositional techniques, it is not always limited to its convivial facade, sometimes parodying more serious classical music through citation of theme and motif.

British Light Music is, for the most part, a form of programme music, with each piece designed to represent a mood, object, place or event. It was this quality, which made it ideal for broadcast throughout the heyday of radio, leading to the introduction of The BBC Light Programme in 1945, and during the advent of television, where British Light Music featured as the introduction to many early programmes. It was, in fact, these two mediums, which facilitated its success.

The genre’s popularity was complemented by its use in film; notably, and amongst many others, in the 1939 version of Goodbye Mr Chips with the soundtrack by Richard Addinsell, and the 1955 World War II classic The Dam Busters, which featured the famous “Dam Busters’ March” by Eric Coates. Although the style has declined since the early 1960s, its use in film has contributed greatly to its longevity.

Famous British Light Music composers include Ernest Tomlinson, Edward German, Haydn Wood, Richard Addinsell and Eric Coates, the last of whom is described as the ‘father’ or ‘king’ of British Light Music.


Album Title Catalogue No.
ADDINSELL, R.: Goodbye Mr. Chips / A Tale of Two Cities (BBC Concert Orchestra, K. Alwyn) 8.223732
ADDINSELL, R.: Goodbye Mr. Chips / A Tale of Two Cities (BBC Concert Orchestra, K. Alwyn) 8.555229
BINGE, R.: Elizabethan Serenade / Scottish Rhapsody / Sailing By (Slovak Radio Symphony, E. Tomlinson) 8.555190
BINGE, R.: Watermill (The) / Scottish Rhapsody (Slovak Radio Symphony, Tomlinson) 8.223515
COATES, E.: London Suite / The Merrymakers / London Again Suite / Cinderella / The Dambusters March (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223445
COATES, E.: London Suite / The Merrymakers / London Again Suite / Cinderella / The Dambusters March (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.555178
COATES, E.: Springtime Suite / Four Ways Suite / Saxo-Rhapsody (K. Edge, Slovak Radio Symphony, A. Penny) 8.555194
COATES, E.: Springtime Suite / Four Ways Suite / Saxo-Rhapsody (K. Edge, Slovak Radio Symphony, A. Penny) 8.223521
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR, S.: Hiawatha Overture / Petite Suite / Gipsy Suite / Othello Suite (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, A. Leaper) 8.555191
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR, S.: Hiawatha Overture / Petite Suite / Gipsy Suite / Othello Suite (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, A. Leaper) 8.223516
CURZON, F.: In Malaga / Robin Hood Suite / Punchinello / Capricante / Galavant / Cascade (Čápová, Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223425
CURZON, F.: In Malaga / Robin Hood Suite / Punchinello / Capricante / Galavant / Cascade (Čápová, Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.555172
DOCKER, R.: Orchestral Works - 3 Contrasts / Scènes de Ballet / Pastiche Variations (W. Davies, D. Presley, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Knight) 8.574322
DOCKER, R.: Orchestral Works - Legend / Tabarinage / Pastiche Variations (W. Davis, D. Presley, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Knight) 8.223837
DUNCAN, T.: Orchestral Works - 20th Century Express / A Little Suite / Children in the Park (Slovak Radio Symphony, A. Penny) 8.555192
DUNCAN, T.: Orchestral Works - 20th Century Express / A Little Suite / Children in the Park (Slovak Radio Symphony, A. Penny) 8.223517
FARNON, R.: Westminster Waltz / Colditz March / State Occasion / A Star in Born (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223401
FARNON, R.: Westminster Waltz / Colditz March / State Occasion / A Star in Born (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.574323
GERMAN, E.: Merrie England Suite / Nell Gwyn: Overture and 3 Dances / Gipsy Suite / Romeo and Juliet (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.555171
GERMAN, E.: Merrie England Suite / Nell Gwyn: Overture and 3 Dances / Gipsy Suite / Romeo and Juliet (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223419
GOODWIN, R.: Drake 400 Suite / 633 Squadron: Theme / Arabian Celebration / New Zealand Suite (New Zealand Symphony, Goodwin) 8.223518
GOODWIN, R.: Drake 400 Suite / 633 Squadron: Theme / Arabian Celebration / New Zealand Suite (New Zealand Symphony, R. Goodwin) 8.555193
HEDGES, A.: 4 Breton Sketches / Cantilena / Scenes from the Humber / Kingston Sketches (RTÉ Sinfonietta, Hedges) 8.223886
HEDGES, A.: Kingston Sketches / 4 Breton Sketches / Cantilena / Heigham Sound / Scenes from the Humber (RTÉ Sinfonietta, Hedges) 8.574324
JOYCE, A.: Caravan Suite / Toto / Dreams of You / A Thousand Kisses / Acushla (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, A. Penny) 8.555218
JOYCE, A.: Toto / Dreams of You / A Thousand Kisses / Caravan Suite / Acushla (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Penny) 8.223694
KETÈLBEY, A.W.: Bells Across the Meadows / In a Monastery Garden / In a Persian Market (Čápová, Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.555175
KETÈLBEY, A.W.: In a Monastery Garden / Chal Romano / Suite Romantique (Slovak Philharmonic Male Chorus, Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223442
LANE, P.: Sleighbell Serenade / Diversions on a Theme of Paganini / Cotswold Dances (Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Sutherland) 8.555880
LANE, P.: Sleighbell Serenade / Prestbury Park Cotswold Dances / Diversions on a Theme of Paganini (Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Sutherland) 8.225185
LYON, D.: Horn Concerto / Fairytale Suite / Farnham Suite / Ballet for Orchestra (M. Thompson, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Lloyd-Jones) 8.225039
MAYERL, B.J.: Aquarium Suite / Four Aces Suite (Andrew Ball, Slovak Radio Symphony, Carpenter) 8.223514
MINIATURES (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Tomlinson) 8.223522
QUILTER, R.: Where the Rainbow Ends / Country Pieces (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223444
REYNOLDS, A.: Alice Through the Looking Glass Suite (Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Sutherland) 8.225184
TOMLINSON, E.: First Suite of English Folk-Dances (Slovak Radio Symphony, Tomlinson) 8.223513
TOMLINSON, E.: Silverthorn Suite / Little Serenade (Slovak Radio Symphony, Tomlinson) 8.223413
TORCH, S.: London Transport Suite / Petit Valse / Barbecue (BBC Concert Orchestra, Wordsworth) 8.223443
WELSH CLASSICAL FAVOURITES (Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Penny) 8.225048
WHITLOCK, P.: Holiday Suite / Music for Orchestra / Wessex Suite (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Sutherland) 8.225162
WOOD, H.: Sketch of a Dandy / London Cameos (Slovak Radio Symphony, Leaper) 8.223402
WORLAND, B.: Tres Señoritas / Shopping Spree (RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Sutherland) 8.225161