Fand IncWessex Press

April brings a fascinating pair of new releases from Fand:

Bath arr. Mitchell: Out of the Blue

Hubert Bath was a composer of light music, writing works for the stage, silver screen and brass band. As a film composer he penned music to what is usually believed to be the first British talkie film: Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail in 1929. From that year on, he continued composing music for many films, writing for over thirty features up to 1944’s Love Story in the year before his death.

Today his best known work, at least from sheer exposure, is his march Out of the Blue, as it has been used continuously as the theme music for BBC Radio’s Sports Report programme since its inception in 1948.

Bath’s own piano solo arrangement of the piece contains a few awkward corners, and was not able to include some of the counter-melody material. This is what prompted John Mitchell to adapt the piece into piano duet format, so as to include more detail and hopefully make it more playable and easier to articulate.

Thompson: Symphonietta Doppio

Peter Thompson’s latest publication is for full orchestra and was completed in March 1999. It is scored for double woodwind (plus third flute/piccolo), brass, percussion (including piano) and strings.

Symphonietta Doppio consists of a single movement of contrasting material and two, basically opposite, tempi. This is where the ‘doppio’ in the title comes from: one tempo is ‘double’ the other.

There is thus a certain formal conflict.

Otherwise the music has the ambience of an overture and would be well placed to open a concert of symphonic music.