Thank you for bringing this to-me-New Discovery to light, AOW. Yet-another lovely part of the late-nineteenth, early-twentieth century British tradition of capturing the serenity and contentment of bucolic life in the British Isles in Sound, Imagery and Poetry.
A way of PRESERVING the Loveliness and Innocence that existed just before the devastating horrors of perverse ideologies, the grim advances in destructive technology, and the depredations of worldwide war marred and blighted our worldview forever.
It's often said that "Laughter is the Best Medicine." That may be true for many, but for me BEAUTY has always acted as the Thing that Makes Life Worthwhile.
At any rate, the two may be running neck-and-neck for the Top Spot, and neither may ever win conclusively, because The Race, which is really Life, itself, is constnat. It's never over.
So, to me Beauty is the more signifiant of the two, But it's very imporant that we do our best to understand what BEAUTY really is in all her infinite manifestations.
That's a subject that could provide agreeable occupation for a lifetime.
Ronald Binge (15 July 1910 – 6 September 1979) was a British composer and arranger of light music. He arranged many of Mantovani's most famous pieces before composing his own music, which included Elizabethan Serenade and Sailing By. ...
Binge was born in a working-class neighbourhood in Derby in the English Midlands. In his childhood he was a chorister at Saint Andrews Church (Church of England), London Road, Derby – 'the railwaymen's church' (demolished 1970). Binge was educated at the Derby School of Music, where he studied the organ. Early in his career he was a cinema organist, and later started working in summer orchestras in British seaside resorts (including Blackpool and Great Yarmouth), for which he learned to play the accordion. Binge's skill as a cinema organist was put to good use, and he played the organ in Mantovani's first band, the Tipica Orchestra. During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Air Force, during which time he was much in demand organising camp entertainment.
After the war, Mantovani offered Binge the job of arranging and composing for his new orchestra. In 1951, his arrangement of "Charmaine" gave him and Mantovani worldwide success and recognition. However, he later tired of writing arrangements and turned to composing original works and film scores. He died in Ringwood, Hampshire, of liver cancer in 1979 aged 69.
In early 2013, Derby City Council and Derby Civic Society announced they would put a blue plaque on one of his two early homes in Derby (83 Darby Street, Normanton, or 29 Wiltshire Road, Chaddesden).
Binge was interested in the techniques of composition and was most famous as the inventor of the "cascading strings" effect that is the signature sound of the Mantovani orchestra, much used in their arrangements of popular music. It was originally created to capture the essence of the echo properties of a building such as a cathedral, although it later became particularly associated with easy-listening music.
Binge's best-known composition is probably Elizabethan Serenade (1951), which was used by the BBC as the theme for the popular 1950s series, "Music Tapestry," and as the play-out for the British Forces Network radio station. In 1957 he won an Ivor Novello Award for Elizabethan Serenade. A vocal version was made later called "Where the Gentle Avon Flows", with lyrics by the poet Christopher Hassall. ... Binge is also known for Sailing By (1963), which still introduces the late-night Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4. ... His largest, longest, and most ambitious work is the four-movement Symphony in C ("Saturday Symphony"), which was written during his retirement between 1966 and 1968. It was performed in both Britain and Germany. ...
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Beautiful... interesting that he was an arranger for Mantovani . Enjoyed the art work and took it to full screen. Thank you,
ReplyDeleteBunkerville,
DeleteIt is indeed a peaceful little peace. And the art work included in the video adds to that peace.
Thank you for bringing this to-me-New Discovery to light, AOW. Yet-another lovely part of the late-nineteenth, early-twentieth century British tradition of capturing the serenity and contentment of bucolic life in the British Isles in Sound, Imagery and Poetry.
ReplyDeleteA way of PRESERVING the Loveliness and Innocence that existed just before the devastating horrors of perverse ideologies, the grim advances in destructive technology, and the depredations of worldwide war marred and blighted our worldview forever.
Thank God for High Art!
Franco,
DeleteGlad that you enjoyed this video! This piece of music was a stranger to me, but the art work was familiar.
It's often said that "Laughter is the Best Medicine." That may be true for many, but for me BEAUTY has always acted as the Thing that Makes Life Worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, the two may be running neck-and-neck for the Top Spot, and neither may ever win conclusively, because The Race, which is really Life, itself, is constnat. It's never over.
So, to me Beauty is the more signifiant of the two, But it's very imporant that we do our best to understand what BEAUTY really is in all her infinite manifestations.
That's a subject that could provide agreeable occupation for a lifetime.
WIKI on BINGE (edited and truncated by Franco):
ReplyDeleteRonald Binge (15 July 1910 – 6 September 1979) was a British composer and arranger of light music. He arranged many of Mantovani's most famous pieces before composing his own music, which included Elizabethan Serenade and Sailing By. ...
Binge was born in a working-class neighbourhood in Derby in the English Midlands. In his childhood he was a chorister at Saint Andrews Church (Church of England), London Road, Derby – 'the railwaymen's church' (demolished 1970). Binge was educated at the Derby School of Music, where he studied the organ. Early in his career he was a cinema organist, and later started working in summer orchestras in British seaside resorts (including Blackpool and Great Yarmouth), for which he learned to play the accordion. Binge's skill as a cinema organist was put to good use, and he played the organ in Mantovani's first band, the Tipica Orchestra. During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Air Force, during which time he was much in demand organising camp entertainment.
After the war, Mantovani offered Binge the job of arranging and composing for his new orchestra. In 1951, his arrangement of "Charmaine" gave him and Mantovani worldwide success and recognition. However, he later tired of writing arrangements and turned to composing original works and film scores. He died in Ringwood, Hampshire, of liver cancer in 1979 aged 69.
In early 2013, Derby City Council and Derby Civic Society announced they would put a blue plaque on one of his two early homes in Derby (83 Darby Street, Normanton, or 29 Wiltshire Road, Chaddesden).
Binge was interested in the techniques of composition and was most famous as the inventor of the "cascading strings" effect that is the signature sound of the Mantovani orchestra, much used in their arrangements of popular music. It was originally created to capture the essence of the echo properties of a building such as a cathedral, although it later became particularly associated with easy-listening music.
Binge's best-known composition is probably Elizabethan Serenade (1951), which was used by the BBC as the theme for the popular 1950s series, "Music Tapestry," and as the play-out for the British Forces Network radio station. In 1957 he won an Ivor Novello Award for Elizabethan Serenade. A vocal version was made later called "Where the Gentle Avon Flows", with lyrics by the poet Christopher Hassall. ... Binge is also known for Sailing By (1963), which still introduces the late-night Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4. ... His largest, longest, and most ambitious work is the four-movement Symphony in C ("Saturday Symphony"), which was written during his retirement between 1966 and 1968. It was performed in both Britain and Germany. ...
Well that was soothing and pastoral.
ReplyDeleteYES, but also deeply NOSTALGIC!
Delete