Light Music - Style

Style

The 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, for example the close harmony of Robert Farnon or Ronald Binge's "cascading string" effect, which later became associated with the "sustained hum of Mantovani's reverberated violins". Lyndon Jenkins describes the genre as "original orchestral pieces, often descriptive but in many cases simply three or four minutes of music with an arresting main theme and a contrasting middle section."

David Ades suggests that "it is generally agreed that it occupies a position between classical and popular music, yet its boundaries are often blurred". He goes on to cite broadcaster Denis Norden who said that light music was "not just tuneful round the outside, but tuneful right through."

Often, the pieces represent a mood, place, person or object, for example Farnon's "Portrait of a Flirt", Albert Ketèlbey's In a Monastery Garden or Edward White's "Runaway Rocking Horse". 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. Light music pieces are usually presented individually or as movements within a suite, and are often given individual descriptive titles. These titles can sometimes be unusual or idiosyncratic, such as Frederic Curzon's "Dance of the Ostracised Imp".

In keeping with this tradition of levity, pieces can also feature musical jokes at the expense of more "serious" works, such as Eric Fenby's overture Rossini on Ilka Moor or Arthur Wilkinson's Beatlecracker Suite, which arranges songs by The Beatles in the style of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker.

Although the genre was most prevalent in the United Kingdom, the light music tradition exists in many countries, particularly in the United States, which has many popular light pieces by composers such as Leroy Anderson, Ferde Grofé and George Gershwin. These are often associated with the "pops orchestra" tradition (such as the famous Boston Pops Orchestra).

The genre is often associated with the easy listening orchestral arrangements of Mantovani, Percy Faith and Henry Mancini, although with the exception of Mancini these composers are better known for their arrangements rather than through-composed original compositions. As a result of this association, the music is sometimes linked to the lounge music, Exotica or beautiful music genres, although this is misleading, as the genre never features vocals, synthesisers or popular music instruments.