Twilight Serenade, Vol. 9

American audiences seem to have a special affection for the open-air concerts of the “Music Under The Stars” variety. The stars are not yet apparent at the opening of the concerts which usually start during the last hour of daylight. Then stars gradually emerge from the half-light, half-dark twilight sky. Muted scenic colors begin to blend with the sound of the orchestra as the kaleidoscopic flow of the celestial scene vies with the changing hues of the music for greatest dramatic effect. And, as soft breezes carry the transient tones to their ears, audiences from the Hollywood Bowl to Tanglewood, from New York’s Lewisohn Stadium to the Red Rocks of Colorado relax and enjoy a ‘Twilight Serenade.’ Nathaniel Shilkret has assembled an impressive array of virtuosos into the Symphonic “Pops.” The restful, tingling Spanish novelty, Feliz Cumpleaños, opens the program, with a bit of frivolity from south of the border. The title song, Twilight Serenade, follows. It is a fanciful, dream-charged mood piece which highlights Jimmy Abato’s virtuoso saxophone. Composer Niel Hallett supplies the last three tunes on Side A, and each is different in theme and treatment. The Comic is a joyful and sentimental novelty in the old vaudeville style. My Tears Are Blue is a lilting and sentimental reflection in 3/4 time. Once Upon A Time returns to childhood with a carefree musical fantasia that proves that, in music, imagination has no bounds. Side B opens with a lusty curtain raiser: The delightful Overture from Jacques Offenbach’s operetta, ‘La Jolie Parfumeuse. ‘ In Benjamin Godard’s miniature piano concerto, Introduction And Allegro, which follows, Sherman Frank contributes some impressive piano passages in the best romantic style. Then, for a bit of musical effervescence, lush and sensuous, the heady scent of Perfume floats like a delicate dream from the strings. The album then ends in the mood with which it began, with Oh Marieta, a flashy, catchy and titillating number which pulsates with the color and excitement of its Latin origins. From a Spanish birthday greeting to a French piano concerto, the light, yet warm Shilkret touch always predominates.