Archive Acquisitions – Cavalcade and Pacific 1860 band parts

We recently received from Jim Johnston in Florida two sets of band parts for arrangements of Coward’s music:  Pacific 1860 Selection arranged by George L. Zalva and Cavalcade Selection arranged by Guy Jones. We hope at some point to give both these wonderful arrangements an airing, but until then, Robert Hazle has been finding out about the arrangers:

George L. Zalva, was the nom de plume of composer and arranger George L. Cruikshank (1895 – 1951), described as “one of England’s foremost arrangers and orchestrators”1.  He pioneered the introduction of concert arrangements of popular music, including the sets we now have in the archive. As well as arrangements for the major broadcasting orchestras of the day, under his own name he notably orchestrated Sir Henry Wood’s “Sea Shanties” (familiar to Last Night Of The Proms audiences) at the composers request. One of his last projects before his death at 56 in October 1951 was to re-score the entire set of Gilbert & Sullivan selections while musical editor to Chappell and Co., Ltd. His obituary, which appeared in The Stage on October 18th 1951 noted another interesting detail: that both his parents had come from famous circus families.

Guy Jones (1874 – 1959) was the brother of Sidney Jones, (composer of The Geisha) was a conductor and composer in his own right. Known for his light musical comedies, ballad songs and orchestral miniatures, an early hit was 1898’s Bilberry of Tilbury at the Criterion Theatre. His most successful production was The Gay Gordon, featuring lyrics by P G Wodehouse and produced by Charles Frohman. It ran for 229 performances in 1907-8 followed by a substantial tour of the provinces. As well as his selection from Coward’s Cavalcade, Jones also completed concert arrangements of Words and Music and Bitter Sweet.

Do you have any stories, photos, books, music, or any other memorabilia you would like to share with us or donate to the Archive? We’d love to hear from you, so please do get in touch with cowardoffice@alanbrodie.com