To the unsuspecting, Immortal Serenades may appear to be a classical album of celebrated songs or famous selections from operas, but it really falls in the categories of light classics and easy listening, and should be judged accordingly. The prolific arranger
Frank Chacksfield recorded these lush numbers with his orchestra in 1959, and the original Vocalion release on LP was in amazingly clear stereo, which is immediately apparent in this brilliantly remastered release by
Michael J. Dutton. The rich string sound that was ubiquitous in popular instrumental music of the 1950s comes through as luscious as ever in these arrangements, and
Chacksfield complemented it with rounded sonorities from his woodwind and brass sections, and additional pretty textures from the glockenspiel, mandolin, and harp. The most familiar themes, such as
Mozart's "Deh vieni alla finestra" from Don Giovanni, the Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann by
Offenbach, the Ständchen from Schwanengesang by
Schubert, and the "Love Theme" from
Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, are served up with gushing sound and grandiose emotionalism that the original composers would have found foreign, but which sounded appropriate to commercial arrangers and casual listeners of the time.
Chacksfield's versions are not for purists, and this album will mostly appeal to nostalgic fans of mid-twentieth century pop instrumentals and collectors of Dutton's extraordinary reissues.