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Brazil is many things—most of them spectacular. It is large enough to hold continental United States, with room for another Texas. It possesses the world’s largest river, the Amazon. It has two great waterfalls higher than Niagra. To many widely traveled tourists, Rio de Janeiro, until 1960 Brazil’s capital for nearly two hundred years, is “the world’s most beautiful city.” And there is Brazil’s spectacular music—rhythmic, brilliant, torrid!

As in his previous collections of south of the border music, notably Mucho Gusto!, Jealousy, Malaguena and Viva!, Percy Faith has polished these numbers to a dazzling sheen, giving them his famous, inimitable “Percy Faith” —sumptuous arrangements, brilliantly played.

In his newest album, The Music of Brazil, this is particularly evident, for the excitingly percussive rhythms of the selections are as infectious as their melodies. The vivid exhilaration of Rio’s famous carnival time flashes out of each of these Faith selections to present a musical fiesta. From the torrid Brazil through the kaleidoscopic shadings of Ba-Tu-Ca-Da, from the sultry Baia to the catchy Minute Samba, Percy’s collection of Brazilian rhythms offers an invigorating glimpse of one of the most exciting countries in the world!

Once the screenplay of the motion picture “The Oscar” was completed and the principal parts cast, we had to choose a composer to do the score.

We cast him as carefully as we had cast any of the stars, since we wanted someone who could give us the excitement of Oscar night—that “going out for a good time” sound. We wanted someone who combined a strong cinematic instinct with the gift of devising a powerful melodic line. Even though “The Oscar” has many highly dramatic scenes, it is a fast-paced motion picture, and it needed a composer who could give us a tempo—a pace. We decided that Percy Faith would be the exact man for the job.

A musical score should be an integral part of the story. It must blend with the character delineation, with the action, and it must emphasize dramatic impact without being intrusive. However, in the case of “The Oscar,” we provided the composer with an added zinger. We made Faith’s job doubly difficult because we wanted the kind of drive and fast pacing that would be appropriate to the film, yet one that would always emphasize melody. Though “The Oscar” is a dramatic story, it is primarily entertainment, and we needed strong, but listenable, music.

Percy Faith has provided this . . . and more. In our opinion, for a dramatic score, he has created for “The Oscar” some of the most entertaining music we have heard in any motion picture in years.

SIDE ONE

Main Title: Academy Award night—they don’t make nights much bigger than this one. Millions of people who have viewed Oscar night on television are acquainted with the sound of it. The crowds. The lights. The liveried limousines. The anticipation of entertainment history in the making. The electric sensation of glamor vying with glamor for center state. Percy Faith had to capture all that. And he did.

Laurel’s Dance: In this scene, we meet the provocative Laurel (Jill St. John) for the first time. Faith had to provide an immediate characterization, while, at the same time, establishing the scene. The earthy, poor days. The smokers. The tank towns. The dives. The music of the striptease as Laurel climbs the stage of any bawdy gin-mill that can ante up the price for a display of her “talents.” And the going rate isn’t very high. The music had to say just that. It had to be good. Listen to it!

Kay and Frankie Dance: This is an orchestral arrangement of the film’s love theme. In this scene, the lover’s dance without speaking a single word. Frankie (Stephen Boyd) hasn’t seen Kay (Elke Sommer) for several years. Suddenly she appears. Only the music speaks. A delicate, even fragile musical treatment is given this episode, but still the actors dominate the scene. Not an easy trick, but Percy pulled it off.

Cheryl: This was one of the most difficult of the musical subjects for Faith to capture. Here again it was the introduction of a new character—this time Cheryl Barker, played by newcomer Jean Hale. We think Percy has succeeded in nailing Cheryl’s character with something new and certainly different. His music has given this scene added dimension and has delivered the characterization just as we needed it. We think that this is one of the most clever moments in this, or, for that matter, any other of our film scores. Instead of Mickey-Mousing (a trap into which many composers might have fallen), Percy has turned out as deft a piece of characterization as we have ever heard.

Mexican Hoedown: Here, too, Percy had to pull us, all at once, into a new mood. He succeeded owing to his unique melodic drive.

SIDE TWO

Tony Bennett Sings: It was a good day for us when we came up with the idea of casting Tony Bennett for the dramatic part of Hymie Kelly. The combination of Percy Faith and Tony Bennett is well known. It was Faith who arranged and conducted three Bennett million-selling records.

Posh Party: In this scene, Percy was again faced with writing music meant to serve a double purpose. The setting is a big party at a producer’s home (Joseph Cotton). It’s a black-tie, glamor-laden affair. It’s also a key scene in which an important part of the store it told in dialogue, underscored in counterpoint, playing the contrast of the gala affair against the drama of the dialogue. Percy came up with a bossa nova that fits perfectly.

The Glass Mountain: This is the central character’s theme. He is a man who does evil but doesn’t know that it is evil. He can stir a beautiful, desirable, highly moral woman to love. He is terribly complex, yet Percy has captured this man, Frankie Fane, with a melody that supplies all the shadings. Musically speaking, the audience will know Frankie—who he is; what he is.

We most respectfully submit to you this Percy Faith album taken from the sound track of the film “The Oscar.”

We think it’s new. We think it’s fresh. We think it’s contemporary.

CLARENCE GREEN - Producer
RUSSELL ROUSE - Director

Percy Faith once described his desire to arrange music as “being in a constant state of pregnancy.” Known primarily for his arrangements of other writer’s compositions, he was troubled by the characterization of his work as merely “arranging,” as his arrangements were more accurately “recompositions.” Percy Faith was born in 1908 to parents who encouraged his study of music. Although the smell of rosin made him ill, he was encouraged to play the violin and later moved to piano. In a twist of fate, Percy’s little sister set her clothes on fire, and Percy burned his hands putting out the flames; while this temporarily left him unable to play, he was encouraged to continue the study of music, and to establish a firm classical background in music theory and composition. Mr. Faith was able to share with us his gift of arranging popular music for orchestra, through a long recording career with Columbia Records beginning in 1950. Prior to that he enjoyed an extensive career “on the air” in Canada. Mr. Faith brought a high level of orchestral sophistication to the radio. His opulent string sound provided not only a showcase for his own stylings, it provided an ideal background for his vocal guests and hosts. Many of the selections heard on this treasury were initially written (arranged!) by Faith during his radio days, then “updated” (minor changes, mostly in tempo and orchestration) for the “LP” days. He died in 1976, with several years remaining in his recording contract, a tribute to his lasting talents.

Faith is considered a “giant” among the conductors of the “mood music” era. His technique was unique and immediately identifiable. Through a great deal of classical/traditional training, he approached a new song stripped to a one-note melody, then added his own unique countermelodies and rich harmonizations which were then orchestrated in the unique Faith style with emphasis on strings. There is a great deal of horizontal writing in any Faith arrangement, owing to his extensive studies in classical work; his approach to arranging popular music was that of scoring for string quartet. Several selections in this collection represent what many consider the essence of Faith’s writing for strings only. Bouquet, Tenderly, Laura, Beyond the Sea, Autumn Leaves, Speak Low, Deep Purple, Ebb Tide, I Only Have Eyes For You, Music Until Midnight, and I Concentrate On You are textbook examples of the rich sound Faith achieved with a 45 piece orchestra featuring string players only. The Faith “sound” is achieved without gimmickry, and perhaps the best tribute to the perfection achieved is that you can listen to a Faith arrangement repeatedly – there is little fatigue to be had listening to perfectionist work, especially so when the arrangements carry countermelodies of incredible beauty. His arrangements are very true to the original composition, distortion of the melody and frequent tempo changes were not his style; and because of his careful phrasing of each song, his albums were heralded as great instrumental listening with songs divorced from their lyrics because “the orchestra sang the words.”

The first half of Percy’s career was as a famous on-the-air arranger/conductor in Canada where the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation carried such rpograms as Streamline and Music by Faith. Percy rarely spoke on the radio; rather, he let his music speak for him. This background in radio is, perhaps, part of the reason that a Faith arrangement is so rich – he had years of experience dazzling audiences with his exciting orchestral sound in the radio days “on the air” before his recording career.

Represented here are several lush tracks with a definite emphasis on strings. Also we hear Percy’s arrangement of Max Steiner’s Theme From A Summer Place, that won Mr. Faith not only a gold record, it earned him a Grammy and a chart topper status as well (the song never left the charts in 1960). We also hear an instrumental version of another Faith gold record, The Song from Moulin Rouge: due to his successful popular adaptation of the much longer original song. Several other songs, from various periods of popular music history, are represented here with the Faith orchestra, such as Kisses Sweeter Than Wine and Scarborough Fair/Canticle.

Percy Faith’s album of instrumental versions of popular music from Broadway and Hollywood were proof of Percy’s theory that the public would enjoy repeated hearings of show-and-movie tunes divorced from the lyrics; we hear proof of his ideas in Bali Ha’I, I Could Have Danced All Night, Moon River, and Do I Hear A Waltz? From “Kismet” we hear Percy’s renditions of And This Is My Beloved, Stranger In Paradise, and Baubles, Bangles and Beads.

Percy was a Canadian with a definite appreciation for Latin-influenced tunes – Malaguena, Besame Mucho and Delicado offer a glimpse of the excitement that Percy found in this music. We also hear some sparkling arrangements from an album that featured his stirng section and non-tuned percussion – My Shawl and I Get A Kick Out Of You. With strings, woodwinds, vocalize (the wordless female chorus dubbed “The Percy Faith Magic Voices” in earlier years), we hear some rich examples of an album from 1963 that featured especially rich versions of Moon Over Miami, Stars Fell on Alabama, and Carolina Moon.

The essence of twenty-five years of recording, augmented by classical training and arranging for radio all the way back to 1928, can be heard in each arrangement. The quality of Percy Faith’s orchestral work is something we won’t forget and something that we can always enjoy through the magic of the compact disc. We most respectfully present the Percy Faith Treasury and know that you will enjoy many fine hours of listening.

Bill Halvorsen

Any musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein is an exciting theatrical event. THE SOUND OF MUSIC unites the famous team in one of their scores, one overflowing with an abundance of musical ideas of every kind, and full of melodic twists that only Richard Rodgers can bring. This instrumental setting of the score, splendidly played by Percy Faith and his orchestra, omits the sensitive lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, but so faithfully and imaginatively is the music presented that one can almost hear the words. (The original Broadway cast may be heard in Columbia’s recording on KOL 5450 or Stereo KOS 2020).

In this presentation, Percy Faith, already famous for his programs of music from “My Fair Lady,” “Kismet,” and other beautiful scores, has selected some of the highlights from THE SOUND OF MUSIC—the ballads, the cheerful tunes with overtones of Austrian themes, and all the rest—and brought them together in a delightful orchestral setting of one of Broadway’s biggest hits.

Percy opens the album with the title song describing the impressions of Maria, a young postulant at the Nonnberg Abbey, as she rejoices in the beauties of nature and its music. This is followed by Maria, a sprightly tune sung by the Mother Abbess and her assistants as they wonder how to bring Maria into line with the religious life, and My Favorite Things is sung by Maria and the Mother Abbess as they remember a song both had known in childhood.

The delightful Do Re Mi is a song sung by Maria to the children of Captain von Trapp, since the poor children have never learned to sing. (She has been sent to them by the Mother Abbess to become their governess.) No Way To Stop It is concerned with conformity—the world keeps spinning and there’s no way to stop it. It is sung by the Captain, his fiancée, and a friend. Climb Ev’ry Mountain, which closes the first act of the production, is sung by the Mother Abbess to Maria, as she tells her to reach out for the good things of life.

So Long, Farewell is a tune the Trapp children learn to sing as they go off to bed. An Ordinary Couple represents the deep affection that springs up between Maria and Captain von Trapp; at the behest of the Mother Abbess, Maria leaves the Abbey and marries the Captain. The Lonely Goatherd is sung by Maria to entertain the children when they are frightened by a thunderstorm, and Sixteen Going on Seventeen is the charming song sung by the oldest Trapp daughter and her young village suitor. How Can Love Survive has an ironic twist; the question is posed as to how the Captain and his fiancée can possibly be happy, since they are both wealthy and have no problems to beset them. And finally, The Sound of Music is heard again, as it is woven throughout the production.

Percy Faith was born in Canada in 1909 and became famous as an arranger, composer and orchestra leader with Columbia Records. In his years with Columbia Records he accompanied a stable of pop artists: Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis and Rosemary Clooney to name just a few. His biggest hits in Australia were “Swedish Rhapsody,” “Delicado,” “Song from Moulin Rouge” and “Theme From A Summer Place.”

Percy Faith was a regular visitor to Australia and appeared at Coronets Records’ Sales Conventions and also conducted at the Horden Pavilion in Sydney. This album features 28 great tracks highlighting the genius of this brilliant arranger and conductor. Many of the tracks have not been released since their original debut on 78s and Lps. One such track always in demand is “Bubbling Over.” Sony Music hopes you enjoy this feat of vintage Percy Faith. It is our tribute to one of the world’s most popular and respected musicians.

Percy Faith died on the ninth of February 1976. He was 67 years of age. Thankfully, with this vintage album the genius of Percy Faith will live on well into the next century.

Sony Music Australia – 1994

Percy Faith and his orchestraBorn April 7, 1908 in Toronto, Canada, Percy’s mother discovered his affinity for music and enrolled him in a series of violin lessons at age 8. Finding this tedious and embarrassing, (his friends made fun of him), he transferred his attentions to an upright piano owned by an aunt, and eventually his parents bought a 2nd hand piano for Percy to take lessons and practice on. And practice he did! By age 11 he had his first job accompanying silent films at the Iola Theater earning $3.00 a week plus carfare.

Percy’s career as a concert pianist progressed quite rapidly. At age 18, he suffered severe burns to his hands and was bandaged for six months. Frank Wellsman his professor at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, urged Percy to study Theory & Harmony during his long recuperation, fearing that Percy might forsake his music. So began Faith’s penchant for the full sound of an orchestra, and while his career as a concert pianist flourished, he could not erase these rich orchestrations from his mind.

By 1928, silent films were nearing their end and Percy started playing in dance bands. In 1931 his studies came to fruition when he wrote his arrangement, “Body and Soul” for Toronto’s leading Orchestra, and in 1932 made his debut conducting performance.

He joined CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) in 1934, and in ensuing years had several major radio shows including “Streamline” and “Music By Faith,” the latter of which received many accolades in Canada and the US.

In 1940 Joseph Pasternak, famed conductor of Chicago’s Carnation Orchestra died suddenly and Faith was asked to guest conduct for three performances. He was subsequently signed as the permanent Director.

Percy’s first recordings were for Decca in 1944. These were Latin numbers of which fans constantly asked “where does a Jewish boy from Toronto come up with such an affinity for Latin music?”

In 1944, another big break occurred while continuing the Carnation Show. In the summer, Percy commuted to New York on Sundays to replace Andre Kostelanetz on the Coca Cola “Pause The Refreshes” show. In 1945 the Carnation Show brought Faith to New York, and two years later, he signed a four year contract with Coca Cola. This ended his seven year stint on the Carnation Show and began his prestigious position on the “Pause That Refreshes” show. In the same year, Faith recorded one album for the Majestic label.

Percy continued to garner accolades when in 1949 the US Steel Summer Concerts landed him with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and he signed a one year contract with RCA Records.

Nick PeritoIn 1950 he signed a contract with Columbia Records, later known as CBS Records, where he remained as a contract artist until his death in February, 1976. Part of his agreement with Columbia was to arrange and conduct for some of the “new young singers” on the label like Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Jerry Vale, Rosemary Clooney and Sara Vaughan, just to name a few.

Percy enjoyed 25 successful years on the Columbia label with hits like “Moulin Rouge,” “Delicado,” and “Summer Place.” Among his many contributions to music, Faith also did the film score for “The Oscar” and “Love Me Or Leave Me.” The latter landed him an Oscar Nomination in 1955. He also composed the theme for the TV show “The Virginian” and scored the first three episodes. Faith continued to enjoy performing live at concerts in his native Canada, as well as the US, Australia, South America, and several tours in Japan.

Percy Faith’s indelible style has marked the ears of the world with his rich orchestral sounds, the sounds that haunted him from his early childhood, and those timeless sounds are now available for the first time in an all digital recording, of all original arrangements by the Percy Faith Orchestra.

Percy FaithTHEMES FOR YOUNG LOVERS presents a big orchestra with a young sound for young people! These are the songs that young America is listening to today. Conductor-arranger Percy Faith leads them in an album filled with youthful exuberance and a sense of adventure.

In a swirling interplay of musical ideas, Percy’s large string sections, myriads of wind instruments and horns bring vividly to life a dozen of the best of the new hit songs. I Will Follow You, Rhythm of the Rain, Go Away Little Girl, Can’t Get Used to Losing You and a notable Faith original, Theme for Young Lovers, brilliantly reflect the exciting tastes of young moderns.

Percy’s creative originality has never been bolder or more gratifying. His harmonies and counterpoints are aimed at the ears—and the hearts—of a musically discriminating and discerning generation. As only he can, Percy Faith makes all the songs THEMES FOR YOUNG LOVERS.

One of the high spots in the business of producing records occurs when two artists meet musically for the first time. At Columbia, I’ve been a fortunate witness to many such moments—including these memorable performances by Percy Faith and Eileen Farrell. The combination of these two is magic arithmetic—the whole is equal to more than the sum of its parts.

Percy’s arrangements have often flattered great singers, but none has been greater than Eileen Farrell. She warms a dozen ballads about the joy and sadness of love as only the best singer of torch songs can. Listening, you hear how much Eileen Farrell loves these songs, which words and phrases move her most. And you can also hear the inner melodies Percy wrote to complement her voice.

André Previn, who came to hear Eileen sing his composition, The Faraway Part of Town, paid her the ultimate compliment.

“When she sings,” he said, “you feel that you’ve never really heard these songs before.”

IRVING TOWNSEND,
Producer

Percy FaithSounds
for right now
this very moment:
TODAY'S THEMES FOR YOUNG LOVERS.
Percy Faith's
replendent orchestra-with-chorus
arrangements of
The 59th Street Brudge Song
(by Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel)
Yellow Days
(a melodic sunburst)
Windy
(fresh and bracing)
A World of Whispers
(a great Faith original)
Somethin' Stupid
(somethin' else!)
and half a dozen
more hits
are bold
and satisfying.
TODAY'S THEMES FOR YOUNG LOVERS
are as big and bright
as the summertime sun.

Can a 52-year-old arranger-conductor cut one of the best-selling instrumentals of the rock era? The answer for Percy Faith was a resounding yes. The man known for Theme From A Summer Place was well into middle-age when he did an easy listening version of the theme from the popular movie. He already had a long string of hit albums and singles, had provided instrumental backing for other artists on their successful recordings and was a noted radio and TV arranger.

He was born April 7, 1908, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. By the time he was 6, Faith had demonstrated musical abilities, drumming out rhythms on family chinaware. Unwilling to encourage his drumming interests, Faith’s dad responded to his son’s musical interests by buying him a violin and paying for lessons. After three years of fiddling, Faith turned to the piano, which provide to be his forte.

By the time he was 11, Faith was working professionally, providing “Cowboys and Indian” music for silent films in a Toronto theater. The youngster was so short he had to sit on a stack of sheet music to reach the piano. For his efforts, he took home $3 a night and carfare. When he was 15, Faith debuted as a concert pianist and at 18 was writing special arrangements for other musicians and touring with a small concert group.

In 1928, Faith and Joe Allabough, who would go on to manage a radio station in Chicago, formed a radio team they called “Faith and Hope.” Faith was responsible for the music and Allabough, or “Hope,” was the comedian. By 1933, Faith was a staff conductor, arranger and pianist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a position he would hold for seven years. His duties included writing music for special programming including coverage of a visit to Canada by the King and Queen of England.

Faith’s work in Canada was not unnoticed by broadcasters in the United States, and, in 1940, he left his home country to serve as musical director for NBC. By 1950, he was working for Columbia Records, charting with Cross My Fingers, featuring a vocal by Russ Emery. He went Top 10 that year with All My Love, followed by the holiday themed Christmas In Killarney, done with the Shillelagh Singers.

Besides arranging and producing hits for himself, Faith worked his musical magic as an arranger and producer for a number of artists including Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Doris Day and others. He was also an accomplished writer and his My Heart Cries For You was a hit for Guy Mitchell, Dinah Shore and Vic Damone in the ‘50s.

Although he was busy with other Columbia artists, Faith continued to have his own hits. In the spring of 1951 he went Top 10 with On Top Of Old Smoky, an old folk song that featured a Burl Ives vocal. He also did well with When The Saints Go Marching In and its flip-side, I Want To Be Near You. In the spring of 1952, he topped the charts with Delicado, featuring Stan Freeman on harpsichord.

In the spring of 1953, Faith had a hit with Swedish Rhapsody. After about a month, the B-Side, Song From ‘Moulin Rouge’ (Where Is Your Heart), with a strong vocal by Felicia Sanders, charted and went all the way to No. 1, where it stayed for 10 weeks, earning Faith his first gold record. He followed with another movie theme, Return To Paradise, and closed out the year on the charts with Many Times.

Faith continued to score popular singles with his lush instrumental sound even as rock ‘n roll took over the pop charts. In 1954 he did well with Dream, Dream, Dream and The Bandit. In ’56, he charted with Valley ValparaisoWe All Need Love and With A Little Bit Of Luck. He continued to do well with albums, especially the romantic “Passport To Romance,” issued in 1956, and a collection of songs from “My Fair Lady” that went Top 10 in 1957. His albums were also popular in the ‘60s, as he opened the decade with the Top 10 “Bouquet.” Faith also went Top 10 in 1960 with “Jealousy” and did the same in early ’61 with songs from “Camelot.”

Faith would go to #1 again with another movie theme. “A Summer Place” was a 1959 film that starred veterans Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire as disapproving parents while teen stars Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue played misunderstood young lovers. The theme was written by Max Steiner and recorded by Faith in September 1959.

There was some radio play for Theme From “A Summer Place,” but it took almost six months for the record to finally catch on. It charted in the second week of 1960 and headed to the top of the Billboard pop charts, where it remained for nine weeks, selling more than a million copies. It also won a Grammy as record of the year and picked up nominations for best performance by an orchestra and best arrangement.

Theme From “A Summer Place” was followed by the Top 40 Theme For Young Lovers. Meanwhile, Faith’s albums continued to reflect his more adult-oriented sound, as “Mucho Gusto! More Music Of Mexico” sold well in 1961 and “Bouquet Of Love” and “The Music Of Brazil!” were hits in 1962. In 1963, Faith tried something different. That summer, the “Themes For Young Lovers” album was issued, featuring 12 current pop hits that got the warm Faith treatment, including Go Away Little GirlOur Day Will Come and I Will Follow Him. It became an immediate best-seller, was certified gold and nominated for a Grammy in the best performance by orchestra category.

After “Shangri-La” in 1963 and “Great Folk Themes” in ’64, Faith was back in the summer of that year with “More Themes For Young Lovers.” He would continue into the ‘70s with popular albums that focused on movie themes and pop hits of the day, from “Dr. Zhivago’s” Somewhere My Love to Santana’s Black Magic Woman. His last charting album, “Day By Day,” was issued in 1972.

Faith died of cancer on February 9, 1976, not long after overseeing an updated disco version of Theme From “A Summer Place.” He left a rich legacy of music for humself and other artists that covered 50 years and hundreds of records. This collection of two of his best albums for Columbia clearly demonstrates his talent and versatility.

–Mark Marymont

Billboard chart numbers courtesy of BPI Communications and Joel Whitburn’s Record Research

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