He was also musical director for a large number of musicals and other plays, including ones by Noel Coward. After the war, he concentrated on recording, and eventually gave up live performance altogether. He worked with arranger and composer Ronnie Binge, who developed the "cascading strings" sound (also known as the "Mantovani sound").[citation needed] His records were regulars in stores selling hi-fi stereo equipment, as they were produced and arranged for stereo reproduction. In 1952 Binge ceased to arrange for Mantovani, but his distinctive sound remained.
He recorded for Decca until the mid-1950s, and then London Records. He recorded over 50 albums on that label, many of which were top-40 hits. These included Song from Moulin Rouge and Cara Mia, which reached No. 1 in Britain in 1953 and 1954, respectively. The latter was also Mantovani's first U.S. Top Ten hit.
In the United States, between 1955 and 1972, he released over 40 albums with 27 reaching the Top 40 and 11 the Top Ten. His biggest success was with the album Film Encores, which made it to No. 1 in 1957. Similarly, Mantovani Plays Music From 'Exodus' and Other Great Themes made it to No. 2 in 1961 and sold over one million albums.
In 1959, Mantovani starred in his own syndicated television series, Mantovani, which was produced in England and which aired in the United States. 39 episodes were filmed.[1]
Mantovani made his last recordings in 1975.[citation needed]
[edit] Music style and influences
The cascading strings technique developed by Binge became Mantovani's hallmark in such hits arranged by Binge as "Charmaine". Binge developed this technique to replicate the echo experienced in venues such as cathedrals by arrangement alone, in an echo-free surrounding.
Author Joseph Lanza describes Mantovani's string arrangements as the most "rich and mellifluous" of the emerging light music style during the early 1950s. He stated that Mantovani was a leader in the use of new studio technologies to "create sound tapestries with innumerable strings", and that "the sustained hum of Mantovani's reverberated violins produced a sonic vaporizer foreshadowing the synthesizer harmonics of space music."[2]
In 1958 Mantovani and his family bought a holiday home in Bournemouth in Durley Chine Road, then in 1961 acquired a new property in Burton Road (now part of Poole). He moved, finally, to a new home in Martello Road in Poole.
Since his death at a care home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1980, his music has enjoyed a minor revival,[citation needed] with much of his catalogue reappearing on CD and an orchestra bearing his name performing concert tours. The saleability of the Mantovani name is underscored by new recordings being made as the Mantovani Orchestra. Unfortunately[neutrality is disputed], a large number of CDs are also available of unauthorized recordings, billed as Mantovani or Mantovani Orchestra.[citation needed] There have also been CDs released under the Mantovani name of recordings made by others while Mantovani was still alive.[citation needed] Thus, consumers of this music are advised to familiarize themselves with the conductor's discography. Material with the London Records logo on it is apt to be genuine Mantovani, while other recordings are less likely to be actual Mantovani recordings.[citation needed]
The continued popularity of Mantovani's music is evident by the number of original albums which are being released, on labels such as Dutton-Vocalion, and by the many compilations available throughout the world. In 2008, as a result of successful, ongoing CD sales, amongst other contributing factors, the Mantovani Orchestra (performing from the original scores) was recreated for a tremendously successful historical tribute concert, sponsored by Bentley Motors, held at the Lighthouse, in Poole, England, on 27 January, conducted by Sam Newgarth, MBE. Much critical acclaim has led to the planning of a second concert, to take place in January 2009, at the same venue. There are four Mantovani websites in honour of the maestro, a written biography by Colin MacKenzie entitled Mantovani - A Lifetime In Music (ISBN 1-905226-19-5). For further information, please visit http://www.hallowquest.com/mantiindex.htm; http://members3.jcom.home.ne.jp/torumonty; http://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk (re. ticket sales for 31 January 2009). A ten CD set 'The Wonderful World of Mantovani' was released in November 2008 in Japan (a link to the website in Japan may be found by visiting www.hallowquest.com/mantiindex.htm), featuring many rare tracks which have never been released on CD before, in a superbly remastered format, and, following the success of the Mantovani Orchestra's 2008 concert, 'More MANTOVANI Magic' took place at Lighthouse in Poole, England, on 31 January 2009, again conducted by maestro Sam Newgarth MBE. The concert was sponsored by Poole Audi, and also with the generous support of Richard Cox.
Stardust
Mantovani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
In Mantovani's song Stardust, the singer is describing the feeling of nostalgia and longing for a love that has passed. The song opens with the singer talking about the twilight time, a time when the sky is a beautiful purple color that gradually darkens as the sun sets. This metaphor represents the singer's own heart and how it is slowly becoming darker and more sorrowful with a sense of longing for the past love. The little stars climbing high up in the sky represent memories of the past love always remaining with the singer, even though they are no longer together.
The second verse describes the singer's loneliness, and how they dream of a song that reminds them of the past love. This song brings back memories of when they were happy and in love, and each kiss was an inspiration. However, the singer is aware that this love is now gone, and their only consolation is in the stardust of the song, the beautiful memories that remain. Finally, the last verse talks about how the singer dreams of being with the past love again, and how even though it is a dream that will never come true, the memory of their love will always remain in the singer's heart.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
The evening sky is turning purple, signaling the end of the day and the beginning of the night.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
This twilight is spreading its beauty and serenity throughout the singer's heart.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
As the night deepens, the stars start to appear and climb higher in the sky.
Always reminding me that we're apart
The stars symbolize the distance between the singer and his beloved, and their twinkling reminds him of this separation.
You wander down the lane and far away
The singer's beloved has gone away from him, wandering down a lane that takes her far away.
Leaving me a song that will not die
Despite the physical separation, the memory of the song that the beloved left the singer with stays alive and brings him comfort and joy.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The love that they once shared is now just a distant memory, represented by the stardust that has fallen from the sky and has been left behind.
The music of the years gone by.
The music of their past, and the memories it brings, will always stay with him, even as the years pass.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The singer is reflecting on how he spends his lonely nights.
The lonely nights
He spends his nights in solitude, without his beloved by his side.
Dreaming of a song
The singer's dreams are filled with memories of the song that his beloved left him with.
The melody
The melody of the song that he dreams of is particularly haunting and beautiful.
Haunts my reverie
The melody stays with him even as he wakes up from his dream and goes about his day.
And I am once again with you
In his dreams, the singer is transported back to a time when he was with his beloved.
When our love was new
This was a time when their love was fresh and new, and full of passion and inspiration.
And each kiss an inspiration
Each kiss that they shared filled the singer with inspiration and energy.
But that was long ago
Unfortunately, that time is now long gone, and their love is just a memory.
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
The only comfort the singer has now is in the memories of their love, represented by the stardust that has fallen and been left behind.
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
The singer imagines being with his beloved one more time, next to a garden wall, under a starry sky.
You are in my arms
In this imagined moment, the singer is finally reunited with his beloved, and they are in each other's arms once again.
The nightingale
The nightingale is a symbol of love and romance, and its singing adds to the beauty of the moment.
Tells his fairytale
The nightingale's song tells a story of love and happiness, like a modern-day fairytale.
Of paradise, where roses grew
The nightingale's story is set in a paradise where roses grew, which represents the perfect love that the singer and his beloved once shared.
Though I dream in vain
The singer knows that this imagined moment can never truly happen, so his dreams of being with his beloved are in vain.
In my heart it will remain
Despite this, the memories of his love and their time together will always stay with him.
My stardust melody
The memories of their love are symbolized by the stardust that has fallen from the sky, and the haunting melody of the song that his beloved left him with.
The memory of love's refrain.
These memories are a constant reminder of their love, and bring him comfort even as he lives a lonely life without his beloved.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@albionplace1556
Just beautiful.