Sunday 28 October 2018

IMPRESS MUSIC LIBRARY


Yet another great British based Mood Music library label, acquired by Josef Weinberger (JW Media Music) In the mid 1950's

The library was formed by entrepreneur Gordon Barnes with the backing of a rich postcard manufacturer. The name Impress was invented by music editor Richard Taylor, who later became a director. And as much as the music is extremely 'Impress'ive, the IMP in the title actually stands for Inter-Art Publishers.

In the 1950's, as television became increasingly popular, programmes made on thin budgets needed fresh background music. Practically overnight, companies like Impress assembled vast libraries by recruiting young composers to write action, suspense, and comedy themes for them. Not only were composers first-rate, impress music had the luxury of being performed by a large orchestra in Stuttgart, Germany; driven by the union ban on library performances in England at the time.

The music was written with no specific visuals in mind: the libraries would simply request the styles, and the composers would be left to their own devices and imaginations. Composing and producing music cues that ran from anywhere between 4 seconds in length, to 4 minutes in length. Teh msuic would then be catalogued by genre: Dramatic, suspense, romance and so on; some libraries even listed the musical keys of their pieces, making it easier for editors to cut in E-flat action cues to a compatible bridge.

In the mid 1970's, Inter-Art went out of business, the Impress library was picked up via a quit-claim by Weinberger Ltd in England, who still licence the cues when the need arises. Copyrights were renewed by the composers themselves when the original Inter-Art registrations expired.

Unfortunately, the labels themselves have no conductor or Orchestra information on them.

Some extremely talented composers were hired to compose the music, some of which i am sure you will recognise from other leading libraries - such as.

Steve Race
Bruce Campbell
Fred Farmer
Ronald Binge
Van Phillips
Alfred Ralston

Starting from the very first Impress release:

THE MUSIC

1. The Dark Stairway (Steve Race) 1:19
2. The Difficult Journey Pt. 1 (Steve Race) 0:38
3. The Difficult Journey Pt. 2 (Steve Race) 0:36
4. Mystic (Van Phillips) 1:35
5. Clairvoyant (Steve Race) 1:13

1. Dockside Dawn (Van Phillips) 1:21
2. Dockside Twilight (Van Phillips) 1:24
3. Dissolution (Steve Race) 0:31
4. Eerie Chime (Steve Race) 0:37
5. Flannelfoot (Steve Race) 0:53
6. Ominous Interlude (Alfred Ralston) 0:43

1. Royal Finale (Steve Race) 0:36
2. Royal Moment (Steve Race) 0:13
3. Regal (Steve Race) 0:26
4. Pioneer (Steve Race) 0:39
5. To & Fro (Steve Race) 0:22
6. Atlantic Bridge (Ronald Binge) 0:17
7. Poison Pen (Van Phillips)  1:02
8. Tension (Steve Race) 0:37
9. Reunion (Steve Race) 0:31
10. Sudden Embrace  (Steve Race) 0:17

1. Busy Looms (Ronald Binge) 1:14
2. Lost in the Desert (Alfred Ralston) 1:16
3. Mad Pursuit (Ronald Binge) 1:29
4. Mad Pursuit Bridges (Steve Race) 0:18
5. Anguished Moment (Steve Race) 0:23
6. Up & Down (Steve Race) 0:11

1. Staggering Home (Ronald Binge) 1:34
2. Twinkle Toes (Van Phillips) 0:58
3. Fiesta (Ronald Binge) 2:08
4. The Stab (Ronald Binge) 0:10

1. Carefree (Van Phillips) 1:01
2. Mad As A Hatter (Ronald Binge) 0:47
3. Cantering Cats (Steve Race) 0:30
4. Faithful Love (Ronald Binge) 0:48
5. Neapolitan Band (Ronald Binge) 0:41
6. Comedy Canter (Ronald Binge) 0:38
7. Flippant (Steve Race) 0:12

1. Interlude (Ronald Binge) 2:00
2. Slow Thought (Ronald Binge) 0:18
3. Beauty & The Beast (Ronald Binge) 0:29
4. Desert Memory No. 1 (Ronald Binge) 1:32
5. Desert Memory (Ronald Binge) 0:40
6. Country Weekend (Ronald Binge) 0:19
7. Hornpipe Hangover (Ronald Binge) 0:24

1. East Side - West Side (Steve Race) 0:57
2. First Day In Town (Steve Race) 0:32
3. Regal approach (Steve Race) 0:32
4. Conflict (Steve Race) 0:18
5. Cowboy Thriller (Fred Farmer) 1:02
6. Skyline (Steve Race) 0:50
7. Upward Sweep (Steve Race) 0:15
8. Urgent (Steve Race) 0:12

1. Lovers Moon (Bruce Campbell) 1:09
2. Golden Morning (Bruce Campbell) 0:30
3. Waiting for Susan (Bruce Campbell) 0:36
4. Hilltop Honeymoon (Bruce Campbell) 1:20
5. Upland Romance (Bruce Campbell) 0:32
6. Roof Garden (Bruce Campbell) 0:28

1. Quiet Forest (Bruce Campbell) 1:14
2. Wistful (Bruce Campbell) 0:32 
3. Hand In Hand (Bruce Campbell) 0:29
4. Don't Forget (Bruce Campbell) 1:13
5. Yours Sincerely (Bruce Campbell) 0:58

And for those that would like all of the above - Link Here 

Enjoy


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4 comments:

  1. Your Pal Doug28 October 2018 at 17:59

    I love the information you found on the start of this label. Fascinating

    ReplyDelete
  2. Muff Diver28 October 2018 at 18:28

    DP, as much as I dig the downloads, your synopses of the various labels is also beneficial and necessary to anybody who claims to love Production Library Music.
    Thanks for your efforts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown28 October 2018 at 18:58

      I wholeheartedly agree. Its nice to give as much information as i can either found or otherwise as there are new 'fans' of this music that are not sure how/who/where etc these amazing pieces come from. :)

      Delete

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