My CD Choice: RICHARD BAKER
STEP LIGHTLY
Shelley van Loen and the Palm Court Strings
(Shellwood SWCD 5)

Every year at Christmas I find myself recalling the musical plays we used to put on at my junior school. Incidental music was supplied by a trio of teachers who invariably played the same tune. Years later I discovered it was called Nights of Gladness, and I was amused to learn that Shelley van Loen has adopted it as the signature tune for her Palm Court Strings who are, I assure you, in quite a different league from the Kensal Rise Ramblers! Her new disc deserves attentive listening but would also be ideal for a Christmas drinks party, especially if grandpa and grandma are going to look in. It includes many old favourites: The Grasshopper's Dance, Demande et Reponse and On the Quarter Deck. But the pleasure's not just for us oldies: the light music classics of yesterday are coming back into favour in a big way today.

£12.00 incl. P&P