From the days back to the 40's when he became chief arranger for the Hal Kemp band, Hal
Mooney has been known inside music business as one of the top craftsmen among that group
of musical necromancers known as “arrangers.” Only within the past few years, when he made
the difficult transition from arranger to musical conductor, have his name and his artistry
become known to the general public. This lack of public recognition is not the result of any
shortcoming on Hal’s part, although he is a retiring type of guy. It is the result of the peculiar
position of the arranger in the modern musical picture. He is literally the forgotten man of
music, with credit for producing a hit record going to everybody—A & R executive, singer,
songwriter, orchestra conductor—to everybody except the arranger.
In an overall picture, the arranger’s job is to take three elements—song, singer and orches-
tra—and integrate them so skilfully that each becomes an expressive element in relation to
the other. Setting a key, which depends largely on the singer’s natural equipment and training,
always involves a choice of one that either makes a singer sound too shrill, too relaxed, or just
right. From here on in, the many facets of an arranger’s job involve creative choices —selecting
the right instruments to back the different segments, switching instrumental choirs to change
colors or mood, using different instruments for harmonic accompaniment and for instrumental
fills, ete., ete. There are also many areas where the arranger’s art involves composition—the
writing of introductions to set the mood of a selection, of transitions and modulations, of
endings, and of obligatti and instrumental fills and answers.
Just as stereo adds dimensions to the listener’s enjoyment, so it makes additional demands
on the arranger. Even the scorepad is different. While the page still contains a separate line
for each instrument, it is divided so that one can see at a glance the instruments feeding into
the left channel and those feeding into the right.
“T treasure the years,’ Hal Mooney said recently, “that I put in with the swing bands.
That’s where one really learns how to handle melodies so that ‘they bounce with a beat and
how to devise licks or figures that make a band swing. But it really is not enough. To be ade-
quately prepared for the demands of stereo, I needed all those years with the many different
vocalists. Out of this experience came a respect for melody, a feeling for changing colors in the
use of instruments, an understanding of the role of counter-melody in enhancing, not distract-
ing from, the basic melody, and a constant search for clear, well-defined “singing” lines.
the sounds/side 1
WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS (from “The Nutcracker’’) (Tehaikowsky) marcy Music, Inc.
(ASCAP) 8:05
Tchaikovsky’s delightful ballet Was based on a fairy tale by the German poet, E. T. A. Hoff-
mann, whose fantastic stories also inspired Delibes’ “Coppélia” and Offenbach’s “Tales of
Hoffmann.” “The Nutcracker” has become familiar over the years in its concert suite arrange-
ment. However, George Balanchine’s production of the complete ballet, first performed by
the New York City Ballet in 1954, has become an annual Christmas presentation.
The story takes place in a 19th-century German town. Clara, daughter of Town Council
President Silberhaus, receives a nutcracker as a Christmas gift. The grotesque-looking present
is later transformed into a handsome prince who.carries Clara off to the Kingdom of Sweets.
There, she is welcomed by the Sugar Plum Fairy (Side 1, band 4), sits on a little candy-
decorated throne, and is entertained by a gay festival staged.in her honor. The Waltz of the
Flowers is one of the highlights of the celebration.
Saxophones and trumpets (left), and trombones, drums and bass (right) ring up the curtain
in a two-bar fanfare in 4 time. Then, Hal Mooney launches into a 4/4 adaptation of the
famous waltz, introduced by solo drums (left). Trombones (right) announce the theme, while
trumpets (left) play stabbing off-beat accents. Winds (left) pick up the melody. The sequence
is repeated; vibraphone and guitar (right) then bridge the way into a full brass climax. A
guitar solo (right) intervenes, but the brass (left and right) and drums-(right) hammer out
their exuberant version of the melody, which is now taken over by trumpet solo (left), played
by Doe Severinsen. Bongos (left) and drums (right) engage in a lively exchange, and the band
breaks out on all sides. Trombones (right) finally cool things down a bit, and the number
concludes on an echo of the opening 3 time fanfare.
SABRE DANCE (from "'Gayne"’) (Khachaturian) MRC Music, Inc. (BMI) 2:35
Aram Khachaturian’s ballet has never been incorporated into the Western ballet repertoire,
but the famous Sabre Dance, from which it is taken, achieved the status of a hit tune in the
mid-Forties after its first performance in the United States. The high spirits and rhythmic
vitality of this now famous dance are unsurpassed in the literature of ballet music.
In Hal Mooney’s fresh treatment, guitar and bass (right) set the scene with a bgogie
background. Winds, trumpets, and xylophone (left) announce the theme, punctuated by
intermittent trombone chords and slides (right). The relentless drive continues throughout the
dance. Just before the conclusion, piccolos and trumpets (left), and trombones (right) scamper
off up the scale in staccato notes, and the work ends in a tremendous burst of sound.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (Gershwin) New World Music Corp. (ASCAP) 2:43
“My purpose here,” wrote George Gershwin in 1928, “is to portray the impression of an
American visitor in Paris, as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises, and
absorbs the French atmosphere . . . The opening gay section is followed by a rich ‘blues’ with
a strong rhythmic undercurrent. Our American friend, perhaps after strolling into a café and
having a couple of drinks, has suddenly succumbed to a spasm of homesickness . . . The ‘blues’
rises to a climax followed by a coda in which the spirit of the music returns to the vivacity and
bubbling exuberance of the opening . . .”
Piccolo, flute, muted trumpet, and xylophone (left) play the perky opening theme. A
repeated-note figure, tossed between trumpets (left) and trombones (right), brings us to one of
the “grands boulevards”; we hear the sound of the taxicab horns (trumpets and saxophones
on the left), and the clatter of high heels on the pavement (xylophone, left). The “blues”
section is outlined by a trumpet solo, performed by Doe Severinsen, over a syncopated back-
ground of trombones, guitar, drums, and bass (right), and bongos (left). We leave the café
and return to the boulevards as the original theme is recapitulated.
DANCE OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY (from “The Nutcracker”) (Tchaikovsky)
Emarcy Music, Inc. (ASCAP) 2:15
Shortly before he embarked on his successful American concert tour in 1891, Tchaikovsky
wrote to his brother: “Today, even more than yesterday, I feel the absolute impossibility of
depicting in music ‘The Sugar Plum Fairy.’ ” Nevertheless, the composer overcame his despair
and finished the work, which was quickly recognized as one of the most original numbers in
the entire “Nutcracker.” With this short dance, Tchaikovsky introduced a new instrument to
Russian music: it was the dainty celeste, the invention of the Frenchman, Auguste Mustel.
Tchaikovsky had his publisher buy the instrument on his behalf in Paris, warning him not to
show it to Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov, who might “smell it out and take advantage of its
musical effects before me.” The Sugar Plum Fairy is queen of the Kingdom of Sweets, wears a
glittering crown and a spun-candy pink dress, and executes a piquant dance.
Bongos (left) and trombones, guitar, bass, and drums (right) play.a four-bar vamp leading
into the 4/4 theme. Above this, winds, trumpets, and celeste (left) take up the first phrase of
the melody. The trombones (right) reply; a four-bar dialogue between brass sections follows,
and we hear the second part of the dance. Interludes by vibraphone and guitar (right) supply
delicate contrasts to the weighty trombone chords (right). The band rises to a climax and
returns to the first phrase, with saxophones (left) replacing winds, Another build-up of
sonorities, and the dance concludes as flute and clarinet (left) wind their way downward
above sustained tronibones and vibraphone (right), and a bongo flurry (left).
MAMBO (from “West Side Story'’) (Sondheim & Bernstein) G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP) 1:55
The teeming side streets of Manhattan provide the setting for this hit musical show. Jerome
Robbins, who directed and choreographed the Broadway production, conceived the idea for
the book, which was set to music by Leonard Bernstein. ‘‘West Side Story” opened in New York
in the fall of 1957. The Mambo is danced at the Gymn, where members of two rival gangs,
the Sharks and the Jets, have assembled. Maria, sister of the Sharks’ leader, meets Tony,
a Jet, and the ill-fated couple fall in love.
Drums (right) and bongos (left) set up an exciting rhythmic pattern that introduces the
Mambo, played by the entire band. Trombones (right) then state the savage theme, after
which the tutti replies. The piccolos and xylophone (left) break in with short phrases, then
take over larger segments of the tune, while the guitar (right) loudly plucks off-beat accents.
When the trombones (right) return to pick up the strain, piccolos (left) play a “whistling”
figure that is strangely effective. At the height of the frenzy, a solo trumpet pierces through
the din with a pulse-quickening improvisation. The dance concludes with a short cadenza for
bongos (left) and drums (right), followed by a shattering tutti chord.
PAS DE FLEURS (from “Naila Waltz"’) (Delibes) Emarcy Music, Ine. (ASCAP) 3:02
The ballet score from which this-well-known piece is taken is a hybrid creation: Scenes 1 and
4 were composed by Léon Minkus; and Scenes 2 and 3 by Delibes. The two composers had
essentially different styles, of course, and the ballet lacked artistic unity. But the Naila Waltz
survives as a charming example of Delibes’ best work.
A vamp of bongos and winds (left), and xylophone, drums, bass and guitar (right) introduce
the theme, played by trombones (right). The trumpets (left) reinforce the melody. Flutes and
piccolos (left) usher in a softer theme with a typical French sonority. The brass take over,
lead the music back to the original material, and the piece ends as it began.
the sounds/side 2
SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE (Richard Rodgers) Chappell & Co., Ine. (ASCAP) 3:00
This dramatic ballet, from the musical, “On Your Toes” (1936), was choreographed by George
Balanchine to music by Richard Rodgers. Ray Bolger was one of the principal dancers in the
original Broadway production. The story of the ballet sequence concerns a dancer who falls in
love with a strip-teaser, runs afoul of the girl’s gangster-boyfriend, who tries to knife the hero.
The girl gets in the way and is killed. The hero then kills the hood and dances around the body.
After a brilliant tutti opening, the bongos (left) set the tempo for the busy first theme,
played by trombones (right). Trumpets (left) seize on the melody, build it up to a climax
leading to the second theme, a sort of shuffling trombone figure accompanied by brushed
cymbal. The guitar (right) plays a brief interlude, and the full brass now takes over. The
double bass holds the spotlight (right) in order to present the next theme, played by vibra-
phone and guitar (right). Saxophones finally have their say (left) in the plaintive melody
which brings the piece to an overpowering climax.
BARCAROLLE (from *'Tales of Hoffman”) (Offenbach) Emarey Music, Inc. (ASCAP) 2:11
Jacques Offenbach, whose pince-nez and side-whiskers were his famous trademark during the
gay Second Empire, composed over a hundred operettas, and was dubbed by Rossini as
“the Mozart of the Champs-Elysées.” Despite his enormous success, Offenbach always yearned
to write a serious opera. Shortly before his death in 1880, he began work secretly on his first
and only lyric drama, “The Tales of Hoffmann.” Today, this lengthy composition is best
remembered by the lilting Barcarolle, which Manuel Rosenthal incorporated in his popular
ballet score, ““Gaité Parisienne.”
In “The Tales of Hoffmann,” the Barcarolle is heard while a Venetian gondola is seen
gliding along the Grand Canal. Hal Mooney’s arrangement places us in a fast-moving canoe as
we hear the theme played staccato-fashion by trombones (right) above bells and bongos (left),
and drums, bass and guitar (right). Trumpets and flutes in succession (left) carry on the tune,
with comments by guitar and vibraphone (right). Doc Severinsen plays a trumpet solo (left)
above a trombone-guitar accompaniment (right). The dance ends softly, with light chords on
bells and flutes (left).
MARCH OF THE TOYS (from “Babes In Toyland"’) (Victor Herbert) Emarey, Music, Ine.
(ASCAP) 3:30
Victor Herbert’s operetta, “Babes in Toyland,” is seldom performed nowadays, but the
March of the Toys is a perennial favorite. Hal Mooney gives it the modern touch in his colorful
arrangement. The drums (right) establish the mood in jazz march style. Trumpets (left)
sound a tiny fanfare, taken up by the trombones (right). The two brass sections then exchange
fanfares in rapid succession and the music builds up to a climax. Finally, the march begins.
Winds (left) announce the mock-serious theme, with vibraphone and guitar (right) providing
bridge material. Trombones (right) carry on, are joined by trumpets and saxophones (left),
and the fanfares return, this time in greater strength, to recapitulate the original theme.
The rhythms become increasingly more jaunty, the drums once again hammer out a military
jazz pattern, and, following a brassy climax, the excitement subsides, and the march ends softly.
SLEEPING BEAUTY WALTZ (Tehaikorsky) Emarcy Music, Inc. (ASCAP) 2:18
Along with “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker,” “The Sleeping Beauty” (1889) contains
some of the finest music ever composed for the ballet stage. Even Tchaikovsky was pleased
with his creation, In an unusual attack of optimism, he wrote to Nadejda von Meck, “I think,
dear friend, it will be one of my best works.” This sunny disposition is mirrored in the celebrated
Waltz from Act I.
Brass chords (left and right) above bongos and glockenspiel (left) set the stage for the
waltz melody, played first by clarinets and tenor saxophone (left), and shared later with the
trombones (right). Winds (left) and. vibraphone and guitar (right) lightly bounce the second
theme back and forth. The full weight of the brass and drums (right) is now heard. Trombones
(right) recapitulate the original tune; trumpets (left) join in; the band is unleashed; and the
niece ends in a blaze of sound,
COPPELIA WALTZ (Delibes) Emarcy Music, Inc. (ASCAP) 2:10
Léo Delibes’ classic ballet about a mechanical doll has never lost its popularity since it was
first produced at the Paris Opéra on May 25, 1870. The life-sized wax doll, Coppélia, is the
creation of the magician, Coppélius, whose handiwork is so expert that it fools everyone in
town, including young Franz, who falls in love with “‘the girl with enamel eyes.” Swanilda, a
living doll, loves Franz. In Act I, the latter expresses her amorous feelings in the famous Waltz.
Asolo trombone (played by Urbie Green) states the waltz melody in 4/4 time while trumpets
and bongos (left) and guitar and bass (right) supply accents on the second beat of each bar.
The full trombone section (right) joins in, rounded out by winds (left) with vibraphone
obbhigato (right). All the brass now give out the melody, then step aside for a tenor saxophone
solo (played by Phil Bodner). The solo trombone (right) returns, spiced by off-beat glocken-
spiel octaves (left); and the number ends with the trumpets playing a triplet phrase (left).
PIZZICATO (Cha Cha), (from Sylvia") (Delibes) Emarey Music, Ine. (ASCAP) 2:00
Perhaps more than any other single work in the repertoire, the “Pizzicato” movement from
“Sylvia,” by Léo Delibes, symbolizes the classic ballet. The simplicity of its scoring, the pauses
in just the right places, and the sudden accelerandos and ritards, brings to mind the ballerina’s
pristine vocabulary of steps and movements.
In his humorous and entertaining version of this well-known piece, Hal Mooney leaps from
the ballet stage to the cha-cha room. On his left are saxophones, trumpets, bongo and conga
drums; on his right, trombones, guitar, bass, drums, scratcher, and cowbell. The saxophones
monopolize the tune throughout the first third of the number, while the rest of the band keeps
busy in the background. Finally, the brass join in, the dance gathers momentum, and all share
in the last bars, ending in a typical cha-cha-cha phrase.
ims album was recorded monaurally and in stereo in a New York recording studio with Bill
Stoddard at the engineering controls. Microphones utilized were as follows: trumpets, Beyer M-150;
trombones, Beyer M-150; woodwinds, Telefunken U-47; drums, Western Electric 685A; bass,
Electro -Voice 655; electric guitar, Electro-Voice 666; bongos, Hlectro-Voice 665; xylophone, Beyer
M-150; vibes, Electro -Voice 666; scratcher, Beyer M-150; and conga, Electro-Voice 665. The
sessions were recorded on Ampex tape recorders at 15 inches per second.
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