Hyperion Records

Ronald Binge (1910–1979) was one of the most talented of British light music composers and, like Percy Fletcher, was a native of Derby. He worked his way from cinema organist, orchestral pianist and piano-accordionist to the position of arranger for the Mantovani Orchestra. As such he evolved the ‘cascading strings’ effect for which Mantovani became famous and which was just one of the products of the fertile mind of a serious student of orchestration. Two of his best-loved compositions were included on volume one, and another is his Sailing By (1963) which has become familiar to many as the closing music of the day on Radio 4, easing listeners gently towards their beds.

from notes by Andrew Lamb © 1997