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Chopin E-Fl

MUSIC FOR A SUMMER EVENING The Rainbow Sound of Bianco, His Harp and Orchestra

Sweet shimmering

SOUNAS, Music out of a dream by one

of America’s top harpists A wonderful new world of sound is opened up in

this album by the imaginative use to which

Bianco puts his harp. Bianco’s harp sparkles

with a fresh new sound. A tegato flow rather than

a staccato plink of strings plus a style that is

more piano-like and chord conscious than one

customarily hears on the harp.

Too often the instrument is relegated to playing

glissandos and fill-ins; here, playing his own ar-

rangements, Gene Bianco, one of America’s top

harpists, excitingly demonstrates the virtuosity

of his instrument, from the seldom-used lower

register to the sparkling twinkle of the upper

strings. In arranging the music for the harp,

Bianco has provided a fresh, new look at familiar

tunes. Moreover, he has provided a harp bridge

between each selection, continuing the mood of

one song, setting up the mood of the next. The

result: the shimmering music of Bianco—the rain-

bow sound of harp and strings— providing a per-

fect background to an evening of relaxed listen-

ing. Orchestral settings, to complement the

Bianco arrangements, were provided by Charles

Grean and Norman Beatty.

In recording this program, three contact baby

microphones were placed on the harp itself, so

that none of the soft shadings of the strings

would be lost in either the warmly romantic num-

bers like A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening and

Produced by Herman Diaz, Jr.

Stella by Starlight, or the exquisite impressionism

of such a work as Debussy’s Mazd with the Flaxen

Hair. The most difficult work, according to the

young harpist, was the Chopin E-Flat Nocturne,

long associated with Eddy Duchin, because of

the probiems of adapting its essentially pianistic

character to the larger sweep of the harp, and its

unique harmonic structure.

Knowledge of the harp comes naturally to

Gene Bianco; his grandfather, Phillip Capobianco

was a famous harpist. Inspired by this example,

young Gene studied the instrument between

school hours in Hartford, Connecticut, and active

participation in school sports. After service with

the Navy he continued his studies at the Juilliard

School of Music.

He appeared for two years at the Radio City

Music Hall, and has been frequently featured as

soloist on radio and television. Night clubs;

Broadway shows such as Redhead, Tenderloin

and Donnybrook; a solo engagement at the Palace

Theater, and continuing engagements in record-

ing, radio and television studios—all this bears

testimony to the esteem in which his perform-

ances are held. In this program—refreshingly

different, engagingly romantic— Bianco and his

Rainbow Strings weave enchanting new patterns

of sound. :

MAHLOM CHARLES ©1963, Radio Corporation of America ¢ Printed in U.S.A.

Mono CPM-105

Stereo CSP-105

SIDE 4

A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening cascap 3:17)

Evening Star p.p. 3:10)

Twilight Time cami 3:00)

Drifting and Dreaming cascap 2:52)

Lullaby of the Leaves cascap 2:40)

Moonlight in Vermont cascap 2:40)

SIDE 2

In the Blue of Evening cascap 3:45)

The Breeze and | (Andatucia) (BMI 2:32)

La fille aux cheveux de lin (Maid with the Flaxen Hair) (P.D. 3:10)

Moonlight Cocktail cascap 2:35)

Chopin E-Flat Nocturne ¢p.p. 3:05)

Stella by Starlight cascap 3:07)

Recorded in Webster Hall, New York City. Recording Engineer: Bob Simpson. Re-recording Engineer: Mel Martin.