Orchestral pop (sometimes called ork-pop for short) is

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

that has been arranged and performed by a

symphonic orchestra A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...

. It may also be conflated with the terms symphonic pop or chamber pop.

History

During the 1960s,

on radio and in both American and British film moved away from refined

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It origin ...

to more eccentric songwriting and incorporated reverb-drenched rock guitar, symphonic strings, and horns played by groups of properly arranged and rehearsed studio musicians. Many pop arrangers and producers worked orchestral pop into their artists' releases, including

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

and his strings arrangements with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and John Barry for his scores to the

James Bond films James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Nive ...

. Also in the 1960s, a number of orchestral settings were made for songs written by the Beatles, including symphonic performances of " Yesterday" by orchestras. Some symphonies were specifically founded for playing predominantly popular music, such as the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

Nick Perito Nicholas Perito (April 7, 1924 – August 4, 2005) was an American Hollywood composer and arranger and, for 40 years, the closest collaborator of singer Perry Como. Life Early years Born in Denver, Perito's start in music was at an early age, w ...

was one of orchestral pop's most accomplished arrangers, composers, and conductors. According to Chris Nickson, the "vital orchestral pop of 1966" was "challenging, rather than vapid, easy listening". ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' magazine refers to

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...

and the Beach Boys'

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

as "gods" of orchestral pop. In Nickson's opinion, the "apex" of orchestral pop lay in singer Scott Walker, explaining that "in his most fertile period, 1967–70, he created a body of work that was, in its own way, as revolutionary as the Beatles'. He took the ideas of enryMancini and Bacharach to their logical conclusion, essentially redefining the concept of orchestral pop." In the 21st century, few artists explore the genre, with the most notable being English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets, formed by

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

frontman, Alex Turner and solo artist Miles Kane.

Ork-pop

Ork-pop is a 1990s movement which took its name from orchestral pop. Leading artists of the movement included Yum-Yum, the High Llamas, Richard Davies, Eric Matthews, Spookey Ruben, Witch Hazel, and

Liam Hayes Liam Hayes, professionally known as Plush since 1992, is an American songwriter and performer, originally from Chicago, Illinois, United States. His discography includes three critically acclaimed records: '' More You Becomes You'' (1998), ''F ...

(Plush). Matthews, who partnered with Davies for duo

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

, was considered a leading figure in the style.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Easy listening Pop music genres 20th-century music genres