Orchestral pop

 ( Pop Music Genres ) 

Orchestral pop is pop music that has been arranged and performed by a symphonic orchestra. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms symphonic pop and chamber pop.

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History During the 1960s, pop music on radio and in both American and British film moved away from refined Tin Pan Alley to more eccentric songwriting and incorporated reverb-drenched rock music guitar, symphonic strings, and horns played by groups of properly arranged and rehearsed studio musicians. The rapid development of multitrack recording in the mid 1960s also drove the ability of producers to create recordings with ever more complex and sonically sophisticated arrangements. Pop arrangers and producers worked orchestral pop into their artists' releases, including George Martin and his strings arrangements with the Beatles, and John Barry for his scores to the James Bond films. 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. Nick Perito 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 magazine refers to Burt Bacharach and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson 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 [Henry Mancini]] 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 frontman, Alex Turner and solo artist Miles Kane), and American artist Cody Fry.

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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 (Plush). Matthews, who partnered with Davies for duo Cardinal, was considered a leading figure in the style.

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Bibliography

• Stan Hawkins (2025). 9781317589723, Routledge. . ISBN 9781317589723
• Lanza, Joseph (2025). 9780262266468, MIT Press. ISBN 9780262266468
• Joseph Lanza (1994). 9780312105402, St. Martin's. . ISBN 9780312105402

Categories: Pop Music Genres, 20th-century Music Genres