Yesterday, I referred to the orchestration done on Love's brilliant Forever Changes (1967). And in an earlier post, I discussed the difference between orchestration and arranging, because the terms are not synonymous - arranging involves writing parts based on a preexisting piece, while orchestration involves redistributing parts already written. But orchestration can be used to mean arranging occasionally, and in fact, I did so yesterday.

OK, today I'll recommend a recording that should clarify all of this. Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958) was arranged (for orchestra) by Nelson Riddle. The point I'm trying to make is that even if the parts are written for an orchestra as they are here, it's still called arranging, because the parts are original work. Some consider arranging as similar to composing within a composition. In fact, one of the great pleasures in listening to Sinatra's greatest recordings is to listen to the arrangements that were done for them. Sinatra was a musical genius who inspired the best work from his colleagues, and Nelson Riddle was right at the top of the list. This album, apparently Sinatra's favourite, proves it.