This denomination was and is being used by quite a few Spanish and Latin-American bands as well as orchestras interpreting either Spanish or Latin-American music. In this case however, it appears to be a studio orchestra led by Leroy Shield (1893-1962), who was an American film score and radio composer. was an employee of RCA Victor's National Broadcasting Company, for which he composed and conducted on-air musical pieces. Starting approximately 1922 (seven years before the Victor Talking Machine was bought by RCA and became RCA Victor), Shield was a Victor house musician, conducting and providing piano accompaniment on many hundreds of popular as well as foreign language and ethnic Victor recordings. He also worked as a part-time employee for the Hal Roach film studio, composing countless background themes that became associated with Roach comedy series. Due to a series of miscommunications, Shield's requests for scoring assignments from the Roach organization were repeatedly declined after 1936, going instead to Marvin Hatley. Shield continued to work for NBC in various musical capacities, including composition and conducting. He also authored two tone poems (Gloucester and The Great Bell) and the classical Union Pacific Suite. After touring with Toscanini during the early 1950s, Shield retired in 1955. This great 1923 record features a piece, excerpt of the revue "Revista Moderna", by Mexican composer Lauro Donato Uranga, (neither to be mistaken for his son, violinist and composer Lauro Uranga Rodríguez (1913-?), nor for another famous Mexican composer Emilio Donato Uranga (1883-1946), who seems to be unrelated to the above mentioned composers). Born in 1882, he studied at the conservatories of Madrid and Mexico City. He played the violin, the mandolin, the guitar and several exotic instruments. His composing career started in 1907, with the zarzuela "El sueño de Caín". In 1911 was created his best-known song, "Alborada". He was so prolific that in the years 1919-22, at Mexico City's Teatro Principal, every Sunday up to 10 of his songs were premiered! In the mid-20s he continued his career in the US. Besides the already mentioned songs, notable works by him are "Santa", "Revista Moderna" (of which the piece presented here is an excerpt), "Alma india", "Las aviadoras", "Trigueñita", "Firpo" and "Las tehuanitas". He passed away in 1927 in San Francisco, due to a throat condition.
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Music