Binge, a musician in Mantovani's orchestra, had already been experimenting with arrangements that might replicate the long reverberating sound of composer Claudio Monteverdi, who had written works to take advantage of the spatial properties of the acoustic in large cathedrals.
Decca invested in the expensive idea, which Mantovani called "a mass of strings."
Soloist Max Jaffa recalled that nobody had expected the sound; "it came as a complete surprise."
In a 1996 radio interview, violinist Sidney Sax recalled: What it is, is a delayed sound.
The violinists had to maintain intonation in the high registers, so to give warmth and richness to the music the violas were voiced very close to the cellos.
One effect of the cascading strings technique is to emulate the acoustic properties of a large hall such as a cathedral, through simulated reverberation.