If Only They Had Written for Films: No. 2 - ROBERT DOCKER I am cheating a little over our second subject in the series, "If Only they had written for Films", because Robert Docker actually did write for films although one would be hard pressed to find his name in any of the reference books. I feel, therefore, very justified in categorising him in this way and particularly this month because Marco Polo have just released a new album of his works in their British Light Music series. For the record, Docker composed and arranged for films - the notes do not reveal how many nor their titles, except Chariots of Fire for which he arranged part of the score - the honours of course went to Vangelis. Listening to this album, one realises his talent was very much underused. His Legend, for instance, could have been well employed in one of those 1940s romances where a concert pianist suffers quite terribly, the Scène du Bal would have graced any 19th Century ballroom scene and the 'Romanza' from Three Contrasts would have been ideal for a woman's weepie. Robert Docker was an accomplished composer, arranger and accompanist in the field of popular light music. For many years he was associated with BBC Radio programmes and in particular with the BBC Concert Orchestra in the long-running series, Friday Night is Music Night. So, to the review:- The opening and closing works in this concert, for piano and orchestra, are most impressive. The concert opens with Legend , probably Docker's best-known original composition. Although it is strictly light music its grandiose heroic and romantic form gives the impression of something altogether more substantial. It was never used as film music yet it was cast from the same mould as those other heart-on-sleeve Romantic mini-concertos so popular in the 1940s: Charles Williams' The Dream of Olwen, Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto and Hubert Bath's Cornish Rhapsody. Davies and Knight pull out all the Romantic stops Pastiche Variations, for piano and orchestra was completed in 1980 and it is receiving its first commercial recording here. It is Docker's most serious and substantial work. The humorous variations are based on the traditional French tune, Frère Jacques and, most unusually, the work begins with the first variation before the theme is announced. The variations are written in the style of Docker's favourite composers. Besides an obvious affection for the music of Rachmaninov, one can detect, amongst others: Brahms, Copland, Kodály, Smetana and Tchaikovsky and, I think, Bax. There is also a cunning allusion to Dohnányi's Variations on a Nursery Song, which clearly must have inspired this work. Great fun. The concert includes two of Docker's most popular works: Tabarinage (translated as buffoonery) that is a vulgar and cheeky but immensely appealing can-can; and the spirited Fairy Dance Reel a vivacious piece of Irish whimsy. Three Contrasts for Oboe and Strings begins with a comic burlesque of an 'Alla Marcia' that might be a Falstaffian caricature. I felt a brisker pace might have helped this movement. The following 'Romanza' is a lovely piece, of sorrow and regret, while the 'Rondolet' is a perky conversation piece between admonishing strings and cheeky and plaintive oboe, before the strings mellow to sing another lovely tune for the oboe to embroider. The sparkling and vivacious The Spirit of Cambria is a clear demonstration of Docker's supreme skill as a sensitive and imaginative arranger. He wraps four well known traditional Welsh tunes in his own original linking material. As one might expect, there is some magical writing for the harp. Air , from Air and Jig for Strings, is an expressive and peaceful English pastoral evocation with prominent material for the violas. Blue Ribbons is another example of Docker's imaginative arrangements. Taking the traditional air, 'Oh dear, what can the matter be? , he adds much colour and weight, and an appealing romantically mournful violin solo. Scènes de Ballet is to my mind the least successful of the works here, it is based on classical ballet music. The Prelude has a stately sorrow but hardly impresses, the Allegretto, the best movement, has an engaging tune and is light and frothy, but the Adage and Finale are rather heavy going - perhaps they needed a lighter touch? Nevertheless a very entertaining concert and an important addition to Marco Polo's British Light Music series. Reviewer Ian Lace	Reviewer Ian Lace Reviews from previous months Reviews carry sales links but you can also purchase from:
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