A 210th GARLAND OF BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC COMPOSERS
Previous Garlands have alluded to members of the Bournemouth
Municipal Orchestra in Dan Godfrey’s day, who also composed: Jean
Gennin, Cecil White, Theo de la Riviere and Montague Birch.
Another is William ("Billy") Byrne, percussionist from
the Orchestra’s earliest days in 1893 until his retirement in 1927 (he
played occasionally thereafter, up to his death in 1937). His compositions,
which of course featured percussion instruments, included Rosewood
Ripples and Whispering Pines.
Philip A. Stott deserves a mention here for
his Wind in the Willows Recorder Book (1987), pieces for recorder
solo, duet and ensemble inspired by Kenneth Grahame’s classic and intended
for young performers also the earliest and similar Peter Rabbit Recorder
Book (1984) for descant recorder. Ann Hamerton shall also
be remembered for her short, tuneful choral songs like Spring Has
Come, The Little Fir Tree and Shepherd’s Carol and
for the Three Pieces, published in 1958 for oboe and piano.
Daryl Griffith is a member of the excellent
London Salon Ensemble, in which he plays harmonium or percussion. He
composes, too; Orient Express – a popular title used by other
composers including Philip Sparke – was especially written for
the LSE.
A brass band composer to mention is Clive Bright
who seems, around the mid 20th century period, to have composed
pieces for less advanced ensembles, like the Festival Suite,
in three short movements, which I heard recently.
Finally for my TV/film composer I offer the Irishman
Shaun Davey, best known for his music for BBC TV’s series of
Ballykissangel, but who also furnished music for a large screen
version of Twelfth Night. [The editor would like to draw attention
to Davey's atmospheric Celtic song cycle with orchestra and uillean
pipes, Granuaile which has been recorded by the unsurpassable
Rita Connolly].
Philip L Scowcroft
July 2001
Philip's book 'British Light Music Composers' (ISBN 0903413 88 4) is
currently out of print.
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