A 244th GARLAND OF BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC COMPOSERS
We start with two purveyors pf lightish miniatures
for (mainly) young performers, both of them active in the 1960s. Mervyn
Baker’s publications included the trombone solo Alla Polacca
and a trumpet solo Trumpet Tango, both 1968. Bernard Hazelgrove
was responsible for many purely instrumental publications and
several arrangements but the "symphonic contest march" for
brass band entitled The Barbican (1968), appears to be his own
composition.
Karl Jenkins, a native of South Wales, is also
known for his music suitable for young amateurs including the unison
Animal Songs (jointly, as a number of his pieces were, with the
lyricist/composer Carol Barratt), Come Dancing (1985)
and Smokey Joe (1983), both for woodwind ensemble, Sounds
for Sax (No 1) for alto or tenor saxophone with piano, the music
for TV’s The Celts plus many arrangements (including a woodwind
ensemble piece combining the trios of Elgar’s 1st and 2nd
Pomp and Circumstance marches and the very popular choral number
Adiemus).
The film composer Howard Shore (born 1946) is
worth a mention for his music for The Lord of the Rings (ongoing
as I write), though many of his other film scores are not, popularly
speaking, light music.
Finally for some more minor figures from the late Victorian
musical stage. Augustus T. MacInnes was busy as a musical director,
Edward Hildyard Marris as lyricist and, more particularly, theatre
manager, the latter well into the 20th century. They combined
to compose music for Sunny Florida, produced in Warrington in
1896, revived later that season at West Hartlepool as The American
Girl and years later re-written, but still enjoying no more than
a provincial reputation, as Somebody’s Sweetheart. Arthur
Richards had a fleeting moment of fame when his musical Buttercup
and Daisy was staged at Kilburn in 1895.
Philip L Scowcroft
January 2002
Philip's book 'British Light Music Composers' (ISBN 0903413 88 4) is
currently out of print.
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