A 268TH GARLAND OF BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC COMPOSERS
Arthur Cecil, whose real name was Arthur Blunt,
was an actor/singer on the Victorian stage, especially in the Gallery
of Illustration/St. George’s Hall Entertainments (he also played Box
in Cox and Box by Sullivan and sang in a production of Trial
by Jury). Cecil also composed the music for A Bright Idea
(1881), for St. George’s Hall, and one song for the 1885 Gaiety Theatre
production, Little Jack Sheppard, described as a "burlesque
operatic melodrama".
A ballad composer of the pre-1914 period was Emilie
Clarke, whose titles included Sincerity (My Friend)
(1913), especially popular, Heart’s Delight, That’s All and Kisses
and Kisses.
In this series of Garlands we have had mentions of
many who have composed music to accompany films, TV and radio. One of
the latest of these is Andrew Blaney, who provided an atmospheric,
sometimes quite catchy, yet essentially understated, score for BBC2’s
dramatic documentary Dickens (May 2002). And we may also mention
Keith Waithe for his music for St Exupery’s play The Little
Prince (BBC Radio, 2002) and Adrian Lee for his Credible
Witness (BBC Radio, 2002). Anthony Smith-Masters also composed
scores for several radio features between the 1950s and the 1970s, among
them The Dynasts (1951), The Streets of Pompeii (1952),
First Half Century (1953), Love and Friendship (Jane Austen)
(1953) and The Flood (1977). He also spread his net quite widely
in other forms of lighter music, from which we can exemplify All
Mimsy (1978), a solo for double bass and piano, Quiet Dance
for piano solo (1959) and, an opera for schools, The Pied Piper,
from 1964.
Finally, a brass band composer we have not so far mentioned
is Alec Howell, who had something of a success in 1962 with La
Catalena.
Philip L Scowcroft
May 2002
Philip's book 'British Light Music Composers' (ISBN 0903413 88 4) is
currently out of print.
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