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1940 In British Music
This is a summary of 1940 in music in the United Kingdom. Events *30 January – Sophie Wyss gives the first complete performance of Benjamin Britten's ''Les Illuminations'', with Boyd Neel conducting his Orchestra at the Wigmore Hall, London. *28 March – Antonio Brosa gives the first performance of Britten's Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Barbirolli in Carnegie Hall, New York. * 21 April – Michael Tippett's Concerto for Double String Orchestra is given its first performance in London. *May – Ilona Kabos and Louis Kentner record William Walton's ''Duets for Children'' for Columbia. *22 June – John Ireland is evacuated from Guernsey just over a week before the island is invaded by Germany.Foreman, Lewis. ''The John Ireland Companion''. The Boydell Press, 2011: p. xxxiii *''date unknown'' – D'Oyly Carte bass L. Radley Flynn marries contralto Ella Halman. Popular music * "All Over The Place" w. Frank Eyton m. Noel Gay. Introd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
30 January
Events Pre-1600 *1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen. * 1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom. 1601–1900 *1607 – An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths. *1648 – Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain. * 1649 – Charles I of England is executed in Whitehall, London. *1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed. *1703 – The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka. *1789 – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantata ''Belshazzar's Feast'', the Viola Concerto, the First Symphony, and the British coronation marches ''Crown Imperial'' and '' Orb and Sceptre''. Born in Oldham, Lancashire, the son of a musician, Walton was a chorister and then an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. On leaving the university, he was taken up by the literary Sitwell siblings, who provided him with a home and a cultural education. His earliest work of note was a collaboration with Edith Sitwell, ''Façade'', which at first brought him notoriety as a modernist, but later became a popular ballet score. In middle age, Walton left Britain and set up home with his young wife Susana on the Italian island of Ischia. By this time, he had ceased to be regarded as a moderni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Addinsell
Richard Stewart Addinsell (13 January 190414 November 1977) was an English composer, best known for film music, primarily his ''Warsaw Concerto'', composed for the 1941 film ''Dangerous Moonlight'' (also known under the later title ''Suicide Squadron''). Biography Early life Richard Addinsell was born in Woburn Square, London, to William Arthur Addinsell, who was a chartered accountant, and his wife, Annie Beatrice Richards.Lamb, Andrew (2004)'Addinsell, Richard Stewart (1904–1977)' ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 13 September 2011. The younger of two brothers, Addinsell was educated at home before attending Hertford College, Oxford, to study Law but went down after just 18 months. He then became interested in music. Early career In 1925, he enrolled at the Royal College of Music but lasted only two terms before leaving, again without obtaining any formal qualification. By this time Addinsell was already collaborating with Noel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wise Virgins
''The Wise Virgins'' is a one-act ballet based on the biblical Parable of the Ten Virgins.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977. It was created in 1940 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to a score of music by Johann Sebastian Bach orchestrated by William Walton. History The music of the ballet was the first to be decided. Some years before, at an evening gathering in Cambridge with Boris Ord and Constant Lambert (Music Director of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet), the two musicians played some Bach at the piano. One of the pieces was "Sheep may safely graze" which comes from a secular cantata about hunting, ''Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd'', BWV 208. Ashton, wanting to use this music and believing it to be a religious subject, chose the parable of the wise and foolish virgins from the Gospel of Matthew 25:1-13.Kavanagh J. ''Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton.'' Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1996, pp. 260-3. According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinfonia Da Requiem
''Sinfonia da Requiem'', Op. 20, for orchestra is a symphony written by Benjamin Britten in 1940 at the age of 26. It was one of several works commissioned from different composers by the Japanese government to mark Emperor Jimmu's 2600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire (taken to be 11 February 660 BCE from birth of Emperor Jimmu). The Japanese government rejected the ''Sinfonia'' for its use of Latin titles from the Catholic Requiem for its three movements and for its somber overall character, but it was received positively at its world premiere in New York on 29 March 1941 under John Barbirolli. A performance in Boston under Serge Koussevitzky led to the commission of the opera ''Peter Grimes'' from the Koussevitzky Music Foundations. The ''Sinfonia'' is Britten's largest purely orchestral work for the concert hall. It was his first major orchestral work that did not include a soloist and, according to musicologist Peter Evans, marks the peak of his early w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Charles Harris, former British consul in Monaco, and Royal Navy Captain Hastings George FitzHardinge Berkeley (1855–1934), the illegitimate and eldest son of George Lennox Rawdon Berkeley, the 7th Earl of Berkeley (1827–1888). He attended the Dragon School in Oxford, going on to Gresham's School, in Holt, Norfolk and St George's School in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. He studied French at Merton College, Oxford, graduating with a fourth class degree in 1926. While at university he coxed the college rowing eight. He became an honorary fellow of Merton College in 1974. In 1927, he went to Paris to study music with Nadia Boulanger, and there became acquainted with Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and Albert Rouss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granville Bantock
Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (7 August 186816 October 1946) was a British composer of classical music. Biography Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was an eminent Scottish surgeon.Hadden, J. Cuthbert, 1913, ''Modern Musicians'', Boston: Le Roy Phillips; London & Edinburgh: T. N. Foulis, pp.42–46 His younger brother was the dramatist and film director Leedham Bantock. Granville Bantock was intended by his parents for the Indian Civil ServiceAnderson, Keith (2001)''Granville Bantock (1868–1946): Old English Suite; Russian Scenes; Hebridean Symphony (sleevenotes)'' Naxos. Retrieved 16 July 2011. but he suffered poor health and initially turned to chemical engineering. At the age of 20, when he began studying composers' manuscripts, at South Kensington Museum Library, he was drawn into the musical world. His first teacher was Dr Gordon Saunders at Trinity College of Music. In 1888, he entered the Royal Academy of Music where he studied harmony and compos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sailors Three
''Sailors Three'' (released in the US as ''Three Cockeyed Sailors'') is a 1940 British war comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Tommy Trinder, Claude Hulbert and Carla Lehmann. This was cockney music hall comedian Trinder's debut for Ealing, the studio with which he was to become most closely associated. It concerns three British sailors who accidentally find themselves aboard a German ship during the Second World War. Detailed surveys published in Britain in the early years of the war by the "Mass-Observation" organisation, showed the popularity of comedy with wartime cinema audiences. Films with the war as a subject were particularly well received, especially those movies showing the lighter side of service life, largely because many in the audience would soon be finding themselves in uniform. John Oliver writes in BFI screenonline, " to prepare such potential recruits for their own possible riotous and fun-packed life in the Royal Navy, Sandy Powell had already ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was one of the United Kingdom's foremost entertainers during the Second World War. Known for his confident and direct style of comedy, Trinder first found recognition with his music hall revues in the late 1930s. During the war, he worked for ENSA and maintained a successful film career, starring in a string of Ealing Studios films including ''Sailors Three'' (1940), '' Champagne Charlie'' (1944) and '' Bitter Springs'' (1950). During the 1950s, Trinder became a television star, notably as the original host for ''Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' (1955-1958). In 1959, he was elected chairman of Fulham Football Club, a position he maintained until 1976. He continued to perform into the 1980s. Biography Early life (1909–1937) Tommy Tri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noel Gay
Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, British Columbia, Canada People *Noel (given name) * Noel (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Noel, another term for a pastorale of a Christmas nature * ''Noël'' (Joan Baez album), 1966 * ''Noël'' (Josh Groban album), 2007 * ''Noel'' (Noel Pagan album), 1988 * ''Noël'' (The Priests album), 2010 * ''Noel'' (Phil Vassar album), 2011 * ''Noel'' (Josh Wilson album), 2012 *''Noel'', 2015 Christmas album by Detail *"The First Noel", a traditional English Christmas carol *Noël (singer) (active late 1970s), American disco singer *Noel (band), a South Korean group Television * ''Noel'' (TV series), a Philippine drama * "Noël" (''The West Wing''), a 2000 television episode Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media * ''Noel' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Eyton
Frank Eyton (30 August 1894 – 11 November 1962) was an English popular music lyricist best known for co-writing the lyrics of Johnny Green's " Body and Soul" (1930) with Edward Heyman and Robert Sour. Frank Eyton biographyat Allmusic - retrieved on 18 May 2009 Most of Eyton's work was collaborations with Noel Gay and Billy Mayerl in London-based musical theatre. With Mayerl as composer, Eyton co-wrote with Desmond Carter the lyrics for the celebrated sequence "Side by Side" from ''Over She Goes'' (filmed 1938). His most successful play was the 1948 musical farce, ''Bob's Your Uncle'', written in collaboration with Gay.Frank Eyton at ''jazzbiographies.com'' - retrieved on 18 May 2009 With Gay, Eyton wrote the popular song "All Over The Place" for the 1940 film '' |
Ella Halman
Ella Louise Halman (July 18, 1906 – March 20, 1995) was an English opera singer and actress, best known for her performances in the contralto roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. She married another D'Oyly Carte performer, L. Radley Flynn, in 1940. Halman began her professional singing career on tour with the Carl Rosa Opera Company. After further experience in concert work and teaching, she joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a chorister in 1937. She soon was playing the role of Inez in ''The Gondoliers'' and understudying the larger contralto roles. From 1939 to 1951, she was the company's principal contralto. She and her husband then toured in Gilbert and Sullivan productions in America. They retired to Penrith, Cumbria, England, where they became involved with amateur operatic societies. She recorded eight of her roles with D'Oyly Carte. Life and career Halman was born in Ealing, Middlesex. At age eighteen, Halman won the Sussex County Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
