Arthur Wood (24 January 1875 – 18 January 1953) was an English composer and conductor, particularly famous for "

Barwick Green "Barwick Green" is the theme music to the long-running BBC Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers''. A "maypole dance" from the suite ''My Native Heath'' written in 1924 by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood, it is named after Barwick-in-Elmet in Yor ...

", the signature theme for the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

series ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

''.

Life

Wood was born in

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen pa ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the son of a tailor. His father was a violinist in a local amateur orchestra and as a boy, Wood began to learn the violin, the flute and piccolo.Philip L Scowcroft
Detailed biography
at Light Music Garlands, accessed 2006 After his family moved to

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

in 1882 he was given flute lessons from Arthur Brookes, a member of a local spa orchestra. He left school at the age of twelve and two years later became organist of St Paul's

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church in Harrogate. By age sixteen he had become the lead flautist, pianist and deputy conductor of the Harrogate Municipal Orchestra. Later he moved onto the

Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, ...

. In 1903, at the age of twenty-eight, he progressed to become the director of music at

Terry's Theatre Terry's Theatre was a West End theatre in the Strand, in the City of Westminster, London. Built in 1887, it became a cinema in 1910 before being demolished in 1923. History The theatre was built in 1887, near Fountain's Court, on the site of a ...

, London. Wood conducted London theatre orchestras for over three decades, including the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

, His Majesty's Theatre and the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

. He died in London on 18 January 1953. He was father to

Peggy Ann Wood Peggy Ann Wood (14 June 1912 – 30 May 1998) was a British actress, director and theatre manager associated heavily with the Bristol Old Vic. In partnership with her husband, Ronald Russell (1910–1994), she ran the repertory company the Ra ...

, an actor, director and theatre manager based in Bristol.

Works

Wood was a prolific composer of works in a variety of categories, although he was self-taught in composition and orchestration. His first published work, the orchestral work ''Three Old Dances'', was first published in 1902. After this he became a staff composer for

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

, for whom he wrote many orchestral suites and single works, many related to his upbringing. These include ''Three Dale Dances'', the ''Yorkshire Moors Suite'', ''A Lancashire Clog Dance'' and ''My Native Heath'', from which his most famous piece "

" came. Other orchestral works include his ''Concertino in A major'', ''Widow Malone'', ''An Oriental Scene'' and ''Fairy Dreams''. He also composed for a number of

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

s, such as ''

Yvonne Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupati ...

'', ''Petticoat Fair'', and ''Fancy Fair'', the latter two dating from about 1918. Apart from "Barwick Green", his works are now rarely performed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Arthur 1875 births 1953 deaths 20th-century classical composers English classical composers Light music composers People from Heckmondwike The Archers English male classical composers Musicians from Yorkshire 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians