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Christopher Whelen (17 April 1927 – 18 September 1993) was an English composer, conductor and playwright, best known for his radio and television operas. Because much of his work was written for specific theatre productions in the 1950s, or directly for broadcast in the 1960s to the 1980s, little of it survives today though a number of his scores, etc, have now been deposited in the British Library (MS Mus 1798).


Life

Whelen was born in London and christened at
St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
. He was bought up by his mother Winifred, a violinist, with the help of his Godmother Mary Gotch, also a musician. He became a chorister at New College, Oxford, attended
Worksop College Worksop College (formerly St Cuthbert's College) is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils aged 13 to 18, in Worksop. It sits at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, England. Founded ...
(studying piano and 'cello) and then at the Birmingham and Midland School of Music (now the
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...
) between 1944 and 1946 (studying clarinet and composition).'Composer & Conductor Christopher Whelen' posted by ''Janice in Caunes'' From an early age Whelen had always wanted to conduct, and after two years National Service in the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
he secured conducting lessons with the Austrian émigré Rudolf Schwarz.Palmer, Christopher. 'Whelen, Christopher' in Grove Music Online
/ref>, newly appointed to the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, subsequently becoming his Assistant Conductor. Already interested in Celtic culture (particularly
Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
), the music of
Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...
held a special appeal and became a central influence for Whelen after hearing a performance of
Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena ( kw, Tre war Venydh, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surroundin ...
. A correspondence began in 1947, which led to a close friendship until Bax's death in 1953. It was at Bax's request that in 1951 Whelen conducted Bax's Sixth Symphony in Bournemouth. Afterwards Bax wrote: "I still dote on your performance of No 6 and want a repeat".Scott-Sutherland, Colin. 'Review, Cuchulan Among the Guns' in ''Tempo'' No 2015, January 2001, p 34-5 He was awarded the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge medal for conducting in 1955. Given the non-availability of conducting posts at the time and needing to earn a living, Whelen moved to London, whilst continuing for a time to guest conduct in Birmingham, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Dublin. He subsequently became Director of Music for the Old Vic Theatre company, then engaged in producing a complete cycle of Shakespeare's plays. This rapidly led to his being asked to write incidental music for them, and he found himself launched on a mainly compositional career. Many commissions followed from other theatres but most importantly from the BBC. He briefly ventured into the field of musicals, culminating in writing the music for John Osborne's '' The World of Paul Slickey'' (1959). This was Osborne's only attempt at writing a musical, but after the huge successes of his previous plays ''
Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
'' and '' The Entertainer'', the play was to become "one of the most spectacular disasters in English theatre". Despite this setback, the theatre work led to a series of commissions for Whelen by the
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for often experimental television and radio scores spanning the 1960s to the 1980s, including two operas specially conceived for television as well as pioneering hard to classify musico-dramatic works for which he invariably wrote both words and music, fusing the music and action together as an established genre. Whelen met his lifelong partner Dennis Andrews in 1948 in Bournemouth. They lived together for many years in London and
Cumnor Cumnor is a village and civil parish 3½ miles (5.6 km) west of the centre of Oxford, England. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Botley and its centre is west of the A420 road to Swindon. The parish includes Cumn ...
, Oxfordshire, before Whelen's death in 1993. The Christopher Whelen Award for innovation in radio, TV and the theatre was set up in his name. Winners include Paddy Cuneen, Jonathan Dove, Orlando Gough and Mick Sands.


Music

Whelen was primarily a music dramatist and his most successful works are the series of radio and television music theatre works commissioned by the BBC starting from the 1960s. His first operatic production, broadcast on 6 August 1961, was ''
The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...
'', for which he contributed new arrangements of the traditional ballads. The original radio opera ''The Cancelling Dark'', with text by the poet
Vernon Scannell Vernon Scannell (23 January 1922 – 16 November 2007) was a British poet and author. He was at one time a professional boxer, and wrote novels about the sport. Personal life Vernon Scannell, whose birth name was John Vernon Bain, was born i ...
, followed on 5 December 1965. Based on a true story, the action alternates between a crashed aircraft in the African jungle near Benguela and the radio control room at Kakonda Airfield. Jeremy Rundall in ''The Sunday Times'' said it "has an Ancient Mariner-ish ring, and should be heard again". In 1966 the BBC announced "our intention to win wider audiences for opera" and a wide-ranging season was programmed by
Cedric Messina Cedric Messina (14 December 1920 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa — 30 April 1993 in London) was a South-African born British television producer and director who worked for the BBC and is best remembered for his involvement in television pro ...
(Director of Opera - Drama Group). Most significantly the Press release added "Emphasis will be given to operas specially commissioned for TV". So John Hopkins and Whelen were jointly commissioned to create a work for BBC2 that would explore what a TV opera might look like. A subsequent requirement, and one that had seemed unimaginable up till then, was that it must have "a contemporary plot and modern dress". Overcoming immediate qualms, and encouraged by the BBC's confidence in commissioning not one but two operas from them, Hopkins and Whelen quickly took to the challenge of, in Whelen's words, "the actual creating for television", which "remains the most immediate all-at-once, yet intimate, medium of communication. And surely it is surely today we want to communicate with?" This, therefore, was how the television opera ''Some Place of Darkness'' came into being, and the result was " a sombre domestic drama set in the present, it exemplified all that television promoted". Some press comments: "(It)managed to combine the immediacy and naturalism of TV and the heightened emotion of musical drama with very great success."(Opera) "It was pure TV. This was gripping stuff, much as I disliked it."(The Times) "(It) will remain in my mind as the first Nouvelle Vague opera."(Musical Opinion) The second opera ''Night Cry'', although completed and scheduled for production in 1968, was shelved, following a change in the Directorship of BBC2. By 1969 for '' Incident at Owl Creek'' Whelen had dispensed with a librettist, adapting the source material (based on the short story by
Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...
) himself. A press comment: "It struck me that Whelen had in this new work confirmed "radio opera" as an art form in its own right."(The Sunday Times) Success with this led to him writing a text based on an original idea for ''The Findings'' (1972), concerning the excavation of an
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...
tomb. Creating his own plot and characters presented through his own words and music, Whelen was attempting to create a more personal form of "total musical theatre". Entered for the Italia Prize in 1972, it elicited the following press comment: "Self knowledge is as suitable a subject for operatic treatment as any other, though this may well be the first opera to discuss bisexuality openly." Christopher Palmer identified ''The Findings'' and ''Incident at Owl Creek'' as "outstanding". The music drama ''The Restorer'', produced and directed by
Martin Esslin , birth_date = , birth_place = Budapest, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place = London, England, UK , education = University of Vienna Reinhardt Seminar , o ...
, is an example of Whelen's experimentation with the close combination of words and music. The discovery of a mysterious Dutch painting prompts an intriguing journey of self-exploration. "A haunting experience. There can be few creative artists in the world who could write such an engrossing play as well as compose, orchestrate and conduct its music" Calling Whelen "a trailblazer",
Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seve ...
, in a private letter to the composer wrote, "Radio can be so exceptionally exciting, and it certainly is with "The Restorer". The play itself is so rich and mysterious, and explores areas of pain with such delicacy - and at the same time so openly and excitingly dramatic. I can only express my gratitude at being thought of and asked to play, Henry." Another strand of Whelen's work was in film. He composed the score for ''The Valiant'' (1962), ''
The Face of Fu Manchu ''The Face of Fu Manchu'' is a 1965 thriller film directed by Don Sharp and based on the characters created by Sax Rohmer. It stars Christopher Lee as the eponymous villain, a Chinese criminal mastermind, and Nigel Green as his pursuing rival N ...
'' (1965) and ''
Coast of Skeletons ''Coast of Skeletons'' is a 1965 adventure film, directed by Robert Lynn and starring Richard Todd and Dale Robertson. It is a sequel to the 1963 film '' Death Drums Along the River'', and just as that film, it uses the characters from Edgar ...
'' (1965). There was also a ballet, ''Cul de Sac'', choreographed by
Norman Morrice Norman Alexander Morrice (10 September 1931 – 11 January 2008) was a British dancer, choreographer and artistic director of both Ballet Rambert from 1966 to 1974 and the Royal Ballet from 1977 to 1986, the UK's two major ballet companies. Earl ...
and staged by Ballet Rambert on 13 July 1964 at
Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...
.Ballet Rambert performance archive
/ref>
/ref> Whelen wrote incidental music for over a hundred plays in all, including some twenty-nine for Shakespeare productions at the Old Vic, Stratford-on-Avon and Chichester Festival Theatres - and for BBC radio and television - as well as major scores, involving both choruses and orchestras for a series of seven Greek Dramas on the BBC's Third Programme.


Works


Television and radio operas

* ''The Cancelling Dark'', radio opera, libretto by Vernon Scannell (1964) * ''Some Place of Darkness'', television opera, libretto by John Hopkins (1967) * ''Incident at Owl Creek'', radio opera, libretto Whelen after
Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...
(1969) * ''The Findings'', radio opera, libretto Whelen (1972)


Radio drama, words and music by Whelen

* ''The Restorer'' (1976) * ''Bridges'', a play with music written for stereo (1976) * ''To the Office and Back'', notes towards a portrait of
Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...
(1978) * ''Cumulus'', a weather fantasy (1980) * ''The Jigsaw Must Fit'', 'musico-dramatic' work (1983) * ''Ed e Subito Sera'', a portrait of
Salvatore Quasimodo Salvatore Quasimodo (; August 20, 1901 – June 14, 1968) was an Italian poet and translator. In 1959, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own time ...
(1984) * ''Broad Daylight'', a love story in words and music (1986)


Musical comedies

* ''School'' (1957) (adapted from T W Robertson). Birmingham Repertory Theatre / Palace Theatre London * ''Ferdinand, the Matador'' (1958) (Book and lyrics by Leo Lehmann). The opening production of the newly built Belgrade Theatre, Coventry * ''Who is Hopkin?'' (1960) Commissioned by R.A.D.A. * ''Walker London'' (1962). Birmingham Repertory Theatre. * ''The World of Paul Slickey'' (1959). (Book and Lyrics by John Osborne - who also directed.) It ran for 3 months at the Palace Theatre, London, and was considered a disaster. The music and the choreography (by Kenneth MacMillan) however were somewhat exempted.


Selected incidental music for theatre, radio and television

* ''Murder in the Cathedral'' by T S Eliot (1953, Old Vic Company, recording available) * '' The Lord of the Flies'' by
William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...
, dramatised by Archie Campbell (1955) * ''
The Green Pastures ''The Green Pastures'' is a play written in 1930 by Marc Connelly adapted from ''Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' (1928), a collection of stories written by Roark Bradford. The play was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. It had th ...
'' by
Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...
(1956), incidental music and musical direction. The spirituals were arranged and conducted by Avril Coleridge-Taylor. * ''
Arlecchino Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally ...
'', by Goldoni (1957) Lyric Hammersmith / Edinburgh * '' Pincher Martin'' by William Golding, dramatised by Archie Campbell (1958) * ''Campion'' (1959 BBC Television mystery series) * ''An Age of Kings: Pageant of English History'', cycle of Shakespeare history plays (from 1960) (BBC DVD available) * '' The Changeling'' by
Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
(1960) * ''The Lincoln Passion'' (1963) * ''
The King Must Die ''The King Must Die'' is a 1958 bildungsroman and historical novel by Mary Renault that traces the early life and adventures of Theseus, a hero in Greek mythology. It is set in locations throughout Ancient Greece: Troizen, Corinth, Eleusis, A ...
'' by
Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...
(1963) * '' The Spread of the Eagle'', cycle of Shakespeare's 3 Roman plays (1963) BBC TV * '' A Christmas Carol'' by
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
(1965) * ''
The Bull From the Sea ''The Bull from the Sea'' is the sequel to Mary Renault's ''The King Must Die''. It continues the story of the Greek mythology, mythological hero Theseus after his return from Crete. Plot introduction The story is a retelling of the life of m ...
'' by Mary Renault (1965) * ''
The Old Glory ''The Old Glory'' is a play written by the American poet Robert Lowell that was first performed in 1964. It consists of three pieces that were meant to be performed together as a trilogy. The first two pieces, " Endecott and the Red Cross" and "M ...
'', trilogy by Robert Lowell (1969) * ''Vivat Rex'', a dramatic chronicle of the English crown in 26 episodes, narrated by
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
(1977) (BBC recording available)''Vivat Rex'', BBC Digital Audio (2015)
/ref>


Song Cycles

* ''A Narrow Bed'' (Poems by Peter Porter) for Baritone and mixed ensemble (1964). First performed by John Shirley-Quirk (A.T.V./Tempo) * ''A Disturbance in Mirrors'' (Poems by Sylvia Plath) for Soprano and Brass Quintet (1964). First performed by Marjorie Thomas and the Philip Jones Brass Quintet (BBC Radio 3)


Choral (a capella)

* ''Pompeii'' for mixed voices (Words by Peter Porter, based on Pompeian Graffiti).


Orchestral

* ''Conversazione.'' (Dedicated to Rudolf Schwarz) (1964). (Score in Bournemouth Symphony Orchestral Library). * ''Cul de Sac'', ballet score, first performed by Ballet Rambert at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, 1964, Norman Morrice (choreographer), Ralph Koltai (designer).


Piano

* ''Theme and Variations'' (1946). Written in memory of Whelen's German cousin, killed in the war, the seven variations unusually precede the theme which is then followed by a brief epilogue. * ''Piano Sonata'' (1963). In three movements, first performed by Margaret Gibbs at
Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...
, 10.02.1964. * ''Adagio (for left hand)'' (was written for a personal friend, the Swedish Nobel-Prize winning poet,
Tomas Tranströmer Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long Swedish winters, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer's ...
.


Writings

* A.I.Bacharach - Music Masters Vol.4. Chapter on Sir Arnold Bax. (1954). Cassel/Penguin. * 'Thoughts on Television Opera', in ''Composer'' 24 (1967), p 17 * ''The Composer as Dramatist'', BBC Radio 3 talk, broadcast 16 July 1972 * ''Cuchulan Among the Guns: Sir Arnold Bax's Letters to Christopher Whelen, together with the Latter's Writings and Broadcasts on Bax and His Music'', edited by Dennis Andrews (2000)


Further reading/listening

* ''As the Case Requires'' (a commemorative memorial tribute to Christopher Whelen), Libanus Press, Marlborough, 1994, 110 copies printed * ''The Far Theatricals of Day'', by Jonathon Dove (Poems by Emily Dickinson) for 4 soloists, choir, brass quintet and organ, commissioned and composed in memory of Christopher Whelen. First performed in Canterbury Cathedral and St Brides Church London, under the auspices of J.A.M. (Peters Edition) (Available on CD) * Whelen's scores, libretti, privately recorded CDs, etc are held in the British Library (MS Mus 1798).


References


External links


Christoper Whelen: Music excerpts from ''The Face of Fu Manchu'' (1965)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelen, Christopher 1927 births 1993 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians