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Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE (9 July 190614 April 1983) was an English composer.


Early life and education

Elisabeth Lutyens was born in London on 9 July 1906. She was one of the five children of Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874–1964), a member of the aristocratic Bulwer-Lytton family, and the prominent English architect Sir
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memor ...
. Elisabeth was the elder sister of the writer
Mary Lutyens Edith Penelope Mary Lutyens (pseudonym ''Esther Wyndham''; 31 July 1908 – 9 April 1999) was a British author who is principally known for her biographical works on the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. Early life Mary Lutyens was born in L ...
.Dalton, James
"Lutyens, (Agnes) Elisabeth (1906–1983), composer"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2020 Lutyens was involved in the Theosophical Movement. From 1911 the young
Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...
was living in the Lutyens' London house as a friend of Elisabeth and her sisters. At the age of nine she began to aspire to be a composer. In 1922, Lutyens pursued her musical education in Paris at the
École Normale de Musique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...
, which had been established a few years previously, living with the young theosophical composer Marcelle de Manziarly, who had been trained by
Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...
. During her months in Paris Lutyens showed first signs of depression that would later lead to several mental breakdowns. She accompanied her mother to India in 1923. On her return to Europe she studied with
John Foulds John Herbert Foulds (; 2 November 188025 April 1939) was an English cellist and composer of classical music. He was largely self-taught as a composer, and belongs among the figures of the English Musical Renaissance. A successful composer of li ...
and subsequently continued her musical education from 1926 to 1930 at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in London as a pupil of
Harold Darke Harold Edwin Darke (29 October 1888 – 28 November 1976) was an English composer and organist. He is particularly known for his choral compositions, which are an established part of the respertoire of Anglican church music. Darke had a fifty-y ...
.


Family life

In 1933, Lutyens married baritone Ian Glennie; they had twin daughters, Rose and Tess, and a son, Sebastian. The marriage was not happy, however, and in 1938 she left Glennie. They divorced in 1940. She then became the partner of Edward Clark, a conductor and former
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
producer who had studied with Schoenberg. Clark and Lutyens had a son, Conrad, in 1941 and married on 9 May 1942. She composed in complete isolation, a process greatly impeded by the drinking and partying at the Clark flat, and the responsibilities of motherhood. In 1946, pressured by Edward Clark and her mother, she decided to abort her fifth child. Two years later, she had a mental and physical breakdown that forced her to spend several months in a mental health institution. It was not until 1951 that she managed to regain control of her alcohol addiction, having endured days of extreme withdrawal.


Career


Works

In 1945,
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 cantat ...
was able to repay the service Clark had rendered him in relation to the premiere of his
Viola Concerto A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of viola concertos include Telemann's concerto in G major and several concertos by Carl St ...
in 1929. Lutyens approached Walton for an introduction to
Muir Mathieson James Muir Mathieson, OBE (24 January 19112 August 1975) was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on many British films. Career Mathieson was born in Stirling, Scotland, in 1911. A ...
with a view to getting some film music work. He readily agreed to pass on her name, but he went a step further: he invited her to write any work she liked, dedicate it to him and he would pay her £100 sight unseen. The work she wrote was ''The Pit''. Edward Clark conducted ''The Pit'' at the 1946
ISCM The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...
Festival in London, along with her ''Three Symphonic Preludes''. She found success in 1947 with a
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...
setting Arthur Rimbaud's poem ''Ô saisons, Ô châteaux''. The BBC refused to perform it at the time because the
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
range was thought to go beyond the bounds of the possible, but the BBC was nevertheless the organisation that gave first performances to many of her works from the 1940s to the 1950s. Her work in this period included incidental music for a number of poetry readings, such as
Esmé Hooton Esmé Gladys Hooton (1914–1992) was an English poet. She is the author of two collections of poetry: ''City Sonnets'', published by Routledge in 1947, and ''Zoo'', published by Peter Scupham's Mandeville Press in 1980 with illustrations by Davi ...
's ''Zoo'' in 1956. The BBC began playing her music again when her friend
William Glock Sir William Frederick Glock, CBE (3 May 190828 June 2000) was a British music critic and musical administrator who was instrumental in introducing the Continental avant-garde, notably promoting the career of Pierre Boulez. Biography Glock was bor ...
became Director of Music. Lutyens is remembered for her intolerance of her better-known contemporaries among English composers including
Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
,
Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and Bax."cowpat music"
''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 September 2020 She dismissed them as "the cowpat school" in a lecture she gave at the
Dartington International Summer School Dartington International Summer School is a summer school and festival of music held on the medieval estate of Dartington Hall and is a department of the Dartington Trust. Operation First established at Bryanston School in 1948 (largely throu ...
in the 1950s, disparaging their "folky‐wolky melodies on the cor anglais". Edward Clark had resigned from the BBC in 1936 amid much ill-feeling. He was still doing contract work for the BBC as well as freelance conducting, but those opportunities dried up and he was essentially unemployed from 1939 until his death in 1962. He was involved with the
ISCM The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...
and other contemporary music promotional organisations, but always in an unpaid capacity. Lutyens paid the bills by composing film scores for
Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
's horror movies and also for their rivals
Amicus Productions Amicus Productions was a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. Films Prior to establish ...
. She was the first female British composer to score a feature film, her first foray into the genre being ''
Penny and the Pownall Case ''Penny and the Pownall Case'' is a 1948 British second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended fo ...
'' (1948). Her other scores included ''
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger ''Never Take Sweets from a Stranger'' (US ''Never Take Candy from a Stranger'') is a 1960 British film, directed by Cyril Frankel and released by Hammer Film Productions. The screenplay was developed by John Hunter from the play ''The Pony Trap ...
'' (1960), ''
Don't Bother to Knock ''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker. The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' b ...
'' (1961), ''
Paranoiac Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy conc ...
'' (1963), ''
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors ''Dr Terror's House of Horrors'' is a 1965 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It was the fi ...
'' (1965), ''
The Earth Dies Screaming ''The Earth Dies Screaming'' is a 1964 British science-fiction horror film directed by Terence Fisher, written by Harry Spalding, and starring Willard Parker, Virginia Field, and Dennis Price.John Hamilton, ''The British Independent Horror Film 1 ...
'' (1965), ''
The Skull ''The Skull'' is a 1965 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis for Amicus Productions, and starring the frequently paired horror actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, alongside Patrick Wymark, Jill Bennett, Nigel Green, P ...
'' (1965) (a suite from this was issued on CD in 2004), ''
Spaceflight IC-1 ''Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space'' is a 1965 British science-fiction movie starring Bill Williams and Norma West. The civilized world is controlled by an all-powerful computerized government that is carefully choosing colonists for it ...
'' (1965), ''
The Psychopath Psychopath can refer to: * Psychopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Diffe ...
'' (1966), ''
Theatre of Death ''Theatre of Death'' (also known as ''Blood Fiend'') is a 1967 British horror movie directed by Samuel Gallu and starring Christopher Lee as a theatre director whose Grand Guignol theatre is thought to be linked to a series of murders.John Hamilto ...
'' (1967), and ''
The Terrornauts ''The Terrornauts'' is a 1967 British science fiction film produced by Amicus Productions. The film is based on '' The Wailing Asteroid'' by Murray Leinster, adapted for screen by John Brunner. Synopsis Project Star Talk is based at a UK r ...
'' (1967). Lutyens did not regard her film scores as highly as her concert works, but she still relished being referred to as the "Horror Queen", which went well with the green nail polish she habitually wore. She also wrote music for many documentary films and for BBC radio and TV programmes, as well as
incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for the stage. By the late 1960s her music was in greater favour and she received a number of important commissions, including ''Quincunx'' for orchestra with soprano and baritone soloists (1959–60), which was premiered at the 1962
Cheltenham Music Festival The Cheltenham Music Festival is a British music festival, held annually in Cheltenham in the summer months (June, July) since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 200 ...
and uses a quartet of
Wagner tuba The Wagner tuba is a four-valve brass instrument named after and commissioned by Richard Wagner. It combines technical features of both standard tubas and French horns, though despite its name, the Wagner tuba is more similar to the latter, and ...
s in the orchestra. The work was well received and recorded at the time, but didn't receive a live performance in London until 1999.Simeone, Nigel. Notes to Resonance CD RES10291 (2021)
/ref> Her ''Symphonies for solo piano, wind, harps and percussion'' was a commission for the 1961
Promenade Concerts The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
. In 1969 she was made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE). ''And Suddenly It’s Evening'' (1966) for tenor and ensemble, setting a translation of words by
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 ...
, was commissioned by the BBC in 1967 and performed at the Proms in 1967, 1974 and 1976.


Writing

Her autobiography, ''A Goldfish Bowl'', describing life as a female musician in London, was published in 1972. She once said that she hated writing the book, and only did so to record her husband Edward Clark's earlier achievements.


Death

Elisabeth Lutyens died in London in 1983, aged 76."Miss Elisabeth Lutyens", ''The Times'', 15 April 1983, p. 12


Selected list of works


Chamber music

* String Quartet I, Op. 5, No. 1 (1937) – withdrawn * String Quartet II, Op. 5, No. 5 (1938) * String Trio, Op. 5, No. 6 (1939) * Chamber Concerto I, Op. 8, No. 1, for 9 instruments (1939–40) * String Quartet III, Op. 18 (1949) * Concertante for five players, Op. 22 (1950) * String Quartet VI, Op. 25 (1952) * ''Valediction'', for clarinet and piano, Op. 28 (1953–54) – dedicated to the memory of
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...
* ''Capriccii'', for 2 harps and percussion, Op. 33 (1955) * ''Six Tempi'', for 10 instruments, Op. 42 (1957) * Wind Quintet, Op. 45 (1960) * String Quintet, Op. 51 (1963) * Wind Trio, Op. 52 (1963) * String Trio, Op. 57 (1963) * Music for Wind, for double wind quintet, Op. 60 (1963) * Oboe Quartet: ''Driving out the Death'', Op. 81 (1971) * ''Plenum II'', for oboe and 13 instruments, Op. 92 (1973) * ''Plenum III'', for string quartet, Op. 93 (1973) * Clarinet Trio, Op. 135 (1979)


Vocal and choral

* ''Ô saisons, Ô châteaux!'' – cantata after Rimbaud, Op. 13 (1946) * ''Requiem for the Living'', for soli, chorus and orchestra, Op. 16 (1948) * Stevie Smith Songs, for voice and piano (1948–53) * Motet: ''Excerpta Tractatus-logico-philosophicus'', for unaccompanied chorus, Op. 27 (1951) – text by
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...
* ''Nativity'', for soprano and organ (1951) * ''De Amore'' for soli, chorus and orchestra, Op. 39 (1957) – text by
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
* ''Quincuncx'', see full orchestra * Motet: ''The Country of the Stars'', Op. 50 (1963) – text by
Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...
translated Chaucer * ''Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis ''(SATB), Op. ?? (February 1965) * ''The Valley of Hatsu-Se'', for soprano, flute, clarinet, cello and piano, Op. 62 (1965) – on early Japanese poetry * ''And Suddenly It's Evening'', for tenor and 11 Instruments, Op. 66 (1965) – text by
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 ...
* ''Epithalamion'', for soprano and organ, Op. 67 No.3 (1968) * ''Essence of Our Happinesses'', for tenor, chorus and orchestra, Op. 69 (1968) – texts by Abu Yasid,
John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...
and Rimbaud * ''In the Direction of the Beginning'', for bass and piano, Op. 76 (1970) – text by Dylan Thomas * ''Anerca'', for speaker, 10 guitars and percussion, Op. 77 (1970) – on Eskimo poetry * ''Requiescat'', for soprano and string trio, in memoriam Igor Stravinsky (1971) – text by
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
* ''Voice of Quiet Waters'', for chorus and orchestra, Op. 84 (1972)


Solo instrumental

* 5 Intermezzi, for piano, Op. 9 (1941–42) * Suite for organ, Op. 17 (1948) * Sinfonia for organ, Op. 32 (1955) * ''Piano e Forte'', for piano, Op. 43 (1958) * Five Bagatelles, for piano, Op. 49 (1962) * ''The Dying of the Sun'', for guitar, Op. 73 (1969) * ''Plenum I'', for piano, Op. 87 (1972) * ''Temenos'', for organ, Op. 72 (1972) * ''Plenum IV'', for two organs, Op. 100 (1975) * Five Impromptus, for piano, Op. 116 (1977) * Seven Preludes, for piano, Op. 126 (1978) * ''The Great Seas'', for piano, Op. 132'' (1979) * ''La natura dell'Acqua'', for piano, Op. 154 (1981) * ''Echo of the Wind'', for solo viola, Op. 157 * ‘’Encore-Maybe’’, for piano, Op. 159


Small orchestra

* Chamber Concerto II, for clarinet, tenor sax, piano and strings, Op. 8, No. 2 (1940) * Chamber Concerto III, for bassoon and small orchestra, Op. 8, No. 3 (1945) * Chamber Concerto IV, for horn and small orchestra, Op. 8, No. 4 (1946) * Chamber Concerto V, for string quartet and chamber orchestra, Op. 8, No. 5 (1946) * Chamber Concerto VI (1948) was withdrawn * Six Bagatelles, Op. 113, for six woodwind, four brass, percussion, harp, piano (doubling celeste) & five solo strings (1976)


Orchestral

* Three Pieces, Op. 7 (1939) * Three Symphonic Preludes (1942) * Viola Concerto, Op. 15 (1947) * Music for Orchestra I, Op. 31 (1955) * Chorale for Orchestra: ''Hommage a Igor Stravinsky'', Op. 36 * ''Quincunx'', for orchestra with soprano and baritone soli in one movement, Op. 44 (1959–60) – text by Sir
Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne (; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a deep curi ...
* Music for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 59 (1963) * ''Novenaria'', Op. 67, No. 1 (1967)


Opera and music theatre

* ''Infidelio'' – seven scenes for soprano and tenor, Op. 29 (1954) * ''The Numbered'' – opera in a Prologue and four acts after
Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; bg, Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic family. They moved to Manchester, England, but his father died in 1912, and his mother took her t ...
, Op. 63 (1965–67) * ''Time Off? Not the Ghost of a Chance!'' – charade in four scenes, Op. 68 (1967–68) * ''Isis and Osiris'' – lyric drama after
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, Op. 74 (1969) * ''The Linnet from the Leaf'' – music-theatre for singers and two instrumental groups, Op. 89 (1972) * ''The Waiting Game'' – scenes for mezzo, baritone, actor and small orchestra, Op. 91 (1973)


References


Sources

* David Huckvale
''Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde''


Further reading

* Fockert, Annika (2104),
Elisabeth Lutyens
', MUGI online * * Harries, Meirion and Susie, ''A Pilgrim Soul. The Life and work of Elisabeth Lutyens''* * Lutyens, Elizabeth, ''A Goldfish Bowl''. * Mathias, Rhiannon, ''Lutyens, Maconchy, Williams and Twentieth-Century British Music: A Blest Trio of Sirens'' (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012); . * Anthony Payne: 'Lutyens's Solution to Serial Problems', ''The Listener'', 5 December 1963, p. 961 *


External links


BBC 4 Audio Interviews: Elisabeth Lutyens

University of York Music Press: Elisabeth Lutyens
*
Elisabeth Lutyens on the British Music Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutyens, Elisabeth 1906 births 1983 deaths Musicians from London École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Alumni of the Royal College of Music English classical composers 20th-century classical composers British women classical composers Women film score composers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English composers 20th-century English women musicians Lutyens family 20th-century women composers