Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 190618 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works that would not otherwise have been forthcoming. Fenby was born in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

, and as a youth took lessons in the piano, organ and cello. At the age of 12 he was appointed organist at Holy Trinity Church. As a composer he was largely self-taught. By 1925 he had conducted a work for string orchestra at the Spa Grand Hall in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and had written some minor pieces.

Working for Delius

In 1928, hearing that Delius had become virtually helpless because of blindness and paralysis (due to syphilis), he offered to serve him as an

. Fenby worked, at the composer's home in

Grez-sur-Loing Grez-sur-Loing (, literally ''Grez on Loing''; formerly Grès-en-Gâtinais, literally ''Grès in Gâtinais'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. Sights * The Church of Notre-Dame et Saint-Laurent ''(Church o ...

, near Paris, for extended periods until Delius died almost six years later. The project was taxing not only because of the need to devise a unique mode of musical communication but also because of Delius's difficult temperament and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

. Although born into a Methodist household, Fenby had become a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The strain on him was intensified by the requirement to act as nurse during the composer's final days. Further responsibilities followed, including visiting Delius's severely ill widow,

Jelka Rosen Hélène Sophie Emilie Rosen, known as Jelka, (30 December 186828 May 1935) was a German painter, best known as the wife of the English composer Frederick Delius. She was born in Belgrade in 1868. She was the youngest of five children born to ...

, and accompanying the composer's exhumed body back to England for burial. The whole experience left him "completely burnt out". In 1936, he published an account, ''Delius As I Knew Him''. The works he helped Delius to write (all for orchestra unless otherwise shown) are: * '' A Song of Summer'' * ''Fantastic Dance'' * ''Irmelin'' prelude * ''Caprice and Elegy'' (cello and chamber orchestra) * Violin Sonata No. 3 (violin and piano) * ''Songs of Farewell'' (double choir and orchestra) * ''Idyll'' (soprano, baritone and orchestra). This episode in Fenby's and Delius's lives was portrayed in

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

's 1968 production for the BBC, ''

Song of Summer ''Song of Summer'' is a 1968 black-and-white television film co-written, produced, and directed by Ken Russell for the BBC's '' Omnibus'' series which was first broadcast on 15 September 1968. It portrays the final six years of Frederick Delius ...

'', which can be found on YouTube. In 1980 Kate Bush sang about them in her song "Delius". In a much distorted form, the Delius-Fenby collaboration also serves as a basis for the fictional Ayrs-Frobisher collaboration in David Mitchell's novel ''

Cloud Atlas A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...

''.

Later career

After Delius's death Fenby entered the employ of the music publisher

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 ...

. He was contracted to write the score for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamle ...

'', (from

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

), but his film career was interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After joining the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

he was transferred to the Education Corps at

Bulford Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...

, where he conducted the Southern Command Orchestra. He was later commissioned to run

Royal Army Education Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gene ...

courses in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. Having left the Catholic Church, Fenby married Rowena C. T. Marshall (daughter of a Scarborough vicar) in 1944. They had a son, Roger, and a daughter, Ruth. After the war Fenby founded the music department of the

North Riding The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as a ...

Training College. He was artistic director for the

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Delius Festival in 1962. He then became Professor of Harmony at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London from 1964 until 1977. Fenby died in Scarborough, having returned to Catholicism in his final years.

Honours

Fenby was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in 1962 for his artistic direction of the 1962 Delius Centenary Festival in Bradford. He was appointed President of the Delius Society that same year. Mary E Greene (4 May 2011) ''Before the Champions: Frederick Delius' Florida Suite for Orchestra'', Electronic Theses and Dissertations, University of Miami
/ref> He was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of

and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

(UK), and

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

(USA).

Recordings and films

As a conductor and pianist Fenby made numerous recordings, including the definitive performances found in the Fenby Legacy double LP for

Unicorn Records Unicorn-Kanchana is a British independent record label founded by John Goldsmith (died 2020), a former London police officer. Originally known as Unicorn Records, the name Kanchana was added later to distinguish the company from Unicorn Digital o ...

. Fenby recorded all three of Delius's violin sonatas, first with

Ralph Holmes Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and later with

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

, and Delius's Cello Sonata with

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

. He was adviser to

for the 1968 film ''

'', in which Fenby is portrayed by

Christopher Gable Christopher Michael Gable, CBE (13 March 194023 October 1998) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer and actor. Life and career Dance career Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ba ...

. He was also the subject of a documentary film by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

called ''

Song of Farewell ''Song of Farewell'' (French: ''La chanson de l'adieu'') is a 1934 historical film, historical musical film, musical drama film directed by Albert Valentin and Géza von Bolváry and starring Jean Servais, Janine Crispin and Lucienne Le Marchand.M ...

''.

Works

Always a severe self-critic, he destroyed several substantial early works but the following smaller pieces survive. Orchestral works * Overture "Rossini on Ilkla Moor" (1938) ASV CD WHL2126 * Slow march "Lion Limb" (1952) * "Two Aquarelles" Choral works * "Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis" (1932) * "For music on the eve of Palm Sunday" (1933, words by Robert Nichols)

References

Sources

*Eric Fenby – Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', London, 22 February 1997 * *

Richard Stoker Richard Stoker (8 November 1938 – 24 March 2021) was a British composer, writer, actor and artist. There was a strong musical tradition in Stoker's family, and he showed an early aptitude, intrigued by the piano keyboard as soon as he was tal ...

, "Fenby, Eric William (1906–1997)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 200
accessed 13 June 2007
*

Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Biogr ...

ed., Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition (1954)

External links

*
"Eric Fenby: Unsung Hero of Music" – site includes biography, discography, photos, sound files, links and other information.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenby, Eric 1906 births 1997 deaths Military personnel from Yorkshire 20th-century classical composers Academics of the Royal Academy of Music British Army personnel of World War II English classical composers English Roman Catholics Light music composers Royal Army Educational Corps officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society 20th-century English composers English male classical composers Amanuenses 20th-century British male musicians Royal Artillery personnel