The Fires of London, founded as the Pierrot Players, was a British chamber music ensemble which was active from 1965 to 1987. The Pierrot Players was founded by

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

Alan Hacker Alan Ray Hacker (30 September 1938 – 16 April 2012) was an English clarinettist, conductor, and music professor. Biography He was born in Dorking, Surrey in 1938, the son of Kenneth and Sybil Hacker.''Who’s Who 1975'', page 1302, (A&C Bl ...

, and Stephen Pruslin.''Who’s Who 1975'', page 1302, (A&C Black: London) From 1967 it was under the joint direction of Birtwistle and

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

. The ensemble was formed to play Schoenberg's ''

Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a m ...

'' and new works, often with a theatrical element, for a similar scoring (usually with the addition of percussion). The instrumentation proved to be too limited for Birtwistle and he left in 1970. Maxwell Davies took over as sole director, renaming the group the Fires of London. It was disbanded after its 20th anniversary concert in 1987. Maxwell Davies subsequently endorsed a new group Psappha, based in Manchester. During its existence, the Fires of London was particularly associated with Maxwell Davies' music, and gave first performances of many of his works, including ''

Eight Songs for a Mad King ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the composer's ensemble, the Pierrot Player ...

'', ''Vesalii Icones'', ''

The Martyrdom of St Magnus ''The Martyrdom of St Magnus'' is a chamber opera in one act (with nine scenes) by the British composer Peter Maxwell Davies. The libretto, by Davies himself, is based on the novel ''Magnus'' by George Mackay Brown. The opera was first performe ...

'', ''

Ave Maris Stella "Ave maris stella" (Latin for 'Hail, star of the sea') is a medieval Marian hymn, usually sung at Vespers. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers as the basis of other compositions. Background Authorship ...

'' and ''Revelation and Fall''. However it also premiered works by other composers, including

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

's ''Triple Duo'', Birtwistle's Cantata, ''I Met Heine on the Rue Fürstenberg'' and ''The Viola in My Life 1'' by

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

, ''Ocean de Terre'' by

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

, and ''

Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung der Natascha Ungeheuer ''Der langwierige Weg in die Wohnung der Natascha Ungeheuer'' (''The Tedious Way to the Place of Natascha Ungeheuer'') is a composition by the German composer Hans Werner Henze. It represents one of the most examples of his early socialism-inspir ...

'' by

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as t ...

. The group collaborated with the

Early Music Consort of London The Early Music Consort of London was a British music ensemble in the late 1960s and 1970s which specialised in historically informed performance of Medieval and Renaissance music. It was founded in 1967 by music academics Christopher Hogwood and ...

on the soundtrack for the film ''The Devils''.

Instrumentation and players

Maxwell Davies described the basic instrumentation as flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, keyboards, percussion. Principal players in the formative years included Judith Pearce (flute), Alan Hacker (clarinet),

Duncan Druce Robert Duncan Druce (23 May 193913 October 2015) was an English composer, string player and musicologist, noted for his breadth of musical interests ranging from contemporary music to baroque and early music, as well as music of India. Educatio ...

(violin),

Jennifer Ward Clarke Jennifer Ward Clarke (20 June 1935 – 1 March 2015) was a British cellist. After an early career in contemporary music, she later specialised in baroque music and performances on period instruments. Early life and career Jennifer Ward Clarke w ...

(cello) and Stephen Pruslin (piano). The Fires of London was one of many ensembles created to play ''Pierrot Lunaire'', and the presence of these ensembles led to many new works being written for the same instrumentation. This in turn led to the formation of yet more groups, leading to the establishment of the

Pierrot ensemble A Pierrot ensemble is a musical ensemble comprising flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. This ensemble is named after 20th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg’s seminal work ''Pierrot Lunaire'', which includes the quintet of instruments abo ...

(flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano) as a standard instrumentation in contemporary music.

References

External links

The Fires of London
Chamber music groups London orchestras Disbanded orchestras Contemporary classical music ensembles Musical groups established in 1965 1965 establishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 1987 1987 disestablishments in England {{Classical-ensemble-stub