Norman Demuth

Norman Demuth (15 July 1898 – 21 April 1968) was an English composer and musicologist, currently remembered largely for his biographies of French composers.

Biography

Early life

Demuth was born in Croydon, Surrey, at 91 St James' Road. On leaving Repton School in 1915, he volunteered as Rifleman No. 2780 with the 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) in the City of London on 17 September 1915, falsifying his age by adding one year on enlistment to seek active-service for which he was then under-age. In early March 1916 he was sent to France with a reinforcement draft to the Regiment's 1st Battalion on the Western Front, and was wounded in the leg by shrapnel fragments from the accidental detonation of a Mills Bomb on 28 June 1916 in the frontline village of Hebuterne during the prelude of the Battle of the Somme. He was medically evacuated to England and subsequently discharged from the British Army as medically unfit for further war service in November 1916.

In ''Forgotten Voices of the Great War'', Demuth is quoted as saying:

"Almost the last feather I received was on a bus. I was sitting near the door when I became aware of two women on the other side talking at me, and I thought to myself, 'Oh Lord, here we go again'. One lent forward and produced a feather and said, 'Here's a gift for a brave soldier. I took it and said,'Thank you very much- I wanted one of those.' Then I took my pipe out of my pocket and put this feather down the stem and worked it in a way I've never worked a pipe cleaner before. When it was filthy I pulled it out and said, 'You know, we didn't get these in the trenches', and handed it back to her. She instinctively put out her hand and took it, so there she was sitting with this filthy pipe cleaner in her hand and all the other people on the bus began to get indignant. Then she dropped it and got up to get out, but we were nowhere near a stopping place and the bus went on quite a long way while she got well and truly barracked by the rest of the people on the bus. I sat back and laughed like mad."

In between the World Wars

Although Demuth studied for a time at the Royal College of Music under Thomas Dunhill and Walter Parratt, also receiving much encouragement from the Bournemouth conductor Dan Godfrey, he was essentially self-taught. He played the organ in London churches and became a choral conductor.

His orchestral piece ''Selsey Rhapsody'' was one of his first compositions to be noticed. It was first performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Adrian Boult in 1925. Further performances followed, mostly outside of London in the South East of England, where he was active as a conductor or orchestral and choral societies. One of these, for the Bogner Philharmonic Society on 1 April 1927, marked his first appearance on BBC Radio as conductor and composer. Between 1929 and 1935 Demuth was conductor of the Chichester Symphony Orchestra.

From 1930 he taught at the Royal Academy of Music, and latterly at the University of Durham. Among his pupils was Gordon Langford radio plays. His orchestral set of Ravel-inspired ''Valses graves et gaies'' were premiered at the Proms in 1942 (postponed from 1940). Mason characterises his melodic style as somewhat austere, "in which definable tunes have little part", and his harmony as ranging from intense late Romantic Franckian chromaticism (the ''Threnody'' for strings of 1942) to more brittle Stravinskian neoclassicism (''Overture for a Joyful Occasion'', 1946).

The ''Viola Concerto'' (1951) received its first performance in 1956 with Herbert Downes as soloist. Hugh Ottaway said of the work "Designed in two linked sections, one slowish, the other quick, it made an impression through its capable workmanship and sense of purpose but did not offer much of imaginative distinction. A certain monotony of rhythm and texture was acutely felt, especially in the opening section, which is a rather busy meditation whose concertante viola part is inclined to fuss and fidget." Demuth wrote his ''Processional Fanfare'' for three trumpets and organ for the enthronement of the Lord Bishop of Chichester in 1958.

Death

Demuth married the pianist and teacher Edna Marjorie Hardwick in November 1943. She died in March 1965. He died three years later in Chichester at the age of 69.Obituary, ''The Times'', 22 April 1968 His pupil Gordon Langford has expressed regret at the complete current neglect of Demuth's achievements as a composer.

Selected compositions

Selected books and articles

References

External links

Obituary of Vaughan Williams by Demuth
in ''The Musical Times''
*
* Morgan, David.
Proms composer Demuth’s music is overdue an encore
, ''Inside Croydon'', 26 June 2022

Royal Pioneer Corps March, performed by The Band of the Royal Logistic Corps

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demuth, Norman
1898 births
English classical composers
20th-century classical composers
People from Croydon
1968 deaths
English musicologists
British Army personnel of World War I
English male classical composers
20th-century English composers
Musicians from Surrey
English male non-fiction writers
20th-century English writers
20th-century biographers
Male biographers
English biographers
20th-century English male writers
20th-century British musicologists
20th-century British male musicians
London Rifle Brigade soldiers
Military personnel from Surrey
British Home Guard soldiers
British Army personnel of World War II
Royal Pioneer Corps officers