Wilfred Josephs (24 July 1927 – 17 November 1997) was an English composer.
Life
Born in
Gosforth
Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, the fourth and youngest son of Russian and
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
Jewish parents, Wilfred Josephs had his first musical studies in Newcastle with Arthur Milner, and showed early promise, but was persuaded by his parents to take up a 'sensible' career. He subsequently became a dentist, qualifying as a Bachelor of Dental Surgery of the University of Durham in 1951. He later studied at the
Guildhall School
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
in London.
In 1963 his ''
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
'', a complete setting of the Hebrew
Kaddish
Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...
, written in memory of the Jews who were murdered in the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, won the first International Composing Competition of the City of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
– then the biggest musical award in the world, after which he gave up dentistry and became a full-time composer. The Requiem was performed by
Nino Sanzogno Nino Sanzogno (13 April 1911 – 4 May 1983) was an Italian conductor and composer.
Life
Sanzogno was born in Venice, where he studied the violin with Hermann Scherchen and composition with Gian Francesco Malipiero at the Liceo Musicale. He late ...
David Measham
David Michael Lucian Measham (1 December 19376 February 2005) was a British-Australian conductor and violinist.
Measham was born in Nottingham, England, to a musical family. His father, Lester, had trained as an opera singer and his mother, J ...
for Unicorn Kanchana.
Josephs was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music of Newcastle University in 1978. In October 1996, a concert of his works was given at
Newcastle University
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
in his presence. He died in London in 1997, leaving a wife, Valerie, and two daughters, Claudia and Philippa. The Wilfred Josephs Society continues to promote his works, the president of which was Sir
Charles Mackerras
Mackerras in 2005
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...
.
Works
Wilfred Josephs was a prolific composer and his classical works include 12 symphonies, 22 concertos, overtures, chamber music, operas, ballets, vocal works – almost all of which had been written to commission. An exception was ''Requiescant pro defunctis'', a string quartet composed as Josephs' personal response to newsreel footage of
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
The Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
'' (1964), ''
Horizon (BBC TV series)
''Horizon'' is an ongoing and long-running British documentary television series on BBC Two that covers science and philosophy.
History
The programme was first broadcast on 2 May 1964 with "The World of Buckminster Fuller" which explored the ...
'' 1964', "WPIX Chiller Theatre", 1965''
Theatre 625
''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production a ...
'' (1965), ''
Talking to a Stranger
''Talking to a Stranger'' (1966) is a British television drama, written by John Hopkins for the BBC, which consists of four separate plays recounting the events of one weekend from the viewpoints of four members of the same family. The play cycl ...
'' (1966), ''
Weavers Green
''Weavers Green'' is a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using videotape and outside broadcast equipment, rather than ...
I, Claudius
''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roma ...
'' (1976), ''
Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
'' (1978), ''
The Ghosts of Motley Hall
''The Ghosts of Motley Hall'' is a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter. It was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for Granada Television, and broadcast between 1976 and 1978 on the ITV network. The series ...
The Voyage of Charles Darwin
''The Voyage of Charles Darwin'' was a 1978 BBC television serial depicting the life of Charles Darwin, focusing largely on his voyage on . The series encompasses his university days to the 1859 publication of his book ''On the Origin of Specie ...
'' (1978), ''
Pride and Prejudice
''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...
The Return of the Antelope
''The Return of the Antelope'' was a UK TV series aired on ITV between 1986 and 1988. It was a children's fantasy series about two English children, circa 1899, who befriend a group of shipwrecked Lilliputians.
Production
*Producer/Director: E ...
'' (1986), as well as incidental music for ''
The Prisoner
''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
'' (1967). His film scores include ''
Cash on Demand
''Cash on Demand'' is a 1961 British black and white neo noir crime film, crime thriller film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Peter Cushing and André Morell. The film company Hammer Film Productions invested approximately £37,000 t ...
'' (1961), ''
Two Letter Alibi
''Two Letter Alibi'' is a 1962 British crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Peter Williams, Petra Davies and Ursula Howells.
It was made at Shepperton Studios as a second feature. The sets were designed by the art director George P ...
'' (1962), ''
Fanatic
FANatic is an American TV show created by Ed Connolly and produced by Executive Producers Deborah Norton and Ed Connolly of Norton Connolly Productions, that was shown on the MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an Am ...
'' (1965), ''
The Deadly Bees
''The Deadly Bees'' is a 1966 British horror film based on H.F. Heard's 1941 novel '' A Taste for Honey''.Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 43-45 It was directed by Freddie Francis, and ...
'' (1966), ''
Hostile Witness
A hostile witness, also known as an adverse witness or an unfavorable witness, is a witness at trial (law), trial whose testimony on direct examination is either openly antagonistic or appears to be contrary to the legal position of the party ...
'' (1968), ''
My Side of the Mountain
''My Side of the Mountain'' is a middle-grade adventure novel written and illustrated by American writer Jean Craighead George published by E. P. Dutton in 1959. It features a boy who learns courage, independence, and the need for companionshi ...
'' (1969), ''
Cry of the Banshee
''Cry of the Banshee'' is a 1970 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Vincent Price as an evil witchhunter. The film was released by American International Pictures. The film costars Elisabeth Bergner, Hilary Dwyer, and Hu ...
Callan
Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...
'' (1974), ''
Swallows and Amazons
''Swallows and Amazons'' is a children's adventure novel by English author Arthur Ransome and first published on 21 July 1930 by Jonathan Cape. Set in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District, the book introduces the main characters of John, ...
Martin's Day
''Martin's Day'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Alan Gibson. It stars Richard Harris and Lindsay Wagner.
Synopsis
The film follows an escaped convict named Martin who kidnaps a boy, also named Martin, while trying to flee via plane. W ...
'' (1985) and ''
Mata Hari
Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...
'' (1985).
In 1966, under the pseudonym Wilfred Wylam, Josephs composed the score for ''Man of Magic,'' a musical based on the life of magician
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
, with book by John Morley and Aubrey Cash. Produced by impresario
Harold Fielding
Harold Lewis Fielding (4 December 1916 - 27 September 2003) was an English theatre producer.
Fielding was one of Britain's foremost theatrical producers who produced several musicals, including ''Mame'', '' Charlie Girl'', ''Half a Sixpence'', ...
, the show opened at the
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the mai ...
on 22 October before transferring to the
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England.
Early years
Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...
in London where it ran for 135 performances.
His other notable works include an opera ''Rebecca'' (1983), based on
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 ...
's novel, a ballet ''Cyrano'' (1991) and the ''Aelian Dances'', based on Newcastle
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
s (the title is a reference to Newcastle's
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
name) and a music theatre piece in memory of his nephew, A Child of the Universe op. 80. and a children's opera Alice in Wonderland Op 144 (1985–1988) .
Recordings
* Requiem, Robert Dawe, baritone; Daphne Harris, soprano (2nd movement – Yitgadal); Adelaide String Quartet, with Pamela de Almeida, 2nd cello; Adelaide Chorus; Adelaide Symphony Orchestra,
David Measham
David Michael Lucian Measham (1 December 19376 February 2005) was a British-Australian conductor and violinist.
Measham was born in Nottingham, England, to a musical family. His father, Lester, had trained as an opera singer and his mother, J ...
,
Unicorn-Kanchana
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 ...
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...