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The Film Music of Arthur Benjamin (1893 – 1960) and Leighton Lucas (1903 – 1982)

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The Film Music of Arthur Benjamin (1893 – 1960) and Leighton Lucas (1903 – 1982) Arthur Benjamin Arthur Boosey & Hawkes Collection / ArenaPAL The Film Music of Arthur Benjamin (1893 – 1960) and Leighton Lucas (1903 – 1982) premiere recording Suite from ‘The Conquest of Everest’ (1953) 9:34 by Arthur Benjamin Reconstructed by Marcus A. Caratelli Orchestrated by Marcus A. Caratelli and Christoph Schürmann 1 I Title Music – 1:50 2 II Walls that Surpass the Imagination – 0:46 3 III The Great Lift – 2:27 4 IV Top of the World and Final Bars 4:30 5 The Storm Clouds Cantata from ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ (1934) 7:44 by Arthur Benjamin Edited by Philip Lane Abigail Sara mezzo-soprano Rob Court organ Côr Caerdydd Adrian Partington guest chorus master Gwawr Owen conductor 3 Waltz and Hyde Park Galop from ‘An Ideal Husband’ (1947) 7:11 by Arthur Benjamin 6 Waltz 5:30 7 Hyde Park Galop 1:41 Portrait of the Amethyst from ‘Yangtse Incident’ (1957) 6:49 by Leighton Lucas Reconstructed by Philip Lane premiere recording 8 1 Theme – 1:12 Sarah-Jayne Porsmoguer cor anglais premiere recording 9 2 Hornpipe – 1:51 premiere recording in this version 10 3 The Amethyst March 3:45 premiere recording in this version 11 Dedication from ‘Portrait of Clare’ (1950) 3:38 Arrangement by Leighton Lucas of ‘Widmung’ from Myrthen, Op. 25 by Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) 4 premiere recording in this version 12 Prelude and Dam Blast from ‘The Dam Busters’ (1954) 5:15 by Leighton Lucas Reconstructed and arranged by Philip Lane 13 Stage Fright Rhapsody from ‘Stage Fright’ (1950) 4:54 by Leighton Lucas Reconstructed by Philip Lane Catherine Roe-Williams piano Suite from ‘Ice Cold in Alex’ (1958) 9:19 by Leighton Lucas Reconstructed by Philip Lane premiere recording 14 1 Prelude 2:09 premiere recording 15 2 Love Scene 4:21 premiere recording in this version 16 3 March 2:48 5 premiere recording This Is York (1953) 9:26 by Leighton Lucas Edited by Malcolm Riley 17 Opening Titles – 1:47 18 Setting the Path – Diagram Lights – 1:51 19 Thornton-le-Dale – 1:30 20 Smoking Engine – Pan across York – Committee Room – Portraits – Railway Museum 4:17 premiere recording in this version 21 March-Prelude from ‘Target for Tonight’ (1941) 3:04 by Leighton Lucas Reconstructed by Philip Lane TT 67:58 BBC National Orchestra of Wales Lesley Hatfield leader Rumon Gamba 6 Canal+ Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Sylvia Syms, and John Mills in a still from Ice Cold in Alex Richard Todd in a still from The Dam Busters Canal+ The Film Music of Arthur Benjamin and Leighton Lucas Arthur Benjamin some eighty concert works, including a Arthur Benjamin was born in Sydney, symphony, many light orchestral pieces, and Australia in 1893, but the family soon moved chamber music. An oboe concerto based to Brisbane where he quickly became on keyboard pieces by Domenico Cimarosa recognised as a child prodigy, giving piano was at one time very popular and recorded recitals from the age of six. At eighteen, at several times. the suggestion of Thomas Dunhill, he won His career as a composer for film began an Open Scholarship to the Royal College in 1934 with Leslie Howard’s version of of Music in London, where his composition The Scarlet Pimpernel. Subsequent teacher was Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. productions, not represented here, include He fought in World War I, ending up as a The Crowthers of Bankdam (1947), Above Us prisoner of war. After the War he returned the Waves (1956), and Fire Down Below (1957). to Australia, but not for long: in 1921 he It might have been deemed appropriate, set sail back to London to teach piano and given that he was the most prominent composition at the Royal College where his Australian composer in Britain, to approach pupils would include Benjamin Britten. He Benjamin to score a British film set in spent the years of World War II in Canada but Australia – such as The Overlanders (1946), returned to Britain in 1946 to his post at the Under Capricorn (1949), or The Siege of Royal College where he remained until his Pinchgut (1959) (Ealing’s last film) – but he retirement in 1953. either never was approached, or declined, To this day his most famous piece remains the above named assignments going to Jamaican Rumba, based on a tune, ‘Mango John Ireland, Richard Addinsell, and Walk’, which Benjamin had heard in the West Kenneth V. Jones, respectively. Indies while on an examining tour in the Arthur Benjamin was diagnosed with late 1930s. It was originally scored for two cancer in 1957 but despite a period of pianos, but soon arrangements for numerous remission, he died in the Middlesex Hospital other combinations followed. He also wrote in London in 1960. 9 Leighton Lucas His Partita (1934) for piano and chamber Basically self-taught musically, Leighton orchestra drew praise from Benjamin Britten. Lucas was born in London in 1903, the son Sinfonia brevis (1936) for horn and eleven of a Canadian father who had published instruments was one of the earliest British drawing-room ballads. His first profession scores to incorporate Balinese gamelan being that of a dancer, he was a member of effects, which Britten himself would later use Diaghilev’s Ballets russes from 1918 to 1921. in his operetta Paul Bunyan (1941) and ballet His association with dancing, or rather with The Prince of the Pagodas (1957). music for dancing, lasted most of his life; he After war service in the Royal Air Force, even regularly wrote pieces for examinations Lucas founded his own orchestra to give at the Royal Academy of Dance. Before World concerts and broadcasts. The programmes War II he wrote two ballets – The Wolf’s Ride were often pioneering and eclectic, including (1935) and Death in Adagio (after Domenico little-known works by British and, particularly, Scarlatti) (1938) – and after it two more – French composers. In 1954, he conducted a The Horses (1945 – 46) and Tam O’Shanter ballet version of the classic children’s story (1972 – 73), the latter never having been Where the Rainbow Ends, for which he had staged. However, in 1974 he was approached also composed the music, with Alicia Markova by the choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan and Anton Dolin at the Royal Festival Hall, to adapt music by Massenet for a full-length and Honegger’s stage oratorio Jeanne d’Arc ballet version of Manon, refraining from using au bûcher at the Stoll Theatre, with Ingrid any material of the original opera. This work Bergman and a cast of a hundred, directed has been staged ever since by every major by Roberto Rossellini. He also continued ballet company in the world. to write music for feature films (as we will His dancing days behind him, Lucas took see below) and radio dramas, and for the up conducting, beginning at the Birmingham recorded music libraries which publishers Repertory Theatre in 1922, and a year later set up to supply ready-made recordings of was directing performances of Rutland music suited to any occasion or mood – these Boughton’s opera The Immortal Hour. In the were very much used by newsreels, radio, years leading up to the War, he continued and television when budgets did not allow for to conduct, composed concert works, and the recording of original music. One track by in 1932 began to score documentary films. Lucas, ‘Bloodstain on the Dress’, appears in 10 the 2001 film Ocean’s Eleven, while another, as they were deemed to have no commercial ‘Of Love and Destiny’, found its way into the value after the recording. No ‘convenience’ children’s TV series Spongebob Squarepants. publisher was standing by to claim a Concert works from this period include a percentage of the royalties (typically, film clarinet concerto, the Ballet de la reine (both companies have created their own publishing commercially recorded), and, in the 1960s arms, generally to take 50% of royalties on and ’70s, for the National Championships, a film scores and not necessarily carrying out series of works for brass band, including the much archival or promotional work). Given Symphonic Suite and Chorale and Variations. this situation, it is surprising that a significant Leighton Lucas died in November 1982, score such as The Conquest of Everest has some eighteen months before his largest not surfaced since Benjamin’s death. The and most successful project, Manon, was suite recorded here comprises four cues commercially recorded. On the death of his reconstructed from the soundtrack. The main widow some years later, the house was narration was written by the Anglo-Irish poet cleared, and it is widely believed that many Louis MacNeice. (The practice of employing of his film scores ended up in a skip. One a noted writer for this genre was repeated documentary film score and fragments from four years later when John Moore scripted other films have been gleaned from other The England of Elizabeth, narrated by private hands. In the main, the performing Laurence Olivier, the film score written by editions recorded here have been generated Vaughan Williams.) With Vaughan Williams’s from piano scores or reconstructed from the music for another icy epic, Scott of the soundtracks themselves. Antarctic, and the even more recent, and musically related, Sinfonia antartica very Suite from ‘The Conquest of Everest’ (1953) much in his head, Benjamin produced a score Director: Leon Clore that brought the world of Everest alive while Photography: Thomas Stobart escaping the fingerprints of his composer Narration written by Louis MacNeice and spoken by colleague. Meredith Edwards and members of the climb In the history of film, composers have usually The Storm Clouds Cantata had a better chance of keeping their scores from ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ (1934) for documentaries than those for features, Director: Alfred Hitchcock 11 Screenplay: A.R.
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