Philip Lane (composer)
Encyclopedia
Philip Lane is an English
composer
and musicologist. He is noted for his light music
compositions and arrangements, as well as his painstaking work reconstructing lost film scores.
and later read music at Birmingham University, where his tutors included Peter Dickinson
and John Joubert
. Whilst at University he developed a considerable interest in Lord Berners, about whom he wrote a thesis and ultimately became a trustee of the Berners Estate, overseeing the completion of all Berners' music on to CD. He taught music at Cheltenham Ladies' College
from 1971 to 1998. During this time, he was a freelance composer for London publishers. He left Cheltenham Ladies' College in 1998 to concentrate on composing and his film restorations. In November 2010, Lane received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Gloucestershire
.
, being largely tonal and featuring lush orchestrations. For example, his London Salute was written to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the BBC, and has been adopted as the unofficial theme of the BBC Concert Orchestra
.
Other lighter compositions include the Diversions on a Theme of Paganini, Cotswold
Folk Dances, Divertissement for clarinet, harp and strings, A Maritime Overture, Prestbury Park, Three Spanish Dances and a number of works themed around the Christmas season - the three Wassail Dances (three orchestral extemporisations based on the Somerset Carol
, Here We Come A-wassailing
and the Gloucestershire Wassail), Overture on French Carols and Three Christmas Pictures (the latter a compilation of individual original works; the "Sleighbell Serenade", "Starlight Lullaby" and the "Christmas Eve Waltz"). In December 2009 he was commissioned by the Boston Pops Orchestra
to write their annual Holiday Pops work, The Christmas Story, which received 38 performances.
In addition, in 2007 Lane composed a setting of The Night before Christmas for narrator and orchestra, the commercial recording of which featured Stephen Fry
as the narrator. Concert performances have taken place worldwide including the USA and Asia. The sequel - Another Night before Christmas to a text by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy
- was premiered in Liverpool in December 2009 with narrators Dame Joan Bakewell and Simon Bates
. This will be commercially recorded by Naxos for release in November 2011.
Lane's compositions for television have included BBC
drama including The Merchant of Venice
and Sir Thomas More and the children's animated series Captain Pugwash
. He has since composed the music for three other TV animation series - Tom, Marco and Gina and Wicked!. In 2005, he composed a ballet, Hansel and Gretel, for the National Youth Ballet.
in 1993, Lane began a new career reconstructing lost film scores of Addinsell's, the first being Goodbye, Mr Chips, and later the full Warsaw Concerto
amongst others, the originals of which had been destroyed by the studios as was common practice at the time. Lane has since performed similar rescue work on film scores such as The Quiet Man
, The 39 Steps
, The Lady Vanishes
and Kind Hearts and Coronets
by composers such as Malcolm Arnold
, Georges Auric
, William Alwyn
, Arthur Bliss
, Francis Chagrin
, Ernest Irving
, Clifton Parker
, Victor Young
and many others.
Having perfect pitch, Lane reconstructs the original orchestrations by watching the original films repeatedly, listening to the original soundtrack recorded, often under character dialogue and sound effects. In the case of recent scores there are usually soundtrack CDs devoid of extraneous sounds to work from, but despite the change in status of film music, present day composers still mislay their scores. He has consequently reconstructed music by Jerry Goldsmith
, Randy Edelman
and James Horner
. If the composers are still alive, the composer usually encourages them to do the reconstruction themselves, although so far, they have declined. He has since been asked to appear and write a number of radio documentaries about his reconstructions of film music.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musicologist. He is noted for his light music
Light music
Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which originated in the 19th century and had its heyday during the early to mid part of the 20th century, although arguably it lasts to the present day....
compositions and arrangements, as well as his painstaking work reconstructing lost film scores.
Biography
Born in Cheltenham, he attended Pate's Grammar SchoolPate's Grammar School
Pate's Grammar School is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school in the Hesters Way area of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England catering for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was granted Language College status in 2001, is a Beacon school, and in February 2006 was one of the first in the country to be...
and later read music at Birmingham University, where his tutors included Peter Dickinson
Peter Dickinson (musician)
Peter Dickinson is an English composer, musicologist, and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, and studied organ at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he was a student of Philip Radcliffe...
and John Joubert
John Joubert (composer)
John Joubert is a British composer of South African descent, particularly of choral works. He has lived in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham, England, for over 40 years. A music academic at the universities of Hull and Birmingham for 36 years, Joubert took early retirement in 1986 to concentrate on...
. Whilst at University he developed a considerable interest in Lord Berners, about whom he wrote a thesis and ultimately became a trustee of the Berners Estate, overseeing the completion of all Berners' music on to CD. He taught music at Cheltenham Ladies' College
Cheltenham Ladies' College
The Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.-History:The school was founded in 1853...
from 1971 to 1998. During this time, he was a freelance composer for London publishers. He left Cheltenham Ladies' College in 1998 to concentrate on composing and his film restorations. In November 2010, Lane received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Gloucestershire
University of Gloucestershire
The University of Gloucestershire is a university primarily based in Gloucestershire, England, spread over four campuses, three in Cheltenham and one in Gloucester...
.
Compositions
Lane began composing at an early age, and by the time he was at Birmingham was already having compositions played by the BBC Midland Light Orchestra. Virtually all of his orchestral works have been commercially recorded and are currently available worldwide. These are often written in the style of British Light MusicLight music
Light music is a generic term applied to a mainly British musical style of "light" orchestral music, which originated in the 19th century and had its heyday during the early to mid part of the 20th century, although arguably it lasts to the present day....
, being largely tonal and featuring lush orchestrations. For example, his London Salute was written to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the BBC, and has been adopted as the unofficial theme of the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
.
Other lighter compositions include the Diversions on a Theme of Paganini, Cotswold
Cotswold
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in central England that give their name to:*Cotswold *Cotswold *Cotswold Chase, a horse race*Cotswold Games, annual games in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire...
Folk Dances, Divertissement for clarinet, harp and strings, A Maritime Overture, Prestbury Park, Three Spanish Dances and a number of works themed around the Christmas season - the three Wassail Dances (three orchestral extemporisations based on the Somerset Carol
Somerset Carol
Come all you worthy gentlemen, sometimes referred to as the Somerset Carol, is an English folk carol of unknown authorship. It was collected from a Mr. Rapsey, of Bridgwater during the English Folk-song revival at the turn of the 20th century by Cecil Sharp...
, Here We Come A-wassailing
Here We Come A-Wassailing
Here We Come A-wassailing is an English traditional Christmas carol and New Years song, apparently composed c. 1850...
and the Gloucestershire Wassail), Overture on French Carols and Three Christmas Pictures (the latter a compilation of individual original works; the "Sleighbell Serenade", "Starlight Lullaby" and the "Christmas Eve Waltz"). In December 2009 he was commissioned by the Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
to write their annual Holiday Pops work, The Christmas Story, which received 38 performances.
In addition, in 2007 Lane composed a setting of The Night before Christmas for narrator and orchestra, the commercial recording of which featured Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
as the narrator. Concert performances have taken place worldwide including the USA and Asia. The sequel - Another Night before Christmas to a text by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009...
- was premiered in Liverpool in December 2009 with narrators Dame Joan Bakewell and Simon Bates
Simon Bates
Simon Bates is a UK disc jockey and radio presenter. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, presenting the station's weekday mid-morning show for most of this period. He later became a regular presenter on Classic FM...
. This will be commercially recorded by Naxos for release in November 2011.
Lane's compositions for television have included BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama including The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
and Sir Thomas More and the children's animated series Captain Pugwash
Captain Pugwash
Captain Pugwash is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action , also called Captain Pugwash, first shown on the BBC in 1957, a later colour...
. He has since composed the music for three other TV animation series - Tom, Marco and Gina and Wicked!. In 2005, he composed a ballet, Hansel and Gretel, for the National Youth Ballet.
Film score reconstruction
After being invited to look after the estate of Richard AddinsellRichard Addinsell
Richard Stewart Addinsell was a British composer, best known for film music, primarily his Warsaw Concerto, composed for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight .-Life:...
in 1993, Lane began a new career reconstructing lost film scores of Addinsell's, the first being Goodbye, Mr Chips, and later the full Warsaw Concerto
Warsaw Concerto
The Warsaw Concerto is a single-movement piano concerto written for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight . It was written by British composer Richard Addinsell...
amongst others, the originals of which had been destroyed by the studios as was common practice at the time. Lane has since performed similar rescue work on film scores such as The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
, The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
, The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)
The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
and Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Kind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...
by composers such as Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
, Georges Auric
Georges Auric
Georges Auric was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault. He was a child prodigy and at age 15 he had his first compositions published. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Georges Caussade, and under the composer Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum...
, William Alwyn
William Alwyn
William Alwyn, CBE, born William Alwyn Smith was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.-Life and music:...
, Arthur Bliss
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO was an English composer and conductor.Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army...
, Francis Chagrin
Francis Chagrin
Francis Chagrin ,) was a composer of film scores and popular orchestral music, as well as a conductor.- Career :...
, Ernest Irving
Ernest Irving
Ernest Irving was an English composer and conductor, primarily remembered for his involvement in film music. He composed the score for the Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!, Turned Out Nice Again starring George Formby, Ralph Vaughan Williams dedicated his Sinfonia antartica to him...
, Clifton Parker
Clifton Parker
Clifton Parker was an English composer, particularly noted for his film scores. During his career, he composed scores for over 50 feature films, as well as numerous documentary shorts, radio and television scores, over 100 songs and music for ballet and theatre.- Life :Edward John Clifton Parker...
, Victor Young
Victor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
and many others.
Having perfect pitch, Lane reconstructs the original orchestrations by watching the original films repeatedly, listening to the original soundtrack recorded, often under character dialogue and sound effects. In the case of recent scores there are usually soundtrack CDs devoid of extraneous sounds to work from, but despite the change in status of film music, present day composers still mislay their scores. He has consequently reconstructed music by Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
, Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman
Randy Edelman is an American film and TV score composer.-Life and career:Edelman was born in Paterson, New Jersey. He was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a first-grade teacher and an accountant. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music before heading to New York where he played...
and James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
. If the composers are still alive, the composer usually encourages them to do the reconstruction themselves, although so far, they have declined. He has since been asked to appear and write a number of radio documentaries about his reconstructions of film music.