The Life and Music of Eric Coates

ISBN-13: 9781138271494 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 296 str.

Michael Payne

Opis

Eric Coates (1886-1957) is perhaps the most familiar name associated with British light music, with his memorable tunes including the openings to the BBC's In Town Tonight, Desert Island Discs and The Forsyte Saga as well as the theme from the Dam Busters film. In many ways, Coates' story is the story of British light music, and this study offers a fascinating insight into the heyday and decline of the British light music tradition. Michael Payne provides an indispensable insight into the man and his music.

Recenzje

'A thoroughly enjoyable, and meticulously researched, book.' Journal into Melody 'At last, here is a scholarly biography of a person widely regarded as the leading figure in British light music... There is some diligent research into Coates’ dealings with the BBC. In fact, the book as a whole contains a wealth of admirably detailed and informative footnotes. Michael Payne makes a strong case for Coates’ pre-eminence in the field of light music, carefully helping the reader to recognize the high standards Coates achieved in his compositions... The author has done excellent service to the cause of British light music by this research, and his book will be valued as much by those who take light music lightly as those who take it seriously.' North American British Music Studies Association Newsletter

Spis treści

Contents: Preface; Part I The Early Years: Light music; A Nottinghamshire childhood, 1886-1906; The Royal Academy of Music and beyond, 1906-1910; The Queen’s Hall Orchestra and Miss Black, 1910-1918. Part II The Years of Struggle and Triumph: A freelance composer, 1918-1922; Maturity and jazz, 1923-1930; Success and popularity, 1931-1935; A new direction? 1936-1944. Part III The Establishment Figure: The war years, 1939-1945; The wilderness years, 1945-1951; Renown at last, 1951-1955; Envoi and legacy, 1956-1957; Appendices; Select bibliography; Index.

O autorze

Michael Payne was born in Lancashire and received his first musical training as a chorister at Blackburn Cathedral. He read music at Durham University and received his Ph.D., with a dissertation on the music of Eric Coates, in 2007.