Angela Morley
Angela Morley | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Walter Stott |
Born | Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | 10 March 1924
Died | 14 January 2009 Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. | (aged 84)
Genres | Easy listening, classical, jazz, big band, film music |
Occupation(s) | Composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor |
Instrument(s) | Alto saxophone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano |
Years active | 1940–2008 |
Website | www |
Angela Morley (born Walter Stott; 10 March 1924
Morley won three
Early life and education
Morley was born in
As a mostly self-taught musician able to sight-read, Morley left school at age 15 to tour with Archie's Juvenile Band, earning a weekly wage of 10 shillings,[6] and also worked as a projectionist.[3] Her mentor at this time was the pianist Eddie Taylor.[6] Morley continued to play saxophone in British dance bands during the period of World War II, joining the Oscar Rabin Band as lead alto in 1941, at age 17.[6] With this band, she began writing arrangements for pay[6] and made a recording debut with the tracks "Waiting for Sally" and "Love in Bloom".[4] She later joined Geraldo's band, which performed for BBC Radio several times a week,[6] in 1942[1][7] or 1944.[2][6][4] With Geraldo's band Morley gained experience arranging for bands of many sizes and styles.[6] She studied harmony and musical composition in London with the British-Hungarian composer Mátyás Seiber and conducting with the German conductor Walter Goehr.[6] Morley's early work was also influenced by Robert Farnon and Bill Finegan.[2]
Career
Pre-transition work
At the age of 26, Morley stopped playing in bands to instead work solely as a writer, composer, and
Morley is known for writing the
In 1953, Morley became
In 1961, Morley provided the orchestral accompaniments for a selection of choral arrangements made by
Some of her other notable works in the years before transitioning include the composition and arrangement for the films The Looking Glass War, released in 1970,[1][10] and When Eight Bells Toll, released in 1971.[1][10] She stepped back from the music and film industry between 1970 and 1972[3] in order privately to undergo gender transition.[7] During this time, Morley studied clarinet chamber music at the Watford School of Music for eighteen months.[3]
After transitioning to living publicly as a woman in 1972,
Morley was also the composer, conductor, arranger and orchestrator for the
Work in the United States
Following the success of Watership Down, Morley lived for a time in
Thanks to a mutual friend,
Morley continued to work in television until 1990.
Personal life
Morley was a
Morley was twice married.[2] Her first wife, Beryl Stott, was a singer and choral arranger who founded the Beryl Stott Singers, also known as the Beryl Stott Chorus or Beryl Stott Group.[2][3] Beryl Stott died prior to Morley's gender transition.[1][7] Morley met Christine Parker, also a singer, in London,[3] and they married on 1 June 1970.[2] Parker was a major support to Morley through her transition. Morley stated that: "It was only because of her love and support that I then was able to deal with the trauma, and begin to think about crossing over that terrifying gender border."[1][2][3]
The couple moved to Los Angeles in 1979 following the success of Watership Down, and owned a house in the San Fernando Valley.[3] They moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1994.[4] As of November 2015[update], Parker was still living in Scottsdale.[1]
Morley had two children with her first wife Beryl Stott: a daughter, Helen, who predeceased her in 1986, and a son, Bryan,[3] who was living as of January 2009[update].[2][7][17] She also had grandchildren and great-grandchildren at the time of her death.[17]
Morley had many friendships with fellow musicians and industry colleagues. While working on The Goon Show, she made the acquaintance of Peter Sellers, and would eventually share fond memories of him to his biographer Ed Sikov.[2] She and Max Geldray continued to be good friends following her transition.[2] She also noted that she was lifelong friends with Herbert W. Spencer from 1955, while working on Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, until his death in 1992.[3]
Death
Morley died in Scottsdale, Arizona[4] on 14 January 2009 at the age of 84.[1][2][3][17] Her death was a result of complications of a fall and a heart attack.[17] Her death was almost exactly 50 years since her no. 1 hit with Shirley Bassey, "As I Love You".[3]
Legacy
Morley's talent was noted by many of her peers. Arranger Tony Osborne said that she was "at the top of the range [...] second only to Robert Farnon, and it was a pretty close run thing at that", while Scott Walker compared working with Morley to working with Frederick Delius.[4]
Morley was interviewed for the biography of her Goon Show colleague Peter Sellers by his biographer Ed Sikov prior to the book's publication in 2002.[3] When asked by Sikov how she should be identified in the book, she told him: "It's a judgement you'll have to make and I'll have to accept".[3] Sikov chose to refer to her as Wally Stott in the context of her past work but as Angela Morley in the present;[3] most posthumous writing about her follows a similar pattern.[1][2][4][3][7]
In 2015,
Morley's work has been compared to that of
Most of the time, making films and videos is a collaborative endeavour. Despite the many creative contributions of writers, cinematographers, producers, editors, actors, and others, we too often credit films to the director alone. This habit fundamentally misrepresents the filmmaking process, as film scholars Berys Gaut and C. Paul Sellors have argued. If we want to trace a history of trans and gender variant people's audiovisual creativity, we should look for them both in and beyond the director's chair.
— Laura Horak, Tracing the History of Trans and Gender Variant Filmmakers, p. 10
Horak includes Morley among her selected list of trans and gender variant filmmakers as a composer, noting in particular her work on The Little Prince and Watership Down alongside the film works of other transgender and gender variant people in Classical Hollywood cinema such as Dorothy Arzner and Christine Jorgensen.[20]
Morley is commemorated by a
Genre
Morley's work was influenced by a number of genres and styles. She initially played in
Beyond her light and easy listening work, Morley collaborated with many kinds of artists at Philips Records, from
Morley credited her eventual turn away from film scores to technological changes:
Characteristics of her compositions
Her music for The Goon Show stood out as having "a jazz flavour, rather than the standard comedy-show music of that time."[2] From some of her earliest composition works, Morley used instruments to represent characters, such as the tuba notes in the theme to Hancock's Half Hour which represented Tony Hancock.[2] While Morley was working with Johnny Franz at Philips Records, Robert Earl noted that Morley and Franz "didn't believe in fade-out endings so all those ballads end on big notes".[4]
Her work on film scores is noted for her "mastery of orchestration and gift for evoking moods and atmospheres" (in reference to The Slipper and the Rose and Watership Down)
For this theme, Morley takes a fragment of the opening flute motive of Debussy's 'Prélude à l'après midi d'un faune' [...] and spins it into a majestic, soaring, romantic swing waltz, an amalgamation of her work in French romantic style orchestral scoring and big band swing. Alto sax takes the tune; the surrounding orchestration has a rich, symphonic, romantic, classical Hollywood sound, not unlike the orchestrations Morley did for John Williams. In addition to this mastery of style and technique, the opening I–bVI progression is fresh and contemporary; the 'borrowed' bVI chord had been used in earlier psych rock but would become prominently featured in the 'new wave' popular music of the time. [...] Morley's handling of 'Kehaar's Theme' and its orchestral accompaniment shows a technique well honed not just from film work, but from years of working in 'light music' where romantic accompaniments and swing tunes were frequently employed. While not an 'easy listening' version of Debussy, 'Kehaar's Theme' nevertheless suggests how one might conceive of such a thing and execute it with finesse.
— Jack Curtis Dubowsky, Intersecting Film, Music, and Queerness, p. 125-126
He also notes that "Kehaar's Theme" incorporates
Selected discography
Credited as Wally Stott
As leader
- Great American Show Tunes (1953), Epic
- There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), Epic
- A Merry Christmas (1958), Philips
- Music of the City....London under Columbia (1958), Philips (also released as London Pride and London Souvenir (A Musical Souvenir Of London Town) by Philips in the UK)
- Christmas in Stereo (1959), Warner Bros.(Christmas by the Fireside in the UK)
- Max Steiner's Complete Original Score Gone With The Wind (1967), Pickwick, conducting the London Symphonia
Contributing work
- Shirley Bassey, Love For Sale (1968), Philips (as arranger)
- Roy Castle, Castlewise (1961), Philips (as arranger)
- Noël Coward, I'll See You Again (1954), Philips (as arranger)
- Diana Dors, Swingin Dors (1960), Pye (as arranger)
- Roy Castle, Castlewise (1961), Philips (as arranger)
- Robert Earl, Robert Earl Showcase (1959), Philips (as arranger)
- Susan Maughan, Sentimental Susan (1964), Philips (as arranger)
- St. Paul's Choir, The Sounds of Christmas (1971), Golden Hour (co-billing)
- Harry Secombe, Film Favourites (1964), Philips (as arranger)
- Harry Secombe, Christmas Cheer (1966), Philips (as arranger) (also released as White Christmas)
- Harry Secombe, Italian Serenade (1966), Philips (as arranger)
- Anne Shelton, Songs from the Heart (1958) Philips
- Scott Walker, Scott (1967), Philips (as arranger)
- Scott Walker, Scott 2 (1969), Philips (as arranger)
- Scott Walker, Scott 3 (1969), Philips (as arranger)
- Spellbound (2008), Vocalion Records (reissue)
Credited as Angela Morley
- The Slipper and the Rose (1976), MCA Records/EMI Records
- Watership Down (1978), CBS Records
- Soft Lights and Sweet Music: the Scores of Angela Morley (2001), Vocalion Records
- The Film and Television Music of Angela Morley (2003), Vocalion Records
- The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Arranger
Selected filmography
- The Heart of a Man (1959)
- The Lady Is a Square (1959)
- Peeping Tom (1960). Credited for the drum solo played on a tape-recorder during a dance routine.
- The Looking Glass War (1970)
- Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)
- When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
- The Little Prince (1974) – Oscar nomination
- The Slipper and the Rose (1976) – Oscar nomination
- Watership Down (1978)
Awards and honours
Awards
- 1985: 37th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for Christmas in Washington (with Ian Fraser and Billy Byers)[10]
- 1988: 40th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas (with Ian Fraser, Chris Boardman, and Alexander Courage)[10]
- 1990: 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for Julie Andrews in Concert (Great Performances) (with Ian Fraser, Billy Byers, Chris Boardman, Bob Florence, and J. Hill)[10]
Nominations
- 1975: 47th Academy Awards - Academy Award for Best Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation for The Little Prince (with Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, and Douglas Gamley)[10]
- 1978: 50th Academy Awards - Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score for The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (with Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman)[10]
- 1980: 32nd Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for The Big Show episode "Steve Lawrence and Don Rickles" (with Nick Perito, Joe Lipman, and Peter Myers)[10]
- 1984: 36th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Emerald Point N.A.S. episode "The Homecoming"[10]
- 1985: 37th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Dynasty episode "Triangles"[10]
- 1986: 38th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Dynasty episode "The Subpoenas"[10]
- 1987: 39th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Dallas episode "A Death in the Family"[10]
- 1987: 39th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for Liberty Weekend: Opening Ceremonies (with Ian Fraser, Chris Boardman, Ralph Burns, Alexander Courage, and J. Hill)[10]
- 1988: 40th Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Dallas episode "Hustling"[10]
- 1989: 41st Primetime Emmy Awards - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for Blue Skies episode "The White Horse"[10]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Dubowsky (2016) notes and attempts to correct inconsistencies in the circumstances surrounding Beryl Stott's death and Morley's transition that were reported in various obituaries at the time of her death. His facts are based on personal correspondence with Christine Parker.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Writing '1977' for BBC Radio 4, and why it's about so much more than 'a transgender woman in the 1970s'". BBC. 30 November 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af "Angela Morley Obituary". The Guardian. London. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-349-68713-8. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Angela Morley: Composer and arranger who worked with Scott Walker and scored 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas'". Obituaries. The Independent. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ Betancourt, Manuel (20 January 2016). "Angela Morley: The Story Behind the Two-Time Oscar-Nominated Trans Composer". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Career Autobiography of Angela Morley". www.angelamorley.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l ."Angela Morley". The Daily Telegraph. London. 25 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
- ^ "BBC Wales – Music – Shirley Bassey – "As I Love You"". Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Angela Morley". IMDb. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ The Little Prince - IMDb, archived from the original on 12 July 2009, retrieved 30 March 2020
- ^ The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976) - IMDb, archived from the original on 30 March 2016, retrieved 30 March 2020
- ^ The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella - IMDb, archived from the original on 29 August 2011, retrieved 30 March 2020
- ^ "How the music score for the 1978 feature film Watership Down came together" Archived 8 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Angela Morley's website, retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ "Angela Morley". IMDb. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ "Emmy Winning and Oscar Nominated Arranger Angela Morley Passes Away at 84", Broadway World, 18 January 2009, archived from the original on 27 August 2009, retrieved 24 January 2009
- ^ a b c d "Emmy Winning and Oscar Nominated Arranger Angela Morley Passes Away at 84". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Drama: 1977" Archived 10 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. BBC online, 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Sarah Wooley, writer for radio, TV, film, theatre" Archived 26 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Wooley's website, retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ a b Horak, Laura (2017). "Tracing the History of Trans and Gender Variant Filmmakers". The Spectator. 37 (2): 9–20.
- ^ "The Rainbow Plaque Trail" (PDF). Leeds Civic Trust. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ "Goon but not forgotten - a blue plaque for Leeds musician Angela Morley". Yorkshire Post. Leeds. 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
External links
- Official website
- Biography at the Robert Farnon Society
- Angela Morley at IMDb
- Angela Morley at AllMusic