Philip Green (composer)

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Philip Green
Born(1911-07-19)19 July 1911
Whitechapel, London, England
Died6 October 1982(1982-10-06) (aged 71)
Dublin, Ireland
NationalityBritish
Other namesHarry Philip Green,
Phil Green
EducationTrinity College of Music
Occupation(s)composer, conductor, pianist, accordion player
Years active1943–1966
Known for150 film scores, church music
Notable work"Suffer Little Children" (No 3 in the Irish charts)
Parents
  • Philip Green (father)
  • Elizabeth Vogel (mother)

Philip Green (19 July 1911 – 6 October 1982), sometimes credited as Harry Philip Green or Phil Green, was a British film and television composer and conductor, and also a pianist and accordion player. He made his name in the 1930s playing in and conducting dance bands, performed with leading classical musicians, scored up to 150 films, wrote radio and television theme tunes and library music, and finally turned to church music at the end of his life in Ireland, a song from which period proved so popular that it reached No. 3 on the Irish chart in 1973.

Early life and career

Green was born on 19 July 1911 in

boot clicker, and his mother was Elizabeth Vogel.[1] He began learning the piano at the age of seven, and went on to study at Trinity College of Music in London, aged just 13. After college he played in various orchestras, and then became conductor at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. He signed as a recording artist to EMI in 1933 at the age of 21 and continued to record for them throughout his lifetime.[2][3] Green conducted large orchestras and played piano and accordion in small bands across Europe. One of the small bands, put together for recording purposes, was the Ballyhooligans, using a line-up of clarinet, two pianos, guitar, bass and drums,[4] which played in a "near-Dixieland" style.[5][6] Between 1935 and 1939 Green became well known for his Radio Luxembourg programmes, which were broadcast to Britain.[7]

During the war, Green regularly conducted for BBC broadcasts with various orchestras, on programmes such as Salute to Rhythm,

Leon Goossens (oboe), Reginald Kell (clarinet), Victor Watson (double bass), Jack Collings (percussion), and Denis Gomm (piano), all of whom were members of the BBC Salon Orchestra at the time.[10] Green also became house arranger and conductor for Decca and accompanied many of their vocalists such as Gracie Fields, Donald Peers and Anne Shelton
.

Film music

Green's first credited film work was on 1943's

Rank Organisation.[13]

Green composed more than 150 film scores, including

The Dream Maker (1963).[14]

Other work

Like many composers of film music, Green also composed and arranged light orchestral concert works and wrote prolifically for production music libraries. As a result, a number of his compositions are familiar through their use in radio and television programmes. They include pieces such as Cuban Suite and Cocktail Hat Suite, and single-movement pieces such as "Follow Me Around" and "White Orchids".[15] "Shopping Centre" was used as the theme for the 1936 BBC television programme Picture Page, and was released commercially by Charles Williams in the 1930s.[16] "Horse Feathers" was used as the theme tune for the BBC radio series Meet the Huggetts (1953–1961).

Other pieces were written under pseudonyms, such as Ecstasy by Jose Belmont or Frenesi by Don Felipe.

The Ren and Stimpy Show, The World's Greatest Magic and SpongeBob SquarePants
.

Philip Scowcroft remembers some stage music, including a children's musical (Noddy in Toyland), a revue (Fancy Free) and an ice show (Wildfire), as well as some songs that achieved popularity in the early 1950s, such as "Let's Go to the Pictures" and "Love Is Like An April Shower".[18]

In the field of pop music, Green co-wrote the United Kingdom's 1963

UK Singles Chart.[20][21]

Later career and death

Green continued to compose and conduct for film and television, including the theme tune for The Golden Shot (1967), and to issue light orchestral music recordings until his retirement in 1966.[22] Together with his wife, he established the Philip and Dorothy Green Music Trust to help young musicians and composers.

While living in Ireland, he became interested in church music, and composed a full-scale St Patrick's Mass, which was recorded by the Trinity Chorale in 1971 with the composer conducting.[23] It was followed a year later by the Mass of St. Francis of Assisi. This was recorded with the Cork Children's Choir and the Scottish tenor/celebrant Canon Sydney MacEwan and released in November 1972. The song "Suffer Little Children" from the latter Mass was released as a single in 1973 and reached No. 3 on the Irish chart, remaining on the chart for five months. It is regularly used as a communion hymn in Catholic churches.[24]

Green died in Dublin in 1982 after a long illness, from

cerebral metastasis.[1][13]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^
    IMDb
  2. ^ Robert Farnon Society
  3. ^ a b The Moods of London. Philip Green and his Mayfair Orchestra, Capital Records, 1957
  4. ^ Francis, Harry. 'As I heard it...', Crescendo, December 1974, p.10
  5. ^ Godbolt, Jim. A History of Jazz in Britain, 1950-70, p. 266
  6. ^ British Dance Bands, Vol 1, Naxos CD 8120603 (2002)
  7. ^ a b c Musiker, R and Musiker, N. Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music (1998)
  8. ^ Radio Times issue 1055, 19 December 1943, p 19
  9. ^ Radio Times, issue 1061, 30 January 1944, p 17
  10. ^ Radio Times, issue 886, 22 September 1940, p 22
  11. ^ "The Magic Bow (1946)". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  12. ^ Love is like a Violin: Salon Treasures from the Max Jaffa Library, Nimbus CD NI6428 (2022)
  13. ^ a b c David Ades, Biography at the Robert Farnon Society, retrieved 27 November 2020
  14. ^ IMDb
  15. ^ David Ades, notes to The Great British Light Experience (EMI, 1997), p.9
  16. ^ "Shopping Centre", Charles Williams and his Concert Orchestra, Columbia D.B.2905
  17. ^ The Golden Age of Light Music: Musical Kaleidoscope Volume 2, Guild CD 5140 (2007)
  18. ^ Philip L. Scowcroft, A Thirteenth Garland of British Light Music Composers
  19. ^ "Ronnie Carroll – Say Wonderful Things (Vinyl)". Discogs. 3 September 1963. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  20. ^ "RONNIE CARROLL | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. 2 August 1956.
  21. ^ "Eurovision 1963 Results: Voting & Points". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  22. ^ Philip Green discography at Discogs
  23. ^ Celtic Note: St Patrick's Mass
  24. ^ Celtic Note: Mass of St. Francis of Assisi

External links

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