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Ernest Irving

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Kelville Ernest Irving(6 November 1878 – 24 October 1953) was an English music director, conductor andcomposer,primarily remembered as a theatre musician in London between the wars, and for his key contributions to Britishfilm musicas music director atEaling Studiosfrom the 1930s to the 1950s.

Early life

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Irving was born inGodalming,Surrey, and from the age of seven sang in the choir atGodalming Parish Church.He attendedCharterhouse School.[1]Other than that he was self-taught, and began his career applying for music director jobs advertised inThe Stage.His first professional job conducting an orchestra was for the musicalburlesqueVilliano the Viciousat the Theatre Royal,Maidenheadin 1895. He then spent the next two decades learning his trade by touring with productions (of variable quality) all around the UK - in his own words conducting "third rate opera and second-rate musical comedy".[2]The tours included some organised by the theatre managerGeorge Edwardes.[1]In 1907 he worked withEdward Germanto reduce the orchestral scoring for the operaTom Jonesdown to 15 players for touring purposes. German liked his work, and asked him to do the same again the following year forMerrie England.

His big break came in 1917 when he metNorman O'Neillat theSavage Club.At the time O'Neill was music director of theHaymarket Theatreand treasurer of theRoyal Philharmonic Society.Irving became involved with both, deputising for O'Neill and conducting on tours of his productions, including the popularMary Rosein 1920.[3]He was a great admirer of O'Neill's work, and once compared a performance ofMary Rosewithout his music to "a dance by a fairy with a wooden leg."[4]

London theatre

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From the end of the First World War until the late 1940s, Irving became a permanent fixture of the London theatre scene, conducting, directing and often composing the music for operettas, musical plays and serious drama at most of the London theatres.[1]A notable early success was the British version ofLilac Time,with music bySchubertadapted byGeorge H. Clutsam,which opened at theLyric Theatreon 22 December 1922 and ran for 626 performances. (Clarence Raybouldwas musical director for some performances).[5]The following year he conductedPolly(sequel toThe Beggar's Opera) with music restored byFrederic Austin.This began a lasting friendship between Irving and Austin.

In 1928 he was contracted byCharles Cochranto direct the music forThis Year of GracebyNoël Coward,which ran for ten months at theLondon Pavilion.Another Cochran production followed,Cole Porter'sWake Up and Dream,which ran for 263 performances at the same theatre. He conductedThe Immortal HourforSir Barry Jacksonin 1933 at theQueen's Theatre.The score Irving provided forThe Two Bouquets(1936), a comedy byHerbert Farjeon,was based on Victorian melodies selected byEleanor Farjeon.[6]There were two more collaborations with the Farjeons:An Elephant in Arcady(1939),[7]andThe Glass Slipper(1944), the latter with music for the dance interludes byClifton Parker.[8]

Irving was also the musical director ofJ. B. Priestley's then experimental playJohnson Over Jordan,which opened at theNew Theatreon 22 February 1939, directed byBasil Deanand withRalph Richardsonin the title role. It soon transferred to theSaville Theatrefor a relatively successful run after some extensive re-writing. The production used original music by the youngBenjamin Britten,some of it orchestrated by Irving.[9][10]

Irving conducted two Mozart operas (The Marriage of FigaroandCosì fan tutte) at theRegent's Park Open Air Theatrein 1938 with the Chanticleer Opera Company.[11]During the war he became musical director for theEntertainments National Service Association(ENSA). He was music director for theInternational Balletcompany in 1945 (Her Majesty'sandPrinces), 1946 (Coliseum) 1947 (Adelphi), and 1948(London Casino).Irving often worked withThomas Beecham.[3]

Ealing Studios

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In the early 1930s Basil Dean appointed Irving music director at the newly opened Ealing Film Studios. He composed many scores for classicEaling comediesincludingWhisky Galore!,Turned Out Nice Again(starringGeorge Formby) andKind Hearts and Coronets.[12]But like his younger counterpartsMuir MathiesonatDenhamandHubert CliffordatLondon Film Studios(who both worked closely with film producer and directorAlexander Korda) Irving also brought in some of the best known composers of the day to provide music - includingJohn Addison,William Alwyn,Georges Auric,Benjamin Frankel,John Ireland,Gordon Jacob,Alan Rawsthorne,Ralph Vaughan WilliamsandWilliam Walton.In this he had the backing of the studio's head of productionMichael Balcon,who encouraged Irving to engage serious composers routinely and to use large orchestral forces and unusual scoring.[13]

Irving secured John Ireland forThe Overlanders(1946), his only film score. He orchestrated the scores written byLord Bernersfor two films:The Halfway House(1943) andNicholas Nickleby(1947).[14]He asked Vaughan Williams to compose the music for three films,The Loves of Joanna Godden(1947),Scott of the Antarctic(1948) andBitter Springs(1950), helping to fit the scores to the films.[15]Vaughan Williams dedicated hisSinfonia Antartica(including music fromScott of the Antarctic) to Irving in 1953. Rawsthorne's First Quartet (1939) and Walton's Second Quartet (1947) are also dedicated to him.[3]

Personal life

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At the age of 20, Ernest Irving married Bertha Newall of Blackpool at Fylde register office on 11 May 1898. There were two children, but the marriage ended in divorce. He married his second wife Muriel Heath (1898-1983), a contralto who had sung inLilac Time,on 19 December 1930.[1]After the marriage, which produced one daughter, Irving suffered financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy. He acted as chess correspondent for theIllustrated London Newsbetween 1928 and 1932. On 22 March 1931 he was on the train from Euston which derailed at Linslade (nearLeighton Buzzard), killing six people.[3]

In 1951 Irving received honorary membership of theRoyal Philharmonic Society,and also had an honorary degree from theRoyal Academy of Music.He retired from Ealing in May 1953 due to ill-health; his successor wasDock Mathieson,brother of Muir. At the time of his death five months later Irving was working on a comic operetta (The 'Orse) and had almost completed his autobiography (posthumously published in 1959 asCue for Music).[16]He died at his home (4 The Lawn, Ealing Green), aged 74.

As music director

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Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^abcdLamb, Andrew.'Irving, (Kelville) Ernest'inThe Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(2004)
  2. ^Obituary,The Times,26 October 1953, p 10
  3. ^abcdIrving, Ernest.Cue for Music(1959)
  4. ^Hudson, Derek. Letter toThe Listener,9 April 1959, p 639
  5. ^Scott, Derek B.German Operetta on Broadway and in the West End, 1900–1940(2019), p. 288
  6. ^Radio Times,Issue 870, 2 June 1940, p 16
  7. ^Radio Times,25 November 1938, p 15
  8. ^Ballet Rambert performance archive
  9. ^"Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)– Paul Bunyan Overture, Piano Concerto, Johnson Over Jordan (Suite)"Archived23 January 2014 at theWayback Machine,Naxos Records, accessed 12 January 2014
  10. ^Listening to Britten – Johnson Over Jordan
  11. ^'Opera in the Rain',Manchester Guardian,30 May 1938, p 5
  12. ^Huntley, John.British Film Music(1947, revised 1972)
  13. ^Eder, Bruce. Ernest Irving biography
  14. ^Lane, Philip.Notes to Naxos CD 8.555223Archived4 October 2021 at theWayback Machine(2021)
  15. ^Vaughan Williams, Ralph.'Ernest Irving: 1878-1953'inMusic and LettersJanuary 1054, p 17-18
  16. ^Letter to Vaughan Williams, 19 October, 1953
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