1942 in British music

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This is a summary of 1942 in music in the United Kingdom.

Events

January/February – Serge Koussevitzky commissions Benjamin Britten to compose an opera, Peter Grimes, one of the first commissions given by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation.^[1]
16 March – Britten sails back to England with Peter Pears on board MS Axel Johnson.^[2]
20 March – Vera Lynn records The White Cliffs of Dover with Mantovani at Decca Records's West Hampstead studio.^[3]
26 August – In an act of wartime cultural diplomacy, John Ireland, Granville Bantock, Arnold Bax and Benjamin Britten deliver a letter to the wife of the Soviet Ambassador sending greetings from British composers to their Soviet counterparts.^[4]
November/December – E.J. Moeran's Symphony is the first British work to be recorded under the auspices of the British Council. The recording is made in Manchester by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Leslie Heward.^[5]

Popular music

Vera Lynn with Mantovani – The White Cliffs of Dover (Walter Kent)

Classical music: new works

Kenneth J. Alford – Eagle Squadron
Benjamin Britten –
- A Ceremony of Carols
- Hymn to St Cecilia
Gerald Finzi – Let Us Garlands Bring Op. 18, song cycle (words by Shakespeare)

Film and Incidental music

Noël Coward – In Which We Serve
Ralph Vaughan Williams –
- Coastal Command (film)
- The Pilgrim’s Progress (music for radio production)
William Walton – The First of the Few directed by and starring Leslie Howard, with co-star David Niven.

Musical theatre

22 October – Du Barry Was A Lady, London production opens at His Majesty's Theatre and runs for 178 performances
19 November – Let's Face It!, London production opens at the Hippodrome and runs for 348 performances

Musical films

Rose of Tralee, starring John Longden, Lesley Brook and Angela Glynne.^[6]
We'll Smile Again, starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Meinhart Maur.^[7]

Births

12 February – Lionel Grigson, English pianist, composer, and educator (died 1994)
19 February – Phil Coulter, musician and music producer
28 February – Brian Jones, Rolling Stones (died 1969)^[8]
9 March – John Cale, composer and musician^[9]
13 March – Meic Stevens, singer-songwriter
24 March – Arthur Brown, singer (Kingdom Come and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown)
19 April – David Fanshawe, composer (died 2010)
12 May – Ian Dury, singer-songwriter (died 2000)^[10]
18 June – Paul McCartney, singer, songwriter & composer^[11]
17 July – Spencer Davis, musician
13 August – Sheila Armstrong, soprano
21 September – Jill Gomez, soprano^[12]
27 September – Alvin Stardust (born Bernard Jewry, also called Shane Fenton), pop singer (died 2014)
31 December – Andy Summers, rock musician (Police)

Deaths

14 January – Harry Champion, music hall composer, 76^[13]
10 February – Felix Powell, musician, 63^[14]
17 May – Alfred Hollins, organist and composer, 76
12 June – Walter Leigh, composer, 36 (killed in action)^[15]
16 June – Haldane Stewart, organist, composer and choirmaster, 74
17 June – Jessie Bond, singer and actress in Gilbert & Sullivan, 89
30 July – Dorothy Silk, soprano, 59
15 October – Dame Marie Tempest, opera and musical comedy singer, 78^[16]
23 November – Peadar Kearney, Irish Republican and songwriter, writer of the lyrics to The Soldier's Song, 58^[17]

References

^ Mitchell, Donald (ed) (1991). Letters From A Life: Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Vol. 2 1939–45. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-160581. pp. 1017, 1019
^ Mitchell (1991): p. 630
^ MacKenzie, Colin (2005). Mantovani: A Lifetime in Music. Melrose Press. p. 87.
^ Foreman, Lewis. The John Ireland Companion. The Boydell Press, 2011: p. xxxiii
^ "About this recording". Naxos. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | The ROSE OF TRALEE (1942)". BFI: Film & TV Database. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | WE'LL SMILE AGAIN (1942)". BFI: Film & TV Database. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
^ Jackson, Laura (1992). Golden Stone: The Untold Life and Tragic Death of Brian Jones. Smith Gryphon Limited. p. 3. ISBN 0-312-09820-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
^ Mitchell, Tim Sedition and Alchemy: A Biography of John Cale, 2003, p. 24
^ Balls, Richard (2000). Sex & Drugs & Rock'N'Roll: The Life of Ian Dury (1st ed.). London: Omnibus Press. pp. 14–16. ISBN 0-7119-8644-4.
^ Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Little, Brown and Company. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-316-80352-6.
^ Blyth, A. Jill Gomez. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
^ Obituary, The Times, 15 January 1942, p. 46
^ Richard Anthony Baker (31 May 2014). British Music Hall: An Illustrated History. Pen and Sword. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-4738-3718-8.
^ CWGC entry
^ Deaths: The Times, 23 October 1942, p. 7, col. B
^ de Burca, Séamus (1957). The Soldier's Song: The Story of Peadar Ó Cearnaigh. Dublin: P. J. Bourke. OCLC 559798527.

[1] Mitchell, Donald (ed) (1991). Letters From A Life: Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Vol. 2 1939–45. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-160581. pp. 1017, 1019

[2] Mitchell (1991): p. 630

[3] MacKenzie, Colin (2005). Mantovani: A Lifetime in Music. Melrose Press. p. 87.

[4] Foreman, Lewis. The John Ireland Companion. The Boydell Press, 2011: p. xxxiii

[5] "About this recording". Naxos. Retrieved 23 January 2019.

[6] "BFI | Film & TV Database | The ROSE OF TRALEE (1942)". BFI: Film & TV Database. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2014.

[7] "BFI | Film & TV Database | WE'LL SMILE AGAIN (1942)". BFI: Film & TV Database. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2014.

[8] Jackson, Laura (1992). Golden Stone: The Untold Life and Tragic Death of Brian Jones. Smith Gryphon Limited. p. 3. ISBN 0-312-09820-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

[9] Mitchell, Tim Sedition and Alchemy: A Biography of John Cale, 2003, p. 24

[10] Balls, Richard (2000). Sex & Drugs & Rock'N'Roll: The Life of Ian Dury (1st ed.). London: Omnibus Press. pp. 14–16. ISBN 0-7119-8644-4.

[11] Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Little, Brown and Company. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-316-80352-6.

[12] Blyth, A. Jill Gomez. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.

[13] Obituary, The Times, 15 January 1942, p. 46

[14] Richard Anthony Baker (31 May 2014). British Music Hall: An Illustrated History. Pen and Sword. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-4738-3718-8.

[15] CWGC entry

[16] Deaths: The Times, 23 October 1942, p. 7, col. B

[17] Burca, Séamus (1957). The Soldier's Song: The Story of Peadar Ó Cearnaigh. Dublin: P. J. Bourke. OCLC 559798527.

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Events

Popular music

Classical music: new works

Film and Incidental music

Musical theatre

Musical films

Births

Deaths

See also

References