1931 in British music

This is a summary of 1931 in music in the United Kingdom.

Events

• 24 January – Mary Garden makes her last appearance with the Chicago Civic Opera company. She retires to her native Scotland. ^[1]
• 22–28 July – The ninth annual ISCM Festival of Contemporary Music takes place in London and Oxford, with concerts of orchestral, choral, and chamber music. ^[2]
• 22 August – Anton Webern’s Passacaglia Op. 1 receives its first performance in England at the Proms, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Henry Wood.
• date unknown – Gustav Holst appears as an extra in a crowd scene in the film The Bells . ^[3]

Popular music

• "Close Your Eyes", by D. Carter and H. M. Tennent
• "Lady Of Spain"; music by Tolchard Evans, lyrics by Erell Reaves
• "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", by Noël Coward
• "My Girl's Pussy", by Harry Roy and his Bat Club Boys

Classical music: new works

• Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 2 in E minor
• Frank Bridge – Phantasm, for piano and orchestra
• Benjamin Britten –
  • Christ's Nativity, Christmas Suite, for SATB choir
  • Plymouth Town , ballet, for orchestra
  • String Quartet in D
• Arnold Cooke – Passacaglia, Scherzo, and Finale, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and string quartet
• Frederick Delius –
  • Fantastic Dance, for orchestra
  • Irmelin Prelude, for orchestra
• George Dyson – The Canterbury Pilgrims (Geoffrey Chaucer), for soprano, tenor, baritone, choir, and orchestra
• Edward Elgar – Soliloquy, for oboe and orchestra
• Gerald Finzi – To Joy, for voice and piano, op. 13
• Patrick Hadley – Symphonic Ballad: The Trees So High ^[4]
• Gustav Holst – Twelve Welsh Folk Songs, for choir, H183
• Herbert Howells –
  • "A Maid Peerless", for SSAA choir and orchestra
  • Severn, for SATB choir
• Gordon Jacob – Passacaglia on a Well-Known Theme, for orchestra
• Elizabeth Maconchy –
  • A Hymn to Christ, A Hymn to God the Father, for double choir
  • The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo, for choir and orchestra
• Cyril Scott –
  • Concerto, for cello and orchestra
  • Trio No. 1, for violin, viola, and cello
  • Trio No. 2, for violin, viola, and cello
• Herbert Sumsion – Piano Trio
• Michael Tippett – Symphonic Movement, for orchestra
• Ralph Vaughan Williams –
  • Job: A Masque for Dancing (ballet)
  • Piano Concerto in C major
• William Walton – Belshazzar's Feast (oratorio)

Opera

• Thomas Frederick Dunhill – Tantivy Towers, words by A. P. Herbert ^[5]

Film and Incidental music

• John D. H. Greenwood – Alibi

Musical theatre

• 8 January – Folly To Be Wise (revue) opens at the Piccadilly Theatre, starring Cicely Courtneidge.
• 13 October – Noël Coward's Cavalcade opens at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where it runs for 405 performances. ^[6]
• 23 December – Hold My Hand (Music: Noel Gay Lyrics: Desmond Carter Book: Stanley Lupino) opens at the Gaiety Theatre, Starring Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale and Stanley Lupino.

Musical films

• A Man of Mayfair , starring Jack Buchanan
• Sally in Our Alley , starring Gracie Fields
• Sunshine Susie , starring Renate Müller and Jack Hulbert

Births

• 6 January – David Whitaker, composer, songwriter, arranger and conductor (died 2012) ^[7]
• 29 January – Leslie Bricusse, composer, lyricist and playwright (died 2021)
• 5 March – Anthony Hedges, composer (died 2019)
• 25 March – Humphrey Burton, television music and arts presenter
• 30 June – James Loughran, orchestral conductor (died 2024)
• 29 April – Lonnie Donegan, skiffle musician (died 2002)
• 4 July – Duncan Lamont, saxophonist, composer and bandleader (died 1919)
• 5 July – Aloysius Gordon, British-based Jamaican jazz pianist, singer (died 2017)
• 28 August – John Shirley-Quirk, operatic bass-baritone (died 2014) ^[8]
• 12 September – Tommy Moore, drummer (died 1981)
• 24 September – Anthony Newley, songwriter, actor and singer (died 1999) ^[9]
• 4 October – Anna Reynolds, operatic mezzo-soprano (died 2014)
• 4 November – Clinton Ford, singer (died 2009)

Deaths

• 8 May – Bertha Lewis, singer and actress with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 43 (car accident)
• 18 June – Fanny Holland, singer and actress, 83
• 22 August – Joseph Tabrar, songwriter, 73 ^[10]
• 19 November – Frederic Cliffe, composer, 74 ^[11]
• 23 November – Leonora Braham, operatic soprano and actress, 78 ^[12]

See also

• 1931 in British television
• 1931 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1931

References

1. The Opera Quarterly. University of North Carolina Press. 1995. p. 7.
2. Anon., "Contemporary Music: Festival in England This Year", The Times, issue 45735 (Saturday, 31 January 1931): 10C.
3. Holst, Imogen (1981). The Great Composers: Holst (second ed.). London: Faber and Faber. ISBN   0-571-09967-X., p. 80
4. Mann, William. Note in booklet with 2007 Lyrita CD SRCD 238, 2007, originally written for 1979 Lyrita LP issue.
5. Dunhill, Stanford, Bantock Violin Sonatas [RB]: Classical CD Reviews- May 2001 MusicWeb(UK)
6. Morley, Sheridan. A Talent to Amuse: A Biography of Noël Coward, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1969, pp. 200–214, 223
7. "David Whitaker". dailytelegraph.co.uk. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
8. Gerald Norris (1981). A Musical Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland. David & Charles. p. 210. ISBN   978-0-7153-7845-8.
9. The Bulletin. J. Haynes and J.F. Archibald. September 1992. p. 101.
10. Who was who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died During the Period ... A. & C. Black. 1929. p. 1322.
11. Maggie Humphreys; Robert Evans (1 January 1997). Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland. A&C Black. p. 67. ISBN   978-0-7201-2330-2.
12. John Parker (1967). Who's who in the Theatre. Pitman. p. 1596.