Herbert Murrill
Encyclopedia
Herbert Murrill was an English
musician, composer
, and organist
.
. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music
from 1925 to 1928 and thereafter was organ scholar
at Worcester College
, Oxford
, from 1928 to 1931. In 1933 he married the concert pianist Alice Margaret Good. Murrill's second wife was the cellist Vera Canning. He was for a time in the 1930s organist of Christ Church, Lancaster Gate, London and St Thomas's Church, Regent Street, London.
From 1933 until his early death, he was Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He also worked for the BBC
from 1936 onwards (save for a period in the Intelligence Corps between 1942 and 1946), reaching the post of Head of Music in 1950. He died in London.
opera
, Man in Cage, which was performed in 1930 while he was still at university. He wrote film scores for And So To Work (1936) and The Daily Round (1937), both early films from the director Richard Massingham
. He wrote two cello concertos, as well as some chamber and vocal pieces. There are several piano pieces. However, his most frequently performed works now are his choral and organ works: his setting of the Magnificat
and Nunc dimittis
in E major (published in 1947), an organ
piece called Carillon, and his arrangement for organ of the orchestral march Crown Imperial by William Walton
. His piano duet arrangement of Walton's First Symphony
was published by OUP.
Writing in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
, Ronald Crichton
says that Murrill's affinities were Francophile and mildly middle-Stravinskian
, both influences tempered by an English kind of neo-classicism.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musician, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
.
Biography
Murrill was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
from 1925 to 1928 and thereafter was organ scholar
Organ scholar
An organ scholar is a young musician employed as a part-time assistant organist at an institution where regular choral services are held. The idea of an organ scholarship is to provide the holder with playing, directing and administrative experience....
at Worcester College
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, from 1928 to 1931. In 1933 he married the concert pianist Alice Margaret Good. Murrill's second wife was the cellist Vera Canning. He was for a time in the 1930s organist of Christ Church, Lancaster Gate, London and St Thomas's Church, Regent Street, London.
From 1933 until his early death, he was Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music. He also worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
from 1936 onwards (save for a period in the Intelligence Corps between 1942 and 1946), reaching the post of Head of Music in 1950. He died in London.
Musical works
His works include a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Man in Cage, which was performed in 1930 while he was still at university. He wrote film scores for And So To Work (1936) and The Daily Round (1937), both early films from the director Richard Massingham
Richard Massingham
Richard Massingham was a British actor who is principally noted for starring in public information films made in the 1940s and early 1950s.-Life:...
. He wrote two cello concertos, as well as some chamber and vocal pieces. There are several piano pieces. However, his most frequently performed works now are his choral and organ works: his setting of the Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
and Nunc dimittis
Nunc dimittis
The Nunc dimittis is a canticle from a text in the second chapter of Luke named after its first words in Latin, meaning 'Now dismiss...'....
in E major (published in 1947), an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
piece called Carillon, and his arrangement for organ of the orchestral march Crown Imperial by William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. His piano duet arrangement of Walton's First Symphony
Symphony No. 1 (Walton)
The Symphony No. 1 in B-flat minor by the English composer William Walton was commissioned by Sir Hamilton Harty, and completed in 1935.-Structure:The work is in four movements.# Allegro assai# Scherzo: Presto con malizia...
was published by OUP.
Writing in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
, Ronald Crichton
Ronald Crichton
Ronald Crichton was a music critic for the Financial Times in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a scion of the Earls of Erne....
says that Murrill's affinities were Francophile and mildly middle-Stravinskian
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, both influences tempered by an English kind of neo-classicism.