Harold Fraser-Simson (15 August 1872 – 19 January 1944) was an English composer of light music, including songs and the scores to musical comedies. His most famous musical was the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

hit ''

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham and ...

'', and he later set numerous children's poems to music, especially those of

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...

Life and career

Fraser-Simson“Fraser” was his middle name; he used the hyphenated "Fraser-Simson" for his musical career, but formally he seems to have retained his original surname "Simson". See census return, 1911 (at Woodend, Witley, Surrey), Harold Fraser Simson (no hyphen), Ship-owner & merchant. It lists May Frances Simson (no Fraser), wife and Lilian Frances Simson (no Fraser), daughter; Marriage register index, July–September 1919, St Martin, vol. 1a, p. 1553, Harold F Fraser and Anna C M Devenish; and Register of deaths, county of Inverness, 19 January 1944, ref 098/0a 0041; but see Probate at Llandudno, June 1944, to Cecily Fraser-Simson and John Henry Lang Rose of the estate of Harold Fraser-Simson of Dalcross Castle Croy Inverness-shire was born in London, the second child and eldest son of an East Indies merchant, Arthur Theodore Simson and his wife, Jane Anne Catherine née Fraser, of Reelig, Scotland.Lamb, Andrew
"Harold Fraser-Simson (1872–1944); ''The Maid of the Mountains''"
excerpts from the sleeve notes to Hyperion's recording of ''The Maid of the Mountains'', 2000, accessed 17 June 2013 He was educated at Charterhouse School, then at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

, then at King's College London and in France. As a young man he joined a ship-owning firm in London before turning to music as a full-time occupation in his early forties.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' obituary, 20 January 1944, p. 7

Musical comedies

Fraser-Simson published his first song, "My Sweet Sweeting", in 1907. His first theatre score was for the 1911 musical ''Bonita'', with a libretto by Walter Wadham Peacock, which played at Queen's Theatre.Scowcroft, Philip.
"Harold Fraser-Simson: Sportsman and Man of the Theatre"
MusicWebUK (1994) Fraser-Simson's biggest success was the score for the operetta ''

'', which played at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

in London in 1917 and finally closed after 1,352 performances. This was, at the time, a phenomenal run second only to that of ''

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of '' Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tal ...

''. Several songs from this work (not all of them by Fraser-Simson) have remained "standards" ever since. Fraser-Simson's best-known songs for this show included "Love will Find a Way", "Farewell" and "Husbands and Wives".Gänzl, Kurt
"Simson, Harold Fraser- (1872–1944)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 18 September 2008, ''The Maid of the Mountains'' has been frequently revived by both professional and amateur groups, and was filmed in 1932. It was one of the three most important musical hits of the London stage during

(the other two being a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

, ''

The Bing Boys Are Here ''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing ...

'', and the musical ''Chu Chin Chow''). Music or scenes from all of these have been included as background in many films set in this period, and they remain intensely evocative of the "Great War" years. Audiences wanted light and uplifting entertainment during the war, and these shows delivered it.''Chu Chin Chow'' at the Musicals Guided Tour (PeoplePlay UK)
, accessed 4 May 2008 After ''The Maid of the Mountains'', Fraser-Simson wrote music for more operettas and musicals, including '' A Southern Maid'' (premiered in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1917 and produced at Daly's in London after ''Maid'' closed in 1920); ''Our Peg'' (1919, with a libretto by Harry Graham and Edward Knoblock at

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

); ''Missy Jo'' (1921 touring); ''Head over Heels'' (

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

, 1923); ''

Our Nell ''Our Nell'' is a musical with a book by Louis N. Parker and Reginald Arkell and music by Harold Fraser-Simson and Ivor Novello. It is based on the life of the English actress Nell Gwynn, mistress of Charles II. It was inspired by an earlier mu ...

'' (1924, Lyric Theatre – a rewrite of ''Our Peg'' replacing

Peg Woffington Margaret Woffington (18 October 1720 – 28 March 1760), known professionally as Peg Woffington, was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era. Peg and Peggy were a common pet name for those called Margaret until the late 20th centu ...

as principal character with Nell Gwynne), ''The Street Singer'', based on the 1912 film of the same name (1924, 360 performances at the Lyric, starring Phyllis Dare); and ''Betty in Mayfair'' (1925,

). Fraser-Simson's music tended towards the old-fashioned European romantic songs, in contrast to the

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and other American dance music that began to be used in musicals during World War I. His other stage works include a ballet, ''Venetian Wedding'' (1926), and incidental music for ''The Nightingale and the Rose'' (1927).

Children's songs and later years

Fraser-Simson is also known for his many settings of children's verse by

and

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is most famous for ''The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), a classic of children's literature, as well as '' The Reluctant Dragon''. Both books w ...

, including the music for a children's play based on the latter's ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

'' entitled '' Toad of Toad Hall'' (1929), which was successful and enjoyed many revivals. His settings of Milne's verse include a children's song cycle ''The Hums of Pooh'', based on verses from ''

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Win ...

'' and ''

The House at Pooh Corner ''The House at Pooh Corner'' (1928) is the second volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is notable for the introduction of the character Tigger. Plot The title comes from a stor ...

''. This was included in

Julian Slade Julian Penkivil Slade (28 May 1930 – 17 June 2006) was an English writer of musical theatre, best known for the show ''Salad Days'', which he wrote in six weeks in 1954, and which became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s, with over ...

's 1970 adaptation of ''

''. Fraser-Simson published six volumes of songs setting verses from Milne's ''

When We Were Very Young ''When We Were Very Young'' is a best-selling book of poetry by A. A. Milne. It was first published in 1924, and it was illustrated by E. H. Shepard. Several of the verses were set to music by Harold Fraser-Simson. The book begins with an int ...

''. A number were first recorded for HMV in 1926 by George Baker, accompanied by the composer, and later again accompanied by

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English classical pianist best known for his career as a collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. Among those with whom he was closely associated were Dietrich Fischer-Di ...

in 1930.Gammond, Peter. Sleeve notes to EMI LP HQM 1200 (1970) His other songs included the collection ''Teddy Bear and Other Songs'' and songs from '' Alice in Wonderland'', which were published in 1932 and recorded by Baker and Moore the same year. Baker later recalled Fraser-Simson as "a very polite, retiring man, looking more like a businessman than a composer of successful musicals." Simson married May Frances, ''née'' Bucknall, in 1897, with whom he had a daughter, Lilian Frances. He married his second wife, (Anna) Cicely Devenish, in 1919. In later years, he lived the life of a country squire at

Dalcross Castle Dalcross Castle is a restored 17th century tower house, about southwest of Croy, Highland, Scotland, and about northeast of Inverness. The castle stands on a ridge.Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p.180 Histo ...

, a home that he bought in Scotland. He was an avid sportsman, enjoying golf, tennis, shooting and fishing. Fraser-Simson died at a nursing home in Inverness, Scotland, following a fall on a stone staircase at his home in nearby Croy, Highland, at the age of 71.

Notes

References

*Gammond, P. ''The Oxford companion to popular music'' (1991) *Gänzl, Kurt. ''The encyclopaedia of the musical theatre'', 2 vols. (1994) *Gänzl, Kurt. ''The British musical theatre'', 2 vols. (1986) *Parker, J. ed., ''Who's who in the theatre'', 6th edn (1930)

External links

*
Biography of Fraser-Simson
*
Recording of Milne and Fraser-Simson's "They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace"Links to recordings of ''The Maid of the Mountains''Links to Hyperion recordings by Fraser-SimsonLinks to recordings of works by Fraser-Simson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser-Simson, Harold 1872 births 1944 deaths English people of Scottish descent People educated at Charterhouse School People educated at Dulwich College Alumni of King's College London English composers