Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 190618 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works that would not otherwise have been forthcoming. Fenby was born in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the No ...

, and as a youth took lessons in the piano, organ and cello. At the age of 12 he was appointed organist at Holy Trinity Church. As a composer he was largely self-taught. By 1925 he had conducted a work for string orchestra at the Spa Grand Hall in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

and had written some minor pieces.

Working for Delius

In 1928, hearing that Delius had become virtually helpless because of blindness and paralysis (due to syphilis), he offered to serve him as an

. Fenby worked, at the composer's home in Grez-sur-Loing, near Paris, for extended periods until Delius died almost six years later. The project was taxing not only because of the need to devise a unique mode of musical communication but also because of Delius's difficult temperament and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

. Although born into a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

household, Fenby had become a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The strain on him was intensified by the requirement to act as nurse during the composer's final days. Further responsibilities followed, including visiting Delius's severely ill widow, Jelka Rosen, and accompanying the composer's exhumed body back to England for burial. The whole experience left him "completely burnt out". In 1936, he published an account, ''Delius As I Knew Him''. The works he helped Delius to write (all for orchestra unless otherwise shown) are: * '' A Song of Summer'' * ''Fantastic Dance'' * ''Irmelin'' prelude * ''Caprice and Elegy'' (cello and chamber orchestra) * Violin Sonata No. 3 (violin and piano) * ''Songs of Farewell'' (double choir and orchestra) * ''Idyll'' (soprano, baritone and orchestra). This episode in Fenby's and Delius's lives was portrayed in

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

's 1968 production for the BBC, '' Song of Summer'', which can be found on YouTube. In 1980

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

sang about them in her song "Delius". In a much distorted form, the Delius-Fenby collaboration also serves as a basis for the fictional Ayrs-Frobisher collaboration in David Mitchell's novel '' Cloud Atlas''.

Later career

After Delius's death Fenby entered the employ of the music publisher

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

. He was contracted to write the score for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's '' Jamaica Inn'', (from

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

), but his film career was interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After joining the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

he was transferred to the Education Corps at Bulford, where he conducted the Southern Command Orchestra. He was later commissioned to run Royal Army Education Corps courses in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Having left the Catholic Church, in 1944 Fenby married Rowena C.T. Marshall (1914-1998), the daughter of a Scarborough vicar. They had a son, Roger, and a daughter, Ruth. After the war Fenby founded the music department of the North Riding Training College. He was artistic director for the

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Delius Festival in 1962. He then became Professor of Harmony at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London from 1964 until 1977. In his final years Fenby returned to Catholicism and moved back to Scarborough where he died approaching his 91st birthday. He is buried with his wife Rowena in the churchyard of St Laurence's Church, Scalby, a village on the north edge of Scarborough.

Honours

Fenby was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1962 for his artistic direction of the 1962 Delius Centenary Festival in Bradford. He was appointed President of the Delius Society that same year. Mary E Greene (4 May 2011) ''Before the Champions: Frederick Delius' Florida Suite for Orchestra'', Electronic Theses and Dissertations, University of Miami
/ref> He was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of

and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

(UK), and

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

(USA).

Recordings and films

As a conductor and pianist Fenby made numerous recordings, including the definitive performances found in the Fenby Legacy double LP for Unicorn Records. Fenby recorded all three of Delius's violin sonatas, first with Ralph Holmes and later with

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

, and Delius's Cello Sonata with Julian Lloyd Webber. He was adviser to

for the 1968 film '' Song of Summer'', in which Fenby is portrayed by Christopher Gable. He was also the subject of a documentary film by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

called ''Song of Farewell''.

Works

Always a severe self-critic, he destroyed several substantial early works but the following smaller pieces survive. Orchestral works * Overture "Rossini on Ilkla Moor" (1938) ASV CD WHL2126 * Slow march "Lion Limb" (1952) * "Two Aquarelles" Choral works * "Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis" (1932) * "For music on the eve of Palm Sunday" (1933, words by Robert Nichols)

References

Sources

*Eric Fenby – Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', London, 22 February 1997 * * Richard Stoker, "Fenby, Eric William (1906–1997)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 200
accessed 13 June 2007
* Eric Blom ed., Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition (1954)

External links

*
"Eric Fenby: Unsung Hero of Music" – site includes biography, discography, photos, sound files, links and other information.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenby, Eric 1906 births 1997 deaths Military personnel from Scarborough, North Yorkshire 20th-century British classical composers Academics of the Royal Academy of Music British Army personnel of World War II English classical composers English Roman Catholics English light music composers Royal Army Educational Corps officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Musicians from Scarborough, North Yorkshire Honorary members of the Royal Philharmonic Society 20th-century English composers English male classical composers Amanuenses 20th-century English male musicians Royal Artillery soldiers