Leighton Lucas (5 January 1903 – 1 November 1982) was an English composer and conductor. His career was wide-ranging: he was associated with the revival of interest in 20th century English ballet, arranged music for dance bands, conducted challenging contemporary classical works and wrote many original concert and film scores.

Career

He was born into a musical family: his father, Clarence Lucas, was also a noted composer from Canada and his English mother Clara Asher-Lucas (1867-1942) was a concert pianist who had studied with

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; ; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

. Lucas began his career as a dancer for Sergei Diaghilev's

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

(1918–21) but soon branched out into conducting. He joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre as musical director from 1923 to 1925. During this time he conducted a performance of Rutland Boughton's opera '' The Immortal Hour'' in 1923. In the 1930s he joined the Markova- Dolin ballet company,Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 November 1982, p. 14 and in 1941 became musical director of the Ballet Guild, a wartime company for which he formed first a quintet, later an orchestra. He also worked as an arranger for

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz ...

's orchestra between c.1926 and 1930. He served in the RAF during the war. Afterwards he formed his own orchestra and developed his conducting career, specializing in French music. In 1954 he conducted the first staged performance in Britain of Honegger's oratorio ''

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, c.1412–1431), French folk heroine and saint * Jeanne Devos (religious sister) * Jeanne Devos (photographer) * Joan of Flander ...

'' at the Stoll Theatre. Lucas gave broadcasts and lectures on ballet and theatre music, and was appointed professor at the Royal Academy of Music.Tony Lucas. ''The Lucas Family'' (2011), p. 195-6
/ref> In the 1950s and 1960s Lucas was living at 25 Heathfield Gardens, London W4. In 1974 Lucas (with

Hilda Gaunt Hilda Gaunt (1906 – 10 October 1975) was rehearsal pianist with The Royal Ballet for over 40 years. Gaunt first attracted attention as a pianist and accompanist in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1931 Gaunt became the accompanist at the Vic ...

, pianist for the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

) compiled and orchestrated various pieces by Massenet for

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's ballet ''

L'histoire de Manon ''L'histoire de Manon'', generally referred to as ''Manon'', is a ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to music by Jules Massenet and based on the 1731 novel '' Manon Lescaut'' by Abbé Prévost. The ballet was first performed by The Roya ...

''.

Music

Lucas was a self-taught composer of religious works, concert music and film scores. He is particularly noted for his film compositions, including the scores for '' Target for Tonight'' (1941), Alfred Hitchcock's ''

Stage Fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

'' (1950), '' Ice-Cold in Alex'' (1958) and the incidental music for '' The Dam Busters'', where he fashioned his music around the famous title march by

Eric Coates Eric Francis Harrison Coates (27 August 1886 – 21 December 1957) was an English composer of light music and, early in his career, a leading violist. Coates was born into a musical family, but, despite his wishes and obvious talent, his parents ...

. Philip Lane reconstructed the lost score, noting that Lucas created his own main theme "which seems to play hide and seek with Coates's throughout the film, both vying for supremacy." His first major concert work to receive recognition was the Partita for piano and chamber orchestra, broadcast in 1934 with the composer conducting the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and his mother Clara Asher-Lucas as the solo pianist.

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

described it as "very interesting – especially the quite lovely Sarabande." Lucas's ''Sinfonia Brevis'' (1936) for horn and 11 instruments may be one of the earliest British scores to incorporate Balinese gamelan effects. It was also heard by Britten, who went on to use such effects in his music from ''Paul Bunyan''. ''Ballet de la Reine'' (1949, revised 1957) is a six movement suite taken from the sketches of an unperformed ballet, ''Pavan for Mary'', which was originally intended for the Edinburgh Ballet Club. The music looks back to Elizabethan music forms (similarly to Peter Warlock's ''Capriol Suite'') while also retaining a French flavour (because

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

spent her childhood in France).

Selected compositions

Orchestral *1934 – ''Partita'' (1934) for piano and chamber orchestra *1936 – ''Sinfonia Brevis'' for horn and 11 instruments *1945 – ''We of the West Riding'' *1939 – ''Sonatina concertante'' for saxophone and orchestra *1940 – ''Suite française'' *1941 – March-Prelude (from ''Target for Tonight'') *1942 – ''A Litany'' for orchestra *1947 – Introductory Theme for Just William radio series *1949 – ''Ballet de la Reine'' for strings (revised 1957) *1950 – ''Dedication'' (from ''Portrait of Clare (film), Portrait of Clare'') *1950 – ''Eve's Rhapsody'' (from ''Stage Fright'') *1953 – ''This Is York'' (music from the documentary film) *1954 – ''Prelude'' and ''Dam Blast'' (from ''The Dam Busters'') *1956 – ''Cello Concertino'' for cello and orchestra *1956 – ''Concert Champetre'' for violin and orchestra *1956 – ''Prelude, Aria and Finale'' for viola d'amore and orchestra *1957 – Clarinet Concerto *1957 – ''Portrait of the Amethyst'' (from ''Yangtse Incident'') *1958 – Suite from ''Ice Cold in Alex'' *1970 – ''Birthday Variations'' Ballet *1935 – ''The Wolf’s Ride'' *1936 – ''Death in Adagio'' (after

Domenico Scarlatti Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer. He is classified primarily as a Baroque music, Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical peri ...

) *1945-6 – ''The Horses'' *1972-3 – ''Tam O’Shanter'' Brass Band * 1960 – ''Symphonic Suite'' * 1962 – ''Spring Song'' * 1968 – ''Chorale and Variations'' * 1973 – ''A Waltz Overture'' Choral *1928 – ''Masque of the Sea'' for chorus and orchestra. Dedicated "To Mrs. Ernest Toye with All Affection" *1934 – ''Massa pro defunctis'' *1953 – ''My True Love hath my Heart'', madrigal for women's voices *1953 – ''Sleep and Death'', partsong SATB *1964 - ''Te Deum laudamus'' for soprano and baritone solo, chorus and organHyperion CDH55195 (1992)
/ref> *1967 – Mass in G minor *1969 – ''Parish Mass'' Chamber *1956 – ''Meditation'' for cello and piano *1959 – ''Aubade'' for horn, bassoon and piano *1960 – ''Soliloquy'' for viola and piano *1961 – ''Tristesse'' for viola and piano *1966 – ''Disquisition'' for two cellos and piano duet

Selected filmography

* '' Princess Charming'' (1934) * ''

The Cardinal ''The Cardinal'' is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by the same by Henry Morton Robinson. The ...

'' (1936) * '' Head over Heels'' (1937) * '' Target for Tonight'' (1941) * '' Now Barabbas'' (1949) * '' Portrait of Clare'' (1950) * ''

'' (1950) * '' The Weak and the Wicked'' (1954) * '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) * '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst'' (1957) * '' Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958) * '' The Son of Robin Hood'' (1958) * '' Serious Charge'' (1959)

References

External links

* * Lucas, Tom (2011).
The Lucas Family
' * MusicWeb International (2012)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Leighton 1903 births 1982 deaths 20th-century English classical musicians 20th-century English composers 20th-century English male musicians Brass band composers English film score composers English light music composers English male film score composers