Robert Joseph Farnon CM (24 July 191723 April 2005) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a composer of original works (often in the light music genre), he was commissioned by film and television producers for theme and incidental music. In later life he composed a number of more serious orchestral works, including three symphonies, and was recognised with four

Ivor Novello award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

s and the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Life

Robert Farnon was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to Robert and Elsie Farnon (née Menzies). He was commissioned as a captain in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

and became the conductor/arranger of the Canadian Band of the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

sent overseas during

World War II 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 ...

. This was the Canadian equivalent of the American Band of the SHAEF led by Major

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

. He was noted as a jazz trumpeter – his longtime friend

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

once stated that he was pleased that Farnon took up composing, arranging and conducting, because Robert was the better jazz trumpeter.David Ades
Robert Farnon biography
, Robert Farnon Society, accessed 20 November 2010 He married Joanne Dallas, a singer from the SHAEF band, whom he later divorced. At the end of the war Farnon decided to make

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

his home, and he later moved to

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

with his new wife Patricia Smith and his five children. His friend and fellow composer Wally Stott composed "A Canadian in Mayfair" as a tribute. He was considered by his peers to be the finest arranger in the world, and his talents influenced many composer-arrangers, including

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

, all of whom acknowledged his contributions to their work. Conductor

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

called him "the greatest writer for strings in the world." He was the musical director and conductor for

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

's 1972 series for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

, '' Tony Bennett at the Talk of the Town''. He won four

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

, including one for "Outstanding Services to British Music" in 1991, and in 1996 he won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Lament" performed by J. J. Johnson & his Robert Farnon Orchestra. He was also awarded the

early in 1998. Robert Farnon died at the age of 87, at a hospice near his home of 40 years in Guernsey. He was survived by his wife Patricia and their five children, as well as two children from his previous marriage and his many grandchildren. Farnon's older brother Brian and his younger brother

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is some ...

were also orchestral composers, arrangers and conductors.

Works

Farnon is probably best known for two famous pieces of light music, "Jumping Bean" and "Portrait of a Flirt", which were originally released in 1955 as the A and B sides on the same 78, and for "Westminster Waltz", and "A Star is Born". Farnon also wrote the music for more than forty motion pictures, including '' Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.'' (1951), '' Gentlemen Marry Brunettes'' (1955), ''

The Road to Hong Kong ''The Road to Hong Kong'' is a 1962 British semi-musical comedy film directed by Norman Panama and starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, as well as Joan Collins, with an extended cameo featuring Dorothy Lamour in the setting of British Hong Kong, ...

'' (1962), The Prisoner (1967–68), '' Shalako'' (1968) and '' Bear Island'' (1979). He wrote the theme tune and other music for many, mostly British,

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

including ''

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig (district), Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C prisoner-of-war camp, POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situa ...

'' (1972–74), '' Secret Army'' (1977–79), '' Kessler'' (1981), and '' A Man Called Intrepid'' (1979). His score for the first episode of the spy-fi series ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'' (1968) was released on CD by Network DVD in 2009. He recorded production music for Chappell under the name Ole Jensen and the Melody Orchestra, and conducted the Queen's Hall Light Orchestra for Chappell under the name David King. From the early 1960s, Farnon was a prominent orchestral arranger for vocalists. He arranged and conducted

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

's only album recorded outside of the United States, '' Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain'' (1962), in London. Farnon also arranged and conducted

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

's album '' Lena: A New Album'' (1976),

's Christmas album ''

Snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

'' (1968), and one of

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

's albums recorded in Denmark, '' Vaughan with Voices'' (1964). He also completed three full-length classical symphonies, a concerto for piano and orchestra called ''Cascades to the Sea'', a rhapsody for violin and orchestra and a concerto for bassoon; he was commissioned to compose the test piece for the 1975

Brass Band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

Championships of Great Britain finals held at the Albert Hall and constructed ''Un Vie de Matelot'' (A Sailor's Life), a set of variations based on an original theme. The last piece he composed was entitled ''The Gaels: An American Wind Symphony'', as a commission for the Roxbury High School band in honour of the school's mascot, the gael. The piece had its world premiere in May 2006. It was performed by the Roxbury High School Honors Wind Symphony under the direction of Dr. Stanley Saunders, a close friend of Farnon. His 1954 piece, "Derby Day", was used for Rádio e Televisão de Portugal television services when they commenced on 7 March 1957. It became one of the station's anthems.

Selected filmography

References

"A Hit With Morning Listeners"
''The Vancouver Sun''. 24 November 1937.
"There Are Smiles"
''The Youngstown-Alberta Plaindealer''. 28 April 1938.
"Getting Into a Happy Frame of Mind"
''The Vancouver Sun''. 16 May 1938.
"The 'Happy Gang' broadcasts Monday at 11"
''Saskatoon Star-Phoenix''. 30 August 1941.
"Canada's most famous fun-makers coming to Windsor"
''The Windsor Star''. 23 May 1942.
"Another New Network Show on CFCN; "the Voice of Victor" feat.'Bob' Farnon's Orchestra"
''Calgary Herald''. 29 October 1942.
"Happy Gang's Fan Mail Largest in Canada"
''The Coaticook Observer''. 5 January 1940.
"The Happy Gang"
''

The Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newspap ...

''. 5 May 1942. (Drag image down to access adjoining photo.) *

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a private, not-for-profit c ...

"No More Stories of Bob's 'Gram'"
''The Ottawa Citizen''. 8 May 1942. *Cowan, Cal
"Program Reviews: 'The Voice of Victor'"
''Billboard''. 5 December 1942.
"Tunefulness Of Musical Score One Big Hit In the Army Show"
''The Ottawa Citizen''. 8 May 1943. *

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

"Robert Farnon Denies Peace Group's Position"
''

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

''. 22 June 1951. *Canadian Press
"Aiming at Early Retirement, Farnon Plans Composer Role"
''The Ottawa Citizen''. 31 October 1955. * Lees, Gene
"Afterthoughts"
''

Downbeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

''. 16 February 1961. (Reproduced following 9-paragraph remembrance of Lees posted 26 May 2014 by the Robert Farnon Society.)
"Radio-TV: Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie On Ed Sullivan Show"
'' Jet''. 4 May 1961.
"CBC Is Celebrating Its 25th Anniversary"
(Captioned photo). ''The Ottawa Citizen''. 14 November 1961. (Drag image up to read caption.) * Gleason, Ralph
"Rhythm Section: Satch Will Take a Year Off to Rest His Chops - and Listen; Liner Notes"
''

The Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the ...

''. 3 March 1962. *Tomkins, Les

''National Jazz Archive''. 1967. *Tomkins, Les

''National Jazz Archive''. 1967. *Forester
"Sparkling 'Porgy'"
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''. 26 October 1967. *Radcliffe, Joe
"Talent in Action: Tony Bennett"
''Billboard''. 23 October 1971. *Siskind, Jacob
"NACO Delivers Rich Sound Under Farnon Baton"
''The Ottawa Citizen''. 15 January 1983. *Shaw, Peter
"Canada's Arranger for the Stars"
''The Ottawa Citizen''. 31 March 1984. *McDonald, Tim
"Robert Farnon: Prolific light music composer famed for film and television themes"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. 25 April 2005. *Oliver, Myrna
"Robert Farnon, 87; Composer and Arranger for Movies, Pop and Jazz"
''The Los Angeles Times''. 27 April 2005. *Riley, John

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. 14 May 2005. *Cerra, Steven A
"Jazz Profiles - Robert Farnon: An Arranger’s Arranger"

Blogspot Blogger is an American online content management system founded in 1999 that enables its users to write blogs with time-stamped entries. Pyra Labs developed it before being acquired by Google in 2003. Google hosts the blogs, which can be acc ...

. 31 December 2011. *Sultanof, Jeff
"Robert Farnon, Part 1"
ArtsJournal. 5 February 2013. *Sultanof, Jeff

ArtsJournal. 6 February 2013.

Books

* *Perito, Nick (2004)
"Hello, Danny!"
''I Just Happened to Be There: Making Music With the Stars''. Philadelphia: Xlibris Corp. pp. 138–139. . *Barrett, Joshua; Bourgeois III, Louis G. (2005)
"Why Indianapolis - Why Not Indianapolis?!"
''The Musical World of J.J. Johnson''. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. pp. 213–216. .

External links

Robert Farnon Society
*
"Robert Farnon"
thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
"Robert Farnon"
2nd article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnon, Robert 1917 births 2005 deaths Members of the Order of Canada Canadian male composers Canadian conductors (music) Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian film score composers British male film score composers Canadian music arrangers British light music composers British male conductors (music) Easy listening musicians Grammy Award winners Canadian light music composers Musicians from Toronto Jazz arrangers Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom Canadian military musicians 20th-century Canadian composers British film score composers British music arrangers 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians Canadian Army officers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Toronto

Life

Works

Selected filmography

See also

References

Further reading

Articles

Books

External links