Library News July 2025

Posted on 24th July, 2025

Music and film

Film music is popular with our member orchestras. We have a comprehensive collection in our library worth exploring.

John Barry

John Barry was a towering figure in film music, best known for shaping the iconic sound of the James Bond franchise and crafting sweeping, emotionally rich scores that echo the elegance of Light Music.

Barry’s music often featured:

Lush string arrangements and romantic melodies
Jazz-inflected harmonies and bold brass
Atmospheric textures that evoke mood and place

These qualities align beautifully with Light Music’s emphasis on tunefulness and emotional accessibility. His work on Born Free, Out of Africa, and Dances with Wolves showcases this connection—music that’s cinematic yet deeply lyrical.

Our library has a number of works by John Barry including, Dances with Wolves

Here is a recording of the main theme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIwz_NH6NWo

Contact our Library team for further information.

Women composers

We are exploring the many works in our catalogue by women composers and arrangers.

With over 100 women represented, there is plenty to discover.

Dorothy Atkinson

Dorothy Bess Spence Atkinson, born in 1893 in South Norwood, London, was a poet and composer whose work captured delicate moods and pastoral imagery. Her suite Summer Sketches, available from our library, is a charming example of early 20th-century Light Music, consisting of four evocative miniatures: Thistledown, Wild Roses, Golden Bees and Swallows.

Each piece paints a gentle seasonal vignette, rich in lyricism and subtle colour.

Atkinson published under several pseudonyms, including Valerie D'Orme and Beryl Gower, and her output included song cycles, piano suites, and even orchestral arrangements like To a Flanders Poppy.

Search our women composers listing to discover more music!

Listen:

What makes your audiences smile!

Here is a suggestion that would make for a perfect programme filler or encore.

The Music Lesson - Charles Williams

Repertoire ideas

Here are some works recently borrowed from our library by member groups:

Four American Indian Songs - Charles Wakefield Cadman

Reverie - Angela Morely

20th Century Express - Trevor Duncan

Othello Suite - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore

Our Classical World

Our library is not just about Light Music. We have a significant collection of lighter opuses from the Western classical tradition.

Here is a suggestion:

Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana - Pietro Mascagni

Composer Spotlight

Percy Fletcher

Percy Fletcher was a fascinating figure in British music, a composer, conductor, and orchestrator whose work spanned theatre, brass bands, organ music, and light orchestral suites.

Born in Derby in 1879, Fletcher was largely self-taught but quickly made a name for himself as a musical director in London’s theatre scene. He worked at the Prince of Wales, Savoy, and Drury Lane theatres, and from 1915 until his death in 1932, he was musical director at His Majesty’s Theatre. He orchestrated music for the legendary production Chu Chin Chow and later composed his own musical comedies like Cairo and The Good Old Days.

Fletcher is especially revered in brass band circles. His tone poem Labour and Love (1913) was a landmark in brass band repertoire, and An Epic Symphony (1926) is considered one of his most serious and enduring works. These pieces helped elevate the artistic status of brass band music in Britain.

Here is his Epic Symphony for brass band.

Looking ahead…

LMS Play Day Sunday 5th October, Victoria Hall, Bolton

Reserve your place for our annual Play-Day and Teatime Concert!

We currently have spaces for the following:
oboe, bassoon, horns and strings, especially double basses.