Harris was married in 1956 and the couple had two sons and a daughter. But the marriage ended in divorce and Harris became a single parent of three children, working as a music and piano teacher in various London and Kent schools. He maintained his Cornish roots from his mother's side of the family, frequently returning to Cornwall and becoming friendly with another Cornish composer of operas, Inglis Gundry.[3] He was made a Cornish bard in 2002 in recognition of his support for Cornish music.[4]
He died in a London nursing home on 17 August 2013, aged 84.[5] His memoirs, Knocking on a Bolted Door, were edited by his son Steven and published in 2014.[6] Steven Harris has also written a memoir about his time working as a piano tuner at the Harrods department store in the late 1970s.[7]
Selected worksedit
Harris composed operas, song cycles and orchestral music as well as chamber music. His operas include: The Woman on the Hill (1980), based on a short story by Eleanor Inglefield (a relative of Delius); The Sunken City (1992), his largest opera, telling the story of the mythical submerged city of Ker-ys off the Breton coast; The Shining Ones (2000), set in London's East End of the 1930s; and Rescorla Variations (2001, premiered in 2006 by the Cornwall Chamber Orchestra),[8] about the Cornish national hero Rick Rescorla, who died saving lives at the Twin Towers on 9/11.[9][10]
The seven song A Cycle of Love and Death, setting Ezra Pound, was composed in 1967 and premiered in 1973 at a Wigmore Hall recital featuring the composer as pianist. The same recital included Stanzas for a Drowned City and the piano duo Sonatina patetico.[1] The orchestral works include three substantial pieces: Dance of Life (1982), Celtic Triptych (1983, for chamber orchestra) and the 20 minute symphonic suite My Country (1987) also arranged for two pianos.[5]
The Camerata Ensemble has recorded the Quintet for recorder and string quartet, which was dedicated to recorder soloist John Turner.[11] There is also a modern recording of the early Suite for viola and piano by Sarah Jane Bradley and John Lenehan.[12]
^English Music for Viola and Piano, Dutton Epoch CDLX 7390 (2021)
External linksedit
William Lewarne Harris, British Music Collection
Bill Harris: 'Reminiscences' Part One and Part Two, at MusicWeb International
January 01, 1970
william, lewarne, harris, 1929, august, 2013, english, composer, teacher, harris, born, birkenhead, educated, king, school, canterbury, until, evacuated, austell, cornwall, performed, national, service, with, duke, cornwall, light, infantry, afterwards, studie. William Lewarne Harris 23 May 1929 17 August 2013 was an English composer and teacher Harris was born in Birkenhead He was educated at the King s School Canterbury until the war saw him evacuated to St Austell in Cornwall He performed National Service with the Duke of Cornwall s Light Infantry 1 Afterwards he studied at the Royal College of Music with Patrick Hadley and later Herbert Howells While there he won the Lionel Tertis prize for his folk song influenced Suite for viola and piano 1952 It was later broadcast on BBC Radio by Watson Forbes 2 Harris was married in 1956 and the couple had two sons and a daughter But the marriage ended in divorce and Harris became a single parent of three children working as a music and piano teacher in various London and Kent schools He maintained his Cornish roots from his mother s side of the family frequently returning to Cornwall and becoming friendly with another Cornish composer of operas Inglis Gundry 3 He was made a Cornish bard in 2002 in recognition of his support for Cornish music 4 He died in a London nursing home on 17 August 2013 aged 84 5 His memoirs Knocking on a Bolted Door were edited by his son Steven and published in 2014 6 Steven Harris has also written a memoir about his time working as a piano tuner at the Harrods department store in the late 1970s 7 Selected works editHarris composed operas song cycles and orchestral music as well as chamber music His operas include The Woman on the Hill 1980 based on a short story by Eleanor Inglefield a relative of Delius The Sunken City 1992 his largest opera telling the story of the mythical submerged city of Ker ys off the Breton coast The Shining Ones 2000 set in London s East End of the 1930s and Rescorla Variations 2001 premiered in 2006 by the Cornwall Chamber Orchestra 8 about the Cornish national hero Rick Rescorla who died saving lives at the Twin Towers on 9 11 9 10 The seven song A Cycle of Love and Death setting Ezra Pound was composed in 1967 and premiered in 1973 at a Wigmore Hall recital featuring the composer as pianist The same recital included Stanzas for a Drowned City and the piano duo Sonatina patetico 1 The orchestral works include three substantial pieces Dance of Life 1982 Celtic Triptych 1983 for chamber orchestra and the 20 minute symphonic suite My Country 1987 also arranged for two pianos 5 The Camerata Ensemble has recorded the Quintet for recorder and string quartet which was dedicated to recorder soloist John Turner 11 There is also a modern recording of the early Suite for viola and piano by Sarah Jane Bradley and John Lenehan 12 Suite for viola and piano 1952 publisher OUP Goldenhair song 1953 text James Joyce An Irish Pilgrimage song cycle for baritone and piano 1954 text J M Synge Sibylla s Scena soprano clarinet and piano 1955 Three Settings Of W B Yeats mezzo soprano and piano 1959 Sonatina patetico for piano duo 1960 Four Settings of Ezra Pound for baritone and piano 1963 revised 1988 A Cycle of Love and Death song cycle baritone and piano text Ezra Pound 1967 Four Seascapes for unaccompanied chorus 1973 text D M Knight L Henry T S Eliot Stanzas for a Drowned City song for harp and soprano fp 1973 Cantata di femmina chorus and chamber ensemble 1974 text W B Yeats The Woman on the Hill chamber opera in two acts fp 26 September 1980 London Dance of Life for orchestra 1982 Variations on a Cornish Tune brass trio 1982 publisher Alphonse Leduc A Celtic Triptych for small orchestra 1983 Chansons de Baudelaire song cycle 1983 When The Cornish Came To Town unaccompanied part song 1984 My Country symphonic suite for orchestra 1987 Two Chorales for horn two trumpets trombone and tuba 1989 Old Mary Kelynack song 1990 text by the composer The Sunken City three act chamber opera in monochrome 1992 Passacaglia for Strings 1996 The Secret Kingdom song cycle for soprano clarinet and piano 1996 text by the composer Three Dances From The Sunken City for orchestra 1997 Three Songs From Cornwall 1997 texts Bert Biscoe Alan Kent Donald Rawe Wind Quintet 1997 includes The Entry to the Rose Garden Quintet for treble recorder two violins viola and cello 2002 dedicated to John Turner The Mother of Storms harp and soprano 2002 text by the composer The Shining Ones opera in four acts 2000 Rescorla Variations opera 2001 References edit a b Obituary The Times 3 September 2013 Michael Ponder Notes to Dutton Epoch CDLX 7390 2021 William Lewarne Harris Knocking on a Bolted Door Lewarne Publishing 2014 ISBN 9780992619718 N P Cooper William Lewarne Harris in A Cornish Almanac 2020 p 162 a b Biography British Music Collection For the Record OKS Association Newsletter Autumn 214 p 14 Steven Harris The Man From Harrods Book Guild 2021 ISBN 9781913551858 British Music Society News Issue 132 July 2012 p 11 Royal College of Music Upbeat Magazine 2014 p 22 Bill Harris Some thoughts on Opera at MusicWeb International Jigs Airs and Reels Campion Cameo 2034 2004 English Music for Viola and Piano Dutton Epoch CDLX 7390 2021 External links editWilliam Lewarne Harris British Music Collection Bill Harris Reminiscences Part One and Part Two at MusicWeb International Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Lewarne Harris amp oldid 1163388189, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
