Pamela Harrison (composer) facts for kids

Pamela Harrison (born November 28, 1915 – died August 28, 1990) was a talented English composer, pianist, and music teacher. She wrote many different kinds of music, including pieces for orchestras, small groups of instruments (called chamber music), and songs for singers.

About Pamela Harrison

Pamela Harrison was born in Orpington, England. She studied music at the Royal College of Music in London. Her teachers there were famous composers Gordon Jacob and Arthur Benjamin. During World War II, she worked as a school teacher.

Pamela first became known as a composer in 1938. This was when her Quintet was performed. A quintet is a piece of music for five instruments: a flute, oboe, violin, viola, and cello. It was played at a concert by the Society for the Promotion of New Music. Later, in 1944, her String Quartet was performed at the Myra Hess concerts held at the National Gallery.

She wrote many different types of music. This included music for small groups of instruments, for orchestras, and for singers. She often set her music to poems by famous writers like Charles Baudelaire, Herrick, Ernest Dowson, and Edward Thomas.

In 1948, Pamela wrote a piece for a small orchestra called A Suite for Timothy. She composed it for her son's first birthday! It was first performed in 1949 at Hampton Court Palace. Her Viola Sonata was written in 1946 and first played a year later at the Wigmore Hall. It was later broadcast on the radio by Watson Forbes and Alan Richardson in 1951.

Family Life

Pamela Harrison married Harvey Phillips in 1943. Harvey (1910–1970s) was a cellist and conductor. They first lived in Crockham Hill, Kent. Harvey was part of the Hirsch String Quartet. He also started his own orchestra, the Harvey Phillips String Orchestra, in 1950. This orchestra played some of Pamela's music, including her Five Poems of Ernest Dowson and Six Poems of Baudelaire. The famous singer Peter Pears was the soloist for the Dowson poems in London in 1952.

Pamela wrote her Cello Sonata in 1944 especially for Harvey. He played it for the first time with pianist John Wills at the Wigmore Hall in 1947.

Later Years and Influences

In the late 1950s, the famous clarinet player Jack Brymer performed Pamela's Clarinet Quintet many times. In 1959, her Concertante for piano and string orchestra was broadcast on BBC Radio. Eric Harrison (who was not related to Pamela) was the piano soloist.

Pamela Harrison's music was inspired by other composers like E.J. Moeran, Arnold Bax, and John Ireland. She also loved French music. She studied something called Dalcroze eurhythmics, which connects music with movement. She even gave performances with the creator of this method, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze.

Pamela Harrison passed away at the age of 74 in a car accident in Firle, East Sussex. As a tribute to her, Jack Brymer performed a short piece called Drifting Away at her memorial.

Selected Musical Works

Pamela Harrison wrote many different pieces of music. Here are some of them:

Orchestral Music

• A Suite for Timothy for string orchestra (1948)
• An Evocation of the Weald (1954)
• Brimstone Down for small orchestra (1958)

Concertos

• Concertante for piano and string orchestra (1954)

Chamber Music

This is music for small groups of instruments.

• Quintet for flute, oboe, violin, viola, and cello (1938)
• String Quartet (1944)
• Sonata for viola and piano (1946)
• Sonata for cello and piano (1947)
• Clarinet Quintet for clarinet, 2 violins, viola, and cello (1956)
• Piano Trio for violin, cello, and piano (1967)
• Drifting Away for clarinet and piano (around 1978)
• Octetto Pastorale for wind octet (1981)

Piano Music

• Anderida, 6 Diversions (1960)
• 6 Eclogues of Portugal (1960)

Vocal Music

These are songs for singers.

• The Lonely Landscape for voice and piano (1944); with words by Emily Brontë
• 6 Poems of Baudelaire for tenor and string orchestra (1944–1945); with words by Charles Baudelaire
• 8 Poems of Walter de la Mare for voice and piano (1949); with words by Walter de la Mare
• 5 Poems of Ernest Dowson for tenor and string orchestra (1951–1952); with words by Ernest Dowson
• The Dark Forest, Song Cycle for tenor and string orchestra (1957); with words by Edward Thomas

Recordings

You can find Pamela Harrison's music on these recordings:

• English String Miniatures, Volume 5 – includes Pamela Harrison's A Suite for Timothy (2006)
• La Viola: Music for Viola and Piano by Women Composers of the 20th Century – includes Pamela Harrison's Lament and Viola Sonata (2012)
• A Portrait of the Viola – includes Pamela Harrison's Sonata for viola and piano (2002)