Composer Of The Week

Donald Macleod explores how the rise and fall of Light Music in BritainThe names of the composers of British Light Music - Coates, Ketèlby, Farnon, Dring or Tomlinson - might not be as well known as those of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach, but some of their music will be just as familiar to most listeners, and it still provides the soundtrack to many people’s everyday lives through, among other things, the theme music to their favourite TV and radio programmes. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the rise and fall of Light Music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid 19th century to the mid 20th. He’ll be exploring the social history which led to this genre flourishing, from the late-Victorian theatre crowds in want of more popular fare after the successes of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, to the orchestras which sprang up to entertain the burgeoning UK seaside resorts. Along the way, Donald will examine the explosion of music in people’s homes, as at first pianos and other instruments,