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Jim Parker | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Mavin Parker |
| Born | (1934-12-18)18 December 1934 Hartlepool,County Durham, England |
| Died | 28 July 2023(2023-07-28) (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Composer |
James Mavin Parker (18 December 1934 – 28 July 2023) was a BritishBAFTA-winning composer.[1]
After graduating as a silver medallist at theGuildhall School of Music, Parker played withorchestras andchamber groups in London as well as being a key part of TheBarrow Poets for whom he provided both original instrumental music and music to accompany the performance of a wide range of poetry spoken or sung by the rest of the band.[2] This music was played on a variety of instruments including the bass cacofiddle, a homemade sort ofdouble bass with knobs on, invented and played by William Bealby-Wright, while Parker mostly playedoboe andcor anglais.[3]
Parker subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting. He had early success with a series of recordings in which he set the poems of the BritishPoet Laureate SirJohn Betjeman to music;Banana Blush,Late Flowering Love (both 1974),Sir John Betjeman's Britain (1977) andVarsity Rag (1981). The albums, in which the poet recited his own words and the composer conducted a small group of musicians, have continued to be held in high regard by listeners and critics.[4][5]
These and subsequent records, includingCaptain Beaky and His Band, with words byJeremy Lloyd, which topped the charts as both a single and album, led to work in television as well as in London West End theatres, where Parker had three musicals produced. The most successful of these wasFollow the Star, with book and lyrics byWally K Daly.[2] It was originally produced at Chichester and was directed byWendy Toye.
Film scores include music for numerous feature-length television films and for new prints of the classic silent filmsGirl Shy, byHarold Lloyd, andThe Blot, a 1921 film directed byLois Weber.
Parker won theBritish Academy Award for Best Original Television Music four times, and wrote scores for over two hundred programmes. His work in film and television ranged from music forMoll Flanders,Tom Jones,Midsomer Murders,Born and Bred,Foyle's War,The House of Eliott, andMapp & Lucia to the score for the contemporary political thrillersHouse of Cards (UK version),To Play the King andThe Final Cut.[2] The opening and closing theme music for those television series is entitled "Francis Urquhart's March."[6] WithTom Stanier he wrote the music for schools programmes such asWatch,Zig Zag andFourways Farm plus musicals such asBlast Off: Mr Jones Goes to Jupiter.
Parker worked on several occasions withVictoria Wood, early on in her career. He arranged the songs for the television adaptation of her playTalent in 1979, as well as its sequelNearly A Happy Ending in 1980, both of which starred Wood withJulie Walters and a further playHappy Since I Met You in 1982, starring Walters andDuncan Preston. He was also cast as the bandleader of her debut sketch showWood and Walters.[7]
Concert works were written for theNash Ensemble,Philip Jones Brass,The Hilliard Ensemble,The Albion Ensemble,The Wallace Collection andPoems on the Underground. His published compositions include "A Londoner in New York" forbrass, "Mississippi Five" forwind quintet, "The Golden Section" forbrass quintet, and a clarinetconcerto. He was also the recipient of an honorary degree from theGuildhall School of Music and Drama.
Parker married Sonia Levy in 1961 and the couple had one daughter together. The marriage later ended in divorce. He married Pauline George in 1969 and the couple had two daughters together.[8]
Parker died on 28 July 2023, aged 88, following a long illness.[8][9]
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