Product Code Database
Ivor Ernst Slaney (born 27 May 1921 in West Bromwich, died 20 March 1998 in Southampton) was a British composer and conductor, notable for his work in film, television and radio.
Slaney's father Ernst Wallace Slaney was the principal cellist in the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra in the 1920s and 1930s under Sir Dan Godfrey. His mother was Grace Elizabeth Arney (born 22 April 1893, died July 1988). She married Ernst in Bristol in 1920. As a youngster Ivor joined the choir of St Stephen's Church, Bournemouth where he was also taught by Percy Whitlock, the church's Director of Music and a colleague of Ernst Slaney at the Bournemouth Pavilion. According to Whitlock's diary, Ivor was known as 'Tiny'.
In 1935, aged 14, Ivor entered the Royal Artillery in Woolwich and gained a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied oboe with Léon Goossens and made friends with Malcolm Arnold. Biography, Naxos Records During the war he joined up as a musician in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and afterwards worked for a time as an orchestral player with the London Philharmonic, the Covent Garden Opera House Orchestra and the Boyd Neel. He married pianist Mary D. Ludlow (known by her stage name Dolores Ventura) in 1948, divorcing her in 1969 and remarrying in 1974.
In later life Ivor Slaney lived in Milford on Sea, Hampshire. His son Adrian E. Slaney, a lawyer specialising in healthcare, was born in 1950. A daughter was born in 1979.
He wrote the music for several Hammer Films, including 36 Hours (1953), The Gambler and the Lady (1953), Spaceways (1953), and The House Across the Lake (1954), as well as the scores to A King's Story (1965), The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977), Prey (1977), Terror (1978), and Death Ship (1980).
Slaney arranged "Non Stop", the theme tune for ITN by John Malcolm, used from 1955 to 1982. He was composer and musical director for the British Children's Film Foundation cinema movie series The Magnificent Six and 1/2 from 1968–69, as well as the TV series Here Come the Double Deckers (1970–71) which followed it. He also composed the theme to the Harry Worth TV show whose opening titles showed the famous "window routine". Some of his "Dramatic Impacts" were featured in The Simpsons, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Bill Nye the Science Guy, SpongeBob SquarePants, Beavis and Butt-head, and Camp Lazlo.
Composition and arrangements
Slaney was the uncredited arranger for many recordings by the 101 Strings in the early 1960s, and was a prolific contributor to the recorded music libraries, particularly DeWolfe. His best-known works include "Top Dog", which was used as the theme music for the BBC radio comedy series The Men from the Ministry and "Carlos' Theme" (from The Sentimental Agent) for which he won an Ivor Novello award. 'Ivor Slaney', biography at Movie Music International, 15 February 2015 He also wrote numerous short orchestral light music pieces, such as the suite Three Village Greens, the "Sighing Waltz" and "Window Gazing",Philip. L Scowcroft. British Light Music (1997), p. 158 as well as the choral work Mass of Saint Richard (1970). The Choral Journal, Vol. 10, No. 6, March 1970, p. 23
External links
Categories: 1921 Births, 1998 Deaths, Alumni Of The Royal College Of Music, 20th-century British Classical Musicians, 20th-century English Composers, 20th-century English Male Composers, British Easy Listening Musicians, English Film Score Composers, English Male Film Score Composers, English Television Composers, English Male Television Composers, English Music Arrangers, English Conductors, English Classical Oboists, Musicians From Staffordshire, People From West Bromwich, Royal Army Ordnance Corps Soldiers, Royal Artillery Soldiers, British Army Personnel Of World War Ii, Military Personnel From The West Midlands
|
|
