Chichester Film Festival celebrates composer William Alwyn

Four films for which Alwyn provided the music will screened, preceded by one of his chamber pieces performed live by young musicians from the Park Lane Group.

A further five films will be screened but without live performance.

John Woolf, director of Park Lane Group, which exists to offer opportunities to young musicans, is delighted to be involved.

“Alywn died some years ago, but he was the leading British film composer. He composed the background music for more than 70 films. I am quite certain no other film composer – certainly not British, though maybe Hollywood – has done more than that.”

Alwyn (1905-1985) was a contemporary of Britten, Tippett and Walton. He composed symphonies, concertos, songs, chamber music and operas, but during his lifetime he was just as well known for his film music.

He viewed each commission from a film studio as an opportunity to experiment with techniques he could develop for expressive purposes in his concert music, in particular the cycle of four symphonies he composed between 1949 and 1959. He also developed firmly-held beliefs about the purpose and value of film music, insisting it is most effective when used sparingly and when conceived at the beginning of the film’s production rather than being added later.

“I am not a composer, thank goodness! But when Mr Verdi does something that has a magic effect on you, you just have to think it is a wonder the way an individual puts those notes together,” John said.