Great Film Composers: The Music of the Movies on Sky Arts: 1930's and the Father of Film Music

Episode 2 begins where Episode 1 finished. Max Steiner is called the father of film music. He was a child prodigy and conducted his first operetta at the age of twelve. In the early part of the twentieth century he moved from his native Vienna to London to conduct musicals and operas. In December 1914 Steiner arrived in New York and became a successful musical director of Broadway musicals. This led him to RKO Pictures and eventually composing the music for King Kong in 1933. He started putting music behind the dialogue and different themes for each main character. This changed everything in the production of movies.

Born in Austria in 1897, Erich Wolfgang Korngold went from child prodigy to one of the great Hollywood composers. After an early classical career, he moved to the USA in 1934 with the encouragement of director Max Reinhardt. Korngold composed the music for the director's Midsummer Night's Dream and many more films where his music was so important to the result.

Herbert Stothart was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1885. he studied music in England and went on the to become musical director for shows on Broadway. In 1929 he was signed by MGM and composed the music for numerous big MGM movies. He won an Oscra in 1939 for his score for The Wizard of Oz after being nominated for Mutiny on the Bounty.

Steiner, Korngold and Stothart led the way for composers where their music would play an ever increasing role in supporting dialogue and action.

The Queens Brush Works

My thanks go to Holly Smart for sending me this photograph of the Queen's Brush Works in Sheffield. My blog posting of 23rd February 2009 describes the Hoyland family as follows:

Edith Haywood Hoyland, (my grandmother) was the daughter of Charles Haywood Hoyland, the third of three generations of brush manufacturers and bristle merchants in Sheffield. His father was another Charles Hoyland, who inherited the business from his father, Jonathon Hoyland. Jonathon had three sons, all of whom became involved in the business, including Charles.

The earliest information I have found is the 1841 Census where Jonathon, now 40, resides with his family in Queen Street, with his wife Elizabeth, three daughters and four sons, including Charles who is eleven. They already have one servant in residence. By 1861, Jonathon has retired, but he is living with four children (two of whom, Arthur and Walter, carry on the business) in Adelaide Place. The 1857 Sheffield Directory has Hoyland Bros, brush manufacturers of 16 Paradise Square, as well as Charles Hoyland,

But in 1861, there is no sign of Charles. But the following year he did marry Hannah Selina Wynne from Holywell, Flintshire, so I have to look a the 1861 Census for Wales. By 1879, the Sheffield Directory has Charles Hoyland as a brush manufacturer of both Victoria Road and Queen Street, the latter probably the same address as his father in 1841. I do remember my father mentioning the Queens Brush Works.

And again on the 13th December 2013:

On 23rd February 2009, I published an article on my blog entitled "Three Generations of Brush Manufacturers". The business was started in Sheffield by Jonathon Hoyland (1797 - 1867) around 1816 according to an obituary of his son. But that would make him eighteen or nineteen years old, so he started very young. We do know, according to White's Directory of 1857, he listed as "Jonathon Hoyland, bristle merchant, 53 Queen Street and Adelaide Place". The business was known as The Queen's Brushworks.

When Jonathon died in 1867, it is likely that all his three sons carried on the business. In the 1861 Census, his sons Walter (28) and Arthur (20) and both living at Jonathon's home in Adelaide Place and their occupations are given as brush manufacturers. In the same Census, son Charles (31) was boarding with the Dickerson family in West Derby, Lancashire and his occupation was given as brush manufacturer.

I have no knowledge of what happened to Walter and Arthur, but we do know that Charles built up the business to become quite wealthy. By 1881 he and his family were living in at a smart address in Heeley. The Charles White Directory of 1857 lists "Charles Hoyland, Brush Manufacturer of Victoria Road". Charles died on 23rd June 1905. His obituary was published in The Independent newspaper on 26th June 1905. It said his business was an extensive one. He also did a considerable amount of philanthropic work. His son Charles had taken over the management of the business.

On the 22nd June 2009 I posted an article on my visit to Sheffield that included a visit to Queen Street:

I started at Paradise Square, Queen Street and West Bar. These are where Jonathon Hoyland (who started the business before 1852), his son Charles and his sons including Charles Haywood Hoyland based their brush manufacturing premises. Paradise Square was built in the 18th century and following bomb damage in the war, has been restored using salvaged materials (numbers 18 and 26). All are Grade 2 listed. 53 Queen Street is no longer there, instead there is brand new development called Queens Buildings.

Great Film Composers: The Music of the Movies on Sky Arts: The Birth of the Film Score

Sky Arts have followed their series on film directors with a series of documentaries looking at film music and it's creators. The same team of contributors (Ian Nathan, Bonnie Greer, Stephen Armstrong and Neil Norman) are supported by director Ryan Mandrake and the 3DD Entertainment team. Episode 1 looks at the birth of silent movies when the score was played live in the cinema.

Erno Rapee was the trailblazer for movie music when he published Motion Picture Moods for Pianists and Organists. The 700 pages set out 52 moods and situations for those playing to the film on the screen.

The first original score for a film was that for D W Griffith's Birth of a Nation in 1915 composed by Joseph Carl Briel,  For Battleship Potemkin, the music was composed in 1925 by Edmund Meisel , one of the pioneering composers of film music from Vienna. Soon after, and for the 1927 film Metropolis, the composer of the music was Gottfried Huppertz who collaborated with director Fritz Lang on this and subsequent German silent movies.

The first movie with synchronised sound was 1927's The Jazz Singer. Silent movies didn't disappear overnight. They were still being made in Germany and Charlie Chaplin's last silent picture was City Lights in 1928 and later movies only had music and sound effects. Other films had dialogue but no music.

The programme finished with a mention of Max Steiner, a composer who heralded in huge advances in movie music with his 1933 King Kong. He composed over 300 film scores, was nominated for an Academy Award twenty four times and won three. More about him in the next episode.

Superfeet Run Comfort insoles and plantar fasciitis

After nearly three months without running after developing plantar fasciitis in my right heel, it is  now over four weeks since I started again. I continue to use Superfeet's Run Comfort insole. On my first run back I inserted both the left and right insoles to my running shoes. On the first few runs, the insoles were comfortable for the left foot, but were very uncomfortable for the right foot where I had the injury. They felt hard, sticking into the inside and outside of the foot. But no pain to the heel. So I persevered.

Gradually the discomfort from the insole decreased. So I'm not sure if it took time for the insole to bed in, or that the discomfort was from my running gait that the insole has corrected? Whatever, I'm glad that I persevered with the insoles. I am pain free 90% of the time which is fine. If the pain from the plantar fasciitis does come on, it goes off after a very short while. This is what the makers say:

The plantar fascia is a broad connective structure that runs the length of the bottom of your foot. It acts like a big rubber band connecting your heel to your toes. The plantar fascia plays a crucial role in helping your foot transition into the propulsive phase of the gait cycle. Like a shock absorber on a car, the foot has two primary motions: a compression phase, called pronation, and a propulsive phase, called supination.

The trouble comes when the foot pronates for a longer period than it should. Like a shock absorber that is already fully compressed (or close to it) at a moment of impact, the shock bottoms out and the ride is a lot less comfortable. When a foot remains pronated for a longer period, it may affect how it absorbs impact and may make standing, walking or running a lot less comfortable. 

Plantar fasciitis pain is inflammation caused by excessive stretching of the plantar fascia. An unstable foot may lead to additional stress placed on the plantar fascia during walking, running and prolonged standing.  This is the most common cause of “heel pain,” though the heel is not the only area in which the plantar fascia can become inflamed.

Superfeet insoles’ contured shape stabilizes the feet, helping reduce some of the stress on the plantar fascia. The structured heel cup positions the soft tissue under the heel bone to help reduce the effect of impact forces on the already inflamed structure. By giving feet the stability and comfort they need, Superfeet insoles do more than remedy most cases of plantar fasciitis, they may also help prevent it from happening in the first place.

Designed specifically for running, Superfeet RUN Comfort insoles can help runners reduce foot fatigue while gaining efficiency. The Superfeet shape personalizes the shoe to your foot. The EVOLyte carbon fiber cap and AeroSpring Dual Comfort foam combine to deliver exceptional comfort and smooth and efficient energy transfer through your gait from foot strike to toe off.

Designed specifically for running, Superfeet RUN Comfort insoles can help runners reduce foot fatigue while gaining efficiency. The Superfeet shape personalizes the shoe to your foot. The EVOLyte carbon fiber cap and AeroSpring Dual Comfort foam combine to deliver exceptional comfort and smooth and efficient energy transfer through your gait from foot strike to toe off.

DEEP HEEL CUP

Cradles the heel for natural cushion and shock absorption

DURABLE CONSTRUCTION

Superfeet insoles keep their shape, delivering reliable support and comfort for up to 12 months or 500 miles, whichever comes first

H.I.T. (HEEL IMPACT TECHNOLOGY) POD

Disperses impact for an easier ride

AEROSPRING™ REBOUND DUAL COMFORT FOAM

Full heel-to-toe cushioning offers ultimate comfort in every step

MOISTUREWICK™

With long-lasting odor control

EVOLYTE™ CARBON FIBER STABILIZER CAP

Responds to compression, springing back to its original shape

An Inspector Calls at the Milton Keynes Theatre

J B Priestly's play from 1945 must be on the GCSE or A-Level curriculum again. The audience was packed with teenagers squeezed together with a scattering of seniors on their special priced matinee tickets. Stephen Daldry's revival of 1992 is on tour again. We saw it in 1993 on the stage of the huge Olivier Theatre and twenty six years later it has lost none of it's impact. The differences in class and social upheaval Priestly described in 1912 are as relevant today.

Not only is the set highly impressive, but the sound and music greatly add to the atmosphere. The cast are fine if not of the top order. Jeffrey Harmer is very good as the odious head of the family Arthur Birling as are Chloe Orrock as daughter Sheila and Christine Kavanagh as his wife Sybil. I was less impressed with Liam Brennan in the pivotal role of Inspector Goole. He lacked the subtle intimidation that releases the confessions of the family, resorting to occasional unrealistic shouting to make a point. However, it is Stephen Daldry's imaginative staging of the original play that is the star of the show.

JoJo Rabbit, 1917 and Bombshell

An exceptional film from Taika Waititi, JoJo Rabbit is both very funny and thought provokingly satirical. His superb script has so much sparkling dialogue. There is a great cast with excellent performances from the two youngsters Roman Griffiths Davis and Thomasin McKenzie ably supported by Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and a hilarious Stephen Merchant. The music is great, bookended as it is by German versions of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "Heroes". Fantastic.

A lot has already been said about the 1917 playing as a single tracking shot even though it was filmed in sections. This tour de force is courtesy of the best ever cinematographer that is Roger Deakins. I particularly loved the way the camera follows the soldiers along the trenches, down ditches and over the banks, just as if we were there, filming a documentary. But we also would be torn apart by barbed wire, and have to, on occasion, run like mad.

Director Sam Mendes has organised the crowd scenes with distinction, and has subtly shown the horrors of the war in tiny individual conflicts rather than huge battle scenes. The production design is brilliant. The cast is led by a top notch array of classy British acting talent led by George MacKay who I remember vividly from  Sunshine on Leith and How I Live Now. There were flaws, especially the less than great dialogue and a howler at the end. But the film-making was extraordinary.

I left the cinema with a distinctly uncomfortable feeling after seeing Bombshell. Not only in the subject matter but how it was presented. It was all a bit of a mess. It didn't help that the part that was narrated was haphazard, part was fact and one role was fiction. However, it was such an amazing story that it was never less than riveting. The acting was all first class, the three female leads all excellent and John Lithgow completely convincing as the ogre Roger Ailes. Timely.

Tring Book Club - Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

An excellent choice for book club. I had deleted it from my to-read list because of it's length (over 500 pages) but the writing is easy to read and the pages flew by. I particularly enjoyed the first half as we are introduced to multiple characters, all well described by the author. The plot is fairly complicated, with twists and turns along the way, but I liked that there were opportunities for reminders at various intervals. Although I was glad I was making notes for book club as this did help with remembering what was going on.

The action ramps up in the last third, something more like the thrillers I avoid, but fortunately this time they are limited in their length. The setting of those places on the upper reaches of The Thames could hardly have been better written and the atmosphere that was created never flagged.