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HELEN PERKIN 1909-1996
By Philip L Scowcroft
2009 is a year of musical anniversaries: Purcell,
Handel, Haydn, Avison, Mendelssohn and Albeniz, to say nothing
of major 75th celebrations like those of Elgar,
Holst and Delius. Not all those have light music connections,
but one who has is Helen Perkin, born in London in 1909 and
trained at the Royal College of Music. It was while she was
still at the College that she was noticed by John Ireland
and coached by him in his Piano Concerto which she premiered
to great acclaim in a Henry Wood Prom in 1930. He dedicated
it to her but withdrew the dedication when the friendship
soured; the Concerto remained popular well into the 1950s,
as I well remember, with the composer there to acknowledge
the applause.
Perkin’s career continued; she broadcast
regularly as a pianist. And she composed, and some of her
portfolio may be reckoned as light music. Not the two string
quartets, Cello Sonata or String Trio, but several of her
published piano solos including the Four Preludes and
Village Fair, in three movements (The Crystal Gazer,
The Puppet Show, The Acrobat) the latter almost a thematic
suite in the Eric Coates or Haydn Wood style, though it was
not, to my knowledge, orchestrated. She also wrote some film
music and scores for two children’s ballets for TV, one
of them entitled King’s Cross (Calamity at Court),
laid out for violin, clarinet, bassoon and piano. This was
not published but the BBC kept the ms at least for a time,
though I would not care to guess whether it still has it.
After the Second War Perkin’s composing
career took an unusual twist by her writing – like Ireland,
ironically – for brass band. A Fandango was recorded
on a GUS Footwear Band LP in 1962 and of her three suites
for brass (Cordell Suite, Carnival, and Island Heritage)
the latter two were adopted as test pieces for the Open Championships
at Belle Vue, Manchester, Carnival helping Black Dyke
to the victor’s podium in 1957, Island Heritage doing
likewise for Fairey in 1962.
Perkin’s music, serious or light, has virtually
sunk without trace: a pity. Not the least intriguing fact
about her career is that in earlier life she studied (on a
travelling scholarship) with Anton Webern. Of how many composers,
at least part of whose output was demonstrably light music,
could this be said?
This article first appeared in the December
2009 issue of ‘Journal Into Melody’.
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