Brian Easdale
Brian Easdale was an English composer of operatic, orchestral, choral and film music.Early life
Easdale was born in Manchester, and was educated at Westminster Abbey School and the Royal College of Music.Works
For the opera house and the concert hall, his works include the operas Rapunzel, The Corn King and The Sleeping Children. His orchestral works included Five pieces for orchestra, Six Poems, and Tone Poem. For choir, Easdale wrote the Missa Coventrensis.
Easdale also composed film and theatre music. He worked for the GPO Film Unit on films such as Big Money, Job in a Million and Men in Danger. His film scores included several for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, including Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The Small Back Room, The Elusive Pimpernel, The Battle of the River Plate, Miracle in Soho, The Queen's Guards and Powell's Peeping Tom. He was the first British composer to win an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, for his music for The Red Shoes.Recordings
A CD of some of Easdale's film music was released in January 2011. Recorded in 2010 by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with the BBC National Chorus of Wales. The CD includes the full ballet from The Red Shoes, it also includes music from Black Narcissus and Gone to Earth.
