Arthur Benjamin was born in Sydney, Australia, on September 18, 1893.
His music study took place at the Royal College of Music in London.
After serving in World War I, he became professor at the Sydney
Conservatory, and in 1926 he assumed a similar post with the Royal
College of Music in London. Meanwhile in 1924 he received the Carnegie
Award for his _Pastoral Fantasia_, and in 1932 his first opera, _The
Devil Take Her_, was produced in London. For five years, beginning with
1941, he was the conductor of the Vancouver Symphony. He has written
notable concertos, a symphony, and other orchestral music, together with
chamber works and several operas including _A Tale of Two Cities_ which
won the Festival of Britain Prize following its première in 1953. He
also wrote a harmonica concerto for Larry Adler. Though many of his
compositions are in an advanced style and technique, Benjamin was
perhaps best known for his lighter pieces, particularly those in a
popular South American idiom. He died in London on April 10, 1960.
The _Cotillon_ (1939) is a suite of English dances derived from a medley
entitled _The Dancing School_, published in London in 1719. Presented by
Benjamin in contemporary harmonic and instrumental dress, these
tunes—popular in England in the early 18th century—still retain their
appeal. A short introduction, built from a basic motive from the first
dance, leads to the following episodes with descriptive titles: “Lord
Hereford’s Delight” for full orchestra; “Daphne’s Delight” for woodwind
and strings; “Marlborough’s Victory,” for full orchestra; “Love’s
Triumph” for strings; “Jig It A Foot” for full orchestra; “The Charmer”
for small orchestra; “Nymph Divine” for small orchestra and harp solo;
“The Tattler” for full orchestra; and “Argyll” for full orchestra. A
figure from the final tune is given extended treatment in the coda.
Benjamin’s best known piece of music is the _Jamaican Rumba_ (1942).
This is the second number of _Two Jamaican Pieces_ for orchestra. A
light staccato accompaniment in rumba rhythm courses nimbly through the
piece as the woodwinds present a saucy melody, and the strings a
countersubject. Consecutive fifths in the harmony, a xylophone in the
orchestration, and the changing meters created by novel arrangement of
notes in each measure, provide particular interest. The _Jamaican Rumba_
has been transcribed for various solo instruments and piano as well as
for piano trio.
The _North American Square Dances_, for two pianos and orchestra (1955),
is a delightful treatment of American folk idioms. The work comprises
eight fiddle tunes played at old-time square dances. The native flavor
is enhanced in the music by suggestions and simulations of
feet-stamping, voice calling, and the plunking of a banjo. In the
Introduction there appear fragments of the first dance; these same
fragments return in the coda. There are eight sections: Introduction and
“Heller’s Reel”; “The Old Plunk”; “The Bundle Straw”; “He Piped So
Sweet”; “Fill the Bowl”; “Pigeon on the Pier”; “Calder Fair”; and
“Salamanca” and “Coda.” The fourth and seventh dances are in slow tempo,
while all others are fast.