Joby Talbot
Encyclopedia
Joby Talbot is a British
composer
.
Born in Wimbledon, London
, Talbot studied composition at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
under Brian Elias
and Simon Bainbridge
.
In 1993 Talbot first met Neil Hannon
and began arranging and performing with his group The Divine Comedy
. One of their tracks, "In Pursuit of Happiness", was used as the theme music for BBC TV
's Tomorrow's World
.
Other works for television written by Talbot include the theme music for Young Musician of the Year, and the music for the BBC 2 comedy series The League of Gentlemen
, which was awarded the Golden Rose
at the Montreux International TV Festival.
During 2004, Talbot was Classic FM
's first resident composer. Talbot wrote a new piece of music, scored for up to five instruments, each month for the year of his residence. These pieces have also been premiered and playlisted on Classic FM. The twelve compositions form part of a larger piece, released on a CD entitled Once Around the Sun on 23 May 2005.
Talbot wrote the original music for the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, as well as music for the film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
. Other screen credits include the television comedy series The League of Gentlemen
, and two silent film
s for the British Film Institute
: Alfred Hitchcock
's The Lodger
and Yevgeni Bauer
's The Dying Swan. Talbot also wrote the original music for Garth Jennings' film Son of Rambow
.
The U.S. premiere of Talbot's Path of Miracles took place on November 12-13, 2007 at the World Financial Center
Winter Garden, as part of WNYC
's New Sounds Live concert series.
In 2007, Talbot was part of the creative team that produced the ballet Chroma for The Royal Ballet. The piece was choreographed by Wayne McGregor
and performed to Talbot's orchestral arrangements of music by the White Stripes. Talbot also wrote additional music for the ballet, as well as writing new arrangements for the Royal Opera House orchestra. The ballet would later win the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
In 2010, Talbot wrote the score for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
, a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon
with a scenario by Nicholas Wright
which was commissioned by the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada
. Lasting 1 hour 40 minutes, it is the first full-length score for the Royal Ballet in 20 years. It was shown on BBC Television 23rd April 2011.
Tide Harmonic, a work in 5 movements for chamber orchestra on the subject of water, was released on 27 June 2011 by Signum Classics.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Born in Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, Talbot studied composition at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London is a constituent college of the University of London. The college has three faculties, 18 academic departments, and about 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 different countries...
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
under Brian Elias
Brian Elias
Brian Elias is a British composer.- Career highlights :*1965 - commenced informal composition studies with Elisabeth Lutyens.*1984 - L’Eylah premiered at the BBC Proms....
and Simon Bainbridge
Simon Bainbridge
Simon Bainbridge is a British composer, and a professor and former head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and visiting professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky in the United States.-Biography:...
.
In 1993 Talbot first met Neil Hannon
Neil Hannon
Neil Hannon is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator and frontman of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy. The band's official website even goes so far as to say, "The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon," and Hannon is quoted in an interview as saying, "The Divine Comedy...
and began arranging and performing with his group The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy (band)
The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Ireland, fronted by Neil Hannon. Formed in 1989, Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation bar drums. To date, ten studio albums have been released under the Divine...
. One of their tracks, "In Pursuit of Happiness", was used as the theme music for BBC TV
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...
.
Other works for television written by Talbot include the theme music for Young Musician of the Year, and the music for the BBC 2 comedy series The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen (comedy)
The League of Gentlemen are a quartet of British dark comedy writers/performers, formed in 1995 by Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith...
, which was awarded the Golden Rose
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
at the Montreux International TV Festival.
During 2004, Talbot was Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
's first resident composer. Talbot wrote a new piece of music, scored for up to five instruments, each month for the year of his residence. These pieces have also been premiered and playlisted on Classic FM. The twelve compositions form part of a larger piece, released on a CD entitled Once Around the Sun on 23 May 2005.
Talbot wrote the original music for the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 2005 comic science fiction film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28, 2005 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and on the following day in Canada and the United...
, as well as music for the film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse is a feature film spin-off of the popular British television comedy series The League of Gentlemen. Starring Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the film was written by the cast with Jeremy Dyson, and directed by Steve Bendelack...
. Other screen credits include the television comedy series The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen (comedy)
The League of Gentlemen are a quartet of British dark comedy writers/performers, formed in 1995 by Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith...
, and two silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s for the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
: Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's The Lodger
The Lodger
The Lodger may refer to:* The Lodger, a 1913 horror novel by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes** The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, a 1927 British silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the 1913 novel...
and Yevgeni Bauer
Yevgeni Bauer
Yevgeni Franzevich Bauer was a Russian film director of silent films, a theatre artist and a screenwriter. His work had a great influence on the aesthetics of Russian cinematography at the beginning of the 20th century....
's The Dying Swan. Talbot also wrote the original music for Garth Jennings' film Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow
Son of Rambow is a 2008 comedy-drama film written and directed by Garth Jennings. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was later shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Glasgow Film...
.
The U.S. premiere of Talbot's Path of Miracles took place on November 12-13, 2007 at the World Financial Center
World Financial Center
The World Financial Center is a complex of buildings across West Street from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. This complex is home to offices of companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, the Wall Street...
Winter Garden, as part of WNYC
WNYC
WNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
's New Sounds Live concert series.
In 2007, Talbot was part of the creative team that produced the ballet Chroma for The Royal Ballet. The piece was choreographed by Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer of contemporary modern dance. His work is highly distinctive in its vocabulary of movement, for its integration of dance with film and visual art, and for his active interest and incorporation of computer technology and biological science...
and performed to Talbot's orchestral arrangements of music by the White Stripes. Talbot also wrote additional music for the ballet, as well as writing new arrangements for the Royal Opera House orchestra. The ballet would later win the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
In 2010, Talbot wrote the score for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (ballet)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet by Christopher Wheeldon with a scenario by Nicholas Wright. It was commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada and had its premiere Monday, February 28th, 2011...
, a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...
with a scenario by Nicholas Wright
Nicholas Wright
Nicholas or Nick Wright may refer to:* Sir Nicholas Wright , English academic* Nick Wright , English footballer* Nick Wright , English footballer...
which was commissioned by the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
. Lasting 1 hour 40 minutes, it is the first full-length score for the Royal Ballet in 20 years. It was shown on BBC Television 23rd April 2011.
Tide Harmonic, a work in 5 movements for chamber orchestra on the subject of water, was released on 27 June 2011 by Signum Classics.
Key works
- The Lodger (1999: music to silent film)
- Similarities Between Diverse Things (2002; chamber ensemble)
- String Quartet No 2 (2002)
- Sneaker Wave (2004; orchestra)
- Cumulonimbus (2004; cello, piano)
- Path of Miracles (2005; choir)
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (2010; orchestra with four female voices)
Discography
- The Dying Swan, Music For 1 To 7 Players (2002) — Black Box BBM1078
- The League of Gentlemen's ApocalypseThe League of Gentlemen's ApocalypseThe League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse is a feature film spin-off of the popular British television comedy series The League of Gentlemen. Starring Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the film was written by the cast with Jeremy Dyson, and directed by Steve Bendelack...
(original sound track) (2005) — Silva Screen SILCD1189 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 2005 comic science fiction film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28, 2005 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and on the following day in Canada and the United...
(original sound track) (2005) - Once Around the Sun (2005) — various performers — Sony BMG 82876 695252
- Path of Miracles (2006) — commission from vocal group TenebraeTenebrae (choir)The Tenebrae Choir is a professional vocal ensemble founded and directed by former King's Singer Nigel Short. Co-founded by Short and Barbara Pollock in 2001, its repertoire covers works from the 16th to the 21st Century....
- Penelope (original sound track) (2008)
- "FranklynFranklynFranklyn is a 2008 British film written and directed by Gerald McMorrow as his debut feature. Produced by Jeremy Thomas, it stars Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green and Sam Riley. Shooting took place in London in the fourth quarter of 2007. Franklyn held its world premiere at the 52nd London Film Festival...
" (original sound track) (2009) — Silva Screen SILCD1293 - Psychoville Halloween Special (with Jeremy Holland-Smith) (original sound track) (2010)