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{{short description|British composer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use Irish English|date=March 2021}}
'''Denis ApIvor''' (14 April 1916{{spaced ndash}}27 May 2004) was a British composer, best known for his ballet score ''Blood Wedding''. He had a parallel career as a consultant anaesthetist.<ref name=leach>Leach, Gerald. ''British Composer Profiles'' (3rd. Ed, 2012), p. 10</ref>

==Biography==
ApIvor (pronounced Ap Ivor) was born in [[Collinstown]], [[County Westmeath]], Ireland, to Welsh parents, Denis ApIvor went to [[Hereford Cathedral School]] and was a chorister at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], and Hereford Cathedral. Because his parents opposed a career in music, he studied medicine in London, but had also pursued the study of music from an early age. He began his medical studies at the [[University of Aberystwyth]] in 1933, moving the next year to [[University College London]]. Inspired by hearing the first performance in England of ''[[Wozzeck]]'' (at the [[Queen's Hall]], 14 March 1934 conducted by [[Adrian Boult]]) and encouraged by [[Cecil Gray (composer)|Cecil Gray]], he also studied composition privately with [[Patrick Hadley]] and [[Alan Rawsthorne]].<ref name=anon>[http://www.musicweb-international.com/apivor/biog2.htm Unattributed biographical sketch at ''MusicWeb International'']</ref><ref>[https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2017/03/guest-blog-by-thomas-schuttenhelm-current-edison-fellow-and-author-of-the-selected-letters-of-michael-tippettfaber-a-cont.html British Library, ''Sound and Vision'']</ref>

At the outbreak of World War II he was for a time house physician at the [[Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth]], Hampstead. In 1942 he was called up, mostly serving as a war doctor in India.<ref name=g>{{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Johnson|2004}}|reference=Johnson, David Hackbridge. 2004. "[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jun/14/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 Denis ApIvor]" (obituary). ''The Guardian'' (14 June)}}</ref> After the war ApIvor continued with his medical career, eventually retiring in 1979 from the Mid Kent Group.

But he also returned to his musical activities. He formed a friendship with his [[Albany Street]] neighbour [[Constant Lambert]], who conducted the premiere of his first major work, a choral-orchestral setting of [[T. S. Eliot|T S Eliot]]'s ''The Hollow Men'', on 21 February, 1950.<ref>[https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/view/567 ''The Hollow Men'', University of Leeds Special Collections]</ref> His diverse musical influences during this period ranged from [[Ferruccio Busoni|Busoni]], [[Frederick Delius|Delius]], [[Peter Warlock]] and [[Bernard van Dieren]] to [[Alban Berg|Berg]] and [[Anton Webern|Webern]].<ref name=grove>{{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Davies|2004}}|reference=Davies, Lyn. 2004. "ApIvor, Denis". ''Grove Music Online'', edited by Deane L. Root (updated 30 August). Oxford Music Online (accessed 4 November 2017)}}</ref>

The 1950s and 1960s were his most productive years, but despite a decline in performances from the 1970s he continued to compose into the 1990s and beyond.<ref name=g/> He left London to live in Wales in 1987 and in the 1990s moving to [[Telscombe]], near Brighton.<ref name=anon/> He died in [[Robertsbridge]], Sussex, aged 88.<ref name=leach/>

==Music==
ApIvor's music falls broadly into three periods: early works from the 1950s influenced by Van Dieren and Peter Warlock, soon leading to a stricter serial style until the late 1980s, and finally renewed simplicity in his later works.<ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/aplvor-denis ''Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' (2001)]</ref>

His most successful early works include ''The Hollow Men'' (1939; rev. 1946),<ref>''Music and Letters'', Vol. 32, No. 3 (July, 1951), pp. 288-89</ref> and several ballets. ''A Mirror for Witches'' (1951), based on the book by [[Esther Forbes]] with choreography by [[Andrée Howard]] and set designs by [[Norman Adams (British artist)|Norman Adams]], was premiered on 4 March 1952 with the [[The Royal Ballet|Sadler's Wells Ballet]] at the [[Royal Opera House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/14th-march-1952/17/ballet |title=BALLET " 14 Mar 1952 " The Spectator Archive |work=The Spectator |date=14 March 1952 |accessdate=8 July 2013}}</ref> It was followed in 1953 by ''Blood Wedding'', choreographed by [[Alfred Rodrigues]], designs by [[Isabel Nicholas|Isabel Lambert]]. This [[Federico García Lorca|Lorca]]-inspired work achieved international success, with staged productions from Turkey to Chile.<ref>[http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Jun04/ApIvor_obituary.htm Obituary by Martin Anderson]</ref> It led to the commissioning by [[English National Opera|Sadler's Wells]] of the opera ''Yerma'' (1955–59).<ref>Marrington, Mark. '[https://www.jstor.org/stable/30044092 Denis ApIvor and His Contribution to British Opera and Ballet]', in ''The Musical Times'', Volume 146, No. 1891 (Summer, 2005), pp. 85-96</ref> When this was shelved as being too difficult, [[William Glock]] asked [[Eugene Aynsley Goossens|Eugene Goossens]] to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra and chorus in a broadcast concert performance in 1961.<ref>Rosen, Carole. ''The Goossens: A Musical Century'' (1993) p.385-6</ref><ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/883ea2e6766a4a5083c3543ff51bdaea ''Radio Times'', Issue 1988, 16 December, 1961]</ref> Glock also commissioned the televised ballet ''Corporal Jan'' in 1968.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/25d43f67bb654f6693dfecdcdfe4b05c ''Radio Times'', Issue 2327, 15th June 1968]</ref> 

While ApIvor introduced [[serialism|serial]] elements in his Piano Concerto (1948, revised 1954 and performed at [[BBC Proms|the Proms]] in 1958 by [[Patrick Piggott]]),<ref>'A Contemporary Piano Concerto' in ''The Times'', 16 September 1958, p. 3</ref> it was only in 1955 that he began regularly using a more freely atonal and athematic serialism, which he continued to do until the 1980s.<ref name=grove/> He was influenced in this by [[Edward Clark (conductor)|Edward Clark]], a conductor, former BBC music producer, student of [[Arnold Schoenberg]] and husband of [[Elisabeth Lutyens]].<ref name=anon/>

He composed five symphonies, various concertos (for cello, guitar, horn, piano and violin), and many chamber and instrumental works, including three string quartets. He made a major contribution to the guitar repertoire: solo works include ''Variations'' (1958), ''Discanti'' (1970), ''Saeta'' (1972), and ten serial pieces included with his book ''Serial Composition for Guitarists'' (1982). He also wrote a Concertino for guitar (1954), ''Liaison'' for guitar and keyboard (1976), and ''Cinquefoil'' for flute, guitar, and viola (1984).<ref name=grove/><ref>[https://markmarrington.com/denis-apivor/ Research materials on Denis ApIvor by Dr Mark Marrington]</ref>

Composer David Hackbridge Johnson has noted "a less aphoristic approach to serialism" in later works, with the expressive and melodic qualities of the Cello Concerto (1977) foreshadowing the modal works of his final years, such as the String Quartet No 3 (1989-90).<ref name=g/> His ''Fantasy Concertante'' (1979-80) for horn was broadcast by soloist [[Frank Lloyd (horn player)|Frank Lloyd]] with the [[BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra]], conducted by [[Nicholas Kraemer]] in 1996.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/36607badb8db467c87aa0184590f9428 ''Radio Times'', Issue 3779, 29th June 1996]</ref> His final work was an operatic scena ''The Trixter'' (2002), setting a poem by Peter Warlock.<ref name=leach/> Archival material relating to ApIvor can be accessed at the National Library of Wales<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.library.wales/index.php/denis-apivor|title=ApIvor archive|access-date=2022-01-19|website=discover.library.wales|language=en}}</ref> and a full set of his scores are held at [[University of Leeds|The University of Leeds]].<ref>[https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/55922/denis_apivor_archive?query=ApIvor&resultOffset=1 Denis ApIvor Archive]</ref>

==List of works==

===Opera===
* ''She Stoops to Conquer'', opera after Goldsmith (1943–47; rev. 1976–77)
* ''Yerma'', opera after Lorca (1955–58)
* ''Ubu roi'', opera after [[Alfred Jarry|Jarry]] (1965–66)
* ''Bouvard and Pécuchet'', opera after Flaubert (1970)

===Ballet===
* ''The Goodman of Paris'' (1951)
* ''A Mirror for Witches'' (1951)
* ''Blood Wedding'' (1953)
* ''Veneziana'' (1953)
* ''Saudades'' (1954)
* ''Corporal Jan'' (1967)
* ''Glide the Dark Door Wide'' (1977)

===Orchestral===
* Nocturne for Strings (1938)
* Symphony No 1 (1952)
* Guitar Concertino (1953)
* Piano Concerto (1948; rev. 1954)
* Violin Concerto No 1 (1950)
* ''Overtones'', after Paul Klee’s paintings (1961–62)
* Symphony No 2 (1963)
* Triple Concerto for string trio and string orchestra (1967)
* ''Tarot'' for chamber orchestra (1968)
* ''Neumes'', variations (1969)
* ''El Silencio Ondulado'' for guitar and chamber orchestra (1972)
* Violin Concerto No 2 (1975)
* Cello Concerto (1976–77)
* Symphony No 3 (1978-9)
* ''Fantasy Concertante'' for horn and orchestra (1980)
* Symphony No 4 (1989)
* Symphony No 5 (1991)

===Chamber===
* Violin Sonata (1944–45)
* Concertante for clarinet, piano and percussion (1944–45)
* Wind Quintet (1960)
* ''Mutations'' for cello and piano (1962)
* String Quartet No 1 (1964)
* ''Crystals'' for percussion, Hammond organ, guitar and double bass (1964–65)
* ''Harp, Piano, Piano-Harp'' (1966)
* ''Ten-String Design'' for violin and guitar (1968)
* ''Exotics Theatre'' for Chamber Ensemble (1972)
* ''Psycho-pieces'' for clarinet and piano (1973)
* Clarinet Quintet (1975)
* String Quartet No 2 (1976)
* ''Chant Eolien'' for oboe and piano (1977)
* ''Duo Concertante'' for horn and piano (1981)
* ''Vista'' for double wind quintet (1983)
* ''Cinquefoil'', trio for violin, flute, and guitar (1984)
* String Quartet No 3 (1989-90)
* ''Pieces of Five'' for saxophone (1992)
* Saxophone Sonatina (1992)
* Violin Sonatina (1992)
* ''In the Landscape of Spring'', septet (1993)

===Vocal===
* ''The Hollow Men'', cantata after T. S. Eliot (1939, rev. 1946))
* ''Six Songs of García Lorca'' for voice and piano or guitar (1945–46)
* ''Estella Marina'' for chorus and strings or organ (1946)
* ''Thamar and Amnon'' for soloists, chorus and orchestra, after Lorca (1953–54)
* ''Cantata'', after Dylan Thomas (1960)
* ''Chorales'' for chorus and orchestra after Hugh Manning (1964–65)
* ''Resonance of the Southern Flora'' for chorus, organ and orchestra, after Paul Klee (1972)
* ''Fern Hill'' for tenor and 11 instruments, after Dylan Thomas (1973
* ''Bats'' for tenor, piccolo, violin, and percussion (1979)
* ''Seven Songs'' for chorus and small orchestra (1983)
* ''Love’s Season'' for voice and string quintet or piano (1983)
* ''Majestatas Dei Ultra Stellas'' for chorus and small orchestra or piano (1986)
* ''T. S. Eliot Songs'' for voice and piano (1994)
* ''Lady of Silences'' for small chorus and chamber orchestra, after T. S. Eliot (1994)
* ''Canzona Delle Lettere Amorose'' for soprano, baritone, alto saxophone and bass guitar (1994)
* ''Give me your flowers, O Spring'' for tenor and two guitars (1996)
* ''Lamentaciones'' for voice and piano, after Lorca (1996)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/apivor/ Denis ApIvor (British composer)] at ''MusicWeb International''
* Archival Material at {{wikidata|qualifier|property|P485|Q24568958|P856|format=\[%q %p\]}}
* British Library Sound and Vision. ''[https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/2017/03/guest-blog-by-thomas-schuttenhelm-current-edison-fellow-and-author-of-the-selected-letters-of-michael-tippettfaber-a-cont.html Plucked from obscurity - reassessing Denis ApIvor]'', (includes links to recordings)
* [https://soundcloud.com/mdmarrington/the-hollow-men BBC broadcast of ''The Hollow Men'', 21 February, 1950]
* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/routh/tradition.htm#apivor Francis Routh on Denis ApIvor] (from ''Contemporary British Music, 1945-1970'' (1972) 

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Apivor, Denis}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British classical composers]]
[[Category:British opera composers]]
[[Category:British male opera composers]]
[[Category:People educated at Hereford Cathedral School]]
[[Category:People from County Westmeath]]
[[Category:Twelve-tone and serial composers]]
[[Category:British anaesthetists]]
[[Category:20th-century British male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century British musicians]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Military personnel from County Westmeath]]