From the Back Room: the Music of Trevor Duncan

I suspect the face above will be unfamiliar to even people who are familiar with his name or music. He is Trevor Duncan, who made his mark as a composer of library music.

Let me explain a little more: "library music" refers to a catalogue of recordings that can be licensed and then used at will by motion picture, television, advertising and video producers, without incurring further usage charges.

Duncan was one of the masters of the genre, managing to write memorable cues that were used extensively, particularly in England, where he lived.

In a field known for anonymity, he made a name for himself - even though it was a name different from the one he was given upon birth: Leonard Trebilco. That was in 1924. Leonard/Trevor lived until 2005.

Today we will explore 31 different cues that he wrote mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, almost all taken from the original library 78s, which I found on Internet Archive.

Before we do, a general comment about his music. Duncan was in effect a mimic, but a most talented one. He did not invent genres; he capitalized on them, producing catchy themes that would sound somehow familiar, while remaining his own. He wrote many types of music - easy listening and classical cues; music for horror and crime sagas. Also, he was a talented orchestrator.

His first big success is an example. It is "High Heels" (a midcentury title if ever I heard one), a memorable number that seems somehow familiar. That's because it was modeled on David Rose's "Holiday for Strings" - a pizzicato chorus followed by a bridge played with bows. Trevor was not the first to do follow Rose's lead, but his effort is among the best. Duncan wrote the piece in 1949 when he was a BBC engineer, a job he kept for another few years.

From 1954 we have a set of cues called "Children in the Park," which includes "Dancing for Joy," "At the Pool," "Hide and Seek" and "Roundabouts and Swings." These embody youthful exuberance, and are designed to be used as underscoring to create a mood.

"Meadow Mist" from the same year is the first of several pastoral pieces that convey calm and contentedness. It's a lovely work.

Much different is the group of cues called "Grip of the Law," from 1956. Inspired by film noir, these are of course for use in crime dramas. The first cue, "Opening," would underscore titles; the second is "Closing." Then there are three "Penultimate" cues for possible use near the end of the drama. These play on screenplay tropes: one is "Dramatic Penultimate," the next "Light Penultimate" (for byplay between the hero and sidekick) and the third "Romantic Penultimate" (for the hero and his or her love interest). Finally we have "Background" with ominous music, snare drum and other effects. 

Tor Johnson and Vampira in the grip of something, if not the law

Some of these may sound familiar to you. "Grip of the Law" is perhaps best known for its use in Ed Wood's magnum opus, Plan 9 from Outer Space. But "Opening" reminds me of a different piece - Nelson Riddle's theme for The Untouchables television show.

"St. Boniface Down" is a second pastoral piece - its opening is strongly reminiscent of Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 5. Regardless, it is very beautiful.

The "Grand March (from the Visionaries)," also from 1957 perhaps harkens back to the march that Arthur Bliss wrote for the 1937 film Things to Come. although it is not a clone.

Ad for The Scarf mentioning the theme music

"The Girl from Corsica" from 1958 is one of Duncan's most famed and evocative pieces. It was used as the theme music for BBC Television's serial of Francis Durbridge's novel The Scarf. Ron Goodwin recorded a popular commercial version of the piece.

"Wine Festival" is a memorable theme with a distinctly Italian feel.

Bill Simpson as Dr. Finlay

Another well known cue is the "March from The Little Suite," which was employed as the theme for the BBC's program Dr. Finlay's Casebook. The other items from the suite - "Jogtrot" and "Folk Tune" - were used in that series as well. IA was missing the first record from the set, which contained the March; the version in this set comes from a commercial recording by Sir Vivian Dunn and the Orchestra of the Light Music Society.

Also from 1959 is the "Gt. Britain Suite," with cues for the four countries - England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with music designed to be characteristic. The English selection, for example, opens with a fanfare followed by a Waltonian march. Each country has such an opening theme, followed by a brief reprise for use at the end of a sequence.

"Little Debbie" is another piece that is intended to capture carefree youth. "Valse Mignonette" is similar in intent, although here the child is French.

From 1964 we have "Sixpenny Ride," which again captures activity and high spirits. The title presumably refers to an amusement park.

The final selection is 1967's "Serenade (from the Maestro Variations)." This is similar to a famous Serenade from a Hoffstetter string quartet, the one formerly attributed to Haydn. 

These items are all in well recorded mono, except for the "March from The Little Suite," which is from 1970 and is in stereo. There are quite a few (31) cues here, but many of them are short; the complete playing time is about an hour.

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