Hubert Bath was born in Barnstable on November 6th 1883, his connection with music began at an early age as he sang in church as a choir boy, his father who was a teacher was the choirmaster. Bath studied both piano and organ, and when he attended the royal academy of music he also studied composition. He began his studies at the age of 17, after completing his studies Bath began to write music and would often be diverse and varied in his musical style, he also did not restrict his writing to just one particular area of music. The composer does fall easily into the category of light music but he also produced some memorable and superbly harmonious scores for films. His most renowned and popular work being the gloriously romantic CORNISH RHAPSODY from the movie LOVE STORY, the composer is also credited with writing the score for the first British made full length non silent film which was BLACKMAIL in 1929 which was directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. He wrote scores for a number of films that were produced by the famous GAUMONT and GAINSBOROUGH studios who were so industrious during the 1930,s and 1940,s. Bath worked on THE THIRTY NINE STEPS in 1935, a version of the story which starred actor Robert Donat and the composer also provided the score for RHODES OF AFRICA in 1936. Bath enjoyed considerable success as a composer of what is still referred to as light music, and penned a number of rousing marches, ATLANTIC CHARACTER, OUT OF THE BLUE and EMPIRE BUILDERS to name but three. OUT OF THE BLUE being used as the signature tune for the BBC radio show SPORTS REPORT for many years. The composer passed away on April 24th 1945 in Harefield, Middlesex UK.
Tag Archives: Alfred Hitchcock
PSYCHO LIVE!
23 November 2013 Belfast (United Kingdom) ![]() |
Psycho Live! Ulster Orchestra conducted by Richard Kaufman – Belfast Waterfront |
Program Info:
Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, was made on a low budget in black and white, but quickly became one of the most successful films of all time. It spawned numerous imitations none, as you shall appreciate again tonight, as good as the original!
Much of its tremendous impact is of course due to the music. Bernard Herrmann worked closely with Hitchcock on several of his films, in this case using only strings to create the hair-raising atmosphere, including the famous shower scene!