William Merrick Farran (14 January 1906 – 26 November 1991) was a London-born composer, conductor and violinist.
Farran was educated at Stonyhurst Castle. He won a scholarship to the Manchester Royal College of Music to study composition (with E. J Moeran) and violin. As an orchestral player he toured America with Sir Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
He established himself as a conductor of both classical and popular music, and a composer of library music for KPM and Bruton. His House of Horror music was used in TV productions such as Prisoner Cell Block H and SpongeBob SquarePants. There was also some concert music, including Symphonic Variations On A Rock 'N Roll Theme (the theme being from 'Rock Around the Clock'), which was issued on a Melodisc LP in 1958, and the three movement Stranger in London suite. Farran was the arranger of 'The Ghost of Your Past' and 'Quite Suddenly' for Matt Monro in 1961.
He died at the Acland Hospital in Oxford.
References
- ^ 'Announcements', Daily Telegraph, 4 December 1991, p. 20
- Reuben Musiker and Naomi Musiker. Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music (1998), p. 82
- for instance, London Studio Orchestra broadcast, BBC Radio 4, 11 April 1968
- KPM 1005, Sacred Music (1966); KPM 1081, Cartoon Capers (1970); and KPM 1085, Electronic Music (1971)
- Oliver Lomax. The Mood Modern, (2018), p. 64
- House of Horror, Bruton BRM5 (1980), Internet Archive
- Melodisc MLP 12 103
- Philip L Scowcroft. A 303rd Garland of British Light Music Composers (2002)
- Michele Monro. Matt Monro: The Singer's Singer (2011)