The Incredible Alan Murray
HO composed the Iraq National Anthem? What jazz composer was a Director of the Royal Academy? What soldier of the last war composed one of the most popular ballads of this war? The answer in each case is the sameAlan Murray. His briefly-told history, in the morning session For My Lady from 4YA, seems incredible enough to supply material for a couple of novels with enough over for a film. Pianist, composer, and soldier to boot, he seems to have made a good job of all three. When we mention the word "ballad" it brings to mind the soulful soprano who will insist on warbling about birds at eventide, the accompaniment generally being so tritely composed that the listener can anticipate every cadence. Alan Murray’s ballads, however, have raised
tits type of song to 4 Tevel previously unknown, and if other popular composers would follow his scholarly example we might have a welcome renaissance of ballad singing. His songs? Maybe you couldn’t name the composer, but you’ve heard two of them often enough-‘I’ll Walk Beside You" and "For England." On the other hand, what the Iraq National Anthem goes like nobody knows save Alan Murray and the Iraq population.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 289, 5 January 1945, Page 6
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203The Incredible Alan Murray New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 289, 5 January 1945, Page 6
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