Benjamin Frankel (1906-73): Carriage and Pair

Many readers will know the 1950 film So Long at the Fair, set in Paris during the Great Exhibition of 1889. It starred Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde. Other famous British actors included Honor Blackman, David Tomlinson, Felix Aylmer and André Morell. The film was directed by Terence Fisher.

To even hint at the story of this film would be to plot spoil for anyone who has yet to see it. All that need be said is that it is a perfect example of “The Vanishing Lady” theme. There are lots of evocative shots of Paris, despite the film being largely shot at the Gainsborough Studios. I understand that the stars had doubles for the “On location” scenes.

The music was composed by Benjamin Frankel, who at that time was still better known for his film scores and his arrangements for shows and revues. His first major success as a “serious” composer would come in 1951 with his heartfelt Violin Concerto which is unaccountably ignored by concert promoters these days. This would be followed by his impressive cycle of eight symphonies between 1958 and 1971.

The lovely “light music’ miniature Carriage and Pair is extracted from the film score. Frankel himself prepared this miniature, as there was no complete statement of this piece in the film. It has been assembled from various truncated presentations of this melody. Musically, the tune is based on a trotting or clip-clopping accompaniment, complete with harness bells. Out of this emerges a lovely big tune. The Carriage and Pair theme which runs through the entire film certainly captures the ‘essence of the time and the place.’ It became an instant best seller. There is a version of this piece uploaded to YouTube. This is performed by the RTE Orchestra conducted by Ernest Tomlinson.