Felton Rapley: Bubble Car.

Perhaps the most frightening road journey I ever made was from York to the nearby village of Strensall – in a bubble car. In fact, if I remember correctly it was a BMW Isetta 300, which had been built sometime in the early 1960s. It was not so much the speed that bothered me, it was being so close to the road and not having any protective bonnet in front of me that scared the wits out of me. The term ‘bubble car’ is quite subjective. It is rarely heard these days, but I assume that it can apply to any ‘small, economical microcars.’ Marques included Isettas, BMWs, Messerschmitt’s and the Isle of Man built Peel Trident.

The composer Felton Rapley (1907-1976) has caught the mood of a journey in one of these ‘classic’ cars in his short character piece ‘Bubble Car.’ I am not sure when it was composed, but the only available recording was made 1962 by the Telecast Orchestra, conducted by Charles Williams.

The bubble car was a bit of a nuisance on British Roads: I understand that it was banned from the burgeoning motorways in the 1960s. The music presents a somewhat skittish mood, that well reflects the car’s progress at a speed no greater than 56mph. I guess that the bubble car is a little bit of an icon of era, however I understand that classic car enthusiasts have several ‘owners’ clubs’ dedicated to their preservation. 

Felton Rapley was an ex-chorister of Winchester Cathedral and was well-known as a church and a cinema organist in Epsom. Latterly he worked for Chappels and had a lot of music published by that firm. He divided his compositional time between writing organ music, light music and educational pieces. According to Phillip Scowcroft, Rapley’s best known work was Portrait of Clare based on Schumann’s song ‘Devotion’.  One of my favourite scores from Rapley’s pen is the nautical Overture: Down the Solent. This present piece was written under the pseudonym of Peter Barrington.

Listen to Felton Rapley’s ‘Bubble Car’ on The Golden Age of Light Music: Fiddles and Bow (GLCD 5201). At the time of posting, it is also available on YouTube. 

Felton Rapley: Down the Solent: Overture

It would not come as a surprise to me if readers were not familiar with the name Felton Rapley. In fact, I had not heard of him until the other day. However, I was aware of one of his pieces of music: it has been a desideratum of mine since I first heard (I cannot recall where) the title. The Overture: Down the Solent was apparently composed around 1939. At least that is the date in the COPAC catalogue. Furthermore it was orchestrated by a certain David Caryll.
Felton Rapley (1907-1976) was an ex-chorister of Winchester Cathedral and was well-known as a church and a cinema organist in Epsom. Latterly he worked for Chappels and had a lot of music published by that firm. It would appear that he divided his compositional time between writing organ music, light music and educational pieces. According to Phillip Scowcroft, Rapley’s best known work was Portrait of Clare based on Schumann’s song ‘Devotion’.
The title of Down the Solent appeals to me. I finally found it included on The Golden Age of Light Music –Musical Kaleidoscope Volume 2 issued by Guild. Now to be frank it is not a great work: it is workmanlike. That said I did enjoy it, and spite of its lack of profundity it ought to be given the occasional outing.
I am not sure whether the 1939 date suggests that this is a wartime work – with images of battleships and cruisers slipping down the Solent towards the Atlantic, or whether it is descriptive of happier times. Perhaps the latter?
The work opens with a rising brass figure followed by a couple of sharp chords before the upward sweep of strings leads into the main rather jaunty nautical theme. Rapley certainly makes use of sequences in the development of his material. The music then takes on a romantic mood that perhaps suggests lazy days in sunshine lying off Cowes. Certainly there is more than a hint of romance in the air. After a while there is another version of the nautical theme with a little more urgency. Maybe the boat is being carried along by a stiff breeze? Finally the ‘big’ tune is reiterated. The lovers, if such they were, are reunited on the shore. Perhaps this part of the overture comes nearest to being ‘wartime’ music? After a short coda the overture concludes in a blaze of glory.
Two things remain to be said. Whoever David Caryll was, he was pretty good at orchestration. The balance between the ship’s travel down the Solent and the romantic mood is well stated and is supported by excellent instrumentation. Secondly, I think this work would benefit from a ‘modern’ performance and recording. This is not to criticise in any way Sidney Torch and the New Century Orchestra.
Down the Solent: Overture can be heard on GUILD Light Music Label GLCD5140