Composers and Authors

Barry Armstrong [1923–2010]

a nom de plume of John Barton Armstrong

John Barton Armstrong was a child prodigy at playing by ear and improvising, and was hailed by his school headmaster, at age 12, as someone who could keep the entire school entertained by his improvising on the piano. At age 17, to great acclaim from his schoolteachers, he single-handedly composed an operetta, wrote all the verses and dialogues, produced it, and acted and sang in it.

After such a promising early start, the War intervened and Armstrong joined the Navy; the Admiralty sent him to Cambridge to study electronic engineering, which, besides music, was another passionate interest. At Cambridge he met Herbert Howells, who expressed amazement at how far Armstrong had progressed, musically, on a self-taught basis.

After the war, Armstrong read Law and was called to the Bar, but in 1951 went to work for Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd on aeronautical design (eventually ending up in the project design team of Concorde). However, he left Vickers-Armstrongs in 1964 to pursue a music degree at Durham University, from which point he stuck primarily to a musical career. Armstrong also took a great interest in politics, however, being chairman of the Yateley Young Conservatives in 1947 and putting up as a candidate for the House of Commons (but coming second) in the mid-1970s.

Armstrong was a remarkable polymath who wrote huge amounts of music throughout a life that encompassed several varied careers in a variety of fields, though he left many compositions unfinished. He wrote a great deal of piano music in particular, finding the task excessively straightforward: “It’s too easy: you sit down and improvise something, and you just write it down.”

Further information about John Barton Armstrong can be found on his Web page at Impulse Music.

Composer…

		Composer	Work	Grade	Duration	Published	Price
		John Barton Armstrong	24 Preludes for piano			1974	£16.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	A Celtic Chase Horn Rhapsody for horn and piano	5		1962	£9.00
		Forces: French horn, Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Curios Six fantasy miniatures for piano			1991	£5.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Everest Fantasia for piano			1948	£7.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Katyn Five mazurkas for piano		15 mins	1974	£7.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Loss Nocturne for piano			1974	£6.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Pinecroft Suite for piano	6	7 mins	10th January 2013	£7.95
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Sonata for ’Cello and Piano	8	30 mins	May 2012	£14.95
		Forces: ’Cello, Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	The Fand Grade 5 Piano Album A selection of pieces to Grade 5 standard	5		2008	£9.95
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	The Wessex Piano Album Nine Easy Pieces by The Wessex Composer Group (John Barton Armstrong, David Llewellyn Green, Mark Andrews, Peter Thompson)			1996	£7.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Ubiquitous Poodle Eight piano pieces	3 to 5		1941	£7.45
		Forces: Piano
		John Barton Armstrong	Why? for piano			1947	£5.45
		Forces: Piano

Author…

		Author	Book	Published	Price
		John Barton Armstrong	Composer Interviews no 2 John Barton Armstrong, interviewed by Peter Thompson ISBN 0-9535125-6-8	2007	£7.00
		Barry Armstrong	The Missing Music Mystery An unusual and provocative enquiry into the present state of British Music ISBN 0-9535125-5-X	April 2003	£7.00
		Barry Armstrong	The Riddle of Schoenberg An Open Letter ISBN 0-9535125-0-9	2007	£7.00