William Croft
William Croft | |
|---|---|
 William Croft as a choirboy, c. 1690. | |
| Born | Ettington, Warwickshire |
| Baptised | 30 December 1678 |
| Died | 14 August 1727 (aged 48) |
| Occupation(s) | Composer and organist |
| Organizations |
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William Croft (baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist.
Life
Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether
In 1700, Croft, in collaboration with "an Italian Master", probably Gottfried Finger, published six sonatas for violin, flute, harpsichord and viol, in the newly fashionable Italian style.[3]
In 1707, he took over the Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal post, which had been left vacant by the suicide of Jeremiah Clarke.[1] The following year, Croft succeeded Blow (who had lately died) as organist of Westminster Abbey.[1] He composed works for the funeral of Queen Anne (1714) and for the coronation of King George I (1715).
In 1724, Croft published Musica Sacra, a collection of church music, the first such collection to be printed in the form of a score. It contains a Burial Service, which may have been written for Queen Anne or for the
A fragment of music attributed to Croft, Ground in C minor (D221), has been used by contemporary composer Michael Nyman as the source of his piece An Eye for an Optical Theory.[5][6]
St Anne
One of Croft's most enduring pieces is the
Funeral sentences
Perhaps Croft's most notable legacy is the suite of Funeral Sentences which have been described as a "glorious work of near genius".
"...there is one verse composed by my predecessor, the famous Mr Henry Purcell, to which, in justice to his memory, his name is applied. The reason why I did not compose that verse anew (so as to render the whole service entirely of my own composition) is obvious to every Artist; in the rest of that service composed by me, I have endeavoured as near as I could, to imitate that great master and celebrated composer, whose name will for ever stand high in the rank of those who have laboured to improve the English style..."[11]
Croft's Funeral Sentences were sung at
References
- ^ a b c d Dennis Shrock Choral Repertoire, p. 325, at Google Books
- ^ John Calvert A Collection of Anthems Used in Her Majesty's Chapel Royal, the Temple ..., p. 15, at Google Books
- ISBN 978-1843835745.
- ^ Spink (1995), p. 183
- Chester Music
- ^ The Music of Michael Nyman: Texts, Contexts and Intertexts, p. 96, at Google Books
- ISBN 978-1-107-02344-4(p. 241)
- ^ Long, Kenneth R. (1972). The Music of the English Church. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p. 291.
- JSTOR 25597602.
- ^ "The Book of Common Prayer – The Order for the Burial of the Dead". churchofengland.org. The Archbishops' Council. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Music by Henry Purcell (1659–1695)" (PDF). chorus.ucdavis.edu. University Chorus, University of California at Davis. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-973736-9(p. 327)
- ISBN 978-1783270927.
- ISBN 978-1-849-90586-2(p. 350)
- ^ "The order of service for the funeral of Baroness Thatcher - St Paul's Cathedral". www.stpauls.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "What music and hymns will we hear at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral?".
- ^ "Prince Philip's funeral: The order of service". BBC News. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "The Order of Service for the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in full". CNN. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth's funeral: Order of service at Westminster Abbey". BBC news. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- Spink (1995) Ian. Oxford Restoration Cathedral Music, 1660–1714 Oxford University Press
External links
- Free scores at the Mutopia Project
- Free scores by William Croft in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Music by William Croft
- Free scores by William Croft at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Works by or about William Croft at Internet Archive
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