William Crotch
William Crotch | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | 5 July 1775 |
Died | 29 December 1847 | (aged 72)
Occupation(s) | Composer & Organist |
William Crotch (5 July 1775 – 29 December 1847) was an English
Life
Childhood
William Crotch was born in
He appears to be fondest of solemn tunes and church musick, particularly the 104th Psalm. As soon as he has finished a regular tune, or part of a tune, or played some little fancy notes of his own, he stops, and has some of the pranks of a wanton boy; some of the company then generally give him a cake, an apple, or an orange, to induce him to play again...[4]
Crotch was later to observe that this experience led him to become a rather spoiled child, excessively indulged so that he would perform.
Adult life
Crotch was for a time organist at Christ Church, Oxford, from which he was later to graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree. His first attempt at an oratorio, The Captivity of Judah, was played at Trinity Hall, Cambridge on 4 June 1789 when he was 14. His most successful—and largest scale—composition was the oratorio Palestine (1812), after which he mainly returned to smaller scale works.[2] He may have composed the Westminster Chimes in 1793, which are played by Big Ben each time it strikes the hour.
In 1797, Crotch became
In 1822 he was appointed to the
Crotch spent his last years at his son's house in Taunton, Somerset, where he died in 1847. He was buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul in Bishop's Hull, just outside Taunton.[2]
Two grandsons of William Crotch became eminent entomologists: George Robert Crotch and his brother William Duppa Crotch.
Selected compositions
- Captivity of Judah (1798), oratorio.
- Three piano sonatas, published on subscription in 1793.
- Overture in A (1795), the first of three orchestral "sinfonias". No 2 in Eb was composed in 1808 and revised in 1817; No 3 in F was composed in 1814-15.[5]
- Ten Anthems (1798, revised 1804). Among them are 'Sing we merrily', 'How Dear are Thy Counsels', 'Oh Lord God of hosts', and 'Be merciful unto me'.
- Ode to Fancy (1799, text Joseph Wharton), for two four-part choruses, three soloists and small orchestra, written as an exercise for his Mus.Doc degree.
- Three organ concertos (circa 1804), played often in concerts during Crotch's time in Oxford. In a similar style to near-contemporary organ concertos by Charles Wesley, Samuel Wesley and William Felton, all influenced by Handel.
- 12 Fugues, the subjects taken from chants (1835-7) for organ or piano (this instruction presumably written in an effort to increase sales)
- Palestine, oratorio (1812), text Reginald Heber. First performed at the Hanover Square Rooms on 21 April 1812 and repeated due to popular demand on 26 May. Two and a half hours of music, by far his most popular work, and typically judged his best. The Epiphany anthem 'Lo! star-led chiefs' still receives independent performances and recordings today.
- Symphony in F major (1814)
- Symphony in Eb (1817, unfinished)
- Ode on the King's Accession (1820) for chorus and orchestra. George IV became king in January 1820. First performed in Oxford, 1821.
- The Joy of our Heart is Ceased (1827), choral anthem, written on the death of the Duke of York.
- Captivity of Judah (1834), oratorio.
- The Lord is King (1838), choral anthem, his last large-scale work, first performed in 1843.
References
- ^ a b Temperley, Nicholas; Heighes, Simon. "Crotch, William", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 22 September 2021(subscription required)
- ^ a b c d Rennert 1975.
- ^ Burney 1779.
- ^ "Account of the Musical Phenomænom". The London Magazine. Vol. 48. London: R. Baldwin. April 1779. pp. 147–149.
- ^ Sadie, Stanley (January 1993). "Crotch, Orchestral Works". Gramophone. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
Sources
Further reading
- Olleson, Philip (2004). "Crotch, William". required.)
- Snowman, Janet (2010). "The Left and Right Hands of the Eighteenth-century British Musical Prodigies, William Crotch and Samuel Wesley". Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition. 15 (1–2): 209–252. S2CID 205779680.
External links
- Free scores by William Crotch at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Free scores by William Crotch in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- William Crotch (1775–1847) from the 'Here of a Sunday Morning' website (affiliated with the New York radio station WBAI)
- Portraits of Crotch in the National Portrait Gallery, London