William Crotch (1775-1847) - Overture in G Major (1815)
Performers: Milton Kеynes Chamber Orchestra; Hilary Davon Wеtton (conductor)
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English composer, organist, theorist and painter. He was an exceptional
child prodigy and became one of the most distinguished English musicians
of his day. He was the youngest son of Michael Crotch, a master
carpenter, and his wife Isabella. In his teens he attended Oxford
University, where he obtained a B.A. degree. His first oratorio (set
twice during his life), The Captivity of Judah, was performed at Oxford
successfully in 1789, and by 1797 he was awarded a professorship in
music at the university, receiving his doctorate two years later. From
1793 he began deputizing for the professor of music, Philip Hayes, as
the conductor of the Music Room concerts, which he continued to direct
until 1806. In 1806-07 he withdrew from Oxford, resigning his
organistships, and settled in London. In London he became well known as a
teacher, composer and scholar. Between 1812 and 1823 he gave courses
annually at the Surrey Institution and during the 1820s at the Royal
Institution and London Institution. On the establishment of the Royal
Academy of Music in 1822 Crotch was appointed its principal. He resigned
the principalship on 21 June 1832. He was also well known for his
paintings during the early part of the 19th century. His music written
prior to 1800 consists of the aforementioned oratorio, as well as two
symphonies, an organ concerto, and several anthems. During his later
years he continued to write sacred music but also turned toward the
catch and glee. The evidence of Crotch’s precocity is incontestable,
being based in part on contemporary printed accounts in many sources,
including those of such qualified observers as Barrington and Burney.
The fact that Crotch’s ultimate achievement as a composer hardly lived
up to this promise may perhaps be put down to the psychological damage
he suffered as a child. Crotch himself later confessed: ‘I look back on
this part of my life with pain and humiliation … I was becoming a spoilt
child and in danger of becoming what too many of my musical brethren
have become under similar circumstances and unfortunately remained
through life’.
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