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Gordon
Crosse
50
at
Andrew Burn
GordonCrosse's
50thbirthday
is on 1 December.
The starting-pointfor Gordon Crosse's style, like that of
most of his contemporaries,was postwar Europeanserial
composition, in particularWebern, which he combined
(likeMaxwell Davies)with medievaland Renaissancecompositional techniques. From his early works, however,
Crosse has rarelybeen rigid in his approachto serialism;
he has been increasinglyflexible, allowing tonal elements
to be retainedand his instinctive ability for writing striking melody and harmony to be paramount. A natural
dramaticgift is also apparent:it is no coincidencethat two
important influences have been Berg and Britten.
Crosse was born in Bury in 1937 and studied at Oxford
with Egon Wellesz and BernardRose. He workedon 15thcenturymusic with FrankHarrisonand studiedwith Goffredo Petrassiin Rome. He quickly establishedhis reputation (and versatility)through such works as the children's
piece Meetmy Folks(1964), the Concertoda camera(1966),
a large-scalechoral work Changes(1965-6) and the opera
Purgatory(1966). His gifts as a teacherwere also recognized; he has held posts at Birminghamand Essex universities
at King's
and in California.He was composer-in-residence
College, Cambridge(1973- 5), but from 1976 has concentrated almost exclusively on composing.
Crosse'searly practicesmay be seen in the Elegy for orchestraop.1 (1959). Its opening six-noteflute phrase,with
its inversion, forms the 12-note row from which all the
melodic and harmonicmaterialderives. Rhythmicallythe
piece is developed through isorhythmic structures and
much play is madeof canon,both mensuraland direct.The
titles and methods of other early worksreflect Crosse'sinterest in medieval music as well as the influence of Maxwell Davies: Villanelles(1959) and Carolfor flute and piano
(1962).
Berg's incorporationof tonal aspects within his work
pointed Crosse in the directionhis own music would take.
In CorpusChristi Carol(1961) he applied serial methods
to diatonicideas;here two four-noterows, A- C - B - F and
F- G - A - F sharp.This was continuedin the Concertoda
camera(1962), which he composed while studying with
Petrassi, who liked the first movement but felt its style
limited. Crosse rewrotethe scherzo in as differenta manner as possible, and the rest of the work becamea contrast
between the two moods: lyrical and reflective, and fiery
and sharp-edged.Again Crosse exploits a diatonic series,
Ex.1
Lento e calmo
^ con poco vibrato
3
rI
"I
ft-
A X,i[is-la hF
4t TT
1N6j , *I it
i4^y 7 j) 1i
-^4
r-|2ffr
lipVlnP ~'<P>
fsub.
p mf
O shep
herd-ess of Eng-land'sfold,
Be-hold this
gold
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What shall I
Vas
do?
Oh,
- co!
681
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faberandfaber
TheMakingof a Conductor
Nicholas Kenyon
FPB?12.50
KURT WEILL
A Handbook
David Drew
An enthrallinggeneralsurvey of Weill'slife
and work, providingall the essential
informationabout his compositions.
?25.00
RAVEL REMEMBERED
Roger Nichols
A delightful melangeof largely unfamiliar
?20.00
DEBUSSY LETTERS
edited by FranSoisLesure and Roger Nichols
'Indispensable... enthralling.'
Daily Telegraph
?25.00
858
682
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Don
Giovanni
in
Prague
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