William Croft | |
|---|---|
 William Croft as achoirboy, c. 1690. | |
| Born | Ettington, Warwickshire |
| Baptised | (1678-12-30)30 December 1678 |
| Died | 14 August 1727(1727-08-14) (aged 48) |
| Occupation(s) | Composer and organist |
| Organizations | |
William Croft (baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist.
Croft was born at the Manor House, NetherEttington, Warwickshire. He was educated at theChapel Royal under the instruction ofJohn Blow, and remained there until 1698. Two years after this departure, he became organist ofSt. Anne's Church, Soho and he became an organist and 'Gentleman extraordinary' at the Chapel Royal.[1] He shared that post with his friendJeremiah Clarke.[2][1]
In 1700, Croft, in collaboration with "an Italian Master", probablyGottfried Finger, published sixsonatas for violin, flute, harpsichord andviol, in the newly fashionable Italian style.[3]
In 1707, he took over theMaster 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 ofWestminster Abbey.[1] He composed works for the funeral of QueenAnne (1714) and for the coronation of KingGeorge I (1715).
In 1724, Croft publishedMusica Sacra, a collection of church music, the first such collection to be printed in the form of a score. It contains aBurial Service, which may have been written for Queen Anne or for theDuke of Marlborough.[4] Shortly afterwards his health deteriorated, and he died while visitingBath aged 48.
A fragment of music attributed to Croft,Ground in C minor (D221), has been used by contemporary composerMichael Nyman as the source of his pieceAn Eye for an Optical Theory.[5][6]
One of Croft's most enduring pieces is thehymn tune "St Anne" written to the poemOur God, Our Help in Ages Past byIsaac Watts. Other composers subsequently incorporated the tune in their own works.Handel used it, for instance, in ananthem entitledO Praise the Lord With One Consent, as didArthur Sullivan in hisFestival Te Deum of 1872, and alsoHubert Parry in his 1911CoronationTe Deum.[7] Bach's Fugue in E-flat major,BWV 552, is often called the "St. Anne", due to the similarity (coincidental in this case) of its subject to the hymn melody's first phrase. A further tune attributed to William Croft is 'Binchester' (a village in County Durham) for the hymn 'Happy are they, they that love God'. His tune 'Eatington', for the hymn 'The Church triumphant in thy love' takes its title from Croft's birthplace of LowerEttington.
Perhaps Croft's most notable legacy is the suite ofFuneral Sentences which have been described as a "glorious work of near genius".[8] First published as part of theBurial Service inMusica Sacra, the date and purpose of their composition is uncertain.[9] The seven sentences themselves are from theBook of Common Prayer and are verses from various books of the Bible, intended to be said or sung during anAnglican funeral.[10] One of the sentences,Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, was not composed by Croft, but byHenry Purcell, part of his 1695Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary. Croft wrote:
"...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'sFuneral Sentences were sung atGeorge Frederic Handel's funeral in 1759,[12] and have been included in every Britishstate funeral since their publication. They were used at the funerals ofWinston Churchill in1965,[13]Diana, Princess of Wales in1997,[12]Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in2002,[14]Baroness Thatcher in2013,[15]Prince Philip in2021,[16][17][18] andQueen Elizabeth II in2022.[19]
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| Preceded by | Joint First Organist of theChapel Royal withJeremiah Clarke 1704–1707 | Succeeded by William Croft |
| Preceded by William Croft andJeremiah Clarke | First Organist of theChapel Royal 1707–1727 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Organist and Master of the Choristers ofWestminster Abbey 1708–1727 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Master of the Children of theChapel Royal 1708–1727 | Succeeded by Bernard Gates |
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