William G. Whittaker
| William G. Whittaker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
William Gillies Whittaker 23 July 1876 Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Died |
5 July 1944 (aged 68) Orkney Islands |
William Gillies Whittaker (Newcastle upon Tyne, July 23, 1876 - Orkney Islands, July 5, 1944) was an English-Scottish composer, pedagogue, conductor, musicologist, Bach scholar, publisher and writer. He spent his life promoting music.[1] The University of Durham, where he once studied and taught, called him one of "Britain's most influential musicians during the first half of the twentieth century".[2][3] An autodidact, he was a prodigious creator of Gebrauchsmusik.[4]
Life
Whittaker initially studied mathematics at Armstrong College, University of Durham, later studying organ and vocals, and from 1898, he began studies at the same university.[5] After he graduated, he worked as an instructor, lecturer and reader in music at his alma mater.[1] In 1929, he moved to Glasgow and became a professor at the University of Glasgow (1929-1938) and Head of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) (1929-1941).[5] He was a member of three BBC musical advisory committees.[4]
Whittaker worked as the conductor of choirs in Northumberland, working with the Newcastle Choral Union, Newcastle Bach Choir and the Gateshead Choral Union. With these ensembles, he achieved excellent results. He founded the Newcastle Bach Choir in 1915, based in Newcastle Cathedral. A neighbour who attended his choir observed that he was "not only learned but also showed great sense of music and art in general...".[6] With Newcastle Bach Choir, he made a concert tour to London and participated in a three-day festival in 1922. He performed the first complete version of the Great English Service of William Byrd in Newcastle upon Tyne, and performed it again at St. Margaret's Church in Westminster in 1924.[5]
His forte was cantatas of J.S.Bach. Whittaker's book on the subject was published posthumously in 1959 in two volumes. Whittaker also promoted musicians like Holst, Vaughan Williams, Debussy, Satie, and Paulenc.[1] He was a noted scholar of Bach and a publisher and editor of music from the 17th and 18th centuries.[5] Among his works are A Lykewake Dirge and The Celestial Sphere for Chorus and Orchestra, Psalm CXXXIX and Among the Northumbrian Hills.[5] He was also interested in the folk music of his native region, of which he composed several folk songs.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kennedy, Rutherford-Johnson & Kennedy 2013, p. 918.
- ↑ "'In the Swim’: The life and musical achievements of William Gillies Whittaker 1876-1944". University of Durham. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ Town, Stephen (1 September 2012). An Imperishable Heritage: British Choral Music from Parry to Dyson: A Study of Selected Works. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 60–. ISBN 978-1-4094-6175-3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Borthwick, Mary Christine (2007). "'In the Swim’: The life and musical achievements of William Gillies Whittaker 1876-1944". Durham University. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "William Gillies Whittaker". Bach Cantatas. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ Burton2013, p. 35.
Bibliography
- Burton, Richard (26 September 2013). A Strong Song Tows Us: The life of Basil Bunting, Britain’s greatest modernist poet. Infinite Ideas. ISBN 978-1-909652-49-1.
- Kennedy, Michael; Rutherford-Johnson, Tim; Kennedy, Joyce (15 August 2013). The Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957854-2.
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