Michael John Hurd
Encyclopedia
Michael John Hurd was a composer
and musicologist principally known for his choral music.
He was born in Gloucester
on 19 December 1928 and educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester
and Pembroke College, Oxford
.He was also a composition pupil of Lennox Berkeley
. After National Service he taught at the Royal Marines Band School
at Deal
, before settling in East Hampshire where he took a leading role in the area's music-making .
Like his fellow Petersfield resident, Wilfred Brown
, Hurd championed the memory of Gerald Finzi
, co-editing the composer's correspondence with Howard Ferguson
. He also championed the music of Rutland Boughton
(he was Music Advisor to The Rutland Boughton Music Trust from 1978 to 2006) and Ivor Gurney
. His life-long friends include the writer David Hughes and his actress wife Mai Zetterling
. While his was first and foremost an academic career, his work also reached a wider audience through film scores and his materials for schoolchildren. He is most noted for his "pop" cantatas such as Jonah-Man Jazz (1966). He died on 8 August 2006.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musicologist principally known for his choral music.
He was born in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
on 19 December 1928 and educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester
The Crypt School, Gloucester
The Crypt School is a grammar school for boys with a mixed Sixth Form, located in the city of Gloucester, England, founded in 1539 by Joan Cooke with money inherited from her husband John....
and Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
.He was also a composition pupil of Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
. After National Service he taught at the Royal Marines Band School
Royal Marines Band Service
The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy. It currently consists of five Bands and its headquarters is the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson in Portsmouth dockyard.-History:...
at Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
, before settling in East Hampshire where he took a leading role in the area's music-making .
Like his fellow Petersfield resident, Wilfred Brown
Wilfred Brown
Wilfred Brown was an accomplished English tenor.He was born in Horsham, Sussex and educated at Collyer's School, then at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and Trinity College of Music. Brown was a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends...
, Hurd championed the memory of Gerald Finzi
Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a song-writer, but also wrote in other genres...
, co-editing the composer's correspondence with Howard Ferguson
Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC was a Conservative politician and the ninth Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1923 to 1930.-Background:He was the son of Charles Frederick Ferguson who served in the Canadian House of Commons...
. He also championed the music of Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music....
(he was Music Advisor to The Rutland Boughton Music Trust from 1978 to 2006) and Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney
Ivor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
. His life-long friends include the writer David Hughes and his actress wife Mai Zetterling
Mai Zetterling
-Early life:Zetterling was born in Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actress by the age of seventeen at Dramaten, the Swedish national theater, and appeared in war-era film starting in her teens.-Career:...
. While his was first and foremost an academic career, his work also reached a wider audience through film scores and his materials for schoolchildren. He is most noted for his "pop" cantatas such as Jonah-Man Jazz (1966). He died on 8 August 2006.
Selected compositions
- Pop cantatas:
- Jonah-Man Jazz (1966)
- Swingin' Samson (1973)
- Rooster Rag (1975)
- Music's Praise (1968)
- Dance Diversions (1972)
- Shepherd's Calendar (1975)
- Night Songs of Edward ThomasEdward ThomasEdward Thomas may refer to:People:*Edward Beers Thomas, American judge*Edward J. Thomas , librarian and author of several books on the history of Buddhism*Edward Lloyd Thomas, Confederate American Civil War general...
(1994) - Five Spiritual Songs (1996)
Selected publications
- An Outline History of European Music (Novello, 1968, revised 1988) ISBN 0853600767
- The Ordeal of Ivor GurneyIvor GurneyIvor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
(OUP, 1978) ISBN 0192117521 - New Oxford Junior Companion to Music (1979) ISBN 1851521097
- Vincent NovelloVincent NovelloVincent Novello , English musician, son of an Italian who married an English wife, was born in London....
and Company (Granada, 1981) ISBN 0246117338 - The Orchestra (Phaidon, 1981) ISBN 0871964694
- Rutland Boughton and the Glastonbury Festivals (OUP, 1993) ISBN 0091897637
External links
- http://www.michaelhurd.org.uk