Gavin Gordon (composer)
Encyclopedia
Gavin Gordon was a Scottish bass singer, actor and composer, best known for his 1935 Hogarthian
ballet The Rake's Progress
.
, Scotland
in 1901, as Gavin Muspratt Gordon Brown. He went to Rugby School
then studied music at the Royal College of Music
in London
under Ralph Vaughan Williams
and other teachers.
His ballets A Toothsome Morsel (1930), Regatta (1931), The Death of Hector and The Scorpions of Ysit (1932) did not remain in the repertory. More lasting fame, however, was accorded to The Rake's Progress
(1935), based on the sequence of seven pictures by William Hogarth
known as A Rake's Progress
.
Gavin Gordon also wrote some orchestral works, including parodies of old-style dances such as Four Caricatures and Work in E major. There is also music for a musical based on Dick Whittington, and incidental music for the play The Man Behind the Statue, based on Simón Bolívar
, written by Peter Ustinov
and directed by Robert Donat
.
As a singer, he appeared in a staging of My Fair Lady
.
Gavin Gordon died in London in 1970, aged 68.
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
ballet The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress (ballet)
The Rake's Progress is a short 1935 ballet, based on the drawings of William Hogarth, with music by Gavin Gordon , choreography by Ninette de Valois, and set design by Rex Whistler....
.
Biography
Gavin Gordon was born in AyrAyr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1901, as Gavin Muspratt Gordon Brown. He went to Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
then studied music at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
under Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and other teachers.
His ballets A Toothsome Morsel (1930), Regatta (1931), The Death of Hector and The Scorpions of Ysit (1932) did not remain in the repertory. More lasting fame, however, was accorded to The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress (ballet)
The Rake's Progress is a short 1935 ballet, based on the drawings of William Hogarth, with music by Gavin Gordon , choreography by Ninette de Valois, and set design by Rex Whistler....
(1935), based on the sequence of seven pictures by William Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
known as A Rake's Progress
A Rake's Progress
A Rake's Progress is a series of eight paintings by 18th century English artist William Hogarth. The canvases were produced in 1732–33 then engraved and published in print form in 1735...
.
Gavin Gordon also wrote some orchestral works, including parodies of old-style dances such as Four Caricatures and Work in E major. There is also music for a musical based on Dick Whittington, and incidental music for the play The Man Behind the Statue, based on Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
, written by Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
and directed by Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
.
As a singer, he appeared in a staging of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
.
Gavin Gordon died in London in 1970, aged 68.
Sources
- Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954
- Bruce R. Schueneman, William Emmett Studwell: Minor ballet composers: biographical sketches of sixty-six underappreciated composers