Geoffrey Burgon
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Alan Burgon was a British composer notable for his television and film themes.

Life and career

Burgon was born in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 in 1941, and taught himself the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

 in order to join a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 band at school (Pewley Grammar School, Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

). He entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

 with the intention of becoming a professional trumpet player. However, under the direction of his mentor, composer Peter Wishart
Peter Wishart (composer)
Peter Charles Arthur Wishart was an English composer. Wishart was born in Crowborough. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris from 1947-1948 and taught at the Guildhall School of Music, Birmingham University, King's College London and Reading University where he was Professor of Music from 1977...

, he found that he was more interested in composition. Burgon initially supported himself and his family as a freelance jazz trumpeter. At the age of 30 he sold his instruments, except one, and devoted himself to composition. He lived through a lengthy period of poverty before critical success eventually brought financial reward.

The critical success of his Requiem at the Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...

 in 1976 sealed his reputation as a composer and led to many commissions from major organisations. Continuing the tradition established by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...

, Burgon’s fluent and effortless language was particularly well suited to the voice and he had a long-standing collaboration with counter-tenor James Bowman. Burgon also had considerable success writing for film and television and twice received both BAFTA and Ivor Novello Awards.
His style was essentially conservative, influenced by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...

 and medieval music rather than modern styles. His music was therefore not favoured by music critics and was sometimes labelled as commercial, but nevertheless it was widely appreciated..

He married Janice Elizabeth Garwood in 1963 and had a son and a daughter. The marriage was later dissolved. In 1992 he married Jacqueline Krofchak (professional name Kroft), a Canadian pianist and singer; they had a son, Daniel. He was a keen cricketer and had written detective novels in his spare time. Burgon died on 21 September 2010 after a short illness.

Career highlights

  • 1974 - ballet The Calm for London Contemporary Dance Theatre, first of many dance scores.
  • 1976 - first breakthrough, with Requiem at the Three Choirs Festival.
  • 1979 - Ivor Novello Award for score of BBC television series Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré, featuring George Smiley. Smiley is a middle-aged, taciturn, perspicacious intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is recalled to hunt down a Soviet mole in the "Circus", the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence...

    .
  • 1981 - Ivor Novello Award for score of Granada television series Brideshead Revisited
    Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)
    Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...

    .
  • 1997 - premiere of City Adventures, percussion concerto for Evelyn Glennie
    Evelyn Glennie
    Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo percussionist in 20th-century western society.-Early life:Glennie was born and raised in Aberdeenshire...

     at BBC Proms.
  • 2001 - wrote Heavenly Things, commissioned by the BBC for baritone Christopher Maltman.

Stage

  • The Golden Fish, ballet (1964)
  • Joan of Arc, music drama for 2 sopranos, tenor, baritone, narrator, flute, cello, harp and percussion (1970)
  • The Calm, ballet (1974)
  • The Fall of Lucifer, music drama in 2 acts for soloists, chorus and five instruments (1974)
  • Goldberg's Dream (Running Figures), ballet (1975)
  • Step at a Time, ballet (1976)
  • Songs, Lamentations and Praises, ballet (1979)
  • Orpheus, music drama (1982)
  • Mass, ballet for chorus, 4 trombones and percussionist (playing piano) (1984)
  • Macbeth, incidental music (1986)
  • Murder in the Cathedral, incidental music (1987)
  • Blood Wedding, incidental music (1988)
  • The Trial of Prometheus, ballet (1988)
  • Hard Times, opera (1991); after the novel by Charles Dickens
    Charles Dickens
    Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

  • Nicholas Nickleby, incidental music for the play by Charles Dickens
    Charles Dickens
    Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

     (2001)

Orchestral

  • Concerto for string orchestra (1963)
  • Gending for brass, woodwind, celesta and percussion (1968)
  • Alleluia Nativitas (1970)
  • Cantus Alleluia (1973)
  • Brideshead Variations (1982)
  • Suite from The Chronicles of Narnia (1991)
  • Suite from Bleak House (1991)
  • Suite from Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
  • Suite from Testament of Youth (1991)
  • A Different Dawn for celesta, percussion and string orchestra (1999)
  • Industrial Dreams (2006)

Concertante

  • Trumpet Concerto: The Turning World for trumpet, string orchestra and percussion (1993)
  • City Adventures, concerto for percussion and orchestra (1996)
  • Piano Concerto (1997)
  • The Calm, concerto for violin, trumpet, harp and string orchestra (1974, 2004); arranged for the ballet The Calm
  • Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra (2007)
  • Concerto Ghosts of the Dance for viola and orchestra (2008)
  • On the Street for alto saxophone and wind orchestra (2009)

Chamber music

  • Fanfares and Variants for 2 trumpets and 2 trombones (1969)
  • Lullaby and Aubade for trumpet and piano (1972)
  • Gloria for piccolo, oboe, clarient, horn, cello and piano (1973)
  • Three Nocturnes for harp solo (1974)
  • Four Guitars for 4 guitars (1977)
  • Four Horns for 4 horns (1977)
  • Six Studies for cello solo (1980); adapted for viola solo (2000); composed for Julian Lloyd Webber
    Julian Lloyd Webber
    Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...

  • Little Missenden Variation for English horn, clarinet, bassoon and horn (1984)
  • Fanfare for horns, trumpets, trombones and tuba (1985)
  • The Wanderer for clarinet and string quartet (1997–1998)
  • String Quartet (1999)
  • On The Street for brass quartet (1999)
  • Minterne Dances for flute, clarinet, string quartet and harp (2009)

Piano

  • Theme from Brideshead Revisited (1982)
  • Aslan's Theme from The Chronicles of Narnia (1988)
  • Waiting, 9 Easy Pieces (1998)

Vocal

  • Cantata on Mediaeval Latin Texts for countertenor, flute, oboe and bassoon (1964)
  • Acquainted with Night for countertenor, harp, timpani and string orchestra (1965)
  • Hymn to Venus for mezzo-soprano and piano (1966)
  • Five Sonnets or John Donne for soprano, mezzo-soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet (bass clarinet), horn, cello, piano and timpani (1967)
  • Songs of Mary for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano (1970)
  • At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners for soprano and organ, with optional trumpet (1971); words by John Donne
    John Donne
    John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...

  • Worldës Blissë for countertenor and oboe (1971)
  • Threnody for tenor, piano and amplified harpsichord (1971)
  • This Endris Night for tenor, female chorus, brass ensemble and timpani (1972)
  • This Ean Night for 2 countertenors (1972)
  • Dira vi amores terror for countertenor solo (1973)
  • Canciones del Alma for 2 countertenors (or mezzo-sopranos) and 13 solo strings (1975)
  • Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (1979)
  • Nunc Dimittis (1979)
  • The World Again for soprano and orchestra (1983)
  • Lunar Beauty for medium voice and guitar (or lute) (1986)
  • Title Divine for soprano and orchestra (1986)
  • Nearing the Upper Air for countertenor, 2 recorders, cello and harpsichord (1988)
  • The Fire of Heaven (setting of Traherne's poetry)
  • Title Divine (orchestral song cycle) (1987)
  • First Was the World for countertenor (or mezzo-soprano), mixed chorus and orchestra (1994); words by Andrew Marvell
    Andrew Marvell
    Andrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...

  • A Vision, Song Cycle for tenor and string orchestra (1991); poems by John Clare
    John Clare
    John Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century and he is often now considered to be among...

  • Almost Peace, Three Songs to Poems by Emily Dickinson
    Emily Dickinson
    Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...

     for soprano and chamber ensemble (1995)
  • Merciless Beauty for countertenor
    Countertenor
    A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

     and orchestra (1996); poems by Anonymous, Geoffrey Chaucer
    Geoffrey Chaucer
    Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...

    , William Blake
    William Blake
    William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...

     and Kit Wright
    Kit Wright
    Kit Wright is the author of more than twenty-five books, for both adults and children, and the winner of awards including an Arts Council Writers' Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Hawthornden Prize, the Alice Hunt Bartlett Award and the Heinemann Award...

  • Heavenly Things for medium voice and piano (2000)
  • The Road of Love for soprano and string quartet (2006)

Choral

  • Three Elegies for mixed chorus (1964)
  • Short Mass for mixed chorus (1965)
  • Farewell Earth's Bliss for 6 solo voices (1966)
  • Three Carols for mixed chorus (1967)
  • Two Hymns to Mary for mixed chorus (1967, 1969)
  • Think on Dredful Domesday for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra (1969)
  • And There was War in Heaven for boys (or soprano) chorus and organ (1970)
  • Five Alleluias for 6 solo voices (1970)
  • Golden Eternity for mixed chorus, harp and piano (1970)
  • Mai Hamama for 6 solo voices (1970)
  • A Prayer to the Trinity for mixed chorus (1972)
  • Sleep for 5 solo voices (1973)
  • The Fire of Heaven for triple chorus (1973)
  • Noche Oscura for 6 solo voices (1974)
  • Dos Coros for 12 solo voices (1975)
  • Requiem for soprano, countertenor (or mezzo-soprano), tenor, mixed chorus and orchestra (1976)
  • This World From for mixed chorus and organ (1979)
  • Veni Spiritus for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and orchestra (1979)
  • Laudate Dominum for mixed chorus and organ (1980)
  • Hymn to St. Thomas of Hereford for mixed chorus and orchestra (1981); alternalte version with organ and optional timpani
  • But Have Been Found Again for double mixed chorus (1983)
  • A God and Yet a Man for double mixed chorus (1984)
  • The Names of the Hare for mixed chorus (1985)
  • The Song of the Creatures for mixed chorus and organ (1987)
  • Prayer to St. Richard for mixed chorus (1989)
  • Songs of the Creation for mixed chorus and organ (1989)
  • Five Love Songs for mixed chorus (1992)
  • In a Dark Time for mixed chorus (1992)
  • The First World for mixed chorus (1992)
  • Christ's Love 4 Pieces to Middle English texts for mixed chorus (2000)
  • Magic Words, 6 Pieces to Inuitt texts for mixed chorus, percussion (played by chorus) (2000)
  • Alleluia Psallat for mixed chorus and orchestra (2002)
  • Te Deum for mixed chorus and organ (2002)
  • Three Mysteries for mixed chorus and chamber orchestra (2003)
  • Of Flowers and Emeralds Sheen, Anthem for mixed chorus (2004); poem by St. John of the Cross
    John of the Cross
    John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....

  • Becket Mass for mixed chorus and organ (2005)
  • Come Let Us Pity Death for mixed chorus, organ and trumpet (optional) (2005)
  • Death Be Not Proud for mixed chorus, organ and trumpet (optional) (2005)
  • Adam lay Ybounden
    Adam Lay Ybounden
    "Adam lay ybounden", originally titled Adam lay i-bowndyn is a 15th century macaronic English text of unknown authorship. The manuscript on which the poem is found, , is held by the British Library, who date the work to c.1400 and speculate that the lyrics may have belonged to a wandering minstrel;...

     for mixed chorus (2008)

Film scores

  • Monty Python's Life of Brian
    Monty Python's Life of Brian
    Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...

     (1979)
  • The Dogs of War
    The Dogs of War (film)
    The Dogs of War is a 1980 war film based upon the novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth, directed by John Irvin. It stars Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger as part of a small, international unit of mercenary soldiers privately hired to depose President Kimba of a fictional "Republic of...

     (1981)
  • Turtle Diary
    Turtle Diary
    Turtle Diary is a 1985 British drama about "people rediscovering the joys of life and love," based on a screenplay adapted by Harold Pinter from Russell Hoban's novel Turtle Diary, directed by John Irvin, and starring Glenda Jackson, Ben Kingsley, and Michael Gambon.-Synopsis:Two lonely Londoners -...

     (1985)

Television scores

  • The Letter (1969)
  • Treasure of Abbot Thomas
    A Ghost Story for Christmas
    A Ghost Story for Christmas is a strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One from 1971 to 1978, and later revived in 2005 on BBC Four. With one exception, the original instalments are directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and the films are all shot on 16 mm...

     (1974)
  • Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

    : Terror of the Zygons
    Terror of the Zygons
    Terror of the Zygons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 August to 20 September 1975...

     (1975)
  • Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

    : The Seeds of Doom
    The Seeds of Doom
    The Seeds of Doom is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 31 January to 6 March 1976...

     (1976)
  • As You Like It (1978)
  • Testament of Youth (1979)
  • Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré, featuring George Smiley. Smiley is a middle-aged, taciturn, perspicacious intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is recalled to hunt down a Soviet mole in the "Circus", the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence...

     (1979)
  • Brideshead Revisited
    Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)
    Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...

     (1981)
  • How Many Miles to Babylon? (1982)
  • Soft Targets (1982)
  • Bewitched (1985)
  • Bleak House
    Bleak House (1985 TV serial)
    Bleak House was the second adaptation by the BBC of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The novel was adapted by Arthur Hopcraft....

     (1985)
  • The Death of a Heart (1985)
  • The Happy Valley (1987)
  • Chronicles of Narnia
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Prince Caspian (1989)
The Silver Chair (1990)
  • Robin Hood (1991)
  • A Foreign Field (1993)
  • Martin Chuzzlewit
    Martin Chuzzlewit
    The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialized between 1843-1844. Dickens himself proclaimed Martin Chuzzlewit to be his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels...

     (1994)
  • Silent Witness
    Silent Witness
    Silent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...

     (1996); opening titles music, prominently featuring contralto
    Contralto
    Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...

     vocals, was composed by John Harle
    John Harle
    John Harle is an English saxophonist and composer.-Biography:John Harle - SaxophonistJohn Harle is one of the world’s leading saxophonists, and the most significant performer of the saxophone in the concert hall today...

  • Turning World (1996)
  • Cider with Rosie (1998)
  • When Trumpets Fade (1998)
  • Ghost Stories for Christmas (2000)
  • Longitude (2000)
  • The Forsyte Saga
    The Forsyte Saga
    The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...

    (2002–2003)
  • Island at War (2004)

Selected recordings


External links

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