Jeffrey Lewis (composer)
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Lewis is a Welsh composer.
Lewis studied at the University of Wales, Cardiff; with György Ligeti
and Karlheinz Stockhausen
at Darmstadt
; with Bogusław Schaeffer in Krakow
and with Don Banks
in London
.
He taught at Leeds College of Music
(1969 - 72) and the University of Wales, Bangor (1973 - 1992).
Early performances included Fanfares with Variations and the Chamber Concerto with the BBC Welsh Orchestra under John Carewe, and, at the 1967 Cheltenham Festival
, his Two Cadenzas for piano and Epitaphium - Children of the Sun for narrator, chamber choir, piano, flute, clarinet and percussion. BBC
commissions include the orchestral works Mutations I (1969), Aurora (1973), Scenario (1975), Praeludium (1975), Memoria (1978) and Limina Lucis (1982). Other works include a Piano Concerto (1989), Duologue for violin and piano (1971), Scena for violin and piano (1988), Teneritas for flute and piano (1997), Sonante for clarinet and piano (1986 - for Thea King
), Cantus for clarinet and piano (1996), a Piano Trio (1983), a Wind Quintet (1986), several mixed ensemble pieces including Time-Passage (1977), Stratos (1979), Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise (1979) and Litania (1993), piano works including Tableau (1980), Fantasy (1983), Threnody (1990 - all for Jana Frenklova), Trilogy (1992), Musica Aeterna (1997) and Sereno (2004), organ works including Mutations II (1971), Momentum (1977) and Esultante (1977 - these last two for Gillian Weir
), Dreams, Dances and Lullabies for harp (1990), Silentia Noctis for high voice and piano (1989), and many choral works, notably Carmen Paschale (1981), Hymnus Ante Somnum (1985), Sequentia ad Sancte Michaele (1985), Westminster Mass (1990 - for Martin Neary
), Recordatio (1999) and a sequence of eleven Sacred Chants (2005).
Lewis's music is characterised by rhythmic energy and harmonic complexity alternating with extreme stillness; latterly his music has tended towards greater simplicity and tranquillity and it often appears to inhabit a twilight world of dreams. However, he has achieved this simplicity through a process of constant refinement of his compositional technique, rather than any rejection of his earlier complexity.
Ivan March in Gramophone magazine described a recent CD release of Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise, Litania and Musica Aeterna as “…a disc not to be missed by anyone who cares about communicative 20th-century music.” (July 2005)
Jones, David: Notes for CD ASC CS CD43 – Jeffrey Lewis: Threnody, Cantus, Teneritas, Sonante, Trilogy
Jones, David: Notes for CD CAMEO 2037 – Jeffrey Lewis: Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise, Litania, Musica Aeterna
Jones, David: “A glimpse of infinity: time and stillness in the music of Jeffrey Lewis” (The Musical Times Vol.145 No.1889 (Winter 2004), pp.65–74)
Tommis, Colin: “Y Gitar Gymreig – Jeffrey Lewis” (Guitar International, July 1989, pp 22 –27)
Lewis studied at the University of Wales, Cardiff; with György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
at Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
; with Bogusław Schaeffer in Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and with Don Banks
Don Banks
Donald Oscar Banks was an Australian composer of concert, jazz, and commercial music.He initially studied at the University of Melbourne, then moved to London where he studied with Mátyás Seiber...
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...
.
He taught at Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music, located in Leeds’ Quarry Hill cultural quarter, is the largest music college in the United Kingdom, with over 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time students. The college is best known for its leading role in jazz education and started one of the first jazz degrees in Europe...
(1969 - 72) and the University of Wales, Bangor (1973 - 1992).
Early performances included Fanfares with Variations and the Chamber Concerto with the BBC Welsh Orchestra under John Carewe, and, at the 1967 Cheltenham Festival
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
, his Two Cadenzas for piano and Epitaphium - Children of the Sun for narrator, chamber choir, piano, flute, clarinet and percussion. BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
commissions include the orchestral works Mutations I (1969), Aurora (1973), Scenario (1975), Praeludium (1975), Memoria (1978) and Limina Lucis (1982). Other works include a Piano Concerto (1989), Duologue for violin and piano (1971), Scena for violin and piano (1988), Teneritas for flute and piano (1997), Sonante for clarinet and piano (1986 - for Thea King
Thea King
Dame Thea King DBE FRCM FGSM was a British clarinettist.Thea King was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the daughter of Henry Walter Mayer King, the manager of a family engineering business, George. W. King Ltd., based in Hitchin then Stevenage, Hertfordshire, and his wife, Dorothea...
), Cantus for clarinet and piano (1996), a Piano Trio (1983), a Wind Quintet (1986), several mixed ensemble pieces including Time-Passage (1977), Stratos (1979), Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise (1979) and Litania (1993), piano works including Tableau (1980), Fantasy (1983), Threnody (1990 - all for Jana Frenklova), Trilogy (1992), Musica Aeterna (1997) and Sereno (2004), organ works including Mutations II (1971), Momentum (1977) and Esultante (1977 - these last two for Gillian Weir
Gillian Weir
Dame Gillian Constance Weir DBE is a New Zealand organist.-Biography:Gillian Weir was a co-winner of the Auckland Star Piano Competition at 19, playing Mozart. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London...
), Dreams, Dances and Lullabies for harp (1990), Silentia Noctis for high voice and piano (1989), and many choral works, notably Carmen Paschale (1981), Hymnus Ante Somnum (1985), Sequentia ad Sancte Michaele (1985), Westminster Mass (1990 - for Martin Neary
Martin Neary
Martin Neary LVO is an English organist and choral conductor. He was Organist and Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral from 1972 to 1988, and Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey from 1988 to 1998...
), Recordatio (1999) and a sequence of eleven Sacred Chants (2005).
Lewis's music is characterised by rhythmic energy and harmonic complexity alternating with extreme stillness; latterly his music has tended towards greater simplicity and tranquillity and it often appears to inhabit a twilight world of dreams. However, he has achieved this simplicity through a process of constant refinement of his compositional technique, rather than any rejection of his earlier complexity.
Ivan March in Gramophone magazine described a recent CD release of Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise, Litania and Musica Aeterna as “…a disc not to be missed by anyone who cares about communicative 20th-century music.” (July 2005)
Sources
Henshall, Dalwyn: “Memento Mori - An appreciation of Jeffrey Lewis’s recent orchestral music.” (Welsh Music, Vol 6 No 6, 1980 & Vol 6 No 7, 1981)Jones, David: Notes for CD ASC CS CD43 – Jeffrey Lewis: Threnody, Cantus, Teneritas, Sonante, Trilogy
Jones, David: Notes for CD CAMEO 2037 – Jeffrey Lewis: Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise, Litania, Musica Aeterna
Jones, David: “A glimpse of infinity: time and stillness in the music of Jeffrey Lewis” (The Musical Times Vol.145 No.1889 (Winter 2004), pp.65–74)
Tommis, Colin: “Y Gitar Gymreig – Jeffrey Lewis” (Guitar International, July 1989, pp 22 –27)