Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was born in Upper Norwood in 1895. He was educated at Dulwich College, and then at the outbreak of the First War he enlisted. He was taken prisoner in 1917, and in the prison camp he studied a harmony textbook in the library and began composing. He wrote for an orchestra of his fellow prisoners with assorted instruments.
After the war he studied journalism before turning to music. He took a correspondence course, gained an ARCM diploma and was accepted as a full-time student at the Royal College of Music in 1920.
At the end of his student course in 1924, Jacob became a teacher of music, briefly at Birkbeck and Morley Colleges, and then at the RCM, where he remained until his retirement in 1966. He was professor of music theory, composition and orchestration.
He wrote textbooks that reveal the extent and nature of his craftmanship. Orchestral Technique (London, 1931) was followed by How to Read a Score (London, 1944), The Composer and his Art (London, 1955) and The Elements of Orchestration (London, 1962). He undertook the editorship of the Penguin scores in 1948, and contributed to a number of works of reference and textbooks.
In the BBC TV documentary "Gordon Jacob" (directed by Kenneth Russell, 1959) the composer said: "I personally feel that the day that melody is discarded, you may as well pack up music altogether".
Jacob's Second Symphony, premiered on 1 May 1946 at a BBC studio recoding, was considered by one reviewer to be "perhaps the most stimulating work that has yet come from this composer". The reviewer remarked on the work's intensity of feeling, ranging from excitement in the first movement, through poignancy and fury in the two middle movements to a mood of heroism in the final passacaglia.
In 1968 Jacob was appointed CBE.
His most important productions:
Symphony no. 1, 1929
Symphony no. 2, 1944
Viola concerto no. 1, 1925
Concerto for piano and strings, 1927
Concerto for oboe and strings, 1933
Concerto for bassoon, strings and percussion, 1947
Concerto for horn and strings, 1951
Flute concerto, 1951
Concerto for violin and strings, 1954
Concerto for cello and strings, 1955
Trombone concerto, 1955
Oboe concerto no. 2, 1956
Piano concerto no. 2, 1957
Concerto for 3 hands on one piano with orchestra, 1969
Viola concerto no. 2, 1979
"Mini concerto" for clarinet and string Orchestra, 1980
Flute concerto no. 2, 1981
String quartet no. 1, C major, 1928
String quartet no. 2, 1931
Clarinet quintet, 1940
Piano quartet, 1969
and a great deal more.
After the war he studied journalism before turning to music. He took a correspondence course, gained an ARCM diploma and was accepted as a full-time student at the Royal College of Music in 1920.
At the end of his student course in 1924, Jacob became a teacher of music, briefly at Birkbeck and Morley Colleges, and then at the RCM, where he remained until his retirement in 1966. He was professor of music theory, composition and orchestration.
He wrote textbooks that reveal the extent and nature of his craftmanship. Orchestral Technique (London, 1931) was followed by How to Read a Score (London, 1944), The Composer and his Art (London, 1955) and The Elements of Orchestration (London, 1962). He undertook the editorship of the Penguin scores in 1948, and contributed to a number of works of reference and textbooks.
In the BBC TV documentary "Gordon Jacob" (directed by Kenneth Russell, 1959) the composer said: "I personally feel that the day that melody is discarded, you may as well pack up music altogether".
Jacob's Second Symphony, premiered on 1 May 1946 at a BBC studio recoding, was considered by one reviewer to be "perhaps the most stimulating work that has yet come from this composer". The reviewer remarked on the work's intensity of feeling, ranging from excitement in the first movement, through poignancy and fury in the two middle movements to a mood of heroism in the final passacaglia.
In 1968 Jacob was appointed CBE.
His most important productions:
Symphony no. 1, 1929
Symphony no. 2, 1944
Viola concerto no. 1, 1925
Concerto for piano and strings, 1927
Concerto for oboe and strings, 1933
Concerto for bassoon, strings and percussion, 1947
Concerto for horn and strings, 1951
Flute concerto, 1951
Concerto for violin and strings, 1954
Concerto for cello and strings, 1955
Trombone concerto, 1955
Oboe concerto no. 2, 1956
Piano concerto no. 2, 1957
Concerto for 3 hands on one piano with orchestra, 1969
Viola concerto no. 2, 1979
"Mini concerto" for clarinet and string Orchestra, 1980
Flute concerto no. 2, 1981
String quartet no. 1, C major, 1928
String quartet no. 2, 1931
Clarinet quintet, 1940
Piano quartet, 1969
and a great deal more.
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