John Purser (born 1942) is a Scottish composer, musicologist, and music historian. He is also a playwright.cover notes from ''Scotland's Music'' CD Purser was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. He initiated the reconstruction that commenced in 1991 of the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

Deskford Carnyx, producing a replica that was first played in 1993 by trombonist John Kenny. Purser's book ''Scotland's Music'', published in March 1992 (new edition October 2007), was a major reference work on musical history from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

to the present. It was followed by a thirty-programme radio series of the same title, written and presented by him, which was broadcast on

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

and totalled 45 hours, with recordings commissioned for the series including reconstructions of early music and works by many little-known composers. A double CD was subsequently produced with a small selection of the music. Purser's work has contributed to a revival of interest in such composers as

John Clerk of Penicuik John Clerk of Penicuik (1611–1674) was a Scottish merchant noted for maintaining a comprehensive archive of family papers, now held by the National Archives of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. Background Born in Montrose, he wa ...

and John Thomson. 'Consider the Story', a privately released disc of Purser's music, was released in 2021. It includes the song cycle ''Six Sea Songs'' (1966, setting words by the composer's father J W R Purser), the ''Kalavrita'' string quartet (1981), and the Sonata for Trombone and Piano (2001).'Consider the Story', reviewed at ''MusicWeb International''
/ref> Purser's plays include the radio play '' Carver'' about Robert Carver, the 16th-century Scottish composer of church music, which won a

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chos ...

. He also wrote ''Parrots and Owls'' about

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

and the O'Shea brothers.

Selected works

Stage

* ''The Undertaker'', Opera (1969) * ''The Bell'', Opera

Radio

* '' Carver'', BBC Radio 3 (31 March 1991) * ''The Secret Commonwealth'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

(14 December 1997)

Orchestral

* ''Intrada for Strings'' for string orchestra, Op. 17 (1966) * ''Clydefair Overture'' (1972) * ''Ane Gentill Chantecleir'' (1990) * ''Bannockburn'' * ''Epitaph'' * ''Variations on an Irish Folk-Tune'' for string orchestra

Concertante

* Concertino for piano and orchestra (1986) * Concerto for viola and string orchestra

Chamber music

* Sonata for flute and piano, Op. 11 (1964–1965) * ''Dances of Ilion'' for clarinet and piano, Op. 24 * ''Suite for Unaccompanied Violin'', Op. 29 * ''Three Studies'' for horn and piano (1976) * ''Carrier Strike'' for piccolo, trumpet and harpsichord (1977) * String Quartet ''Kalavrita'' (1981) * ''Prelude and Toccata'' for guitar (1985) * Sonata for cello and piano (1988) * Sonata for violin and piano (1989) * ''Skyelines I / II'' for tenor trombone and organ (1994) * ''Skyeline III'' for string quartet (1995) * ''Ave atque vale'' for trombone (1996) * ''Lament for a Chickadee'' for carillon (1998) * Sonata for Trombone and Piano (2002) * ''In Memory of Michael Miles'' for flute solo (2005) * ''Piobaireachd "Wai Taheke"'' for flute solo (2005) * ''Puna'' for

Taonga pūoro Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people of New Zealand. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms, dawning of the new day, communications with the gods ...

and bassoon (2005) * ''Silver Reflections'' for cello and piano (2013) * ''The Butterfly'' for flute, harp and organ

Keyboard

* ''Toccata'' for organ (1968, revised 2003) * ''Clavier Sonata'' for chamber organ (or piano) (1974) * ''Circus Suite for Nick'' for piano (1975)

Vocal

* ''Johnnie Faa'', Variation 6 for soprano, flute, cello and harp (1988) * ''The Seal of the City'' for soprano, tenor, bass, clarinet, trumpet, horn, percussion and organ (1996) * ''Ave Atque Vale'' for alto and baritone * ''Five Landscapes'' for voice and piano * ''Love My Lewd Pilot'' for soprano, baritone, flute and piano; words by Edmund Spenser (2002) * ''Lovely Molly'' for voice and piano * ''Six Sea Songs'' for tenor and piano (1966) * ''Throat'' for soprano,

carnyx The ancient carnyx was a wind instrument of the Iron Age Celts, used between c. 200 BC and c. AD 200. It was a type of bronze trumpet with an elongated S shape, held so that the long straight central portion was vertical and the short mouthpiec ...

and percussion

Choral

* ''Magnificat'' for mixed chorus a cappella (1964) * ''The Wren Boys'' for mixed chorus, 2 piccolos, string orchestra and organ (1983) * ''Epithalamion'' for mixed chorus a cappella (1984) * ''If All You Gave'' for mixed chorus a cappella * ''Nunc Dimittis'' for mixed chorus a cappella * ''Love in Season'' for mixed chorus a cappella * ''Simplon Pass'' for mixed chorus a cappella

References

External links

Scottish Music Center biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purser, John 1942 births Living people Scottish classical composers British male classical composers Scottish dramatists and playwrights Musicians from Glasgow People educated at Fettes College Opera in Scotland Scottish poets Scottish opera composers Male opera composers Scottish music historians