Der Schweizer-Amerikaner Peter Croton unterrichtet Laute, Gitarrengeneralbass und Historische Aufführungspraxis an der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, sowie an den Hochschulen für Musik in Basel und Bern. Sein Repertoire umfasst Werke des 16. bis 21. Jahrhunderts, Eigenkompositionen, sowie "folk music" aus verschiedene Ländern. Peters musikalische Wurzeln in Folk und Jazz wurden durch eine profunde Ausbildung in Alter Musik am Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA) und an der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Schweiz) mit Eugen Dombois und Hopkinson Smith ergänzt. Unter seinen Auszeichnungen ragen der erste Preis beim internationalen Wettbewerb für Alte Musik 1984 („The Erwin Bodky Competition") in Boston, USA, und Preise beim internationalen Lautenwettbewerb „Guitar 84" in Toronto, Kanada und 1983 beim internationalen Wettbewerb „Concert Artists' Guild" in New York City heraus.

 

Seit 1984 hat er mehrere CD- und Rundfunkaufnahmen als Solist und Kammermusiker vorgelegt (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Virgin, Channel Classics, Guild, u.a.). Peter Croton gibt Konzerte in ganz Europa und den USA als Solist und im Ensemble. Er konzertierte mit Künstlern wie Theresia Bothe (www.bothecrotonduo.com), Derek Lee Ragin Andreas Scholl, Rene Jacobs, Susanne. Rydén, und Nigel Rogers. Auftritte an den folgenden internationalen Festivalen: Rheingau Musik Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Festspiele Europäische Wochen Passau, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Staufener Musikwoche, Innsbrucker Festwochen der alten Musik, Niedersächsische Musiktage, Mosel Festwochen, Kultursommer Nordhessen, Les Arts Jaillissants – Savoie, Festival des Cordes Sensibles, Early Music Vancouver, Early Music Guild Seattle u.a.

 

Peter Croton tritt auch als Komponist verschiedener Stilrichtungen in Erscheinung. Im Jahr 2001 wurden sechs seiner Werke von der Deutschen Lautengesellschaft veröffentlicht, und im 2009 wurden vier von seinen Lautenliedern mit Texten von William Shakespeare herausgegeben (Tree Edition). Er ist Autor des Lehrbuches "Generalbass auf der klassischen Gitarre - ein praktischer Lehrgang nach historischen Prinzipien", neulich beim Amadeus Verlag erschienen.

 

 

                                   Peter Croton: Pressestimmen (Konzerte)

 

"Peter Croton demonstrated effortless technical command and a high degree of refinement."

   The Boston Globe

 

"Lyrisch und virtuos... Erstaunlich die breite Farbskala und die dynamischen Abstufungen. Erstaunlich auch der Abwechslungsreichtum zwischen lyrischer Intimität und

extravertierte, anspruchsvollster Virtuosität."

   Nürnberger Nachrichten

 

"Sensible seine Begleitung, prickelnd extravagant seine Solostücke, vor allem die hoch virtuosen Toccaten des Alessandro Piccinini."

   Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin)

"Mit Toccaten von Girolamo Kapsperger und Alesandro Piccinini outet sich Croton als Lyriker der Laute."

    Saale-Zeitung (Festival Bad Kissingen)

"Croton demonstrierte hohes virtuoses Können und ein ausgeprägten Sinn für spannungsreiches, dramatisches Spiel."

   Badische Zeitung (Freiburg in Breisgau)

 

"Honniggoldene Lautenklänge... Sanft, wie feinst Spinnweben erklangen dessen Motive unter Crotons Händen... "

   Basellandschaftliche Zeitung

As well as providing Ragin with sensitive accompaniment, Croton demonstrated consummate musicianship as soloist, composer, and arranger."

   The Georgia Straight (Vancouver, B.C.)

 

"Sein (Derek Lee Ragin) Begleiter war der ebenso renommierte Peter Croton, der auf der Laute eine feine, fast orchestrale Palette entfaltete. Croton spielte ausdrucksstark, sehr variantenreich und in feinster Geläufigkeit."

   Main-Echo (Würzburg)

 

                                                Pressestimmen (CDs)

 

 Bach on the Italian Lute

"Bach zum Geniessen

...Mit verblüfendem Ergebnis: Es stellte sich heraus, dass die Musik von Bach ganz gut zur italienischen Laute passt... Wie wunderschön Bachs Lautensuiten auf der italienischen Laute klingen können, demonstriet die vorliegende Einspielung, die vom ersten bis zum letztn Stück ein exklusives Hörerlebnis ist... Die wohl  schwermütigste Musik von Bach - die Lautensuite in g-Moll BWV 995 - wirkt dank des subtilen und transparenten Spiels von Croton überhaupt nicht bedrückend, sondern äusserst anregend: zum Nachdenken, zum Innehalten, zum konzentrierten Zuhören. Das Präludium aus der Cello-Suite Nr. 1 BWV 1007, die Croton für die italienische Laute neu bearbeitet hat, markiert den Übergang zu einer helleren, extrovertierteren Stimmung, die Croton durch seine elegante und ansprechende Musizierart zwar hervorhebt, aber nie übertreibt. Und in den Tanzsätzen nutzt er die ganze Palette dynamisher Möglichketen, die der Liuto attiorbato bietet um der abwechslungsreichen Bach'schen Tonsprache gerecht zu werden. Am Ende der Einspielung steht ein Arrangement von "Bist du bei mir" aus dem Clavier-Büchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach... es bildet einen passenden Abschluss dieses Programms, in dem Peter Crotons überaus feine und gesangliche Spielart ganz besonders gut zum Ausdruck kommt"

   CONCERTO - Das Magazin für Alte Musik Juni/Julu 2009

"Croton's performances are superb. Not only does he play very cleanly, with very few loud finger squeaks or mis-struck notes, but his solid, round tone and measured, unrushed manner allow the instrument's dark, sonorities to saturate Bach's harmonies."

   International record review

“Modern lutenists have for years been faced with the challenges of adapting Bach’s lute suites for the German baroque lute. On this album, the excellent Peter Croton sheds new light on these works by presenting them on an Italian Lute, an instrument also used in Germany during Bach’s lifetime. The selected works are performed without modification and in the original keys. This is a recording of intimate timbres and subtle expression, evoking the Lautenwerk, a keyboard instrument for which J.S. Bach apparently composed these works. In addition to performing three original lute works, Peter Croton has transcribed Bach’s delightful first cello suite for the Italian lute. The CD closes with his arrangement of Bist du bei mir, one of the most beautiful and popular songs of the Baroque era. These are intelligent, sensitive and lyrical performances of some of the most challenging and expressive music ever written for the lute. The beautifully recorded pieces are wonderfully calming and prove beyond doubt that ‘Bach teaches us how to be pious’.”

   www.new-classics.co.uk

 

Seine Haltung betont das sprechende, rhetorische Musizieren und die Anwendung des

richtigen Affektes auf die Tanzsätze und resultiert in einer sehr warmen, lebendigen

Interpretation, die der Musik oft erstaunlich viel Raum zum Atmen erlaubt, einen Tanz

aber auch in federnde Bewegung setzen kann. Das Resultat ist eine ausserordentlich

differenzierte Einspielung, die das ungestörte, konzentrierte Zuhören zu einem

Vergnügung macht.

   Deutsche Lautengesellschaft, Lauten-Info 1/2009

 

"Goal of this innovative CD: to play Bach on the archlute … The overall result is that Bach’s music sounds particularly easy and comfortable in the original keys… the Suite BWV 997  is tranquil, the resonances of the long bass strings permitting moderate tempi and therefore a good understanding of the compositional structures. The Suite BWV 995 in g-minor (especially the Prelude) sounds even better, being rich in noble harmonies and solemn cadences. The très viste sounds clear, and the dances flow naturally, with good spirit, good rhythmical sense, and particularly well-realized and well-integrated ornaments. The Suite BWV 1007 for cello (arranged by Peter) reconciles us with the single strings because they approximate more closely the deep and compact sonority of the original instrument. The interpretation is very lively (Courante, Menuets) and even more fluid and less heroic than on the cello! The disc concludes with “Bist du bei mir” from the Anna Magdalena Bach Book, a beautiful song of popular origin, arranged here with majestic arpeggios which become more and more luminous. Bravo to Peter Croton for this innovative and pleasing CD!

   The French Lute Society, March 2009

 

“…Peter Croton's Bach on the Italian lute, which greatly pleases the ears even if it may ruffle the feathers of the purists. Here he gives enjoyable performances of three pieces (BWV995, 997 and 999) of the seven Bach works directed or arranged for lute in the composer's lifetime, plus Croton's own arrangements of the Cello Suite BWV1007 and of the lovely ‘Bist du bei mir’. He records in a wood-panelled room, much more authentic than the churches so often used for what is, after all, secular chamber music… The sound is indeed wonderfully clear, sweet and direct“

   Early Music Magazine, July 2010

“Musically the performances work very well… very liquid phrasing with a minimum of noise. Croton writes that his early background as a folk and jazz guitarist enabled him to understand the rhetorical modes of Baroque music, and indeed his performances have a uniquely expressive, rhythmically flexible quality… It's not a question of direct jazz influence, but of an effort to embody a mood and communicate it to a listener. The sound is another strong point. Grasping the point, seemingly elusive for so many musicians, that pieces of this kind would have been performed in a small "chamber" with likely wooden walls, not in a church, Croton chooses a wood-paneled room in a Basel studio and creates an intimate sound environment that perfectly complements his performances…”

   All Music Guide, James Manheim

 

Croton is good, clearly enjoying and understanding the music… The Guild recording is good, catching the darker tones of Croton’s instrument very well… The inclusion of a transcription of Bist du bei mir as the short closing item is a real bonus. It’s well played and correctly attributed to Heinrich Stölzel. I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with the purchase of this Guild recording; I’ve enjoyed hearing it.

   musicweb-international

Remembrance of Things Past

    Toccata, July-August 2010

“…Croton is a creative musician who wishes to recapture the improvisational and inventive nature of the early lutenists. The result, quite different from many of Croton's contemporaries, is that Dowland's music is presented as living and malleable, inspiring transformation as well as new compositions…
   The CD opens with the Preludium by John Dowland followed by two settings of Shakespeare by Croton. The lute writing is sparse but idiomatic, with very strong melodic lines which linger in the head; they are often reminiscent of Stephen Sondheim. My favourite is the setting of ‘While you hear do snoring lie”, which has a memorable lute part.     
   Theresia Bothe’s voice is very individual. Her expressiveness comes from the emphasis and colouring of certain words and the breaking of phrases, rather than ornamenting or varying the music according to historical practise. This approach probably reflects her interest and experiences with the more popular forms of music. She sings in tune and her diction is generally good.
   Croton approaches Dowland’s songs in different ways. First, he offers them in the usual manner, i.e. as a song with the lute part as written, but often he presents settings of the songs in versions for solo lute before the song begins (‘Say Love if ever thou did’st find’). Also, in the middle of a song he will often give the repeat sections to the lute (‘Sleep wayward thoughts’). Listen also for the nice variations that he makes in some songs when accompanying the voice (‘Now, O now’). Hearing all this new material created by Croton is like discovering new works by Dowland, such is his sense of style and his ability to emulate Dowland’s melodic gift. Croton’s tone on the lute is good, his phrasing elegant and there is much variety of articulation.
   The last section of the CD contains three more songs composed by Croton; the songs this time are for two voices. Bothe is joined by Derek Lee Ragin. These songs are more adventurous, but still very idiomatic for both voice and lute. I particularly like the setting of the poet Rumi, where the lute has very oud-like flavour. The CD ends with a new duo setting of ‘Now, O now’. You might consider Croton to be a brave man in attempting to set such well-known words, but for me, within a few moments of listening I had forgotten the original and was captivated by this version.    If you are looking for a fresh approach to traditional material, for new ways in programming, then try this CD, it is full of surprises!”
   The Lute Society (England) , Lute News, April 2010

"American lutenist Peter Croton, now living in Switzerland, decided to add some of his own new songs to the Dowland tradition, and the clear and supple voice of Canadian soprano Bothe does justice to it all. Warmly intimate recorded sound."
   Minnesota Public Radio, New Releases

"A recording of voice and lute beginning with a lute prelude, as if to start off an evening among music lovers, or a concert…what a wonderful idea! In the Preludium by Dowland, Peter’s sound is pleasing, the phrasing free and varied; he makes the most of the lute, as he does throughout the entire recording, in which there are plenty of, introductions, arrangements and interludes. The following piece (Remembrance) begins in the same style, with a classic, fantasia-like theme - but soon a number of dissonances appear….we find ourselves in the twenty-first century! Then the voice enters, with a skipping melody but sung quite smoothly, accompanied by some delicate notes from the lute (few chords, but quite skillful imitations); the piece is well-constructed with lovely contrasts. In another work by Peter Croton, also based on a text by Shakespeare, the lute introduces a diatonic theme consisting of descending slurred notes, while the voice, exploring its entire range, approaches Sprechgesang to finish with the cry “awake!” A dozen Dowland songs follow, several “hits” (Flow my tears, Now O now I need must part, Come heavy sleep, Come again – however with the words All the day…), but also some sublime “ayres” as well, such as Go crystal tears or  Sorrow stay. The originality of this recording lies in the numerous and convincing arrangements of these songs which Peter has created for solo lute, and uses as preludes, ritornellos between verses or postludes.  He accompanies effectively, the bass nicely present and well articulated, while the voice, though perhaps not quite dark enough in the tragic pieces, is light, clear and natural in the lively ones. The last three pieces, by Peter Croton, are dialogues for two voices and lute. The first piece is particularly interesting because of the fine interaction among the three musicians (harmonious lute arpeggios, voices imitating each other and in parallel movement). The second piece, based on a poem by Rumi (a mystical Sufi poet of the thirteenth century) sounds vividly oriental, full of ornamentation, with music which truly does justice to the text. As for the third piece: surprise! Croton preserves the words and rhythms of Now O now I need must part, but composes it for two voices, with an original melody, accompanied by arpeggios…a mischievous wink to round off this highly original recording which gently introduces lutenists to contemporary music. "
   The French Lute Society , Le Joueur de Luth, March 2010
(original in French)


"'This is an unusual offering, and it’s very far from a conventional single disc survey of Dowland’s music, either for lute or voice. Instead it offers re-creationist possibilities and a more curious interplay between his music and that of the performer-composer Peter Croton who has been inspired by it. He has arranged a number of Dowland’s songs for lute, Croton’s own instrument, and there are several of his own compositions as well. Croton is a fine lutenist, with an acute ear for colour, and he possesses a strong technique… What gives this project even greater resonance is the chosen singer, Theresia Bothe. Her voice continues the theme of cross-current enshrined in the disc; it embodies elements of classical purity in places but also has a decided folk influence more commonly to be found among the Waterson and Wainwright clans. This is deliberate of course, the better to inflect these arrangements with a sense of intimacy, though whether it actually succeeds in transmuting – or limiting – the original source material from the Books of Songs is very much a matter of taste… Croton’s own compositions occupy an equally modern ground, one akin to music theatre, which is how Bothe delivers Remembrance of things past. For the three remaining songs Derek Lee Ragin joins Croton… Do I detect however, in Croton’s writing and playing, hints of the oud in the exotic Rumi setting, giving it an even greater sense of place? So this is a somewhat out of the way disc, pursuing a very individual slant on Dowland, and succeeding more often than not."
   Musicweb International
    

Italian lute songs

"...tantalizingly programmed and brilliantly executed."

   Classic CD

 

Die Renaissancelaute - gestern und heute

"Peter Croton beschränkt den Ausdrucksradius seines Instrumentes nicht auf zurückgenommene Dezenz.  Bei ihm klingen die Fantasien des Francesco da Milano ungemein frisch und lebendig, geraten die Stücke John Dowlands zu Musterbeispielen ideenreicher und geschmackvoll differenzierter Gestaltung."

   FonoForum

 

Music with her Silver Sound

"The one common feature is Croton's excellent lute playing...he makes the most elaborate passages sound effortless"

   Lute News (The Lute Society, London)

 

 "Croton displayed his mastery of the lute with some very agile finger work and excellent projection of the themes in the contrapuntal sections, bringing out the interplay of the melodic lines with clarity."

   The Recorder Magazine

 

I'll Sing a Song For You

"Irish-Canadian vocalist Theresia Bothe grew up in Mexico. Guitarist/vocalist Peter Croton is a U.S. native who was trained at the Oberlin Conservatory, and has won awards all over North America during his travels. Both live in Switzerland, and while all of these facts may account for the folk/pop/jazz mix you hear on this recording, it does not tell the complete story. While heavier on the folk/pop component, there's a sweetness and light to the original material heard throughout. Bothe is distinctively Irish in her vocal style, rolling r's and brandishing the clipped, bold and bright bonnie tones associated with Celtic singing. Croton is similar to Gordon Lightfoot vocally, while on the guitar his approach is fairly basic within the folk tradition, though at times it's clear he's heard his share of the mellower side of Kenny Burrell. The most surprising ideas, though much less traditionally mainstream jazz than one might think, are the tributes to Langston Hughes and Billie Holiday. The duo play an homage to the legendary poet "On The Death Of Langston Hughes," while the sad "Song For Billie Holiday" is in 3/4 time. A New Orleans shuffle in a quartet setting shows the best improvisation and swing during "Life Is Fine" as sung by Croton, Bothe's feature on the lullaby "Song To A Sleeping Child" is the most tender tune of the date, and during the rock oriented song of departure "You're Running Away Again," both sing in harmony. The remainder of the program leans to folk, especially Croton's impressive acoustic guitar finger style triplet forms on "Land Of Dreams" with a more ethereal Bothe, while "Just Another Shoulder To Lean On" markedly molds the swing and pop shells into a unified whole. "

  All Music Guide, Michael G. Nastos

 

"Bothe sings from her heart with a strong rich voice that will excite folk music lovers as they expand their envelope. Our favorite was "Another day in life with you" with a cool guitar intro by Peter."

  O’s Place Jazz Newsletter, D. Oscar Groomes

 

"This band creates a unique blend of folk pop and jazz. Bothe and Croton's music is formed from the stylings of Billy Holiday and Kenny Burrell. The voice of Theresia Bothe is a bit like Judie Collins and Joan Baez, so that definitely fits with the theme of folk jazz.

 

There also seems to be a dose of poetry-laced lyrics infused in some of these songs. "On the death of Langston Hughes" has a slow melodic sound that is more folk than jazz, but incorporates both styles. "Song for Billie Holiday" has impressive guitar accompaniment with strong lyrics. The chordings chosen by Croton fit this song to a tee. A subtle echo effect lends merit to this track. The guitar tone is good and a slight tremolo sound is present. "I'll Sing a Song for You" has an intro with jazz chords. It moves into a faster ballad sung by Bothe and has cool jazz drumming and upright bass on the track.

 

The CD "I'll Sing a Song for You" has impressive vocals and jazz guitar playing, which will make it appeal to fans of folk-laden jazz."

  Metro Spirit, Rich McCracken II

 

"Two talented pros travel the singer/songwriter route, with a little genre splicing for flavor, and deliver a nice set of originals that goes down well and never comes across as over reaching.  Tackling life’s big questions in song, this is the kind of under the radar, neo-folk that gives you the easy kind of music you can kick back with but isn’t fluff."

  MIDWEST RECORD, Chris Spector

 

"I really like Croton's guitar work, very much in the tradition of many jazz guitarists throughout the years."

  The Run-Off Groove,  John Book