(b. 9 May 1939, Toronto, Ontario).
Canadian composer of mostly orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works that have been performed in Europe and North America.
Prof. Mather began private studies in piano at age six and private studies in composition at age seven. He studied composition with John Beckwith, Oskar Morawetz and Godfrey Ridout and piano with Alberto Guerrero at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he received his BMus in 1959. He attended a course in composition with Roy Harris in Toronto in 1955, attended the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado in 1957–58, where he studied piano with Alexander Uninsky, and studied analysis with Olivier Messiaen, composition with Darius Milhaud, counterpoint and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade, and piano with Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris from 1959–62, on a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He studied composition with Leland Smith at Stanford University from 1962–64 and there earned his MA, then studied composition with John Weinzweig at the University of Toronto, where he earned his DMus in 1967.
Among his honours are the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music from the Canada Council for the Arts (1979, for Musique pour Champigny; 1993, for Yquem) and the Prix Serge-Garant from the Fondation Émile-Nelligan in Montréal (2000, for his œuvre). In addition, his music has represented Canada three times at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (1965, for Symphonic Ode; 1969, for Madrigal II; 1971, for Sonata [2 pianos]).
He is also active in other positions. As a pianist, he has performed contemporary music, often in collaboration with his wife, the pianist Pierrette LePage. As a writer, he has contributed articles and essays to numerous publications, including The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
He taught analysis, composition and harmony at McGill University in Montréal from 1966–2001.
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS
STAGE:
La Princesse blanche (opéra de chambre en 5 scènes, libretto by Renald Tremblay, after Rainer Maria Rilke), 2 sopranos, baritone, bass, small orchestra (16 players), 1993
ORCHESTRAL:
Concerto, piano, small orchestra (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, violins, violas, cellos), 1958
Elegy, alto saxophone, string orchestra, 1959 (also version for alto saxophone, piano)
Symphonic Ode, 1964
Orchestral Piece 1967, large orchestra (17 winds, 11 brass, harp, mandolin, piano, timpani, 4 percussion, strings), 1966–67, revised 1969
Ombres, 1967
Music for Vancouver, small orchestra (French horn, trumpet, harp, percussion/2 percussion, strings), 1969
Musique pour Rouen, 12 strings, 1971
Musigny, large orchestra (11 winds, 11 brass, 2 harps, piano, 4 percussion, 60 strings), 1980
Scherzo, 1987 (also version for small orchestra [2 flutes (both + piccolo), oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, piano, percussion, 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass], 1988)
Dialogue pour Trio Basso et Orchestre, viola, cello, double bass, orchestra (8 winds, 9 brass, 3 percussion, violins), 1988
Tallbrem Variations, marimba, 4 percussion, orchestra, 1994
Quarts-de-Chaume, string orchestra, 1998
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Sonata, violin, piano, 1957
Elegy, alto saxophone, piano, 1959 (version of work for alto saxophone, string orchestra)
Étude pour clarinette seule, clarinet, 1962
Mandola, mandolin, piano, 1972
Music for Organ, Horn and Gongs, French horn, organ, gongs (1 player), 1973
Eine Kleine Bläsermusik, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1975
Barolo, cello, fixed media, 1977
Clos de Vougeot, 4 percussion, 1977
Ausone: Version A, flute, 1979 (also versions as Ausone: Version B, flute, 2 harps, 1979; Ausone: Version C, flute, ensemble [2 harps, 2 guitars, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos], 1979)
Coulée de Serrant, harp, piano, 1980
Sassicaia, clarinet, piano, 1981
Gattinara, viola, percussion, 1982
Elegy, flute (+ alto flute), cello, piano, percussion, 1983
Barbaresco, viola, cello, double bass, 1984
Clos d'Audignac, marimba, 3 percussion, 1984
Señorío de Sarria, 2 guitars (2nd tuned a quarter-tone lower), 1985
Vouvray, oboe, harp, 1986
Viola Duet, 2 violas, 1987
Vega Sicilia (concerto), guitar, ensemble (harp, viola, cello, marimba), 1989
Aux Victimes de la guerre de Vendée (1793), French horn, 2 pianos, synthesizer, fixed media, 1990
Yquem, 4 pianos, 4 Ondes Martenot, 1991
Romance, bassoon, synthesizer, 1992
Standing Wave, clarinet, cello, piano, percussion, 1994
Advanced Harmony, winds, brass, 1995
Quintette pour clarinette et cordes, clarinet, string quartet, 1995
Duo basso, bass flute, bass oboe, 1996
Quatre Études, cimbalom, marimba, 1996
Tempranillo, guitar (tuned in sixths of tones), 1997
Hoya de Cadenas, alto flute, guitar (tuned in fourths of tones), 1997
Doisy Daëne, flute, piano, 1997
Quinta da Camarate, guitar (tuned in twelfths of tones), 1998
Violin Duet, 2 violins, 1998
Bourgueil, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1999
Quintette pour saxophones et piano, 4 saxophones, piano, 1999
Sancerre, harp, harpsichord, 1999
Four Études, 6 percussion, 2001
In memoriam Bengt Hambraeus, theorbo, 2001
Trio, violin, cello, piano, 2002
Deux Pièces pour Ondes Martenot et piano en seizièmes de ton, piano (tuned in sixteenths of tones), Ondes Martenot, 2004
65 Takte für Robert Aitken, 2 flutes, 2004
Music for San Francisco, cello, ensemble (oboe, French horn, harp [3 strings tuned a quarter-tone lower], violin, viola, piano), 2005
For Amie Watson, vibraphone, tubular bells, 13 cowbells (1 player), 2006
CHORAL:
Lament for Pasiphaë (text by Robert Graves), soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra (10 brass, harp, piano, celesta, percussion, strings), 1962
Counting the Beats (text by Robert Graves), soprano, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra (10 brass, harp, piano, celesta, percussion, strings), 1962
La Lune mince... (text by Paul Valéry), mixed chorus, 1965
Two Stanford Songs (text by Frank Stanford), 6 mixed voices, 1988
VOCAL:
Two Songs (text by Thomas Hardy), bass-baritone, orchestra, 1956
Venice (text by George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron), soprano, clarinet, cello, piano, 1957
Lost Love (text by Robert Graves), soprano, string orchestra, 1958
The Finding of Love (text by Robert Graves), soprano, string orchestra, 1958
Cycle Rilke (text by Rainer Maria Rilke), tenor, guitar, 1959
The Song of Blodeuwedd (text by Robert Graves), baritone, small orchestra (harp, piano, timpani, percussion, strings), 1961
Sick Love (text by Robert Graves), soprano, orchestra, 1961
Orphée (text by Paul Valéry), soprano, piano, percussion, 1963
Madrigal I (text by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau), soprano, alto, flute, harp, mandolin, violin, cello, 1967
Madrigal II (text by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau), soprano, alto, flute, harp, violin, viola, cello, 1968
Madrigal III (text by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau), alto, harp, piano, marimba, 1971
Madrigal IV (text by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau), soprano, flute, piano, fixed media, 1972
Madrigal V (musique passéiste, text by Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau), soprano, alto, flute (+ piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets (both + bass clarinet), French horn, trumpet, harp, mandolin, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano, electronic organ, 2 percussion, 1973, revised 1980
Au Château de Pompairain (vocalise), mezzo-soprano, orchestra, 1976
Musique pour Champigny (vocalise), soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, clarinet, French horn, harp, piano, percussion, 1976
Les Grandes Fontaines (text by Anne Hébert), soprano, piano, 1981
Un Cri qui durerait la mer (song-cycle, text by Marie-France Rose), bass-baritone, piano, 1985
Travaux de nuit (text by Marie-France Rose), bass-baritone, piano, 1990 (also version for bass-baritone, orchestra [5 winds, French horn, trumpet, piano (+ synthesizer), percussion, strings], 1990)
Des Laines de Lumière (text by Gatien Lapointe), bass-baritone, 2 pianos (both tuned in fourths of tones), 1996
La Voix de l'Oiseau (text by Anne Hébert), coloratura soprano, piano, 1998
Trois Poèmes de Gatien Lapointe (text by Gatien Lapointe), low voice, piano, 1998
Onze Poèmes pour la main gauche (song-cycle, text by Anne Hébert), coloratura soprano, piano, 2000
PIANO:
Smaragdin, 1960
Like Snow, 1960
Mystras, 1962
Fantasy, 1964, revised 1967
Sonata, 2 pianos, 1969–70
In memoriam Alexander Uninsky, 1974
Régime 11, Type A, 2 pianos (2nd tuned a quarter-tone lower), 1978
Poème du délire, 3 pianos (all tuned in sixteenths of tones), 1982
Hommage à Carrillo, piano (tuned in sixteenths of tones), 1996
D'Après un cri, 1996
Régime 17, piano (tuned in thirds of tones), 1997
Huit Études pour piano en seizièmes de tons, piano (tuned in sixteenths of tones), 2000
In memoriam Gordon Sheppard, piano (tuned in sixteenths of tones), 2 pianos (2nd tuned a quarter-tone lower), 2006
ORGAN:
Six Études pour orgue, 1982
Étude Nos. 7–8, 1993
Ardennes, 2002
Cinq Pièces faciles, organ 4 hands, 2002
HARPSICHORD:
Saumur, harpsichord (tuned in fourths of tones), 1990