|
|
Schafer, R. Murray (b. July 18, 1933, Sarnia, Ontario). Canadian composer of interdisciplinary works that have been performed throughout the world; he is also active as a writer.
Mr. Schafer initially studied harpsichord, music theory and piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto from 1945-55. He then briefly studied composition with John Weinzweig, harpsichord with Greta Kraus and piano with Alberto Guerrero at the University of Toronto in 1954-55, but was soon expelled, although he obtained a piano degree from the Royal College of Music in London while still in Canada. He later taught himself journalism, languages, literature, music, and philosophy in Vienna and London from 1956-61, on a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. He has received six honorary doctorates from universities in Argentina, Canada and France.
His honors include the Fromm Foundation Award (1972), the Canadian Music Council Medal (1972), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1974), the William Harold Moon Award (1974), the Composer of the Year Award from the Canadian Music Council (1976), the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music (1977, for String Quartet No. 2, 'Waves'). He has also received the Prix Honegger (1980, for String Quartet No. 1; the only North American so honored), the Glenn Gould Prize for Music and Its Communication (1987), the Canadian Council Molson Prize (1993), and the Louis Applebaum Composer's Award (1999, for his entire oeuvre). Most recently, he received the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the Canada Council for the Arts (2005, for his entire oeuvre).
As a writer, he has contributed articles to many publications and edited the collection Ezra Pound and Music (1977). He has also written the books British Composers in Interview (1963), The Composer in the Classroom (1965), Ear Cleaning (1967), The New Soundscape (1969), E.T.A. Hoffmann and Music (1975), and The Tuning of the World (1977). His other books include Voices of Tyranny: Temples of Silence, A Sound Education, The Thinking Ear: On Music Education, The Book of Noise, Patria and the Theatre of Confluence, On Canadian Music, and Music in the Cold. Among his other writings are the story Wolf Tracks, the novels Dicamus et Labyrinthos and Ariadne and the calligraphic stories The Chaldean Inscription and The Sixteen Scribes.
Mr. Schafer is also active in other positions. He founded the series Ten Centuries Concerts in Toronto in 1962 and served as its director in 1962-63. He pioneered research in the field of acoustic ecology in 1972, on a grant from the Donner Foundation, and has since remained active as a researcher, notably with the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (formerly the World Soundscape Project). He later co-founded with Diana Smith, Jerrard Smith and Thom Sokoloski the company Patria Music/Theatre Projects in 1987, for the production of works in his cycle Patria.
He taught as artist-in-residence at Memorial University in Newfoundland from 1963-65 and taught at Simon Fraser University from 1965-75, where he also founded its Studio for Sonic Research and Electronic Music.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Street address: Mr. R. Murray Schafer, RR 2, Indian River, ON K0L 2B0, Canada
Telephone: 705 652 0446
Website (Patria Music/Theatre Projects): http://www.patria.org/
COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS (note that it is difficult to precisely categorize his music; even works not listed in the stage category are often inherently theatrical)
STAGE: Loving (music theatre work, text by the composer), 4 female voices, 2 actors, harp, guitar (+ electric guitar, banjo), mandolin, string quartet, double bass, piano (+ harpsichord, celesta), accordion, 6 percussion, tape, 1963-66; Patria 2: Requiems for the Party Girl (theatre piece, text by the composer), mezzo-soprano, child actress, 12 actors, dancer, 12-32 mixed voices, flute (+ alto flute, piccolo), clarinet (+ bass clarinet), French horn, harp, violin, viola, cello, piano, percussion, tape, 1966-72; Patria 1: Wolfman (formerly The Characteristics Man) (theatre piece, text by the composer), mezzo-soprano, child actress, 31 actors, mime, 32 mixed voices, small orchestra (24 players), tape, 1966-74, revised 1975; Apocalypsis Part 2: Credo (music theatre work, text by Giordano Bruno, adapted by the composer), 12 mixed choruses, strings ad libitum, synthesizer/tape, 1976; Apocalypsis Part 1: John's Vision (music theatre work, text from the Book of Revelation), sound poets, voices, mimes, dancers, choruses, winds, organ, percussion, tape, 1977; Jonah (music drama, text from the Bible), actors, children's chorus, mixed chorus, flute, clarinet, organ, percussion, 1978-79; Patria 6: Ra (theatre piece, text from the Egyptian Book of the Dead), c. 25 voices, actors, dancers, male chorus, harp, 'ud, qanun (zither), violin, darabukka (Arab drum), percussion, tape, 1979-80 (one section may be performed separately as a concert work: The Two Sisters Duet)
STAGE: Patria: The Prologue – The Princess of the Stars (theatre piece, text by the composer), soprano, 4 sound poet-actors, 6 dancers, 2 mixed choruses, flute, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, 4 percussion, 1981, revised 1984 (also concert version of one section as Sun); Patria 5: The Crown of Ariadne (theatre piece, text by the composer), actors, dancers, mixed chorus, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, 2 trombones, tuba, harp, string quartet, accordion, 4-6 percussion (specially-made instruments [wood, metal]), 1979-82, revised 1995 (one section may be performed separately as a concert work: The Crown of Ariadne); Patria 3: The Greatest Show (theatre piece, text by the composer), actors, dancers, carnival personnel, mixed chorus (c. 150 voices), ensemble, 1977-87 (three sections may be performed separately as stage works: La Testa d'Adriane [text by the composer], soprano, speaker, accordion, 1978; Beauty and the Beast [opera, libretto by the composer, after Madame Le Prince de Beaumont], mezzo-soprano [with masks], string quartet, 1979; Wizard Oil and Indian Sagwa [text by the composer], speaker, clarinet, 1980; one section may be performed separately as a concert work: Buskers [Rounds]); Patria 4: The Black Theatre of Hermes Trismegistos (theatre piece, text by the composer), 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, countertenor, treble voice, tenor, bass, 11 actors, dancers, small mixed chorus, mixed chorus, 12 players, 1988-89
STAGE: Patria 9: The Enchanted Forest (theatre piece, text by the composer), actors, dancers, children's chorus, ensemble, 1993-94 (one section may be performed separately as a concert work: Three Songs from 'The Enchanted Forest'); Patria: The Epilogue – And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon (theatre piece, text by the composer), 1992-95 (one section may be performed separately as a stage work: Wolf Music, soprano, male speaker, flute, clarinet, Alphorn [+ tuba], trumpet [+ cornet], trombone; one section may be performed separately as a concert work: Aubade for Two Voices); Patria 10: The Spirit Garden (theatre piece, text by the composer), 16 actors-voices, children's chorus, boys' chorus, 3 mixed choruses, small orchestra, 1996-97 (one section may be performed separately as a concert work: Two Songs from 'The Spirit Garden'); Patria 8: The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix (theatre piece, text by the composer), 6 actor-voices, children's chorus, flute, clarinet, pipa (+ zheng [Chinese zither]), erhu, violin, viola, 2 percussion, 1999-2000
ORCHESTRAL: In memoriam Alberto Guerrero, string orchestra, 1959; Partita, string orchestra, 1960; Canzoni for Prisoners, 1961-62; Untitled Composition No. 1, small orchestra (4 winds, French horn, trumpet, trombone, celesta, strings), 1963; Untitled Composition No. 2, large orchestra, 1963; Statement in Blue, youth orchestra (winds, brass, piano, percussion, strings), 1964; Son of Heldenleben, large orchestra, tape, 1968; East, small orchestra, 1972; ...No longer than ten minutes, 1972; North/White, large orchestra, 1973; Train, youth orchestra (percussion, strings), 1976; Cortège, 1977; Music for Wilderness Lake, 12 trombones, 1979; Concerto, flute, orchestra, 1984; Ko wo kiku: Listen to the Incense, large orchestra, 1985; Dream Rainbow Dream Thunder, 1986; Concerto, harp, orchestra, tape, 1987; Concerto, guitar, small orchestra, 1989; Scorpius, 1990; The Darkly Splendid Earth: The Lonely Traveller, violin, orchestra, 1991; Concerto, accordion, orchestra, 1992-93; The Falcon's Trumpet, high soprano ad libitum/tape, trumpet, orchestra, 1995; Manitou, 1995, revised 1996; Musique pour le parc Lafontaine, 4 symphonic bands, 1995; Concerto, viola, orchestra, 1997; 4.40, string quartet, orchestra, 1999; The Shadowman, 5 percussion, orchestra, 2000, revised 2003
CHAMBER MUSIC: Concerto, harpsichord, ensemble (2 flutes [both + piccolo], oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, French horn), 1954; Sonatina, flute, piano/harpsichord, 1958; String Quartet No. 1, 1970; String Quartet No. 2, 'Waves', 1976; The Crown of Ariadne, harp (+ percussion), tape, 1979 (section of Patria 5: The Crown of Ariadne; may be performed separately as a concert work); String Quartet No. 3, 1981; Theseus (text from the word "Arianna"), off-stage soprano, harp, string quartet, 1983; Music for Brass Quintet, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1984; Buskers (Rounds), flute, violin, viola, 1985 (section of Patria 3: The Greatest Show; may be performed separately as a concert work); Le Cri de Merlin, guitar, tape, 1987; String Quartet No. 4, off-stage soprano, off-stage violin, string quartet, 1988-89; String Quartet No. 5, 'Rosalind', string quartet (+ bowed crotales), 1989; String Quartet No. 6, 'Parting Wild Horse's Mane', 1993; String Quartet No. 7 (text from the diary of an anonymous 21-year-old schizophrenic woman), moving soprano (+ percussion), string quartet, 1998; Wild Bird, harp, violin, c. 1999; String Quartet No. 8, string quartet, tape, 2000, revised 2001; String Quartet No. 9, string quartet, tape, 2005; String Quartet No. 10, 2005
CHORAL: Four Songs on Texts by Tagore, soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, female chorus, 1962; Threnody (texts by Japanese children), 5 child speakers, youth chorus, youth symphonic band, tape, 1966; Gita (text from the Bhagavad Gita), mixed chorus, 9 brass, tape, 1967; Epitaph for Moonlight, mixed chorus, percussion ad libitum, 1968; From the Tibetan Book of the Dead (text from the Bardo Thodol), soprano, mixed chorus, piccolo (+ alto flute), clarinet, tape, 1968; Minimusic, any 4-6 voices, any 4-6 players, 1969; Yeow – Pax (text from the Book of Isaiah), mixed chorus, organ, tape, 1969; Divan i shams i tabriz, 7 mixed voices, large orchestra, tape, 1970; Miniwanka – Moments of Water, youth/mixed chorus, 1971 (also version for female/high/male chorus, 1971); In Search of Zoroaster, male voice, 4 mixed voices, 4 male voices, choral ensembles (female chorus [minimum 25 voices], 2 mixed choruses [minimum 45 voices each], male chorus [minimum 25 voices]), organ, percussion, 1971 (also version for male voice, mixed chorus [minimum 150 voices], 1971); Beyond the Great Gate of Light, 8 mixed voices, large orchestra, 1971; Lustro (texts by Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore), voices (around hall), orchestra (around hall), tape, 1969-72; Tehillah (text from Psalm 148), mixed chorus (+ percussion), 1973 (also revised as Psalm, 1976); Hear me out (text from common aural-related phrases), any 4 voices, 1979; Felix's Girls (text by Henry Felix), mixed chorus, 1979; Gamelan (text from the words and pitches of the Balinese musical scale), 4 mixed voices, 1979; The Two Sisters Duet, 2 sopranos, countertenor, 1979-80 (section of Patria 6: Ra; may be performed separately as a concert work); Sun (text from numerous international words for "sun"), double mixed chorus, 1982 (concert version of section of Patria: The Prologue – The Princess of the Stars)
CHORAL: Snowforms, high chorus, 1981-83; A Garden of Bells (texts from international words for "bells", neologisms), mixed chorus, 1983; The Star Princess and the Waterlilies (text by the composer), alto, speaker, children's chorus, percussion, 1984; Fire, mixed chorus (+ clackers), 1986; Magic Songs, mixed/male chorus, 1988; The Death of Buddha (text from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta), mixed chorus (+ Thai gongs, bell tree), 1989; Tristan and Iseult (text by Gottfried von Strassburg [translated by Andrew Lang]), 6 male voices, 1992; Three Songs from 'The Enchanted Forest', high chorus, 1993-94 (section of Patria 9: The Enchanted Forest; may be performed separately as a concert work); Once on a Windy Night, soprano, mixed chorus, 1995; A Medieval Bestiary (text from the Book of Beasts), mixed chorus, 1996; Vox naturae (text by Lucretius), 4 mixed voices, 1996; Seventeen Haiku, mixed chorus, 1997; Two Songs from 'The Spirit Garden', high chorus, 1998 (section of Patria 10: The Spirit Garden; may be performed separately as a concert work); Imagining Incense, mixed chorus, 2002; The Fall into Light (texts from Gnostic sources), children's chorus, 6 mixed choruses, 6 percussion, 2002-03; The Death of Shalana (text by the composer), 4 mixed choruses, 2004-05
VOCAL: Three Contemporaries (text by the composer), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1954-56; Minnelieder (texts by various Minnesinger), mezzo-soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1956 (also version for mezzo-soprano, orchestra, 1956); Kinderlieder (text by Bertolt Brecht), soprano, piano, 1958; Protest: Birthday Wishes for a Dictator – Incarceration, mezzo-soprano, orchestra, 1960; Brébeuf (cantata, text by St. Jean de Brébeuf [translated by the composer]), baritone, orchestra, 1961; Five Studies on Texts by Prudentius, soprano, 4 flutes (any one + alto flute, any one + piccolo), 1962; The Geography of Eros, soprano, harp, piano (+ celesta), 6 percussion, tape, 1963; Vanity (text by the composer), mezzo-soprano, harp, guitar (+ electric guitar, banjo), mandolin, violin, cello, harpsichord, 2 percussion, tape, 1965; Air Ishtar, soprano, double bass, piano, 6 percussion, tape, 1965; Modesty's Aria, mezzo-soprano, string quartet, double bass, tape, 1965; Music for the Morning of the World, soprano, 4-track tape, 1970; Sappho, mezzo-soprano, harp, guitar, piano, percussion, 1970; Enchantress (text by Sappho), mezzo-soprano, flute, 8 celli, 1971-72; Arcana (texts from various Egyptian sources), voice, 10 players, 1972 (also version for voice, orchestra, 1972); Adieu Robert Schumann (text by Clara Schumann, adapted by the composer), mezzo-soprano/alto, orchestra, tape, 1976; Hymn to Night (text by Novalis), soprano, 11 players, tape, 1976 (also version for soprano, orchestra, tape, 1976)
VOCAL: The Garden of the Heart (text from The Arabian Nights: 34 [translated by Sir Richard Burton]), mezzo-soprano, orchestra, 1980; Amente nufe, alto, percussion, 1982; Sun Father Sky Mother, soprano, 1985; Letters from Mignon (text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), mezzo-soprano, orchestra, 1986; Tantrika (texts from Sanskrit sources), mezzo-soprano, 4 percussion, 1986; Gitanjali (text by Rabindranath Tagore), soprano, orchestra, 1991; Aubade for Two Voices, any number of voices, any number of players, 1992 (section of Patria: The Epilogue – And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon; may be performed separately as a concert work); Thunder: Perfect Mind (texts from Gnostic sources), mezzo-soprano, orchestra, 2004
PIANO: Polytonality, 1952; Deluxe Suite, 1995
ELECTROACOUSTIC: Okeanos, 4-track tape, 1971; The Vancouver Soundscape, tape, 1972
MULTIMEDIA: Harbour Symphony, foghorns, 1983
DISCOGRAPHY
A Medieval Bestiary. Timothy Koch/Carolina Chamber Chorale (Albany: 452)
String Quartet Nos. 1-7. Marie-Danielle Parent, soprano; Quatuor Molinari (Atma: ACD 2188/89)
String Quartet No. 8; Theseus; Beauty and the Beast. Marie-Danielle Parent, soprano; Julie Nesrallah, mezzo-soprano; Jennifer Swartz, harp; Quatuor Molinari (Atma: ACD 2201)
Minnelieder (original version). Noëlla Huet, mezzo-soprano; Pentaèdre (Atma: ACD 2296)
Minnelieder (original version). Jean Stilwell, mezzo-soprano; Raffi Armenian/4 winds, French horn of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble (CBC Records: MVCD 1073)
Dream Rainbow Dream Thunder. Alex Pauk/Esprit Orchestra (CBC Records: SMCD 5101)
Concerto (flute); Concerto (harp); The Darkly Splendid Earth: The Lonely Traveller. Robert Aitken, flute; Judy Loman, harp; Jacques Israelievitch, violin; Kazuyoshi Akiyama/Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; Sir Andrew Davis, Günther Herbig/Toronto Symphony Orchestra (CBC Records: SMCD 5114)
Scorpius. Alex Pauk/Esprit Orchestra (CBC Records: SMCD 5132)
Gitanjali; The Garden of the Heart; Adieu Robert Schumann. Donna Brown, soprano; Judith Forst, Annamaria Popescu, mezzo-sopranos; Mario Bernardi/National Arts Centre Orchestra (CBC Records: SMCD 5173)
Minnelieder (original version). Jan Wilson, mezzo-soprano; Pennsylvania Wind Quintet (Centaur: 2225)
Concerto (harpsichord). Colin Tilney, harpsichord; Raffi Armenian/7 winds, French horn of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble (Centrediscs: CMCCD 3438)
String Quartet Nos. 1-5. Rosemarie Landry, soprano; Orford String Quartet (Centrediscs: CMCCD 39/4090)
The Crown of Ariadne; Theseus. Wendy Humphreys, soprano; Judy Loman, harp, percussion; Orford String Quartet (Centrediscs: CMCCD 41/4292)
Magic Songs. Jon Washburn/Vancouver Chamber Choir (Centrediscs: CMCCD 4893)
Sun. Elmer Iseler/Elmer Iseler Singers (Centrediscs: CMCCD 6599)
Le Cri de Merlin. Norbert Kraft, guitar (Chandos: 8784)
A Garden of Bells; Gamelan; Felix's Girls; Miniwanka; Snowforms; Sun; Epitaph for Moonlight; Fire. Jon Washburn/Vancouver Chamber Choir (Grouse Records: GR 101)
Once on a Windy Night; Seventeen Haiku; Vox naturae; A Medieval Bestiary. Aldona Maclean, soprano; Jon Washburn/Vancouver Chamber Choir (Grouse Records: GR 105)
The Crown of Ariadne. Judy Loman, harp, percussion (Marquis Classics: MAR 289)
Wild Bird. Judy Loman, harp; Jacques Israelievitch, violin (Marquis Classics: MAR 297)
Aubade for Two Voices. Wendy Humphreys, soprano; Stuart Laughton, trumpet (Opening Day Recordings: ODR9301)
Patria (excerpts). Wendy Humphreys, Tannis Sprott, sopranos; Theodore Gentry, countertenor; Stuart Laughton, trumpet; Judy Loman, harp; Bill Brennan, Mark Duggan, Beverley Johnston, percussion (Opening Day Recordings: ODR9307)
Apocalypsis Part 2: Credo. Robert Sund/choruses from the universities of Alberta, Manitoba, McGill, Memorial of Newfoundland, Ottawa, Regina, Toronto, Victoria, Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor (Opening Day Recordings: ODR9325)
(Last updated on February 23, 2006)
