Barbara Pentland

Barbara Pentland , OBC (born January 2, 1912 in Winnipeg , † February 5, 2000 in Vancouver ) was one of the most important Canadian composers of the second half of the 20th century.

Life

Pentland began composing at the age of nine. From 1927 to 1929 she had piano lessons with Frederick H. Blair in Montreal and from 1929-30 studied at the Schola Cantorum in Paris with Cécile Gauthiez , a pupil of Vincent d'Indys . She then took organ lessons from Hugh Bancroft and piano lessons from Eva Clare . In 1936 she made her debut as a concert pianist at the Royal Alexandra Hotel .

From 1938 to 1938 she studied counterpoint with Frederick Jacobi and composition with Bernard Wagenaar at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City . Upon her return to Winnipeg, she gave private lessons and taught at the University of Manitoba . In 1941 and 1942 she attended summer courses at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood with Aaron Copland .

From 1942 she taught music theory and composition at the Toronto Conservatory of Music , where George Crum and Alan Detweiler were among her students. From 1949 to 1963 she taught music theory and composition at the University of British Columbia . She then lived as a freelance composer in Vancouver.

In her early compositions, Pentland followed the tradition of the French late romantic school of César Franck and Vincent d'Indy. Under the influence of composers such as Copland, Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók , their tonal language became more modern in the 1930s. Her encounters with Schoenberg's student Dika Newlin (1948–49) brought her to serial music. Pentland has received honorary doctorates from Simon Fraser University and the University of Manitoba and was named a member of the Order of British Columbia .

Works

• Ballad of Trees and the Master for choir, (Text: Sidney Lanier ), 1937
• Dirge for a Violet for choir (Text: Duncan Campbell Scott ), 1939
• Lament for orchestra, 1939
• Rhapsody for piano, 1939
• Beauty and the Beast , ballet pantomime, 1941
• Arioso and Rondo for orchestra, 1941
• Holiday Suite for chamber orchestra, 1941
• Studies in Line for Piano, 1941
• Concerto for Violin and Small Orchestra , 1942
• Variations for piano, 1942
• Song Cycle for soprano and piano, 1942–45
• Sonata for Cello and Piano , 1943
• Vista for violin and piano, 1945
• Piano Sonata , 1945
• At Early Dawn (text. Hsiang Hao ) for tenor, flute and cello, 1945
• String Quartet No 1 1945
• Symphony No. 1 , 1945-48
• Sonata for Violin and Piano , 1946
• Soundtrack for The Living Gallery , 1947
• Colony Music for piano and string orchestra, 1947
• Sonata Fantasy for piano, 1947
• Octet for Winds , 1948
• Variations on a Boccherini Tune for orchestra, 1948
• Dirge for piano, 1948
• Concerto for Organ and Strings , 1949
• Weekend Overture for Resort Combo , 1949
• Symphony No. 2 , 1950
• Solo violin Sonata , 1950
• Ave atque vale for orchestra, 1951
• 2 Sonatinas for piano, 1951
• The Lake , Chamber Opera (Libretto: Dorothy Livesay ), 1952
• Epigrams and Epitaphs for choir 1952
• String Quartet No 2 1953
• Two-Piano Sonata , 1953
• Salutation of the Dawn for choir, 1954
• What is man? for choir, 1954
• Ricercar for Strings , 1955
• Interlude for piano, 1955
• Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra , 1956
• Symphony for Ten Parts' Symphony No. 3 , 1957
• Toccata for piano, 1958
• Symphony No. 4 , 1959
• Three Duets after Pictures by Paul Klee for piano four hands, 1959
• Duo for Viola and Piano , 1960
• Canzona for flute, oboe and harpsichord, 1961
• Cavazzoni for Brass , 1961
• Fantasy for piano, 1962
• Ostinato and Dance for harpsichord, 1962
• Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano , 1963
• Strata for string orchestra, 1964
• Echoes 1 and 2 for piano, 1964
• Maze / Labyrinthe, Casse-Tête / Puzzle for piano, 1964
• Puppet Show for piano four hands, 1964
• Shadows / Ombres for piano 1964
• Three Pairs for piano, 1964
• Three Sung Songs for choir, 1964
• Hands across the C for piano, 1965
• Variations for viola . 1965
• Trio con alea for string trio , 1966
• Suite borealis for piano, 1966
• Septet for horn, trumpet, trombone, organ, violin, viola and cello, 1967
• Space Studies for Piano, 1967
• Cinéscene for chamber orchestra, 1968
• String Quartet No 3 1969
• Music of Now, Books 1, 2, 3 for piano, 1969–70
• News (news media) for voice and orchestra, 1970
• Variations concertantes for piano and orchestra, 1970
• Reflections for accordion, 1971
• Five-Plus' Simple Pieces for Strings , 1971
• Sung Songs No. 4 and 5 for mezzo-soprano and piano, 1971
• Interplay for accordion and string quartet, 1972
• Mutations for cello and piano, 1972
• Vita Brevis for piano, 1973
• Occasions for wind quintet, 1974
• Ephemera for piano, 1974–78
• Res musica for string orchestra, 1975
• Tenebrae for piano, 1976
• Disasters of the Sun (text: D. Livesay) for medium voice, nine instruments and tape, 1976
• Phases for clarinet solo, 1977
• Éventa for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin, cello, harp and two percussionists, 1978
• Trance for flute and harp, 1978
• VariableWinds , 1979
• String Quartet No 4 1980
• Elegy for Horn and Piano , 1980
• Commenta , 1981
• Tellus for flute, cello, percussion and celesta, 1982
• Quintet for Piano and Strings , 1983
• Vincula for piano, 1983
• String Quartet No 5 1985
• Horizons for piano, 1985
• Ice Age (text: D. Livesay) for soprano and piano, 1986
• Canticum, Burlesca and Finale for piano, 1987
• Intrada and Canzona 1988

Web links

• Barbara Pentland ( English, French ) In: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada . published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• CAML - Canadian Association of Music Libraries - Barbara Pentland
• Canadian Music Center - Barbara Pentland