Philip Cannon (composer)
Philip Cannon (born 21 December 1929) is a British composer.
Brief biography
(Jack) Philip Cannon is a British composer of English and French descent. As a youth he studied at Dartington with Imogen Holst and later at the Royal College of Music with Gordon Jacob. In 1958 he became a Lecturer in music at Sydney University. He became a professor at the Royal College in 1960. [1][2]
His opera Morvoren was premiered at the Royal College in 1964. Interviewed about his opera by The Times, the composer stated "I believe that a composer should feel free to build his style from everything that is available - microtones, note clusters, electronic oscillators and the chord of C major - and make a synthesis of all the means at his disposal if by so doing he can make an impact on his audience."[3] His String Quartet of 1964 won two awards in France, which resulted in the commissioning of the Oraison Funebre de l'ame humaine for strings. In 1975 he was commissioned to write the choral work Son of Man to mark Britain's entry into Europe, and later by Queen Elizabeth II to compose a Te Deum for St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Other works include his song cycle The Six Birdsongs and a Septain originally created for the pianist John Ogdon.[1]
In 2011 Cannon donated his archives to the Bodleian Library at Oxford; to mark this, the composer's Te Deum was sung at Christ Church Cathedral.[4]
List of works
Operas
- Morvoren, 1963
- The Man from Venus, 1966–67
- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1973
Orchestra
- Sinfonietta, (chamber orch) 1947
- Spring, (orchestra), 1949
- Piano Concertino, (piano & strings) 1949
- Fanfares, (8 tpt, 6 trbn, tuba, perc) 1963
- Oraison Funebre de l'ame humaine, (24 solo strings) 1970
- Symphony, (orchestra) 1998-9
Choral
- Songs to Delight, (SSA & strings) 1950
- Fleeting Fancies, (SATB) 1953
- Son of God, (double chorus) 1956
- To Music, (SSSA & piano) 1960
- Son of Science, (Tenor, boys choir, perc, piano, strings) 1961
- Idea, (SATB) 1964
- En hiver, (SSSA) 1968
- The Temple, (SSATB) 1974
- Son of Man, (T, Bar, SATB, orch) 1975
- Te Deum, (SATB, org, (state) tpt, orch) 1975
- Lord of Light, (soprano,tenor,baritone, boys vv, SATB, org, orch) 1980
- Missa Chorea, (solo vv, double semi-chorus, double chorus) 1984
- A Ralegh Triptych, (SATB) 1989-91
Songs
- Cinq Chansons de femme (soprano & harp) 1952
- Cecilia, (1 voice & harp) 1953
- River Lullaby, (soprano & piano) 1962
- Three Rivers, (tenor & piano) 1963
- Six Bird Songs, (coloratura s & piano) 1993
- Le Mort, (baritone & piano) 1998
Instrumental
- Two Rhapsodies, (piano) 1943
- String Quartet, 1945
- String Trio, 1945
- Sextet, (flute, oboe and string quartet) 1945
- Fantasia, (string quartet) 1946
- Variations for two violins, 1946
- Variations on a canto firmo, (violin) 1948
- Galop Parisien, (two pianos) 1950
- L'enfant s'amuse, (piano) 1954
- Carillon, (harp) 1955
- Carillon, (organ) 1955
- Sonatine Champetre, (for piano) 1959
- Sonata (two pianos) 1960
- String Quartet, 1964
- Jazz and Blues, (piano) 1970
- Piano Trio, (piano, violin & cello) 1973-4
- Clarinet Quintet, (clarinet & string quartet) 1977
- Boutades Bourguignonnes, (piano) 1984
- String Sextet, (2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos) 1985
- Trois Chiffres, (piano) 1994
- Carillon "Joyeux Noel" (harp) 1994
- Septain (piano) 1995
References
- Notes
- 1 2 Cooke (n.d.)
- ↑ Anon (1958) "Music in Sydney, Australia". The Musical Times, Vol. 99, No. 1379 (Jan., 1958), p. 36
- ↑ Myers (1965), pp. 859-60.
- ↑ "Philip Cannon Donates Archive to Bodleian Libraries", Bodleian Library Website, 21 January 2011, accessed 21 November 2016.
- Sources
- Cooke, Richard and Roderic Dunnett (n.d.). "Cannon, (Jack) Philip" in Oxford Music Online. (subscription required). Accessed 21 November 2016
- Myers, Rolo (1965). "Philip Cannon: A Fresh Voice in British Music", The Musical Times, Vol. 106, No. 1473 (Nov., 1965), pp. 858-860. (subscription required). Accessed 21 November 2016.