Carlton Gamer
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Carlton Gamer (born February 13, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American composer and music theorist. He has taught at
Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...
,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, and the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. He studied at
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
and
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
and privately with
Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...
. Gamer has composed more than seventy works in a variety of categories, including songs, music for dance, solo piano pieces,
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
, choral works, orchestral works, and computer music.


Career

His music has been featured in New York's
Carnegie Recital Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, D.C., the
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, and in some sixty other venues throughout the U.S. Among its presenters have been the
International Society of Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following th ...
, the Society of Composers, Inc., the Current and Modern Consort of the
University of Michigan School of Music The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...
, the College Music Society, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts—Rockefeller Foundation International Competition for Excellence in the Performance of American Music. His works have been heard at conferences and festivals in the U.S., among them the
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American Music Festival, San Diego
International Computer Music Conference The International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) is a yearly international conference for computer music researchers and composers. It is the annual conference of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA). History In 1986, the Inst ...
, Southwestern Composers Conference, Grand Teton Music Festival, Colorado Contemporary Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, and Colorado College New Music Symposium. His works have been performed abroad, in Sydney, Guadalajara, Salzburg, Rome, Warsaw, Oxford, London, and Calcutta.


Background

Gamer grew up in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where his father taught at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, and where at the age of eight he began to study piano with Tanya Kessler and composition with her husband Hubert Kessler, of the faculty of the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
School of Music From 1942 to 1946, Gamer attended University High School in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. During this time there, he continued his piano studies with two faculty members of Illinois Wesleyan University, Stefan Bardas and then Chester Barris. In 1946, Gamer graduated from University High School as valedictorian. Gamer went to
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
(B.Mus., 1950), studying theory and composition with Frank Cookson and Anthony Donato and piano with Louis Crowder and Pauline Manchester Lindsey. He obtained his Master's in music at Boston University in 1951, studying composition with
Gardner Read Gardner Read (January 2, 1913 in Evanston, Illinois – November 10, 2005 in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts) was an American composer and musical scholar. His first musical studies were in piano and organ, and she also took lessons in coun ...
and musicology with
Karl Geiringer Karl Geiringer (April 26, 1899 – January 10, 1989)Will Crutchfield, January 12, 1989 Retrieved 2013-08-10. was an Austrian-American musicologist, educator, and biographer of composers. He was educated in Vienna but at the beginning of the Nazi ye ...
. At Boston University he worked as a graduate assistant, teaching a course in
orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...
, and served as research assistant for ''Read's Thesaurus of Orchestral Devices''. In New York City, from 1951 to 1953, Gamer founded a workshop of composer-performers ("The Seven") who met regularly at his home to read through and critique each other's music; they occasionally performed in public. The members were
Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was bo ...
, violin; Gerard Jaffe, viola; Juliette White, cello; Robert Dorough, recorder, flute, and piano;
Eric Katz Eric Katz is a mathematician working in combinatorial algebraic geometry and arithmetic geometry. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at Ohio State University. In joint work with Karim Adiprasito and June ...
, recorder, Noel Stevens, clarinet, and himself, piano.In New York, Gamer was also the pianist, composer, and music director for dancer and choreographer Ilka Suarez and her company. Gamer joined the music faculty at
Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...
in 1954. In 1954 and 1955, he served as accompanist for
Hanya Holm Hanya Holm (born Johanna Eckert; 3 March 1893 – 3 November 1992) is known as one of the "Big Four" founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer, and above all, a dance educator. Early life, connection with Mary Wigman Bo ...
in her summer dance workshops at the college. After studying composition privately with Roger Sessions in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
in 1957, Gamer was invited to be a fellow at the Princeton Seminars in Advanced Musical Studies in 1959 and 1960. His recollection of these seminars is found in his article, "Milton at the Princeton Seminars". (See
Publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...
). On leave from Colorado College, Gamer was an
Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Man ...
Fellow at the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
and in Kyoto, Japan in 1962–63. Gamer taught at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
as a Visiting Lecturer in Music in 1974, then as a Visiting Professor of Music in 1976 and 1981. In 1976 he was appointed a Senior Fellow of the Council of Humanities at Princeton. In the same year, Gamer received a
MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...
Fellowship. In 1979. Gamer taught at the
Salzburg Global Seminar Salzburg Global Seminar is a non-profit organization that challenges current and future leaders to shape a better world. It convenes programs on health care, education, culture, finance, technology, public policy, media, human rights, corporate g ...
: "Musical Ideas and Musical Institutions" (Session 189) in Salzburg, Austria,In 1982, he was Visiting Professor of Music, teaching a graduate seminar, at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Gamer retired from full-time teaching in 1994.


Compositional style

Glenn Giffin in ''
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'' describes Gamer as proposing in ''Arkhê''
a grand program – creation and evolution...The composer uses various means to present this:...by bands of sound and much shifting back and forth between sections in orchestral drones with now one section and then another receiving prominence... ndthrough musical cells that get manipulated and expanded to form a large structure.
According to the ''
American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...
"''Carlton Gamer's ''Arkhê'' freely moves between the poles of tonality and atonality... tsharmonies reoften dense to the point of clusters." ''
Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...
'' remarks that,
his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...
work opens with a long crescendo on the note A (for ''Alpha'', ...) and soon erupts into a Big Bang of fascinating noises. The composer himself describes this piece as using "an externally imposed scheme to derive the duration of each section of the work, asedupon the miniaturization of a geological time-scale formulated by recent scientific research."
An evolutionary idea also informs Gamer's Choros, as described by Mark Arnest in the ''
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph ''The Gazette'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. ...
'': In Part 1 of this work, Bios, the underlying program deals with the evolution of life; in Part 2, Choros, the evolution of humankind. Bios employs phonemic choral
Sprechstimme (, "spoken singing") and (, "spoken voice") are expressionist vocal techniques between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, ''Sprechgesang'' is directly related to the operatic ''recitative'' manner of singing (in which p ...
; Choros instantiates stages in the evolution of vocal polyphony from the Mediaeval era to the present.
Nicholas Kenyon Sir Nicholas Roger Kenyon CBE (born 23 February 1951, in Cheshire) is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms in 1996–2007, after which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican C ...
in ''
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'' characterizes ''Quietly, with feeling'' as "a diatonic piece of neo- Mendelssohnian rhapsody. It managed to sound fresh and new; an old language was used, for once, not with purely nostalgic intent." Music critic Gilbert Johns, quoted in the ''
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph ''The Gazette'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. ...
'' lauds Gamer's innovative approach to composition, which embraces atonalism and its 12-tone variation, known as serial music:
His technique is to rearrange ingeniously what he calls "little pitch cells" into melodic and harmonic entities. He thinks of himself as a composer who has internalized serial technique and given it his own voice...
hus Hus or HUS may refer to: Medicine * Hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a disease characterized by haemolytic anemia, kidney problems and a low platelet count People * Hus (surname) * Hus family, an 18th-century French dynasty of ballet dancers and ac ...
he tries to create tonal-sounding music that is serially structured and that gives a richness to the listener's experience.
Edward Rothstein Edward Benjamin Rothstein (born October 16, 1952) is an American critic. Rothstein wrote music criticism early in his career, but is best known for his critical analysis of museums and museum exhibitions. Rothstein holds a B.A. from Yale Universi ...
in ''The New York Times'' finds in Gamer's Piano Râga Music "wit merged with severity". Reviewing a later performance of the same work, Paul Griffiths in ''The New York Times'' describes Piano Râga Music as "hesitating between the worlds of its two dedicatees, Ravi Shankar and Milton Babbitt, before plunging into an immense, flamboyant mix." Gamer himself, in his article "ET Setera" (p. 60), writes of his "interests as a composer of music in ETS 12"—i.e., the twelve-tone equal-tempered system:
In recent years these interests have centered more and more upon the attainment in the pitch domain of a sense of "less-than-twelveness" embedded in "twelveness". I have become increasingly preoccupied with the properties of certain subcollections of pitches or pitch classes chosen from the universe of pitches within our system and the relationship of such subcollections to that system.
In his ''Notes on the Structure of Piano Râga Music'' (p. 218), for example, Gamer shows how that work employs a 24-tone set generated from a single
trichord In music theory, a trichord () is a group of three different pitch classes found within a larger group. A trichord is a contiguous three-note set from a musical scale or a twelve-tone row. In musical set theory there are twelve trichords given ...
. In ''Lieder to texts by Rainer Maria Rilke'' he employs all-trichord sets, each containing an all-interval tetrad, enabling him to embed quotations from tonal music into the serial texture. (Regarding all-interval tetrads, see his article "Microtones and projective planes", p. 153.) (See
Publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...
.) Gamer has composed music in equal-tempered systems other than ETS 12. Robin Wilson, in his
Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...
lecture on music and mathematics, discusses Gamer's use of the 31-tone equal-tempered system in ''ORGANUM'' and of the seven-point projective plane in ''Fanovar''. In the rhythmic domain, Gamer has sometimes employed
serialization In computing, serialization (or serialisation) is the process of translating a data structure or object state into a format that can be stored (e.g. files in secondary storage devices, data buffers in primary storage devices) or transmitted (e ...
or the use of recursive sequences—e.g., in ''Quietly, with feeling'' or ''Duetude''. (See
Compositions Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
).


Work in music theory

As a music theorist, Gamer has published articles in a number of journals or books on such topics as
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
,
microtonality Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones—intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of tw ...
, the properties of equal-tempered systems containing more or less than twelve tones per octave, and the definition and elaboration of the
deep scale property In music, a common tone is a pitch class that is a member of, or common to (shared by) two or more scales or sets. Common tone theorem A common tone is a pitch class that is a member of, or common to, a musical scale and a transposition of ...
as it applies to such equal-tempered systems (see "Electronic music" and "Some combinational resources of equal-tempered systems"); definitions of the concepts of
difference set In combinatorics, a (v,k,\lambda) difference set is a subset D of size k of a group G of order v such that every nonidentity element of G can be expressed as a product d_1d_2^ of elements of D in exactly \lambda ways. A difference set D is said ...
,
block design In combinatorial mathematics, a block design is an incidence structure consisting of a set together with a family of subsets known as ''blocks'', chosen such that frequency of the elements satisfies certain conditions making the collection of bl ...
, and
projective plane In mathematics, a projective plane is a geometric structure that extends the concept of a plane. In the ordinary Euclidean plane, two lines typically intersect in a single point, but there are some pairs of lines (namely, parallel lines) that do ...
and applications of these to such equal-tempered systems (see "Deep scales and difference sets", "Musical block designs", and "Microtones and projective planes"); the relationship between geometrical duality and musical
inversion Inversion or inversions may refer to: Arts * , a French gay magazine (1924/1925) * ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas * Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory * ...
(see "Microtones and projective planes", pp. 156–158); invariance matrices and their application to musical composition (see ''Fanfares for the common tone''); and musical
metatheory A metatheory or meta-theory is a theory whose subject matter is theory itself, aiming to describe existing theory in a systematic way. In mathematics and mathematical logic, a metatheory is a mathematical theory about another mathematical theory. ...
, with emphasis on the notion of syntactic models and the prescriptive and postdictive relevance of these to a "theory of composition" (see "The role of the composer as theorist", "Sketch of a foundation for music theory today", "Music worlds", and "Busnois, Brahms, and the syntax of temporal proportions"). Gamer's music-theoretical work has been cited in dictionaries and encyclopedias, including the Dictionary of Contemporary Music, ''
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'', Grove Music Online, and ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
''. Further citations appear in
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
articles on the Deep scale property,
Triad (music) In music, a triad is a set of three notes (or "pitch classes") that can be stacked vertically in thirds.Ronald Pen, ''Introduction to Music'' (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992): 81. . "A triad is a set of notes consisting of three notes built on succe ...
, Trichord, Tetrad (music),
Hexachord In music, a hexachord (also hexachordon) is a six-note series, as exhibited in a scale (hexatonic or hexad) or tone row. The term was adopted in this sense during the Middle Ages and adapted in the 20th century in Milton Babbitt's serial theor ...
, 19 equal temperament, and
Polite number In number theory, a polite number is a positive integer that can be written as the sum of two or more consecutive positive integers. A positive integer which is not polite is called impolite... The impolite numbers are exactly the powers of two, an ...
. Gamer's work has been cited in books and dissertations by Robert Morris, Andrew Mead, Timothy A. Johnson
Jack Douthett
et al., and Robert Tyler Kelley, among others, and in numerous articles in a variety of journals, including ''
Journal of Music Theory The ''Journal of Music Theory'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established by David Kraehenbuehl (Yale University) in 1957. According to its website, " e ''Journal of Music Theory'' fosters c ...
'', ''
Music Theory Spectrum ''Music Theory Spectrum'' () is a peer-reviewed, academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It is the official journal of the Society for Music Theory, and is published by Oxford University Press. The journal was first published ...
'', ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', ''
Music Analysis Musical analysis is the study of musical structure in either compositions or performances. According to music theorist Ian Bent, music analysis "is the means of answering directly the question 'How does it work?'". The method employed to answer ...
'', '' Intégral'', ''
Music & Letters ''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in the music fie ...
'', ''
Music Theory Online ''Music Theory Online'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed open access academic journal covering music theory and musical analysis, analysis. It was established in 1993 and is published by the Society for Music Theory. The initial issues were designat ...
'', ''
Journal of the American Musicological Society The ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal and an official journal of the American Musicological Society. It is published by University of California Press The University of California Press, othe ...
'', and ''College Music Symposium''. Gamer has been credited with early contributions to
diatonic set theory Diatonic set theory is a subdivision or application of musical set theory which applies the techniques and analysis of discrete mathematics to properties of the diatonic collection such as maximal evenness, Myhill's property, well formedness, the ...
. Morris, in his article on "Mathematics and the twelve-tone system", writes:
While the twelve-tone system is no longer isolated from other aspects of music theory, there are many research projects that can be identified to carry on previous work. One obvious direction is to ask what happens when we change the '12' in 'twelve-tone system'? Carlton Gamer n "Some combinational resources" (1967) and "Deep scales and difference sets" (1967)was one of the first theorists to raise such issues. He showed that equal tempered systems of other moduli not only have different structures, they allow different types of combinatorial entities to be built within them.
Johnson terms Gamer a "precursor" in this area:
Students who wish to trace the historical development of diatonic set theory might begin with Milton Babbitt, an important American composer and theorist...Later, Carlton Gamer explored some fundamental aspects of the structure and nature of the diatonic collection – in particular, the notion of deep scales...
Douthett, Martha M. Hyde, and Charles J. Smith, in their introduction to ''Music Theory and Mathematics'', also observe that "Milton Babbitt and Carlton Gamer, among others, had noticed intriguing structural properties of the diatonic system when considered as a subset of the equal-tempered chromatic scale." Gamer sometimes illustrates his theoretical ideas with short compositions, as in "Fanfare for the common tone" or "ET Setera". Wilson Coker, in his review of the latter, writes: "Gamer's article might almost a be a model for theorists in its subtle blend of the most abstract inquiry along with indications of useful application."


Compositions

*Fifty pieces for solo piano, voice, chamber ensembles, or orchestra (1937–1947) *Nocturne for cello and piano (1944, revised 1992) *"Wer nie sein Brot mit Tränen aß" (
J. W. von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...
, from ''
Wilhelm Meister ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship'' ( ger, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795–96. Plot The eponymous hero undergoes a journey of self-realization. The story centers upon Wilhelm' ...
'') for soprano and baritone duet and piano (1945) *"Go where glory waits thee" (Thomas Moore) for mezzo-soprano and piano (1945) *"Reverie" (
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
) for mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano (1946) *"Sea Charm" (Langston Hughes) for mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano (1946) *Two songs from "A Shropshire Lad" (A. E. Housman) for tenor and piano: "Along the field as we came by" and "On your midnight pallet lying" (1946) *"Drink in the beauty of this night" (Ream Lazaro) for baritone and piano (1946) *Fragments for piano or harpsichord (1947, 1984) *Barcarolle and Chaconne for piano (1947–1949) *Sonnet: "Oh, never say that I was false of heart" (William Shakespeare) for tenor and piano (1948, 1969) *Two Songs to texts by Li Po for mezzo-soprano and flute: "On hearing the flute at Lo-Cheng one spring night" (1948, 1990) and "In the mountains" (1990) *"After two years" (Richard Aldington) for tenor and piano (1949) *Song: "A dream of death" (William Butler Yeats) for baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano (1949) *String Quartet (1950, revised and re-entitled ''Between Heaven and Earth'', 2012) *Pastorale for flute, clarinet, and strings (1950–51) *Fantasy for Orchestra (1951, revised and re-entitled Generation, 2012–13) *Conversation for flute (or recorder) and piano (1952) *Serenade for flute, violin, and clarinet (1952, revised 1964) *Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Piano (1953) *Fantasy for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano (1953) *''Aria da Capo'' (composition for dance with narrator) (text by Ilka Suarez and Carlton Gamer, after
Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...
's 1919
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
) (1953, revised 1986) *''The Block Dwellers'' for piano (composition for dance) (1954) *''Dance for Three Couples – for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano'' (composition for dance) (1954) *''Two Things'' (Neo-Platonic Soliloquy) (Donald Babcock) (a cappella choir) (1957, revised 1988) *''Three Haiku by Bashô'' (a cappella choir). The Colorado College Music Press (1958) *''Rhyme from Grandma Goose'' (Annamarie Ewing) for tenor and piano (1958) *Three songs for soprano and piano (1958): **''Each more melodious note I hear'' (H. D. Thoreau) **''o sweet spontaneous earth'' (e. e. cummings) **''Passing'' (Lillian de la Torre, from Guillaume Apollinaire) *Carol: "Lo, in the silent night" (Angelus Silesius) (two-voice a cappella) (1959) *''Duetude'' for flute and clarinet (1959, revised 1998) *Sonata for Violin and Piano (1959–1960) *Octet for String Quartet and Wind Quartet (1960) *Sonata Breve for piano (1961) *Canonettes for keyboard, or clarinet (or viola) and cello (or bassoon) (1962, revised 1992) * ''Piano Râga Music'' (for Milton Babbitt and Ravi Shankar) (1962, 1967,1970). *Laudate Dominum: Psalm 116, Vulgate (a cappella choir). The Colorado College Music Press (1963) *''Arkhê'' for orchestra (1968 / 1993) *''War is the enemy'' (Carlton Gamer) (rock refrain) (1968) *''Mid-century Love Letter'' (Phyllis McGinley) for soprano and piano (1969) *''There is a Spirit – in memoriam A. J. Muste'' (James Nayler) (a cappella choir) (1970) *''Lieder for baritone voice, oboe, cello, and horn'' to texts by Rainer Maria Rilke: **''Liebeslied:'' (voice, oboe, cello) (1971) **''Herbsttag'' (voice, oboe, cello, horn) (1983) *''Dear Friend'' (Carlton Gamer) for soprano and piano (1972) *''Variation on a Thing by JKR for digital synthesis in 7-tone equal temperament'' (1974). *Three Pieces ''From the Gardens of the West for piano: **''Of Time Past'' (1978) **''Our Second Music'' (1978) **''Quietly, with Feeling'' (after Mendelssohn) (1976) *''Fanfare for the Common Tone (x3) for two trumpets '' (1976). *''Mondi for piano '' (1983) *''I'll Remember April'' (after Raye, DePaul, and Johnston) for piano (April, 1987) *''New Beginnings'' (1987) **Part I: ''Organum from Canto LXXXI'' (Ezra Pound) for digitally synthesized voice in 31-tone equal temperament (1976) **Part II: ''New Beginnings'' for piano and percussion (Cameo (for S. G.) for piano (1991)) *Gahu on ''J, K, R'' (for James K. Randall) for speaking chorus and African percussion ensemble (1991) *''Star in Clay'' (Katharine Lee Bates) for choir, brass, and timpani (1993) *''Fanovar for flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin and cello – or for digital synthesis in 7-tone equal temperament'' (1994)Excerpt and analysis in Carlton Gamer and Robin Wilson: ''Microtones and projective planes'' in Music and Mathematics from Pythagoras to Fractals, Oxford University Press, 2003. (See Publications.) *''For Elaine'' for piano (1999, 2004) *''Choros'' for chamber chorus, string quartet, early instruments, piano, organ, and percussion, with incidental vocal solos and speaker:(1999) **Part I: ''Bios'' (Carlton Gamer) **Part II: ''Choros'' (James Nayler, Anaximander Gospel of John, St. Augustine, Heloise, Dante, San Juan de la Cruz. Rainer Maria Rilke, and Anna Akhmatova) (1999) *''Quattro Voci'' (per Quattro Mani) (for Susan Grace and Alice Rybak) for two pianos (2009) *''Mountains and Skies (Montes et caeli): a CC fanfare'' for concert band (2016)


Publications

*"The New Fact and the Creative Life" (essay), ''The Colorado Quarterly'', University of Colorado, Boulder (1961). *"Some Combinational Resources of Equal-Tempered Systems", ''
Journal of Music Theory The ''Journal of Music Theory'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established by David Kraehenbuehl (Yale University) in 1957. According to its website, " e ''Journal of Music Theory'' fosters c ...
'', vol. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1967), pp. 32–59. *"Deep scales and difference sets in equal-tempered systems". ''American Society of University Composers. Proceedings'', vol. 2 (1967), pp. 113–122. *"Electronic music," ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' (1968 edition). *"The role of the composer as theorist: Some introductory remarks." ''American Society of University Composers. Proceedings'', vol. 7 (1972), pp. 12–14. *"Flawed words and stubborn sounds: a conversation with Elliott Carter", (review essay), ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', vol. 11, no. 2 (Spring–Summer, 1973) *"Notes on the structure of Piano Râga Music", ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', vol. 12, no. 2 (Spring–Summer, 1974). * "Fanfares for the common tone" (with Paul Lansky), ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', vol. 14–15, no. 1–2 (1976), pp. 228–235. *"Sketch of a foundation for music theory today." ''College Music Symposium'', vol. XVII/1 (Spring 1977) 153–156. *"Et setera: some temperamental speculations," ''Music Theory: Special Topics'', ed. Richmond Browne, Academic Press (1981), pp. 59–81. . *"Music Worlds," ''Semiotic Investigations: Proceedings of a Mellon Faculty Seminar'', The Colorado College Studies 18 (1982), pp. 83–98. *"Busnois, Brahms, and the Syntax of Temporal Proportions" (essay), ''A Festschrift for
Albert Seay Albert Seay (9 November 1916 – 7 January 1984) was an American musicologist who specialized in medieval and Renaissance music and theory. His publications included critical editions of works by the composers Jacques Arcadelt and Carpentras, a ...
'', ed. Michael Grace, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO (1982), pp. 201–215. *"Musical Block Designs" (with Robin J. Wilson), ''Ars Combinatoria'', vol. 16-A (December 1983), pp. 217–225. *"Trapezoidal Numbers" (with David W. Roeder and John J. Watkins), ''
Mathematics Magazine ''Mathematics Magazine'' is a refereed bimonthly publication of the Mathematical Association of America. Its intended audience is teachers of collegiate mathematics, especially at the junior/senior level, and their students. It is explicitly a j ...
'', vol. 58, no. 2 (March 1985), pp. 108–110. *"Displacement as matrix and matter of twentieth century arts," in Frank Brinkhaus and Sascha Talmor, eds.: ''Memory, History and Critique. European Identity at the Millennium.'' Proceedings of the 6th International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI) Conference at the University for Humanist Studies, Utrecht, The Netherlands, MIT Press (August. 1996). *"Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits" (book review), ''
Shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the ...
: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies'', vol. 20, no. 3 (Spring 2002), pp. 123–125. *"Microtones and Projective Planes" (with Robin Wilson), ''Music and Mathematics'', ed. John Fauvel, Raymond Flood, Robin J. Wilson, Oxford University Press (2003). *"Milton at the Princeton Seminars" in ''Milton Babbitt: A Composers' Memorial; Scores and Texts in Memoriam, ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', special supplement'' to vol. 49/2, and '' Open Space'', special issue 14 (Spring 2012), pp. 361–364. *"How Du You Compose Yourself?", ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', vol 57, issue 1-2, (Winter 2019) pp.579-590


Discography

*''Janáček, Bloch, Gamer: Violin & Piano Sonatas''; Crystal Records; ASIN: B000003J5E *''MMC New Century, vol. 13''; Master Musicians Col; ASIN: B00003L9JB *''Society of Composers, Inc: View from the Keyboard''; Capstone; ASIN: B00005YCDV *''Harmony for a New World''; Innova; ASIN: B0002L56MO


Notes


References

*American Music Festival (1952). Archive for February 1952—WNYC

*Arnest, Mark (1999). Preview of Colorado College Chamber Chorus premiere of Choros, Packard Hall, Colorado College, April 23, 1999. Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, April 23. 1999. *Calcutta School of Music (2005). Winter Concert Programme: "Jazz and blues in the Classical style", March 4, 2005. *Carlton E. Gamer—Distinguished Alumni, Class of 1946 (2006). University High School

*Curriculum vitae of Carlton Gamer” (n.d.). Alliance Digital Repository (ADR) of Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries

*Coker, Wilson (1982). Review of Richmond Browne, ed.: Music Theory: Special Topics (1981) in ''
Music Theory Spectrum ''Music Theory Spectrum'' () is a peer-reviewed, academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It is the official journal of the Society for Music Theory, and is published by Oxford University Press. The journal was first published ...
'', vol. 4. *Douthett, Jack; Martha M. Hyde; and Charles J. Smith, eds. (2008) Music Theory and Mathematics: Chords, Collections, and Transformations. Rochester, New York: University of Rochester Press. . * Allen Forte, Forte, Allen (1974) "Theory", in John Vinton, ed.: ''Dictionary of Contemporary Music'', New York: E. P. Dutton. *Gamer, Carlton (2002), Introductory remarks to performance of ''Two Lieder to texts of Rainer Maria Rilke'' by Herbert Beattie, bass-baritone, et al., Sixth Annual New Music Symposium, Packard Hall, Colorado College, July 20, 2002. *Gamer, Carlton and Robert A. Moog (n.d.): "Electronic instrument", in ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
''. *Giffin, Glenn (1972). Review of Colorado Springs Symphony concert of November 16 and 17, 1972. Denver Post, November 20, 1972. *Gitelman, Claudia (2001). Dancing with Principle: Hanya Holm in Colorado, 1941–1983. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado. . * Griffiths, Paul; Mark Lindley; and Ioannis Zannos (1980). "Microtone", in
Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
, ed.: ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', 2d edition. *Griffiths, Paul (1997). Review of Henry Martin's piano recital, Mannes College, April 25, 1997. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', April 29, 1997. *Higgins, Paula (n.d.). "Busnoys, Antoine", in ''
Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
''. *Howard, Malcolm (2000). "CC's New Music Symposium highlights contemporary composers", ''
Colorado Springs Independent The ''Colorado Springs Independent'' (commonly referred to as ''The Independent'' or simply ''The Indy'') is a newsweekly that serves the Pikes Peak region of Southern Colorado (El Paso, Teller, and Pueblo counties). It is Colorado Springs's large ...
'', July 27, 2000 *Johns, Gilbert (1991). Quoted in preview of Carlton Gamer's Music for Piano (1991), Packard Hall, Colorado College, October 6, 1991. ''
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph ''The Gazette'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor. ...
'', October 4, 1991. *Johnson, Timothy A. (2003). Foundations of Diatonic Theory. Emeryville, California: Key College Publishing. . *Kelley, Robert Tyler (2005): "Mod-7 transformations in Post-Functional Music" (dissertation). Florida State University. *The Kennedy Center (n.d.). * Kenyon, Nicholas (1979). Review of Rebecca La Brecque's piano recital, Carnegie Recital Hall, November 9, 1979. ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', December 3, 1979. *Lang, Paul Henry, ed. (1962). Problems of Modern Music: The Princeton Seminars in Advanced Musical Studies, W. W. Norton. *Mead, Andrew (1994). An Introduction to the Music of Milton Babbitt. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. . *Morris, Robert (1987). Composition with Pitch-Classes. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. . *Morris, Robert (2007). "Mathematics and the Twelve-Tone System", ''
Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...
'', vol. 45, no. 2, Summer 2007, pp. 97–98. *Read, Gardner
953 Year 953 ( CMLIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Marash: Emir Sayf al-Dawla marches north into the Byzantine Empire an ...
. Thesaurus of Orchestral Devices, New York, Toronto, London: Pitman Publishing Corporation. *Review of ''Arkhé'' (2000a), in review of MMC New Century, vol. 13 (see Discography). ''
American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...
'', July–August. *Review of ''Arkhé'' (2000b), in review of MMC New Century, vol. 13 (see Discography). ''
Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...
'', May–June. *
Rothstein, Edward Edward Benjamin Rothstein (born October 16, 1952) is an American critic. Rothstein wrote music criticism early in his career, but is best known for his critical analysis of museums and museum exhibitions. Rothstein holds a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. ...
(1984). "Debuts in review", on Robert Shannon's League-ISCM piano recital, Carnegie Recital Hall, March 15, 1984. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', March 18, 1984. *Salzburg Global Seminar—Session 189 (1979). Musical ideas and musical institutions, April 22 – May 5, 197

*University of Illinois School of Music (n.d.). *Wilson, Robin (2005). "Music and mathematics", Gresham College Lecture, The Royal Institution of Great Britain, March 18, 2005.


External links


Pike's Peak Young Composer's Competition judges blurbs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamer, Carlton 1929 births American male classical composers American classical composers Living people 20th-century classical composers Microtonal composers Pupils of Roger Sessions Colorado College faculty Princeton University faculty Bienen School of Music alumni Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni University of Michigan faculty Musicians from Champaign, Illinois 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians