John Henry Antill,
CMG,
OBE (8 April 190429 December 1986) was an Australian
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
best known for his ballet ''
Corroboree
A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the l ...
''.
Biography
Antill was born in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1904, and was educated and trained in music at
Trinity Grammar School, Sydney and
St Andrew's Cathedral School
, motto_translation = The Way of the Cross is the Way of Light
, established =
, type = Independent school, Independent Mixed-sex education, co-educational comprehensive education, comprehensive and speciali ...
. Upon leaving school in 1920, he was apprenticed to the
New South Wales Government Railways
The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932.
Management
The agency was managed by a range of differe ...
. He left the railways five years later to study full-time at the
New South Wales Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the ol ...
under
Alfred Hill Alfred Hill may refer to:
* Alfred John Hill (1862–1927), British railway engineer
* Alfred Hill (cricketer, born 1865) (1865–1936), English cricketer
* Alfred Hill (politician) (1867–1945), British Member of Parliament for Leicester West 19 ...
. After graduation, he played in both the
NSW State Orchestra and the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...
, and, from 1932 to 1934, he toured with the
J. C. Williamson Imperial Opera Company as a tenor and a rehearsal conductor.
In 1936, he became assistant Music Editor with the
Australian Broadcasting Commission
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...
(ABC). He remained with the ABC until his retirement in 1968, having taken up the position of ABC Federal Music Editor in the meantime.
His most famous work, ''
Corroboree
A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the l ...
'', was first performed as a concert suite in 1946, conducted by
Eugene Goossens. He based his composition on a real
corroboree
A corroboree is a generic word for a meeting of Australian Aboriginal peoples. It may be a sacred ceremony, a festive celebration, or of a warlike character. A word coined by the first British settlers in the Sydney area from a word in the l ...
, which he witnessed in 1913 at
La Perouse in Sydney.
He had intended the work as a
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
, but it was not performed as such until 1950.
The 1950 ballet premiere, choreographed by
Rex Reid, of this work was hailed as a "coming-of-age" milestone in Australian cultural life,
[Potter, M. (2004) “Corroboree”. ''NATIONAL Library of Australia News'', March 2004 Volume XIV No. 6, pp.11-14] although to modern eyes it appears a quaint and disconcerting period piece reflecting dated views of indigenous Australia. A new version of the ballet, performed in 1954, was choreographed by American-born dancer, choreographer and writer
Beth Dean
Beth may refer to:
Letter and number
* Bet (letter), or beth, the second letter of the Semitic abjads (writing systems)
*Hebrew word for "house", often used in the name of synagogues and schools (e.g. Beth Israel)
Name
*Beth (given name) lists ...
who, with her Australian husband Victor Carell, spent eight months in parts of central and northern Australia to capture a more authentic understanding.
[ The ]National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
holds a large collection of costumes, props and ephemera from the Dean production. Dean and Carell also wrote a biography of John Antill titled ''Gentle Genius'', published in 1987.
In 1971, Antill was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for services to Australian music. In 1981, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III.
...
(CMG).It's an Honour: CMG
/ref> In 1985, the year before his death, he received an Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
in Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
.
References
Other sources
*1968, ''World Book Encyclopedia'', Australasian edition
Australian Music Centre: John Antill
*
*
*
National Museum of Australia
Beth Dean collection.
External links
* Listen to an excerpt of John Antill'
'Cooroboree'
o
australianscreen online
'Cooroboree'
was added to the National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
's Sounds of Australia
The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...
registry in 2007
National Library of Australia News, March 2004: ''Cooroboree''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antill, John
1904 births
1986 deaths
APRA Award winners
Australian male composers
Australian composers
Ballet composers
Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni
Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
People educated at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales)
Musicians from Sydney
20th-century composers
20th-century Australian musicians
20th-century Australian male musicians