John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
, and
early music revival
:''See Historically informed performance for a more detailed explanation of this topic.''
The general discussion of how to perform music from ancient or earlier times did not become an important subject of interest until the 19th century, when E ...
ist was the founder of the tradition of the
Christmas Revels, as well as a respected musician and educator.
He attended the
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship.
Hi ...
as well as
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
.
Langstaff's lifelong project, the Christmas Revels, began in 1957 with a show in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. In 1971 began the longest-running Revels, at
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. The Revels, an eclectic mix of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
and modern music and dance (primarily
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
in basis), involves the audience and the community in a continuation of pagan and older Christian traditions. Revels shows, now spread over the USA and the world, draw on local talent.
Morris dancing
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...
,
mummers
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...
,
bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...
rs and large choruses of men, women and children celebrate the turning of the
Winter Solstice
The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...
in a cheerful fashion.
Throughout his adult life, Langstaff was a dedicated
music educator
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...
. In 1955 he became the music director at
The Potomac School in Washington, DC, and later taught at
Shady Hill School
Shady Hill School is an independent, co-educational day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, Shady Hill serves students in pre-kindergarten (called 'Beginners' by the school) through 8th grade. The school has an enrollment of appr ...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He wrote twenty-five books, including the
Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
-winning ''
Frog Went A-Courtin'''. He hosted the
BBC-TV
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
Schools programme ''Making Music'' for five years, and produced a series of videos called ''Making Music with John Langstaff'' for parents and teachers. He also published
songbooks
A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publisher (popular music), Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in ...
,
teacher's guides
Teacher's Highland Cream is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced in Glasgow, Scotland, by Beam Suntory, the US-headquartered subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The Teacher's Highland Cream brand was registered in 1884. (The l ...
, and production guides for the Revels.
In the later 1970s and early 1980s, Jack, as he was addressed by some, was associated with the Young Audiences organization in the United States, which creates and presents performance arts in educational settings. Langstaff was Executive Director of Young Audiences of Massachusetts, and collaborated with many cultural, educational, health and community organizations in the Greater Boston area and New England.
Langstaff's recording career was varied and long. Beginning with
English traditional music in the 1950s, he continued with the founding of
Revels Records
''Revels'' is a contemporary series of American seasonal stage performances, incorporating singing, dancing, recitals, and theatrics loosely organized around a central theme or narrative. The folk-tradition-based performances started in 1957, we ...
, recording primarily children's and traditional music. Several of his early recordings were made in London with noted producer
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
.
In 1943 Langstaff married
Diane Hamilton Diane Hamilton was the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim (1924 – 1991), an American mining heiress, folksong patron and founder of Tradition Records.
Personal life
The only child of millionaire Harry Frank Guggenheim, president of ''Newsday'' and one ...
. They divorced in 1947. He was later married to Nancy Woodbridge, a pianist.
Langstaff died on December 13, 2005, of a stroke.
On May 17, 2006 David Nath's documentary film ''To Drive The Dark Away'', which chronicles Langstaff's life and work with the Christmas Revels, had its world premiere in
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 census.
History ...
.
See also
*
Revels
''Revels'' is a contemporary series of American seasonal stage performances, incorporating singing, dancing, recitals, and theatrics loosely organized around a central theme or narrative. The folk-tradition-based performances started in 1957, we ...
References
External links
John Langstaff Page from New York Revels siteJohn Langstaff pagefrom Revels Inc. site
(unofficial site by
Sheldon Brown)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langstaff, John
1920 births
2005 deaths
American baritones
American male conductors (music)
American folk musicians
Culture of Boston
Musicians from Boston
20th-century American singers
Classical musicians from Massachusetts
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American male singers