Robert Sherlaw Johnson (21 May 1932 – 3 November 2000), was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and music scholar. Sherlaw Johnson was one of that group of post-war British musicians whose work reflected wider European interests in new ideas, techniques and aesthetics. While his work and influence were wide-ranging, he is particularly noted for his advocacy and performance of the music of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

Biography

Sherlaw Johnson was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. He was educated at

Gosforth Grammar School Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

, at King's College, Durham, and at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, London, where he was the recipient of a Charles Black award. He used this to travel to Paris, where he studied piano with

Jacques Février Jacques Février (26 July 1900 – 2 September 1979) was a French pianist and teacher. Life and career Jacques Février was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the son of the composer Henry Février. He studied with Édouard Risler and Marguerite Lo ...

and composition with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

, and attended Olivier Messiaen's classes at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. In 1971 he was awarded the degree of

DMus A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

by the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

for a doctoral thesis on Messiaen's use of birdsong and in 1984 was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music. He also received a DMus from Oxford in 1990 in recognition of his work as a composer. Sherlaw Johnson taught at the

(1961-3), Bradford Girls' Grammar School (1963-5), the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

(1965–70) and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(1970–1999), where he was music Fellow at

Worcester College Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

. In 1985 he was visiting professor of composition at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

. Notable pupils include Stephen Oliver, Charles Bodman Rae, Caroline Rae,

Rachel Portman Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman,
FilmReference.com Robert Saxton Robert Saxton (born 8 October 1953 in London) is a British composer. Biography Robert Saxton was born in London and started composing at the age of six. He was educated at Bryanston School. Guidance in early years from Benjamin Britten and El ...

(who succeeded Sherlaw Johnson at Worcester College). Sherlaw Johnson was to the last an enthusiastic campanologist. He died while ringing bells at the historic tower of Appleton, south-west of Oxford. He married the painter Rachael Clarke in 1959. They had two daughters and three sons, one of whom, Austin, is married to the television writer, producer, and director

Sally Wainwright Sally Anne Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director from Yorkshire. Early in her career, Wainwright worked as a playwright, and as a scriptwriter on the long-running radio serial drama ''The Archers''. In t ...

Influences and interests

Sherlaw Johnson's time in Paris exerted its mark on his professional development. He came to be known for his performances and recordings of Messiaen's piano and (as accompanist) vocal music. The insight this gave him is evident in his monograph on the composer, which remains a standard English-language text on its subject. Some of his own earlier compositions show the influence of Messiaen, Varèse and

Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mon ...

. His work subsequently moved in a more individual direction, but his continuing sympathy with the European musical

avant garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical De ...

is evident in his interest in

serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...

, fractal music and extended performance techniques. These interests can be seen in works such as ''Green Whispers of Gold'' and ''Praise of Heaven & Earth'', for voice, piano and tape. He also wrote and lectured on mathematics and music, and founded the

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 ...

Studio at Oxford University. Religion was another significant influence on Sherlaw Johnson's work. A convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, he wrote a number of functional liturgical works. Several of these were for Spode Music Week, an annual Catholic music course which he directed for many years. The continuing influence of Sherlaw Johnson's geographical origins is evident in compositions, such as the Northumbrian Symphony and his opera, ''

The Lambton Worm The Lambton Worm is a legend from County Durham in north-east England in the United Kingdom. The story takes place around the River Wear, and is one of the area's most famous pieces of folklore, having been adapted from written and oral tradit ...

'', that utilise material from the North-East of England. He also gained much personal satisfaction from playing the

Northumbrian pipes The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from North East England, where they have been an important factor in the local musical culture for more than 250 years. The family of the Duke of Nor ...

. Sherlaw Johnson's interest in bells and bell-inspired music (he rang regularly at his local church at

Stonesfield Stonesfield is a village and civil parish about north of Witney in Oxfordshire, and about 10 miles (17 km) north-west of Oxford. The village is on the crest of an escarpment. The parish extends mostly north and north-east of the village, ...

) is also evident in some of his own compositions.

Sources and external links

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Notes

External links

* on the

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web site. Includes a catalogue of works and a discography. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherlaw Johnson, Robert 1932 births 2000 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Academics of the University of Leeds Academics of the University of York Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the University of Leeds English classical pianists Male classical pianists Fellows of Worcester College, Oxford People from Sunderland Musicians from Tyne and Wear University of Rochester faculty People educated at Gosforth Academy 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century English composers Alumni of King's College, Newcastle 20th-century British male musicians Messiaen scholars