David Blake (composer)
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David Blake (born 2 September 1936) is an English composer and founder member of the Department of Music at the University of York.


Early life and education

Blake was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Following
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
, he learnt
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
and spent one year in Hong Kong. He went on to read music at
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...
, where his teachers were
Patrick Hadley Patrick Arthur Sheldon Hadley (5 March 1899 – 17 December 1973) was a British composer. Biography Patrick Sheldon Hadley was born on 5 March 1899 in Cambridge. His father, William Sheldon Hadley, was at that time a fellow of Pembroke Co ...
, Peter Tranchell and
Raymond Leppard Raymond John Leppard (11 August 1927 – 22 October 2019) was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the ...
. He was awarded the
Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship (german: Mendelssohn-Stipendium) refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to co ...
for Composition in 1960, and, uniquely for a British composer of his generation, he went to East Berlin to study with Arnold Schoenberg's pupil, the Marxist composer
Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...
, as a Meisterschüler of the GDR Akademie der Künste (
Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...
). During this time, he composed the first of his acknowledged compositions – the Variations for Piano and the String Quartet No. 1.Profile
Chesternovello.com


Career

In 1963, he was awarded the Granada Arts Fellowship at the newly opened University of York, and the following year, with
Wilfrid Mellers Wilfrid Howard Mellers (26 April 1914 – 17 May 2008) was an English music critic, musicologist and composer. Early life Born in Leamington, Warwickshire, Mellers was educated at the local Leamington College and later won a scholarship to Dow ...
and Peter Aston, he founded the Department of Music there. He was Lecturer in Music in the Department until 1976 and then succeeded Wilfrid Mellers as Professor. His first important commission came in 1966, from the York Festival, for his Chamber Symphony. Subsequent commissions included ''Lumina'' (soloists, chorus and large orchestra) for the 1970
Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
; the Violin Concerto for the 1976
BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
; ''Toussaint'', an opera in three acts for the
English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
, first produced in 1977 (and revived 1983); ''Rise Dove'' (solo bass and orchestra) for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
; ''The Plumber's Gift'', an opera in two acts for the English National Opera, first produced in 1989 with libretto by John Birtwhistle; and the Cello Concerto, commissioned by the BBC for the 1993
Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...
. He also went on to found the University of York Music Press – known as UYMP – in 1995 with Bill Colleran, with a purpose to promote new and established composers with a range of aesthetic backgrounds. He retired from the University of York in 2001, but remains on the board of UYMP.


Selected list of works

His extensive output, which includes operas and orchestral works, is published by Chester Novello (to 1994) and by UYMP (after 1994).Paul Conway (October 2013). David Blake: From note-rows to musical numbers. ''
Tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
'' 67 (266): 2–17


Operas and stage works

* ''It's a Small War'', musical for schools (1962) * ''Toussaint'', opera in 3 acts (1974–77) * ''The Plumber's Gift'', opera in 2 acts (1985–88, rev, 1990). * '' Scoring A Century'' (1999) First Performance 4 March 2010 in Birmingham


Chorus and orchestra

* ''Lumina'' (words by Ezra Pound) for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra (1969) * ''Three Ritsos Choruses'' for chorus and orchestra without violins (1993 riginal for men's voices and guitars, 1992 * ''The Fabulous Adventures of Alexander the Great'' for soloists, young people's choir and orchestra (1996)


Unaccompanied chorus

* ''Three Choruses on Poems of Robert Frost'' (1964) * ''Four Songs of Ben Jonson'' (1965) * ''What is the Cause?'' (1967)


Orchestra and chamber orchestra

* Chamber Symphony (1966) * ''Metamorphoses'' (1971) * Violin Concerto (1976) * ''Sonata alla marcia'' for chamber orchestra (1978) * ''Scherzi ed intermezzi'' (1984) * ''Pastoral Paraphrase'' for bassoon and small orchestra (1988) * Cello Concerto (1992) * ''Nocturne'' for string orchestra (1994) rrangement of A Little More Night Music for saxophone quartet, 1990


Brass band

* ''Mill Music'' (1990) * ''Winelands'' for symphonic wind ensemble (1997)


Voice with orchestra or chamber accompaniment

* ''The Bones of Chuang Tzu'' (Chang Heng, trans. Arthur Waley), cantata for baritone and small orchestra (1972, orch. 1973 riginal version baritone and piano) * ''In Praise of Krishna'' (from the Bengali) for soprano and 9 instruments (1973) * ''From the Mattress Grave'' ( Heinrich Heine) for high voice and 11 instruments (1978) * ''Change is Going to Come'' (various S. African poets), cantata for mezzo, baritone, chorus and 4 players (1982) * ''Rise Dove'' (
Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He founded the Par ...
) for bass and orchestra (1983) * ''The Griffin's Tale'', legend for baritone and small orchestra (1994) * ''The Shades of Love'' ( Cavafy) for bass baritone and small orchestra (2000) * ''Rings of Jade'' (
Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...
, ''Prison Diary'') for medium voice and orchestra (2005)


Voice and piano

* ''Beata l'Alma'' (Herbert Read), cantata for soprano and piano (1966)


Chamber music

* String Quartet No. 1 (1962) * Nonet for wind instruments (1971, rev. 1978) * String Quartet No. 2 (1973) * ''Cassation'' for wind octet (1979) * Clarinet Quintet (1980) * ''Capriccio'' for 7 players (1980) * String Quartet No. 3 (1982) * ''Seasonal Variants'' for 7 players (1985) * ''Diversions on themes of Hanns Eisler'' for saxophone and piano (1995) * ''Four Intermezzi'' for violin and piano (1995) * String Quartet No. 4 (2004)


Solo instrumental

* ''Variations'' for piano (1960) * ''Scenes'' for solo cello (1972) * ''Arias'' for solo clarinet (1978) * ''Fantasia'' for solo violin (1984)


References


External links


David Blake
– Publisher's profile (Chester Novello)

– Blake founded UYMP
David Blake
– Staff profile, University of York

– Interview and Article with David Blake and Keith Warner for Scoring A Century {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, David 1936 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers English classical composers English opera composers Male opera composers Living people Musicians from London English male classical composers 20th-century English composers Academics of the University of York 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians