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Donald
Harris
Composer,
Teacher & Musicologist
Who is Donald Harris?
A brief survey of
my musical (and not so musical friends)
came up with a few answers. Some had
heard (vaguely) of Roy Harris, the
more Episcopal amongst them recalled
William H. Harris and his church music.
One asked if 'Jet' Harris from the
Shadows was relevant. I had a brief
look at the CD databases and discovered
that Donald Harris is represented
by only two works on - Ludus 2
for chamber ensemble and the
Violin Fantasy. However, there
is an excellent disc full of his music,
which I have heard and thoroughly
enjoyed. However, it is not an unfair
statement to make that his music is
not as well known as it could or should
be - at least on this (UK) side of
the Atlantic. Yet a brief perusal
of his biography reveals a long and
consistent success in America and
Paris.
Donald Harris has
many interests in music other than
composition- he has not single-mindedly
dedicated himself to the composer’s
art. For example he served as an administrator
at the New England Conservatory of
Music (1967-1977) and at Hartt School
of Music at the University of Hartford
(1977-1988). He became the Dean of
the College of the Arts and Professor
of Music at Ohio State University
in 1988. However after nearly a decade
in that position he has returned to
the faculty of composition at Ohio
State.
During his time in
Paris (1955 -1968) he was heavily
involved in the promotion of music
(especially American music) He was
a consultant to the United States
Information Service and was responsible
for staging the first post-war Festival
of Contemporary American Music. Other
commitments have included co-editing
the Berg/Schoenberg correspondence
which was extremely well received
in music scholarship circles. In-between
all this activity he has found time
to compose a great deal of music in
virtually every genre.
(Extract
(modified) from Piano Sonata Op.1
by John France 2005)
Donald Harris
in his own words
As I wrote in
a liner note to a retrospective
recording of my chamber works,
"my customary modus operandi
is intuitive." I went on
to explain that there were no
(or few) sketches for any of my
compositions, nor were there any
pre-conceived structural plans.
Each was composed from beginning
to end, sui generis so
to speak, one measure or phrase
leading to another, with only
my inner ear as a guide. Many
of my pieces, even those for large
ensembles, are soloistic; many
are brief or compact, usually
in one movement; most are structurally
condensed while remaining harmonically
and/or rhythmically complex. Only
one is properly twelve-tone, one
of the earliest, the Fantasy
for Violin, but understandably
so since it dates from the 1950's
when most young composers were
experimenting with these and other
techniques that required pre-compositional
thought. Recently, with the composition
of an opera in three acts and
a four-movement string quartet,
I have gravitated toward longer
forms. However, throughout my
career, my intent consistently
has been to be expressive without
the constraint of formal or structural
rigidity. And just as there has
been no systematic attempt to
use pre-compositional techniques,
there has also been no conscious
attempt to avoid tonality, in
spite of the heavy reliance on
chromaticism, avoidance of octave
doublings, and the use of freely
derived twelve-tone harmonic rhythm,
that could lead the listener to
think otherwise. On the contrary,
the basic underlying structure
of my music is still secured by
its dependence upon harmonic (or
tonal) interrelationships that
dictate its ebb and flow.
Many influences,
I am certain, can be heard in
my music. The fact that I lived
in Paris for almost fifteen years,
basically my formative years when
I first began to emerge as an
adult composer, most certainly
had its effect, as did my interest
in the Second Viennese School,
particularly Berg but also Schoenberg.
I was obviously not alone in this.
Generations of young composers
were brought up either enthusiastically
accepting or rejecting out of
hand Schoenbergian theoretical
thought. I would count myself,
of course, among the former even
though I have never been a strict
serialist. In my harmonic choices,
especially in later years, I hear
a noticeable jazz influence. And
ever since I began my studies
of composition, each new work
of Stravinsky fascinated me, although
I don’t believe that this fascination
was echoed in my music in any
precise way. Can a personal style
emerge from all this hodge-podge?
I would expect so but the listener
will have to be the ultimate judge.
I do not negate the fact that
I have a rather romantic sensibility
as well as eclectic tastes. Mahler
is the composer I would take to
the proverbial desert island.
But ever since my student days
I have listened to a lot of different
music, and I still do. My thirst
to listen and learn has in no
way diminished over the course
of time. I still attend many concerts
or other types of musical events
and seek out unusual CDs I order
to keep abreast of new developments.
Nonetheless, extended lyricism
is an attribute that comes to
mind when I think about my music
and how I wish it to be heard.
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