Bruce Boyce
Encyclopedia
Bruce Boyce was a prominent Canadian baritone
singer of opera, oratorio and lieder, who made his post-war career in Britain and became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music
.
, in the mid-west of the United States, where his singing came to the attention of a teacher interested in drama. He left school at 17 and went to California
to seek his fortune, working on the harvest and at odd jobs. He began saving in order to study at Cornell University
, where he began as a medical student; but after some time, while working at all-night car-washing where he sang to himself for pleasure, he transferred to an arts course to study language and music. Becoming aware of his fine baritone voice, he joined the Cornell Glee Club, and was soon distinguishing himself as a soloist in university recitals. In his last year he was invited to sing at the White House
, entertaining presidential guests after dinner. During vacations he sang in a professional quartet at a mountain resort. His success at Cornell led to his membership in the Quill and Dagger
society.
In 1934 he won a scholarship to study abroad, and in the prevailing political climate of Germany and Italy decided to study in England, in London, with Reinhold von Warlich (also a teacher of John Goss and Pierre Bernac
). Here he was introduced to lieder singing, and began to make this his principal forte. His first London recital was at the Grotrian Hall in 1936, after which he gave recitals every year and made many appearances in oratorio and broadcast. He also gave recitals at the Town Hall, New York, in 1937 and 1938, and was there when Britain declared war in 1939. He remained in the USA, and when the USA entered the war he joined the American Army Air Force. He spent the last years of the war as a member of the US Air Transport Headquarters. There was little singing done at this time.
in 1946, after which he was soon re-established as a recitalist and oratorio singer. In 1947 he accepted the invitation to take part in the Italian opera season at the Cambridge Theatre
. The venture collapsed, but not before he had distinguished himself as Don Giovanni
(40 performances), as Monterone in Rigoletto
and as Marcel in La bohème
. Then for several years his career widened to include a greater operatic base. he sang the Count in Marriage of Figaro under Erich Kleiber
at the Royal Opera House
; he was connected with the English Opera Group
; he sang operatic roles on the continent of Europe, and he gave performances with the London Opera Club. He also continued in oratorio, most notably in the St Matthew Passion, and appeared in English music such as the Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams.
At the same time he made a strong impression in recordings, especially in the successful Thomas Beecham
recordings of Delius
(A Mass of Life, 1953, and Sea Drift
, 1954). He took part in recordings of Purcell
's Birthday Ode for the Queen and Monteverdi Vespers (Oiseau-Lyre), the J S Bach B Minor Mass (Enescu, with Kathleen Ferrier
, Peter Pears
, Norman Walker, etc.), the Lully
Miserere, and Handel
's Apollo e Dafne. However, increasingly it was as a lieder singer that he built the highest levels of his reputation. His lieder recitals were noted for their strong and intelligent construction and choice of material, and his singing of the songs for their roundness and firmness of tone, the flexibility and nuance of expression, and sureness of touch in exploring mood, capable of exploring the full emotional range of Schubert's works. Gerald Moore
was sometimes his accompanist, who referred to him as 'that immaculate artist', and tells us that he was a large, tall man. Moore noted, Boyce 'is recognised in Germany today as echt deutsch with his superb enunciation and his knowledge of the literature.' He recorded recitals of lieder (three albums, of Schubert, Brahms, and Hugo Wolf
) for Oiseau-Lyre. He also maintained a strong affection for British composers, notably Vaughan Williams, Herbert Howells
, John Ireland
and Ivor Gurney
, in addition to Delius.
He became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music
in 1956.
Bruce Boyce died on 11 May 1996 at Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, England.
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
singer of opera, oratorio and lieder, who made his post-war career in Britain and became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
.
Early career
Born, John Bruce McClaren in London, Ontario, the American baritone, Bruce Boyce was the son of a Canadian veterinary surgeon. His father was not musical, but his mother sang and gave him early encouragement. At a young age his family moved to Superior, NebraskaSuperior, Nebraska
Superior is a city in Nuckolls County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,957.Superior bills itself as the "Victorian Capital of Nebraska", and holds an annual Victorian Festival...
, in the mid-west of the United States, where his singing came to the attention of a teacher interested in drama. He left school at 17 and went to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to seek his fortune, working on the harvest and at odd jobs. He began saving in order to study at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he began as a medical student; but after some time, while working at all-night car-washing where he sang to himself for pleasure, he transferred to an arts course to study language and music. Becoming aware of his fine baritone voice, he joined the Cornell Glee Club, and was soon distinguishing himself as a soloist in university recitals. In his last year he was invited to sing at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, entertaining presidential guests after dinner. During vacations he sang in a professional quartet at a mountain resort. His success at Cornell led to his membership in the Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University...
society.
In 1934 he won a scholarship to study abroad, and in the prevailing political climate of Germany and Italy decided to study in England, in London, with Reinhold von Warlich (also a teacher of John Goss and Pierre Bernac
Pierre Bernac
Pierre Bernac was a French baritone.Born Pierre Bertin in Paris on January 12, 1899, he studied with Reinhold von Wahrlich in Salzburg. he came to music relatively late and gave his first recital in 1921....
). Here he was introduced to lieder singing, and began to make this his principal forte. His first London recital was at the Grotrian Hall in 1936, after which he gave recitals every year and made many appearances in oratorio and broadcast. He also gave recitals at the Town Hall, New York, in 1937 and 1938, and was there when Britain declared war in 1939. He remained in the USA, and when the USA entered the war he joined the American Army Air Force. He spent the last years of the war as a member of the US Air Transport Headquarters. There was little singing done at this time.
Career recommenced
On demobilisation, Boyce decided to base his home and career in London and began with two recitals at the Wigmore HallWigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
in 1946, after which he was soon re-established as a recitalist and oratorio singer. In 1947 he accepted the invitation to take part in the Italian opera season at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
. The venture collapsed, but not before he had distinguished himself as Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(40 performances), as Monterone in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
and as Marcel in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. Then for several years his career widened to include a greater operatic base. he sang the Count in Marriage of Figaro under Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague...
at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
; he was connected with the English Opera Group
English Opera Group
The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten for the purpose of presenting his and other, primarily British, composers' operatic works. The group later expanded in order to present larger-scale works, and was renamed the English...
; he sang operatic roles on the continent of Europe, and he gave performances with the London Opera Club. He also continued in oratorio, most notably in the St Matthew Passion, and appeared in English music such as the Sea Symphony of Vaughan Williams.
At the same time he made a strong impression in recordings, especially in the successful Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
recordings of Delius
Delius
Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius - English composer* Nicolaus Delius - German philologist* Tobias Delius Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius (1912–1937) - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius...
(A Mass of Life, 1953, and Sea Drift
Sea Drift (Delius)
Sea Drift is among the larger-scale musical works by the composer Frederick Delius. Completed in 1903-1904 and first performed in 1906, it is a setting for baritone, chorus and orchestra of words by Walt Whitman.- The poem adaptation :...
, 1954). He took part in recordings of Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's Birthday Ode for the Queen and Monteverdi Vespers (Oiseau-Lyre), the J S Bach B Minor Mass (Enescu, with Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
, Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
, Norman Walker, etc.), the Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
Miserere, and Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Apollo e Dafne. However, increasingly it was as a lieder singer that he built the highest levels of his reputation. His lieder recitals were noted for their strong and intelligent construction and choice of material, and his singing of the songs for their roundness and firmness of tone, the flexibility and nuance of expression, and sureness of touch in exploring mood, capable of exploring the full emotional range of Schubert's works. Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore CBE was an English pianist best known for his career as one of the most in-demand accompanists of his day, accompanying many of the world's most famous musicians...
was sometimes his accompanist, who referred to him as 'that immaculate artist', and tells us that he was a large, tall man. Moore noted, Boyce 'is recognised in Germany today as echt deutsch with his superb enunciation and his knowledge of the literature.' He recorded recitals of lieder (three albums, of Schubert, Brahms, and Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but utterly unrelated in...
) for Oiseau-Lyre. He also maintained a strong affection for British composers, notably Vaughan Williams, Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
, John Ireland
John Ireland (composer)
John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
and Ivor Gurney
Ivor Gurney
Ivor Bertie Gurney was an English composer and poet.-Life:Born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester in 1890, the second of four children of David Gurney, a tailor, and his wife Florence, a seamstress, Gurney showed musical ability early...
, in addition to Delius.
He became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in 1956.
Bruce Boyce died on 11 May 1996 at Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, England.
Sources
- D. Brook, Singers of Today (Revd. Edn., Rockliff, London 1958), 33-37.
- G. Moore, Am I too Loud? (Harmondsworth 1966).