David Farquhar (composer)
Encyclopedia
David Andress Farquhar was born in Cambridge, New Zealand
in 1928 but spent most of his early years in Fiji
.
He was educated in New Zealand and began his university studies in Christchurch
before completing his degree at Victoria University of Wellington
where he studied with Douglas Lilburn
. He went to the United Kingdom
where he completed a Master of Arts at the University of Cambridge
, and also studied composition with Benjamin Frankel
at the Guildhall School of Music in London.
On his return to New Zealand he joined the staff of the Department of Music at Victoria University, and was made Professor of Music in 1976, retiring in 1993. He was the Founder-President of the Composers Association of New Zealand
in 1974 and was awarded their Citation for Services to New Zealand Music in 1984.
In 2004 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to music. He has written numerous orchestral, choral, stage and instrumental
works, songs and music for children, and has been recognized since the 1950s as being at the forefront of New Zealand composition.
David Farquhar died in Wellington, New Zealand on 8 May 2007.
, Christopher Fry's adaptation of Jean Anouilh's play L'invitation au château. In the second act a ball takes place offstage and the text specifies a large number of dances. The music was first recorded on acetate disc
s by an ad hoc orchestra led by Alex Lindsay; these small recordings were then played through speakers for the production, sounding very loud to the cast but filtering out more gently to the audience.
At the end of the long national tour, the cast knew the music very well and suggested to David Farquhar that he should do something with it. The result, some years later, 1957, was a suite of nine dances first performed by the Alex Lindsay Orchestra. This rapidly became Farquhar's most performed piece and was commercially recorded by the Alex Lindsay Orchestra in 1962, a recording still available today as a CD reissue.
Ashley Heenen, through the NZ APRA
Committee, commissioned an arrangement for full orchestra for the National Youth Orchestra to take on a tour of Europe and China in 1975. This version was shortened to six dances by leaving out the first three numbers. The music has also been used for a ballet, The Wintergarden, choreographed by Arthur Turnbull for the Royal New Zealand Ballet
, and a variety of other versions exists: a Waltz Suite (1989) for string orchestra; an arrangement of the original Dance Suite (1992) for violin and piano; as well as shorter arrangements for both brass band and concert band.
Cambridge, New Zealand
Cambridge is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated 24 kilometres southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions".In the 1840s Cambridge had a Maori population but in the 1850's missionaries and...
in 1928 but spent most of his early years in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
.
He was educated in New Zealand and began his university studies in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
before completing his degree at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
where he studied with Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Gordon Lilburn ONZ FRCM was a New Zealand composer.-Early life:Lilburn was born in Wanganui. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School from 1930 to 1933, before moving to Christchurch to study journalism and music at Canterbury University College...
. He went to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where he completed a Master of Arts at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and also studied composition with Benjamin Frankel
Benjamin Frankel
Benjamin Frankel was a British composer. Frankel's most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concertos for violin and viola; his single best-known piece is probably the First Sonata for Solo Violin, which, like his concertos, resulted...
at the Guildhall School of Music in London.
On his return to New Zealand he joined the staff of the Department of Music at Victoria University, and was made Professor of Music in 1976, retiring in 1993. He was the Founder-President of the Composers Association of New Zealand
Composers Association of New Zealand
The Composers Association of New Zealand is a body that lobbies for the interests of New Zealand composers. Through its affiliations with the International Society for Contemporary Music and the , CANZ provides its members with opportunities to participate in international music festivals...
in 1974 and was awarded their Citation for Services to New Zealand Music in 1984.
In 2004 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to music. He has written numerous orchestral, choral, stage and instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
works, songs and music for children, and has been recognized since the 1950s as being at the forefront of New Zealand composition.
David Farquhar died in Wellington, New Zealand on 8 May 2007.
Ring Round the Moon
This music was originally commissioned by Richard Campion for the New Zealand Players' production of Ring Round the MoonRing Round the Moon
Ring Round the Moon is a 1950 adaptation by the English dramatist Christopher Fry of Jean Anouilh's Invitation to the Castle . Peter Brook commissioned Fry to adapt the play and the first production of Ring Round the Moon was given at the Globe Theatre...
, Christopher Fry's adaptation of Jean Anouilh's play L'invitation au château. In the second act a ball takes place offstage and the text specifies a large number of dances. The music was first recorded on acetate disc
Acetate disc
An acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
s by an ad hoc orchestra led by Alex Lindsay; these small recordings were then played through speakers for the production, sounding very loud to the cast but filtering out more gently to the audience.
At the end of the long national tour, the cast knew the music very well and suggested to David Farquhar that he should do something with it. The result, some years later, 1957, was a suite of nine dances first performed by the Alex Lindsay Orchestra. This rapidly became Farquhar's most performed piece and was commercially recorded by the Alex Lindsay Orchestra in 1962, a recording still available today as a CD reissue.
Ashley Heenen, through the NZ APRA
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
Committee, commissioned an arrangement for full orchestra for the National Youth Orchestra to take on a tour of Europe and China in 1975. This version was shortened to six dances by leaving out the first three numbers. The music has also been used for a ballet, The Wintergarden, choreographed by Arthur Turnbull for the Royal New Zealand Ballet
Royal New Zealand Ballet
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is based in Wellington, New Zealand.The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a company of 32 dynamic dancers, performing an eclectic repertoire of outstanding dance, for national and international audiences, whilst continuing to build a style that is ultimately unique to the...
, and a variety of other versions exists: a Waltz Suite (1989) for string orchestra; an arrangement of the original Dance Suite (1992) for violin and piano; as well as shorter arrangements for both brass band and concert band.
Other compositions
- A Unicorn For Christmas, opera in three acts
- Concertino for piano and strings
- Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra
- Concerto for Wind Quintet, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn
- In Despite Of Death, a song cycle for baritone and piano
- Magpies and other birds, settings of three poems by Denis GloverDenis GloverLieutenant Commander Denis James Matthews Glover DSC was a New Zealand poet and publisher.Well-known for radical leftist opinions, he was often in trouble with authorities. In 1935 he founded the Caxton Press, which he used to encourage a less sentimental style of poetry in New Zealand than was...
for vocal quartet - No-one and anyone, a setting of anyone lived in a pretty how townAnyone lived in a pretty how town"anyone lived in a pretty how town" is a poem written by E. E. Cummings. First published in 1940, the poem details the lives of residents in a nameless town. Like much of Cummings's work, the poem is actually untitled, so critics use the first line to refer to the poem. Cummings often wrote in a...
by E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
for vocal sextet - Partita, for piano
- Ring Round the Moon, Dance Suite for small orchestra
- Scherzo for orchestra
- String Quartet
- Suite, five-movement work for guitar - Prelude, Capriccio, Ostinato, Rondino and Epilogue.
- Symphony No. 1 for orchestra
- Symphony No. 2 for orchestra
- The Islands, song cycle for SATB choir
- Three Cilla McQueen Songs, for mezzo-soprano and piano
- Three Improvisations, for piano
Sources
Further reading
- Thomson, John Mansfield. 1990. "Farquhar, David (Andress)", Biographical Dictionary of New Zealand Composers, edited by John Mansfield Thomson, 58–61. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 0864730950
- Thomson, J[ohn]. M[ansfield]. 2001. "Farquhar, David (Andress)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrell. London: Macmilln Publishers.