Dorian Le Gallienne
Encyclopedia
Dorian Leon Marlois Le Gallienne (19 April 1915 – 27 July 1963) was an Australia
n composer, teacher and music critic.
, was the daughter of the Assistant Astronomer at the Melbourne Observatory
. His parents separated in 1924, and his father lived in England thereafter. He attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School
. He was diagnosed with diabetes
at age 16. After leaving school, he studied with A. E. H. Nickson at the Melbourne Conservatorium and with Arthur Benjamin
and Herbert Howells
at the Royal College of Music
in London
in 1938. In 1939, he travelled in Europe with Richard Downing, a future Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission
(ABC), and with whom he later lived in Melbourne in a mud-brick house at Eltham
.
He returned to Australia, where he worked for the Commonwealth Department of Information in the overseas broadcasting service, later joining the ABC. He was employed as music critic for The Argus
and The Age
, both Melbourne newspapers, from 1950 until his death. In an article called "Why Preference for 'Celebrities'?", he criticised the ABC for its lack of support for local music and musicians in its "Celebrity" subscription concerts. From 1951 to 1953 he undertook further study with Gordon Jacob
in England. He taught harmony at the University of Melbourne
Conservatorium between 1954 and 1960.
His best known work, the Sinfonietta, was written between 1951 and 1956, and was interrupted by the writing of his only completed Symphony (1953). The Sinfonietta is of 12 minutes duration and shows the influence of Shostakovich
, Hindemith
, Prokofiev
and Vaughan Williams
. The first two movements were written in Britain, the remainder some years later in Australia. The Symphony was premiered in 1955, the Sinfonietta in 1956. In 1967 the music critic Roger Covell
wrote that Le Gallienne's Symphony was 'still the most accomplished and purposive ... written by an Australian'. Rhoderick McNeill has more recently opined that the Symphony is only eclipsed by Robert Hughes
’s Symphony as the finest Australian symphony of the period. However, it is little known since the score has never been published and the work has never been commercially recorded (although it can be heard at the Australian Music Centre in Sydney).
Another especially significant work of Le Gallienne is his song-cycle, Four Holy Sonnets of John Donne
, for low voice and piano. He also wrote music for Tim Burstall
's film The Prize (1960), which won a bronze medal at the Venice Film Festival
, and worked with Burstall on two other films.
He died of diabetes-induced heart disease in 1963, and was buried in the Eltham cemetery next to the artists' colony Montsalvat
. A second symphony remained incomplete at the time of his death.
The Dorian Le Gallienne Award was founded to commemorate his life in music, and is awarded every two years to a composer resident in Victoria
. The first award, in 1965, was to Helen Gifford
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n composer, teacher and music critic.
Biography
Dorian Le Gallienne was born in Melbourne in 1915. His father, an actor, was born in France, and his mother, a pianist who had studied with G. W. L. Marshall-HallMarshall Hall (musician)
George William Louis Marshall-Hall was an English-born musician, composer, conductor, poet and controversialist who lived and worked in Australia from 1891 till his death in 1915...
, was the daughter of the Assistant Astronomer at the Melbourne Observatory
Melbourne Observatory
Melbourne Observatory was founded in 1862 to serve as a scientific research institution for the rapidly growing city of Melbourne, the capital of the colony of Victoria. The observatory was tasked by the Victorian government with maintaining an accurate time reference for the colony through...
. His parents separated in 1924, and his father lived in England thereafter. He attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. He was diagnosed with diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
at age 16. After leaving school, he studied with A. E. H. Nickson at the Melbourne Conservatorium and with Arthur Benjamin
Arthur Benjamin
Arthur Leslie Benjamin was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of Jamaican Rhumba, composed in 1938.-Biography:...
and 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:...
at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1938. In 1939, he travelled in Europe with Richard Downing, a future Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC), and with whom he later lived in Melbourne in a mud-brick house at Eltham
Eltham, Victoria
Eltham is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2006 Census, Eltham had a population of 17,581....
.
He returned to Australia, where he worked for the Commonwealth Department of Information in the overseas broadcasting service, later joining the ABC. He was employed as music critic for The Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
and The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, both Melbourne newspapers, from 1950 until his death. In an article called "Why Preference for 'Celebrities'?", he criticised the ABC for its lack of support for local music and musicians in its "Celebrity" subscription concerts. From 1951 to 1953 he undertook further study with Gordon Jacob
Gordon Jacob
Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.-Life:...
in England. He taught harmony at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
Conservatorium between 1954 and 1960.
His best known work, the Sinfonietta, was written between 1951 and 1956, and was interrupted by the writing of his only completed Symphony (1953). The Sinfonietta is of 12 minutes duration and shows the influence of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
and Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
. The first two movements were written in Britain, the remainder some years later in Australia. The Symphony was premiered in 1955, the Sinfonietta in 1956. In 1967 the music critic Roger Covell
Roger Covell
Roger David Covell AM is an eminent Australian musicologist, critic and author. He is Professor Emeritus in the School of English, Media and Performing Arts at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, and continues to contribute articles and reviews to the Sydney Morning Herald, where he...
wrote that Le Gallienne's Symphony was 'still the most accomplished and purposive ... written by an Australian'. Rhoderick McNeill has more recently opined that the Symphony is only eclipsed by Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes (composer)
Robert Watson Hughes AO MBE was a Scottish-born Australian composer. His music was characterised as muscular, assertive, pugnacious, with a dark, troubled, even driven quality; but it was also deeply sensitive, lyrical and tender. His capacity to view a complex landscape of diverse musical...
’s Symphony as the finest Australian symphony of the period. However, it is little known since the score has never been published and the work has never been commercially recorded (although it can be heard at the Australian Music Centre in Sydney).
Another especially significant work of Le Gallienne is his song-cycle, Four Holy Sonnets of John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
, for low voice and piano. He also wrote music for Tim Burstall
Tim Burstall
Tim Burstall was an Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for the motion picture Alvin Purple....
's film The Prize (1960), which won a bronze medal at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, and worked with Burstall on two other films.
He died of diabetes-induced heart disease in 1963, and was buried in the Eltham cemetery next to the artists' colony Montsalvat
Montsalvat
Montsalvat is an artist colony in Eltham, Victoria, Australia, established by Justus Jorgensen in 1934. It is home to over a dozen buildings, houses and halls set amongst richly established gardens on 48,562 m2 of land...
. A second symphony remained incomplete at the time of his death.
The Dorian Le Gallienne Award was founded to commemorate his life in music, and is awarded every two years to a composer resident in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. The first award, in 1965, was to Helen Gifford
Helen Gifford
-Life:Helen Gifford was born in Melbourne, Australia, of Scots and Cornish heritage. She attended Tintern Junior School and Melbourne Girls Grammar, and then the University of Melbourne Conservatorium on a Commonwealth Scholarship. She studied with Roy Shepherd and Dorian Le Gallienne, graduating...
.
Works
- Contes heraldiques, or The sleepy princess (ballet, 1947)
- Beloved, let us love one another
- Blue Wrens (piano)
- The Cactus of the Moon
- Duo (violin and viola; 1956)
- Fanfare
- Farewell! Thou art too dear for my possessing
- Fear no more the heat o' the sun
- Four divine poems of John Donne (1950)
- Four nursery rhymes
- Go, heart (words by James Wedderburn)
- How oft when thou, my music (Shakespeare, sonnet no. 128)
- I had a little nut-tree
- Incidental music to MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(piano) - Incidental music to OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(oboe and guitar) - Jinker ride (piano, with Robert HughesRobert Hughes (composer)Robert Watson Hughes AO MBE was a Scottish-born Australian composer. His music was characterised as muscular, assertive, pugnacious, with a dark, troubled, even driven quality; but it was also deeply sensitive, lyrical and tender. His capacity to view a complex landscape of diverse musical...
) - Legend (2 pianos)
- Most blessed of mornings (short introit for SATB a capella choir)
- Nocturne (piano)
- No longer mourn for me (Shakespeare, sonnet no. 71)
- O rose, thou art sick (SSATB a capella choir)
- Overture in E flat (1952)
- Peta White; Grey goose and gander (two traditional songs)
- The Rivals (piano)
- Sinfonietta (1956)
- Solveig's cradle song (from IbsenHenrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
’s Peer GyntPeer GyntPeer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
) - Sonata (flute and piano; 1943)
- Sonata (piano)
- Sonata (violin and piano; 1945)
- Sonatina in E minor for piano duet (1941)
- Symphonic study (piano, 1940?)
- Symphony in E (1953)
- There was a king
- Three piano pieces
- Three psalms (SATB choir and organ)
- Trio for oboe, violin and viola (1957)
- Voyageur, ballet (1954)