W. A. Mathieu
Encyclopedia
William Allaudin Mathieu (born 1937) is a composer
, pianist
, choir
director
, music
teacher, and author
. He studied with William Russo and Easley Blackwood, with North Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath
for 25 years, and collaborated with Nubian master musician Hamza El Din Hamza El Din
.
In the 1960s, he spent several years as an arranger
and composer for Stan Kenton
and Duke Ellington
orchestras. Kenton's album Standards In Silhouette
consists entirely of Mathieu's arrangements and revealed the young Mathieu (then 22 years of age) to be an incredibly adept manipulator of compositional materials.
Mathieu was one of the founders and the musical director for the Second City
in Chicago, and was later the musical director for the Committee Theater in San Francisco. In the 1970s, he was on faculties of San Francisco Conservatory of Music
and Mills College
. Allaudin was the original director of the Sufi Choir founded in 1969 in San Francisco among followers of Samuel L. Lewis
.
Mathieu began recording solo piano albums in 1980, and has composed a large variety of chamber pieces, choral works, and song cycles.
His books include:
Harmonic Experience (561 pages) offers a view of music theory that harmonizes Western and Eastern perspectives. Understanding can be actively enhanced by utilizing its autodidactic ear-training and sight-singing exercises, especially using singing sargam syllables over a drone
such as a tamboura or possibly a Western fifth
played in just intonation
.
An audio edition of The Listening Book was issued on two cassette tapes in 1991 By Shambhala Lion Editions. That audio material was re-mastered and issued along with new audio material read from The Musical Life in 2008 on the Manifest Spirit Records label.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
director
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
teacher, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He studied with William Russo and Easley Blackwood, with North Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath was a Hindustani classical singer and teacher of the Kirana gharana , with a successful American career.-Early life:...
for 25 years, and collaborated with Nubian master musician Hamza El Din Hamza El Din
Hamza El Din
Hamza Alaa El Din was a Nubian composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist.-Early life:Born in the village of Toshka, near Wadi Halfa in southern Egypt, he was originally trained to be an electrical engineer...
.
In the 1960s, he spent several years as an arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
and composer for Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
orchestras. Kenton's album Standards In Silhouette
Standards in Silhouette
Standards In Silhouette is an album recorded in September 1959 by Stan Kenton and his orchestra. The entire set of arrangements for the LP were written by Bill Mathieu...
consists entirely of Mathieu's arrangements and revealed the young Mathieu (then 22 years of age) to be an incredibly adept manipulator of compositional materials.
Mathieu was one of the founders and the musical director for the Second City
Second City
Second City or The Second City may refer to:* The second largest city in a country. See: List of largest cities and second largest cities by country...
in Chicago, and was later the musical director for the Committee Theater in San Francisco. In the 1970s, he was on faculties of San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, formerly the California Conservatory of Music, founded in 1917, is a music school, with an enrollment of about 400 students. It was launched by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgehead in the remodeled home of Lillian's parents on Sacramento Street. It was called the...
and Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
. Allaudin was the original director of the Sufi Choir founded in 1969 in San Francisco among followers of Samuel L. Lewis
Samuel L. Lewis
Samuel Lewis was an American mystic and dance teacher who founded the Dances of Universal Peace movement. He was also known under his Sufi name Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti and was addressed by his mureeds and others as Murshid...
.
Mathieu began recording solo piano albums in 1980, and has composed a large variety of chamber pieces, choral works, and song cycles.
His books include:
- The Listening Book: Discovering Your Own Music (1991) Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-610-3.
- The Musical Life: Reflections On What It Is And How To Live It (1994) Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-670-7.
- Harmonic Experience: Tonal Harmony from Its Natural Origins to Its Modern Expression (1997) Inner Traditions Intl Ltd. ISBN 0-89281-560-4.
- Bridge of Waves: What Music Is and How Listening to It Changes the World (2010) Shambhala. ISBN 1-59030-732-1.
Harmonic Experience (561 pages) offers a view of music theory that harmonizes Western and Eastern perspectives. Understanding can be actively enhanced by utilizing its autodidactic ear-training and sight-singing exercises, especially using singing sargam syllables over a drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
such as a tamboura or possibly a Western fifth
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
played in just intonation
Just intonation
In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
.
An audio edition of The Listening Book was issued on two cassette tapes in 1991 By Shambhala Lion Editions. That audio material was re-mastered and issued along with new audio material read from The Musical Life in 2008 on the Manifest Spirit Records label.
Solo and collaborative recordings
- The Listening Book and The Musical Life - Audio Edition, 2008 (2-CD set)
External links
- ColdMountainMusic.com: official site.
- ListeningBookAudio.com: Audio edition of The Listening Book and The Musical Life.