Peter Wishart (composer)
Encyclopedia
Peter Charles Arthur Wishart (25 June 1921 -14 August 1984) was an English
composer
. Wishart was born in Crowborough
. He studied with Nadia Boulanger
in Paris from 1947-1948 and taught at the Guildhall School of Music, Birmingham University, King's College London
and Reading University where he was Professor of Music from 1977. His compositions include several neo-classical
operas, orchestral and chamber pieces, and a large amount of church music. Critics have commented on Wishart's strong and individual lyricism, and his admiration for the music of Igor Stravinsky
.
, Hinrichsen, OUP and Jackdaws Publications. His output was primarily as a vocal composer, writing songs and operas.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
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...
. Wishart was born in Crowborough
Crowborough
The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex . Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns...
. He studied with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris from 1947-1948 and taught at the Guildhall School of Music, Birmingham University, King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
and Reading University where he was Professor of Music from 1977. His compositions include several neo-classical
Neoclassicism (music)
Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint...
operas, orchestral and chamber pieces, and a large amount of church music. Critics have commented on Wishart's strong and individual lyricism, and his admiration for the music of Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
.
He was married to the mezzo-soprano singer Maureen LehaneMaureen LehaneMaureen Theresa Lehane Wishart was an English Mezzo-soprano singer, university lecturer and founder of the Great Elm Music Festival, Jackdaws Music Education Trust and an annual Vocal Award for young singers...
, with whom he worked with at Reading University and lived with in Bridge House, near Frome, Somerset. His son by a previous marriage James Wishart is also a composer. After his death, Maureen began a music festival in his memory, the Great Elm Music Festival, and later the Jackdaws Music Education Trust. She died on December 27th 2010.
The family is unrelated to that of the composer Trevor WishartTrevor WishartTrevor Wishart is an English composer, based in York. Wishart has contributed to composing with digital audio media, both fixed and interactive...
.
His Music
His music is published by various publishing houses, including Banks Music Ltd., Stainer & BellStainer & Bell
Stainer & Bell Limited is a British publisher of classical sheet music and books, based in London. Stainer, founded in 1907, publish the works of a number of significant twentieth century composers, including Charles Villiers Stanford, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Herbert Howells...
, Hinrichsen, OUP and Jackdaws Publications. His output was primarily as a vocal composer, writing songs and operas.
Operas
- Two in the Bush (BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 1959) - The Captive (Birmingham, 1960)
- The Clandestine Marriage (CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, 1971) - Clytemnestra (LondonLondonLondon 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...
, 1974), written for his wife Maureen LehaneMaureen LehaneMaureen Theresa Lehane Wishart was an English Mezzo-soprano singer, university lecturer and founder of the Great Elm Music Festival, Jackdaws Music Education Trust and an annual Vocal Award for young singers...
. - The Lady of the Inn (ReadingReading, BerkshireReading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, 1983)
Songs
- Two Shakespeare Songs for medium voice
- Spider - Words by Lord de Taberly
- The Jackdaw - arguably Wishart's most well known song, dedicated to his wife Maureen LehaneMaureen LehaneMaureen Theresa Lehane Wishart was an English Mezzo-soprano singer, university lecturer and founder of the Great Elm Music Festival, Jackdaws Music Education Trust and an annual Vocal Award for young singers...
with words by William CowperWilliam CowperWilliam Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
and completed on 27th January 1965, Hampstead.
Sources
- Opera at Stanford University
- http://www.wishart.org/peterwishart.html
- Wishart, Peter; 'Two Shakespeare Songs' (York: Banks Music Publications, 1989)
- Wishart, Peter; 'Spider' (Frome: Jackdaws Publications, 1999)