The music of Barbara Pentland (1912-2000) traces a history of twentieth century music composition in Canada. From her Winnipeg roots to the nascent Toronto avant-garde of the mid-forties, to the final half-century of her life spent in Vancouver, Pentland’s music evolved in the context of shifting international compositional trends and her own persistent individualism. With the exception of the Octet for Winds of 1948, the works recorded here are drawn from her remarkably productive later years.

The music of Barbara Pentland (1912-2000) traces a history of twentieth century music composition in Canada. From her Winnipeg roots to the nascent Toronto avant-garde of the mid-forties, to the final half-century of her life spent in Vancouver, Pentland’s music evolved in the context of shifting international compositional trends and her own persistent individualism. Along the way, Pentland studied composition and counterpoint in Paris with a pupil of Vincent d’Indy (1929-30), spent three years honing her compositional skills at Juilliard in New York City (1936-38), studied for two summers with Aaron Copland in Berkshire (1941 and 1942), and traveled to the new music haven of Darmstadt (1955). where she came into contact with the music of Anton Webern. From this eclectic and rigorous training, Pentland forged a unique compositional voice that retained its identity throughout sixty years of compositional output.

With the exception of the Octet for Winds of 1948, the works recorded here are drawn from her remarkably productive later years. In these works of the mid-seventies and early eighties, Pentland’s music has an intense expressivity that references the line and lyricism of her early music, while at the same time incorporating contemporary compositional developments. Here we have an intriguing dichotomy. On the one hand, we have the inclusion of extended techniques and innovations of the time period, such as in the harp solo Commenta, and Pentland’s trademark aleatory zones where musicians have controlled freedoms. On the other hand, we find a composer with an intuitive sense of musical development, and a traditional ability to shape line and counterpoint. In these mature works, Pentland exhibits both modernist and pre-modernist tendencies, resulting in a music that is lively and colourful, controlled and yet unpredictable.

Barbara Pentland is considered by some to be an austere and rigid composer. This opinion results in part from a personality that could be combative and forbidding. It is true that Pentland was uncompromising in character, and willing to fight for the causes that she believed in. But for those who befriended her and performed and championed her music, she was quite the opposite of her reputation. Her friends and supporters found her to be warm, loyal, fun-loving, and spirited. Although she was a stickler for musical detail in her compositions, she was sympathetic to the interpretational nuances supplied by the performer. Just as Pentland was often misunderstood as an individual, so too has her music been subject to stereotypical categorization. She has been referred to as a twelve-tone composer, but for Pentland, serialism was “a governing principle rather than a straightjacket.” Although she seemed on the surface a proponent of abstract and absolute music, several of her later works are inspired by causes such as anti-war sentiment, and environmental concern. There is a sense of drama and transformation in much of the work of her last fifteen years. Somehow, Pentland found a way to renew herself, breathing new life into her compositions, while remaining true to her compositional principles. There are clearly multiple dimensions to the music of Barbara Pentland that will only become apparent as the music is rediscovered and brought to light. Only then, can her historical significance and the quality of her work be more fairly evaluated.

Disasters of the Sun, based on the poetry of Dorothy Livesay, is one of Pentland’s greatest achievements. And yet, since the 1977 premiere by the late Canadian Mezzo-Soprano Phyllis Mailing and Vancouver New Music, it has rarely been performed. This premiere recording, with the acclaimed Judith Forst as soloist, now makes this large-scale work significantly more accessible to the public at large. Pentland and Livesay, both born in Winnipeg, were kindred spirits, sharing a tough independence and a radical artistic temperament. They first met on a ship in 1930, returning from France where the young women had been studying, and were later to collaborate on an opera called The Lake, written in 1952. In the case of the cycle of seven poems entitled Disasters of the Sun, Pentland was struck by the portrayal of a lifetime of conflict between sun and moon, and male and female. The incisive language of the poetry is sharply etched in the composer’s setting. By turns angular and harsh; tender and sinuous; or precise and rhythmic; Pentland captures the various life stages and scenes of conflict presented in the text. The singer, functioning almost like a storyteller, drives the action forward with drama and intensity. The ensemble writing is detailed and colourful, bringing to life Livesay’s precise imagery. At a number of occasions in the music, a recording of the soloist, serving as a kind of recall, is layered over the live performance.

Commenta, composed in1980 and 1981, is Pentland’s only work for solo harp. She was inspired to compose the piece after having the opportunity to work with Toronto harpist Erica Goodman on some of her chamber compositions. Pentland utilizes thematic chords and sonorities that continually repeat and evolve. The music is at times contemplative, at times impulsive and percussive. Particularly striking is the use of extreme registers, and special harp techniques such as ‘thunder’, ‘falling hail’, ‘Aeolian tremolo’, and pedal glissandi.

The Octet for Winds was begun in 1948 in the MacDowell Colony, a composers’ retreat in New Hampshire, where Pentland had come into contact with one of Schoenberg’s American pupils Dika Newlin. In the Octet, Pentland begins to integrate aspects of serialism into the neoclassic language that had permeated her music in the forties. A concise eight minutes in duration, the composition is in three continuous movements. The opening section, characterized by a fanfare-like beginning and a lively interplay of motives, is followed by a slow, rather plaintive middle movement. The brisk final section begins with a playful set of variations on a three-note motif, culminating in a sweeping chorale with a twelve-tone row as the upper line.

Barbara Pentland was herself a fine pianist. One of her most important legacies is a varied and substantive collection of solo piano compositions. She was also committed to the string quartet, composing five quartets between 1945 and 1985. It is not surprising, then, that she wrote a piano quintet. The Quintet for Piano and Strings was premiered in 1983 by Robert Rogers, the foremost interpreter of her piano music, and the Purcell String Quartet, who regularly performed her quartets. The Quintet is in four sections played without break. Pentland comments on the piece as follows: “There is no confrontation between piano and strings with one or the other dominating, but co-operation, each instrument contributing to the fabric as an individual.”

Biographies

Barbara Pentland - Barbara Pentland (1912-2000) was born in Winnipeg. Frail in health as a child, she developed an early interest in piano and composition. She pursued her passion of becoming a composer against her parents’ wishes until finally they relented, and she began formal composition studies in Paris in 1929. Returning to Winnipeg in 1930, Pentland spent the next six years primarily active as a pianist. In 1936, Pentland won a fellowship to study composition at the Juilliard Graduate School. While in New York City, she studied with Bernard Wagenaar and experienced the music of Bartok, Stravinsky, and Hindemith first-hand. From 1939 to 1942, Pentland was active in many aspects of Winnipeg cultural life, composing radio plays for CBC, music for ballet, orchestra and choir, and several works for solo piano.

Wishing to be at the centre of the Canadian compositional scene, Pentland moved to Toronto in 1942 where she established herself as a composer on the more radical end of the spectrum. During her Toronto period, which lasted until 1949, she taught composition and theory at the Toronto Conservatory and premieres of her music were a regular component of the contemporary music milieu. Her compositions also received some exposure in the United States and Europe.

In 1949, Pentland relocated once again, this time to Vancouver where she accepted a position at the newly formed Department of Music at the University of British Columbia. She was to remain in Vancouver for the remainder of her life. Following her resignation from UBC in 1963, her compositional career flourished for another 25 years. Many of her works in these years were written for leading musicians and chamber groups of Vancouver. Pentland became a generous benefactor of new music organizations, especially the Canadian Music Centre, to which she left a substantial bequest to support the British Columbia region.

Barbara Pentland’s output of approximately 120 works includes pedagogical piano pieces and virtuosic piano solos, diverse chamber works from duos to larger ensembles, music for solo voice with piano or ensemble, four orchestral symphonies and three concerti, an opera and other incidental music. As a female composer who embraced modernism by the mid-twentieth century, she was a trailblazer and unique figure in the history of Canadian twentieth century music.

Judith Forst - Mezzo-Soprano Judith Forst is one of Canada’s pre-eminent opera singers. She has sung with prominent opera companies throughout the world including La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company. Known for her integration of riveting acting with superb singing, Forst has excelled in the standard repertoire as well as new work. She has premiered operas and major works by Canadian and American composers, and has recorded music by such Canadian composers as Jean Coulthard, Oskar Morawetz, and Murray Schafer. Judith Forst has been inducted into the Order of Canada, Order of British Columbia, and has received honourary doctorates from the University of British Columbia, and the University of Victoria.

Turning Point Ensemble - The Turning Point Ensemble was formed by its musician members in 2002 with the goal of presenting rarely heard music for large-sized chamber ensemble. With a mission to increase the appreciation and understanding of music composed during the past hundred years, the ensemble has earned a stellar reputation for outstanding programming and musicianship. Since their debut, the Turning Point Ensemble has presented more than twenty-five concerts, been regularly broadcast on CBC, and toured to Manitoba and Ontario in an all Barbara Pentland program. Their debut CD on the Artifact label, Strange Sphere (the music of Rudolf Komorous), was released in 2004. The Turning Point Ensemble is dedicated to the renewal of Canadian twentieth century music, and to building a new repertoire through working closely with outstanding composers. Innovative interdisciplinary productions are an integral component of the ensemble’s activities.

Performers on this recording Brenda Fedoruk (flute), Roger Cole (oboe), Caroline Gauthier (clarinet), Sophie Dansereau (bassoon), Steve Denroche (horn), Richard Mingus (horn - Octet for Winds), Marcus Goddard (trumpet), Jeremy Berkman (trombone, pre-recorded tape), Heidi Krutzen (harp), Jane Hayes (piano), Vern Griffiths & Robin Reid (percussion), Marc Destrubé (violin– Disasters of the Sun, Quintet), Brent Akins (violin – Quintet), Reginald Quiring (viola – Disasters of the Sun), Yariv Aloni (viola – Quintet), Peggy Lee (cello)

Heidi Krutzen - Principal harpist of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Heidi Krutzen is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician in the USA and Canada. Together with flutist Lorna McGhee, the Krutzen/McGhee duo has toured throughout North America, with performances recorded by both the CBC and National Public Radio. Their first duo CD “Taheke – 20th Century Masterpieces for flute and harp” was released in 2005, and an upcoming CD of Canadian music is soon to be released.

Jane Hayes - Pianist Jane Hayes is equally at home as a soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati in 1982, Jane held positions at Brock University and the University of Western Ontario. She assumed a full-time position at Kwantlen University College in 1993. Ms. Hayes maintains a busy career as a performer, adjudicator, and clinician. Her recordings are available on the Centrediscs, Fanfare, EMI, and CBC labels.

Owen Underhill - Vancouver composer and conductor Owen Underhill is Co-Artistic Director of the Turning Point Ensemble. He has commissioned numerous Canadian composers, and is a dedicated interpreter of Canadian music. Underhill first met Barbara Pentland when he moved to Vancouver in 1981. He conducted and programmed her music on several occasions as Artistic Director of Vancouver New Music, presenting a Pentland 75th birthday concert in 1987. Underhill is a faculty member in the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University.

Disasters of the Sun ( poem by/poésie de Dorothy Livesay)

i.
O you old
gold garnered
incredible sun
sink through my skin
into the barren bone

if I’m real
I’m totem carved
with your splayed
scalpel

if I’m a person
the gods roar
in horrible surprised
masculinity

but if I’m a woman
paint me
with the beast’s stripes
assure me I am human

ii.
The World is round
it is an arm
a round us
my fingers touching Africa
your hand
tilting Siberian trees
our thoughts
still as the tundra stones
awaiting footprints

bright between our bones
shines the invisible sun

iii.
Though I was certain
we recognized each other
I could not speak:
the flashing fire
between us
fanned no words

In the airport circle where
the baggage tumbled
all my jumbled life
fumbled
to find the one sweet piece
recognizable, red
the clothing stuffed and duffled
labelled mine

and over across the circle saw
your dark hair, piercing eyes
lean profile, pipe in mouth.

Incredibly, you move
You seem to dance
and suddenly
you stand beside me, calm
without surprise:

I cannot tell
what country you are from
we recognize each other
and are dumb

your hand your hand
tense on your pipe
your look a soft bomb
behind my eyes.

iv.
My hands that used to be leaves
tender and sweet and soothing
have become roots
gnarled in soil

my hands
tender as green leaves
blowing on your skin
pulling you up
into joyous air
are knotted bones
whitening in the sun.

v.
During the last heat wave
a sunflower
that had stood up straight
outstaring the June
sun
wilted collapsed
under the pitiless July
sky

now in burning August
I close out the city
trembling under heat
the green trees visibly
paling
I close and curtain off myself
into four walls
breezed by a fan

but the fan
fumes!
and suddenly it
BREAKS OFF from the wall
whirls
across the room
to rip my forefinger.

I tell you
we live in constant
danger
under the sun bleeding
I tell you.

vi.
Keep out
keep out of the way of
this most killing
northern sun
grower destroyer

Sun, you are no goodfather
but tyrannical king:
I have lived sixty years
under your fiery blades
all I want now
is to grope for those blunt
moon scissors

vii.
When the black sun’s
gone down
connect me underground
root tentacles
subterranean water

no more lovely man can be
than he with moon-wand
who witches water.

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