Richard
St. Clair's Life in Music
"I believe that I was
destined, all along, for a career in music."
-Richard St. Clair
Richard St. Clair was born
in Jamestown, North Dakota on September 21, 1946. The following year his family
moved to Grand Forks, ND, a city then of about 20,000 inhabitants which had far
greater musical resources than Jamestown through a university, a local
orchestra, schools and churches with quality choruses, and a concert series
that each year brought in many prestigious performers. His musical
experiences in Grand Forks were the foundation of his musical life. He began
piano lessons there at age 4. By age 16 he had begun to compose music and
received some performances within the next year. He was awarded an A.B. in
Music Composition from Harvard in 1969, taking his Masters and Doctoral degrees
in 1973 and 1977 respectively.
St. Clair's esthetic is comprehensive.
He is equally comfortable composing twelve-tone music as he is composing in
more traditional language. He believes that style is not the determinant
but quality is: If the music has heart, depth, and integrity, if it speaks from
the heart and to the heart, if it says something that can be understood by
others than one's peers, that is an achievement; music is the universal
language. A recurring theme in Richard St. Clair's music is Love. He has
composed numerous songs and choral pieces which are intended to confirm the
importance of love in human experience.
Richard St. Clair has
composed over 100 compositions since the early 1960s, including 8 song cycles,
2 string quartets, 7 piano sonatas, other chamber works, numerous works for
chorus, and works for orchestra and band. St. Clair made his debut as composer
and pianist at the Marlboro Festival of Music in 1967. His works have been
featured in a number of venues through North America. In Boston, his works have
been presented by such notables as Jane Struss and the Janus 2000 ensemble,
Composers in Red Sneakers, the Boston Cecilia chorus, Coro Allegro, Convivium
Musicum, and the Longy School of Music's Modern American Music series. His
works for band have been performed by the MIT Concert Band. In Fall 2000,
Richard St. Clair gave a solo recital of his new piano compositions at MIT in
the Artists Behind the Desk series. His works span styles from atonal serialism
in his early years to a more tonal orientation in recent years. Boston Phoenix
music critic Lloyd Schwartz wrote, "St. Clair has created a fascinating
sound world, both charged and atmospheric; His is a stirring and original
voice."
LIST OF
MUSICAL WORKS
- Prophecy of Micah [Opus 1] -- 1963-1964, dur:
7:30. Mixed chorus SATB, Organ or Piano accompaniment.
- Lamb of God [Opus 1A] -- 1963-1964 dur:
1:45. Mixed chorus SATB a cappella.
- Statement for Bells [Opus 2] -- 1964 dur: 1:30
for Keyboard Carillon
- Piano Piece no. 1 [Opus 3] -- 1966-7 Dur:
6:00. Solo piano. Featured at the Marlboro Festival of Music in the summer
of 1967, the composer performing, as part of the Contemporary Composers
Program under a Rockefeller Foundation grant.
- Piano Piece no. 2 [Opus 4] -- 1967 Dur: 7:00.
Solo piano. Commissioned by the Andover Summer Session under the auspices
of noted Classics scholar and translator Dudley Fitts. (Press notice)
Premiere 8/9/67 at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., composer performing.
- She Weeps over Rahoon [Opus 5] (Poem by James Joyce) - 1968 Dur:
3:00. Contralto/Piano.
- Dreamscapes [Opus 6] -- 1967-8 Dur: 14:00 For
Violin and Piano.
- Three Movements [Opus 7] -- 1968 Dur: 6:00.
For Violin and Piano.
- Piano Sonata no. 1 [Opus 8] -- 1968-9 Dur:
20:00. Review of
Premiere, Dec. 8, 1970
- Serenade Opus [9] -- 1969 Dur: 9:00 For solo
piano. Review of
Premiere, Dec. 8, 1970
- Fantasy [Opus 10] -- 1969 Dur: 3:30 Piano
solo. Review of
Premiere, Dec. 8, 1970
- Two Songs [Opus 11] (Poem by William Mullen)
-- 1969 Dur: 4:00. Baritone with Piano accompaniment.
- Images of Tintern Abbey [Opus 12] (Poem by William
Wordsworth) -- 1968-9 Dur: 14:00. Ten/Cl/2Vln/Va/Vlc.
- Medley [Opus 13] -- 1969 Dur: 9:00. Piano
4-hands. Review of Premiere,
Dec. 8, 1970
- Toccata-Rag [Opus 14] -- 1969 Dur: 2:00. Piano
solo. Review
of Premiere, Dec. 8, 1970
- Four Concert Dances [Opus 15] -- 1968-70 Dur:
8:00. Piano solo. Review
of Premiere, Dec. 8, 1970
- Concerto a Capriccio [Opus 16] -- 1969-70
15:00 Piano and Orchestra.
- Two Piano Pieces [Opus 17] -- 1970 Dur: 10:00.
Piano solo. Dedicated to Roger Sessions.
- Piano Sonata no. 2 [Opus 18] -- 1970 25:00
Piano solo. Review
of Concert Premiere, Dec. 8, 1970
- Four Short Pieces [Opus 19] -- 1970 Dur: 4:00.
Musical impressions or take-offs of four songs by the Beatles. They
present the tunes in a disguised or paraphrased style. 5/71
- Duo-Sonata [Opus 20] -- 1970 Dur: 15:00. Two
violins.
- Eight Piano Pieces for Children [Opus 21] --
1970 Dur: 6:00.
- Songs of a Wayside Inn [Opus 22] (Poems by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow) -- 1970 12:00 For Mezzo-soprano and Piano.
- Five Folk-Pieces [Opus 23] -- 1970 Dur: 8:00
Piano solo.
- Four Preludes and Counterpoints [Opus 24] --
1970. Dur: 8:00. Piano solo.
- Trio [Opus 25] -- 1970 Dur: 16:00 For Flute,
Cello and Piano.
- Trio [Opus 25a] -- 1970/1990 16:00. Musically,
essentially the same as the Trio for Flute Cello and Piano. This version
is for Violin, Cello and Piano, with some rewritten passages.
- Allegro in F [Opus 26] -- 1970 Dur: 2:30.
Piano solo, a rondo.
- Piano Sonata no. 3 [Opus 27] -- 1971 Dur:
12:00. Piano solo.
- Six Songs [Opus 28] (poems by Kenneth Patchen)
-- 1970-71, Dur: 14:00, Soprano and Piano (read)
- Peace Is Life [Opus 29] (anonymous text) --
1971. Dur: 1:00.
- Yonder [Opus 30] (poem by Gerard Manley
Hopkins, "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo") -- 1971-72,
Dur.: 14:00, Chorus a cappella SSAATTBB
- Double Concerto ["Amen Concerto"]
[Opus 31] -- 1971-2 Dur: 25:00 For 2 Pianos and Concert Band.
- Batik [Opus 32] -- 1972 04:00 Piano solo.
- Color Studies ["Transfiguration"]
[Opus 33] -- 1972 Dur: 10:00. For string trio (Violin, Viola,
Cello).
- Piano Sonata no. 4 [Opus 34] -- 1973 Dur:
23:00. Piano solo.
- Piano Sonata no. 5 [Opus 35]-- 1974 Dur:
07:30. Piano solo.
- Canzona [Opus 36] -- 1975, Dur: 04:00
for String Quartet.
- Soliloquies [Opus 37] -- 1975 (rev.) Dir:
15:00. Flute solo.
- Notes from Captivity [Opus 38] -- 1976 Dur:
3:00 Clarinet solo.
- Seven Dedications [Opus 39] -- 1973-6 Dur:
7:00 Piano pieces in honor of Copland, Stravinsky, Ruggles, Ives,
Hovhaness, Sessions and Schoenberg.
- A Round for Machaut [Opus 40] -- 1975/89 Dur:
2:00. SATB soli or Small Chorus.
- Help Me, O Power Above [Opus 41] (Poem by
R.St.Clair) -- 1989 Dur: 01:00 Chorus SATB
- Ragan~era [Opus 42] -- 1989 4:00 Piano solo.
Classical ragtime style.
- Champion Rag [Opus 43] -- 1989 Dur: 3:00,
Piano solo.
- Ragtime Serenade [Opus 44] -- 1989 Dur: 3:30,
Piano solo.
- Blue Rag Espagnole [Opus 45] -- 1989 Dur:
4:30, Piano solo.
- The Twenty-Third Psalm [Opus 46] -- (Bible
KJV) -- 1989-90 Dur: 7:00 Chorus SAATBB.
- The Twenty-Third Psalm [Opus 46a] --
(Bible/KJV) -- 1989-90 Dur: 7:00 Same as above, but for Chorus SATB with
Horn and Trombone.
- Sentimental Rag [Opus 42] -- 1989 3:30, Piano
solo.
- Testimonium [Opus 48] -- 1990 Dur: 4:00 Organ
solo. Written in honor of John Raymond Ferris, who was then retiring as
director of the Harvard University Choir.
- Starry-eyed Rag [Opus 49] -- 1989-90 3:00
Piano solo.
- The Windhover [Opus 50] -- (Poem by Gerard
Manley Hopkins) -- 1990 Dur: 4:00 Chorus SSAA. (for women's chorus).
- Missa Syllabica [Opus 51] -- 1990-1 15:00
Chorus SATB, a cappella Latin Mass.
- Lord, Make Me An Instrument [Opus 52] --
(St.Francis) -- 1990 Dir: 2:00. Chorus SATB a cappella.
- Heaven [Opus 52a] (George Herbert) -- 1990
Dur: 3:00. Dialogue piece between a choir and an echo choir.
SATB/SATB a cappella
- Three Prayers (Serenity Prayer, The Lord's
Prayer, Benediction) [Opus 53] -- 1990 Dur: 8:00. Chorus SATB a cappella
- Jubilant Rag [Opus 54] -- Piano Solo. 1990
Dur: 3:30.
- Peloponnesian Rag [Opus 55] -- 1990 Dir: 4:00.
Piano solo.
- Magnificat [Opus 56] -- (Bible KJV) -- 1990
05:30 Chorus SSAA (women's chorus) a cappella.
- Fancy-Foot Rag [Opus 57] -- 1990 Dir: 4:00.
Piano solo.
- Elegy [Opus 58] -- 1990 Dur: 7:00 Full
orchestra or string orchestra versions. In memory of Leonard Bernstein.
- String Quartet no. 1 [Opus 59] -- 1990 Dur:
18:00. In 3 movements.
- Iron Filings [Opus 60] -- 1989. Piano solo.
Dur: ca. 3:00.
- Madrigals for Spring [Opus 61] (Poetic
fragments by Percy
Bysshe Shelley) -- 1990 Dur: 15:00 Chorus SSAT a cappella.
- Love-Canzonettes [Opus 62] (Poems by John
Dryden) -- 1990 Dur: 25:00 Chorus SSAATTBB a cappella.
- Overture to 'Beowulf' [Opus 63] -- 1990 Dur:
6:00 Full-size Concert Band.
- The Clear Vision [Opus 64] -- (Poem by John
Greenleaf Whittier) -- 1990 Dur: 7:00. Chorus TTBB (men's chorus) a
cappella.
- Amendments [Opus 65] -- 1990 Dur: 11:00 Piano
solo. 12-tone (strict 'row' technique) style.
- Moabit Liederbuch [Opus 66] -- (Sonnets by Albrecht Haushofer
) -- 1990 Dur: 16:00. Soprano and Piano.
- Sonata for Solo Violin [Opus 67] -- 1991 Dur:
10:00.
- Variations on a Hallowe'en Costume [Opus
68] -- 1991-2 Dur: 14:00 Piano solo, variations on a tune my wife,
Janice Ellison, wrote several years earlier. She went to a costume party
dressed as a piano, and using her basic knowledge of music she designed a
decoration for the music stand which had scales, motifs and counterpoint.
- Plaint for Somalia [Opus 69] -- 1993 Dur: 3:00
Piano solo.
- Short and Sweet Rag [Opus 70] -- 1989 Dur:
3:30. Solo Piano.
- String Quartet no. 2 [Opus 71] -- 1991-93 Dur:
16:00, based upon the 12-tone row of a string quartet (destroyed)
which I wrote as a student composer in 1964-69.
- Sparkling Rag [Opus 72] -- 1989 Dur: 3:30.
Solo Piano.
- ...suggestions... [Opus 73] -- 1994 Dur: 4:00.
Piano solo. zen-like pieces
- Moon Flowers (50 Haiku-Moments for Solo Piano)
[Opus 74] -- 1994 Dur: 23:00 These pieces were written to commemorate the
300th year after haiku master Matsuo Basho's passing (1644-1694).
- Persistence Rag [Opus 75] -- 1989 Dur: 3:00
Piano Solo.
- Acadia Rhapsody [Opus 76] -- 1994 (rev.,96)
Dur: 8:00 For Trumpet, Violin and Piano.
- Ballade in D for Piano [Opus 77] - 1993/94 -
1999. Dur.: ca. 6:00.
- Desert Hallucinations [Opus 78] (Poems by
Donald Rubinstein) -- 1994-5. Dur: 6:00 For Baritone voice and Cello.
- Song of Tolerance [Opus 79] (Poem by R. St.
Clair) -- 1995 Dur: 5:00. for SATB with Piano.
- Etiquette Rag [Opus 80] -- 1989-90 Dur: 4:30
Piano Solo.
- High Flight [Opus 81] (Poem by John G. Magee,
Jr.) -- 1990-95 Dur: 3:00. SATB/Solo Soprano. In memory of the crew
of the space shuttle, USS Challenger, which was destroyed in 1986 after
launch.
- A Higher Glory [Opus 82] (New Testament,
adapted) -- 1975/95 Dur: 2:00. SATB a capella
- Alas, Good Friend [Opus 83] (Poem by Percy
Bysshe Shelley) -- 1969/95 Dur: 2:00. SATB a capella.
- Piano Sonata no. 6 [Opus 84] -- 1994-95 17:00
- Evening Anthem [Opus 85] (poem by Richard St.
Clair) -- 1994-95 Dur: 3:00 SATB a capella.
- Three Meditations for String Orchestra [Opus
86] -- 1990-95 14:00 String orchestra. [Work in progress].
- Ricercare for Orchestra [Opus 87] -- 1995 Dur:
7:00, Full orchestra.
- Equinox (poem by William Mullen) [Opus
88] -- 1996, Dur: 12:00 Tenor and Piano.
- The Ancient Art: Hocquetus-Motet [Opus 89] --
1990-96 Dur: 9:00. Brass Quintet (2Tpt/Hn/Tbn/Tuba).
- In Praise of Our Loves [Opus 90] -- 1995-6 34:00
SATB with chamber orchestra.
- Three Short Sandburg Choruses
("Fog," "Nocturne in a Deserted Brickyard," and
"Grass" from Sandburg's Chicago Poems) [Opus 91] -- 1996 5:00
Unison chorus [SA / TB in octaves], a cappella.
- Inventings [Opus 92] -- 1996 10:00 Flute and
Oboe.
- Flower of the Dharma [Opus 93] -- 1997 20:00
Chorus SATB, Piano and Percussion. Also available for Chorus and
Orchestra.
- Diamond Cutter [Opus 94] -- 1997 11:00
Carillon.
- Jeux d'Esprit (Concerto for Clarinet and
Orchestra) [Opus 95] -- begun 1990, completed 1997. Dur: ca. 18:00
- Today's Lord's Prayer [Opus 96] -- 1997. Dur:
ca. 8:00 For SATB chorus, a cappella.
- Ragtime Sonata (Piano Sonata no. 7) [Opus 97]
-- 1997. Dur: ca. 14:00 (Order the sheet music for Ragtime Sonata from The
Ragtime Store.)
- Beautiful Mountain Rag [Opus 98] -- 1997. Dur:
ca. 5:30 Piano Solo. A classical slow rag, the melody (and interlacing
inner voices) based upon the 12-tone row used by Arnold Schoenberg in his
Fourth String Quartet. Unlike the Schoenberg, this rag is completely
tonal, though highly chromatic. The title of the piece is a pun/reference
to Arnold Schoenberg's last name (in German, schoen = beautiful, and berg
= mountain).
- Two Songs of Innocence [Opus 99] -- 1997. Dur:
ca. 7:30. For a cappella chorus (SATB). Settings of two of William Blake's
"Songs of Innocence." No. 1: On the Ecchoing Green; no. 2:
Night.
- Ascent [Opus 100] -- 1993-97. Dur: ca. 4:00
For small chorus of high voices, or for two sopranos and alto soli.
Setting of poem by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
- Songs of the Pure Land [Opus 101] -- 1997.
Dur: ca. 9:30. For Mezzo-soprano and piano. Settings of English
translations of short Japanese poems by Honen Shonin (1133-1212), a
leading teacher of Buddhism in medieval Japan.
- Suite for the Piano Alone [Opus 102] --
1990-97. Dur: ca. 18:30 . Piano solo. A work in neo-baroque style complete
with sarabande, gavotte and other dance movements.
- Tango Request, for Piano [Opus 103] -- 1998.
Dur: ca. 5:00 Piano solo.
- The Lamentations of Shinran [Opus 104] --
1998. Dur: ca. 27:00 . For Soprano, Tenor and String Quartet. From Shozomatsu
Wasan by Shinran Shonin
(1173-1262), in Japanese. Review
in Boston Phoenix.
- Flight of Fancy [Opus 105] -- 1990/1998, Dur.
5:00, Harpsichord solo.
- Songlets [Opus 106] -- 1999, Dur. 12:00, for
Mezzo Soprano, Bb Clarinet and Piano, on haiku poems by Issa Kobayashi
- Seven Dhamma Lessons [ Opus 107] -- 1999,
Dur.: 8:00, for Reciter, Flute, Oboe, Piano and Percussion.
- Sonata for Clarinet [in B-flat] and Piano
[Opus 108] -- 2000, Dur.: ca. 15:00.
- Nocturne in G for Piano [Opus 109] - 2000,
Dur.: ca. 3:30.
- Odysseus Rag for Piano [Opus 110] - 2000,
Dur.: ca. 5:00.
- Five Thoughtful Pieces for Piano [Opus 111] -
2000, Dur.: ca. 10 min.
- Owl Night, for Soprano and Piano [Opus 112] -
2000, Dur. ca. 10 min. Poem by Susan Spilecki ("Owl Night").
- From "Children of the Sparrow" [Opus
113] - 2000, Dur. ca. 12 min. Musical reactions to haiku by Robert Gibson.
For Flute, Piano, and reciter.
- Song of Sorrow, In Memory of Sept. 11, 2001
[Opus 114] - 2001, Dur. ca. 13 min. For Violin and Piano.
- Six Whimsical Miniatures for Harpsichord or
Piano (2003-2005)
- String Quartet No. 3 (completed 2005)
- Songs from the Chinese (2005) 10 Songs for
Soprano, Flute, Double Bass, and Piano based on San Chu poems of the Yuan
Dynasty
- Symphony (1st movement, in
progress)
- Dharma Chant, for Chorus SATB a cappella
(2001-2005)
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St. Clair. Last modified: 8 June 2005