Clarke, Henry Leland

Henry Leland Clarke, composer and professor of music, was born in New Hampshire in 1907. He received his undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees from Harvard University, where he studied composition with Gustav Holst; later he studied under Nadia Boulanger, Hans Weisse, and Otto Luening. Clarke taught at a number of colleges and universities, including the University of Washington. He retired from the University of Washington as professor emeritus in 1977 and died in 1992. In addition to his academic work, Clarke composed two operas: The Loafer and the Loaf, and Lysistrata. Clarke was a member of the Composers' Collective of New York and wrote songs for the group under the pseudonym J. Fairbanks.

From the description of Henry Leland Clarke letters, 1915-1987 (bulk 1930-1986). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70643502

Henry Leland Clarke, American composer and professor of music, was born in Dover, New Hampshire, on March 9, 1907. His studies at Harvard University (1924-29, 1931-32, and 1944-47) included a course in composition with Gustav Holst. He also studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger (1929-31) and in New York and Bennington with Hans Weisse and Otto Luening (1932-38). He held several teaching posts, retiring from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1977 as professor emeritus. He afterwards moved to Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he died on March 30, 1992. In addition to his academic work, Clarke composed two full-length operas. The first, The Loafer and the Loaf, was completed in 1951 and concerns a debate over the morality of stealing a loaf of bread. The music is essentially tonal and makes apt use of musical quotation, with some experimentation with chromaticism and atonality. The vocal lines are rhythmically complex and feature the wide leaps that became characteristic of his later work in the genre. In 1972, Clarke finished his second opera, Lysistrata, based on the play by Aristophanes. The musical style is essentially atonal, with some use of speech-song in the vocal lines. The dramatic character of Lysistrata is portrayed by the wide range and leaps in her vocal lines, in vivid contrast to her comic foils, whose vocal parts are set in a more tonal idiom with frequent use of patter. This work shows the full development of Clarke's 'word tones', in which a specific pitch is assigned to each word of the text, that particular pitch being used at each occurrence of the same word. Clarke was also a member of the Composers' Collective of New York and wrote songs for the group under the pseudonym J. Fairbanks. The collective, which grew out of a seminar in writing songs for the masses in 1933, sought to make an American contribution to the international working-class music movement then flourishing in Europe.

From the guide to the Henry Leland Clarke papers, 1929-1987, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)

American composer and professor of music, Henry Leland Clarke, (1907-1992), experimented with the treatment of scales in his compositions, and taught at number of institutions over the course of a long academic career.

Born in Dover, New Hampshire, Clarke grew up in Saco, Maine, where he began his musical training. He attended Harvard University as an undergraduate, and later completed two graduate degrees at the same school. Clarke also furthered his musical education in Paris, with Nadia Boulanger, in New York, with Hans Weisse, and in Bennington, Vermont, with Otto Luening. Clarke held several academic positions, including stints at Bennington College, Westminster Choir College, Vassar College, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Washington. He retired from the latter as professor emeritus in 1977. As a composer, Clarke developed the concept of "word tones," in which a specific pitch is assigned to each word of the text and that particular pitch is used for each occurrence of the same word. This technique perhaps is utilized most fully in Lysistrata (1972), the second of Clarke's two full-length operas. Writing under the pseudonym J. Fairbanks, Clarke also was a participant in the Composers' Collective of New York. Following his retirement, he moved to Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he lived until the time of his death.

From the description of Henry Leland Clarke papers, JPB 06-28. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 132692469

Henry Leland Clarke, composer and professor of music, was born in Dover, New Hampshire, on March 9, 1907. He received his undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. While at Harvard, he studied composition with Gustav Holst. During this same period, his studies took him to Paris, New York, and Bennington, Vermont, where he studied under Nadia Boulanger, Hans Weisse, and Otto Luening, respectively. Over the course of his life, Clarke taught at Bennington College, Westminster Choir College, Vassar College, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Washington. He retired from the University of Washington as professor emeritus in 1977. He afterwards moved to Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he died on March 30, 1992.

In addition to his academic work, Clarke composed two full-length operas. The first, The Loafer and the Loaf, was completed in 1951 and concerns a debate over the morality of stealing a loaf of bread. The music is essentially tonal and makes apt use of musical quotation, with some experimentation with chromaticism and atonality. In 1972, Clarke finished his second opera, Lysistrata, based on the play by Aristophanes. It shows the full development of his "word tones," in which a specific pitch is assigned to each word of the text and that particular pitch is used for each occurrence of the same word.

Clarke was also a member of the Composers' Collective of New York and wrote songs for the group under the pseudonym J. Fairbanks. The collective, which grew out of a seminar in writing songs for the masses in 1933, sought to make an American contribution to the international working-class music movement then flourishing in Europe.

From the guide to the Henry Leland Clarke letters, 1915-1987, 1930-1986, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)