Joubert, John (Pierre Herman)
Joubert, John (Pierre Herman)
Joubert, John (Pierre Herman), distinguished South African- born English composerand teacher; b. Cape Town, March 20, 1927. He studied at the Diocesan Coll. in Rondebosch (1934–44) and at the South African Coll. of Music in Cape Town (graduated, 1944). He also received private instruction in composition from William Henry Bell in Cape Town. In 1945 he was awarded a Performing Right Soc. Scholarship from the Univ. of Cape Town Music Faculty to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was a student of Theodore Holland, Howard Ferguson, and Alan Bush (B.Mus., 1950). In 1949 hewon the Royal Phil. Soc. Prize. In 1950 he became a lecturer at the Univ. of Hull, and in 1962 a senior lecturer at the Univ. of Birmingham, where he later served as a reader in music. He retired in 1986 but returned in 1997 as a senior research fellow. In 1991 he was awarded an honorary D.Mus. from the Univ. of Durham. Joubert’sworks, in whatever genre, are marked by a mastery of form, technique, melodic invention, and lyricism.
Works
dramatic:Legend of Princess Vlei, ballet (Cape Town, Feb. 21, 1952); Antigone, radio opera (BBC, London, July 21, 1954); In the Drought, opera (1955; Johannesburg, Oct. 26, 1956); Silas Marner, opera after George Eliot (Cape Town, May 20, 1961); The Quarry, opera for young players (1964; London, March 25, 1965); Under Western Eyes, opera after Joseph Conrad (1968; London, May 20, 1969); The Prisoner, school opera (London, March 14, 1973); The Wayfarers, opera for young people (1983; Huntington, April 4, 1984); Jane Eyre, opera after Charlotte Brönte (1987–97). ORCH.: Overture (1951; Cheltenham, June 12, 1953); Symphonic Prelude (1953; Durban, May 15, 1954); Violin Concerto (York, June 17, 1954); 2 syms.: No. 1 (1955; Hull, April 12, 1956) and No. 2 (1970; London, March 24, 1971); Piano Concerto (1958; Manchester, Jan. 11, 1959); A North Country Overture (1958); Sinfonietta (Birmingham, April 1962); In Memoriam 1820 (1962); Bassoon Concerto (1974; Carlisle, March 12, 1975); Threnos for Harpsichord and 12 Solo Strings (London, March 30, 1974); Déploration (Birmingham, Dec. 28, 1978); Temps Perdu for Strings (London, Oct. 1, 1984). CHAMBER: 4 string quartets: No. 1 (1950), No. 2 (1977; Birmingham, Feb. 18, 1978), No. 3 (1986; Birmingham, March 13, 1987), and No. 4, Quartetto Classico (1988; Birmingham, Oct. 19, 1989); Viola Sonata (1951); Miniature String Quartet (1953); Trio for Violin, Viola, and Cello (1958; Birmingham, Jan. 1960); Octet for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, and Double Bass (Hull, June 1961); Sonata à cinque for Recorder or Flute, 2 Violins, Harpsichord, and Cello (1963); Duo for Violin and Cello (London, Jan. 29, 1970); Kontaktion for Cello and Piano (Birmingham, Sept. 27, 1971); Chamber Music for Brass Quintet (Hereford, Aug. 22, 1985); Piano Trio (1986; Hereford, March 19, 1987); Improvisation for Treble Recorder and Piano (BBC, London, Oct. 21, 1988); 6 Miniatures after Kilvert for Violin and Viola (Bleddfa, Powys, Aug. 23, 1997). keyboard: piano:Divertimento for Piano Duet (1950); Dance Suite (1956); 2 sonatas: No. 1 (1957) and No. 2 (1972; Birmingham, March 1, 1976). organ:Passacaglia and Fugue (1961); 6 Short Preludes on English Hymn Tunes (Peterborough, July 4, 1990); Reflections on a Martyrdom (Birmingham, Nov. 27, 1997). VOCAL: Torches, carol for Chorus and Organ or Orch. (1951); The Burghers of Calais, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Chamber Orch. (1953; Chelsea, March 1954); Pro Pace, 3 motets for Chorus (1955–59); Urbs Beata, cantata for Tenor, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (Cape Town, Nov. 1963); The Choir Invisible, choral sym. for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (Halifax, May 18, 1968); The Martyrdom of St. Alban, cantata for Speaker, Tenor, Bass, Chorus, and Chamber Orch. (1968; St. Alban’s, June 1969); 6 Poems of Emily Brontë for High Voice and Piano (1969); Dialogue for Soprano, Countertenor, Cello, and Harpsichord, after Andrew Marvell (1969; London, Jan. 1970); African Sketchbook for Chorus and Wind Quintet (London, April 1970); The Raising of Lazarus, oratorio for Mezzo-soprano, Tenor, Chorus, and Orch. (1970; Birmingham, Sept. 30, 1971);3 Hymns to St. Oswald for Chorus and Organ (Worcester, Aug. 29, 1972; rev. 1974); 5 Carols for 5 Voices (London, Dec. 16, 1973); Crabbed Age and Youth for Countertenor, Recorder, Viola da Gamba, and Harpsichord (London, Nov. 9, 1974); The Magus for Tenor, 2 Baritones, Chorus, and Orch. (1976; Sheffield, Oct. 29, 1977); Herefordshire Canticles for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, Boy’s Chorus, and Orch. (Hereford, Aug. 23, 1979); The Turning Wheel for Soprano and Piano (1979; Dunedin, New Zealand, Oct. 1, 1980); Gong-Tormented Sea, choral sym. for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1981; Birmingham, April 29, 1982); The Phoenix and the Turtle for 2 Sopranos, String Trio, and Harpsichord, after Shakespeare (Stratford-uponAvon, Aug. 23, 1984); The Hour Hand for Soprano and Recorder (Birmingham, Sept. 1, 1984); Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis for Chorus and Organ (1984; Dundee, Oct. 20, 1985); Rorate Coeli for Chorus (Newcastle upon Tyne, Nov. 30, 1985); South of the Line for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, Timpani, Percussion, and 2 Pianos (1985; Birmingham, March 1, 1986); The Instant Moment for Baritone and String Orch., after D.H. Lawrence (1986; Birmingham, March 21, 1987); Tristia for Soprano, Baritone, Clarinet, and Piano, after Mandelstam (1987; London, June 13, 1988); Missa Brevis for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Chorus, and Chamber Orch. (Birmingham, Oct. 16, 1988); For the Beauty of the Earth, choral sym. for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (Birmingham, Nov. 25, 1989); Rochester Triptych for Chorus and Organ, after John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester(1991-92; 1st complete perf., Prague, April 9, 1994; also for Chorus and Orch. 1996-97; Hereford, Aug. 19, 1997); Landscapes, song cycle for Soprano and Piano Trio (Cheltenham, Sept. 22, 1992); The Secret Muse, song cycle for Baritone, Flute, Clarinet, Harp, and String Quartet (Birmingham, Dec. 5, 1992); 3 Faces of Love, chamber cantata for Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Chamber Organ or Harpsichord, and Lute, after John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (Oxford, April 25, 1997; also for Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, and Piano, Windsor, Sept. 24, 1997).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire