Tristram Cary
Background information
Birth nameTristram Ogilvie Cary
Born(1925-05-14)14 May 1925
Oxford, England
Died24 April 2008(2008-04-24) (aged 82)
Adelaide, Australia
Occupation(s)Composer
Years active1943–1998

Tristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM (14 May 1925 – 24 April 2008), was a pioneering English-Australian composer.[1] He was also active as a teacher and music critic.[2][3]

Career

Cary was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and Westminster School in London. He was the third son and child of a pianist and the Ulster-born novelist Joyce Cary, author of Mister Johnson.[3][4] While working as a radar engineer for the Royal Navy during World War II, he independently developed his own conception of electronic and tape music, and is regarded as being amongst the earliest pioneers of these musical forms.[2]

Following World War II, he created one of the first electronic music studios, later travelling around Europe to meet the small numbers of other early pioneers of electronic music and composition. He studied arts at the University of Oxford and went on to study composition, conducting, piano, viola and horn at Trinity College London.[5]

With Peter Zinovieff and David Cockerell, he founded Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd, which created the first commercially available portable synthesiser, the EMS VCS 3, and was then involved in the production of such distinctive EMS products as the EMS Synthi 100.

In 1967 he created an electronic music studio at the Royal College of Music.[5] This led to an invitation from the University of Melbourne in 1973 for a lecture tour, which in turn led to an invitation to become the Visiting Composer at the University of Adelaide in 1974. He remained there as a lecturer until 1986. He also wrote music criticism for The Australian.[5]

Musical works

His concert works of note include a Sonata for guitar (1959), Continuum for tape (1969), a cantata Peccata Mundi (1972), Contours and Densities at First Hill for orchestra (1972), a Nonet (1979), String Quartet No. 2 (1985) and The Dancing Girls for orchestra (1991).

Cary is also particularly well known for his film and television music. He wrote music for the science fiction television series Doctor Who (including the first Dalek story[6]), as well as the score for the Ealing comedy The Ladykillers (1955).[7] Later film scores included The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960); The Prince and The Pauper (1962); Sammy Going South (1963); Quatermass and the Pit (1967) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), both for Hammer.[1] He also composed the score for the ABC TV animated version of A Christmas Carol.[8] and the children's animated special Katya and the Nutcracker.

Cary was one of the first British composers to work in musique concrète. In 1967 he created the first electronic music studio of the Royal College of Music. He built another at his home in Fressingfield, Suffolk which he transported to Australia when he emigrated there, and incorporated it into the University of Adelaide where he worked as a lecturer until 1986.[9]

He provided the visual design for the EMS VCS3 synthesizer.[9]

Death

Cary died in Adelaide, South Australia, on 24 April 2008, aged 82.[10]

Honours

Cary won the 1977 Albert H. Maggs Composition Award. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1991 in recognition of service to music.[11] He also received the 2005 lifetime achievement award from the Adelaide Critics' Circle for his contribution to music in England and Australia.

List of works

Orchestral/Choral

  • Peccata Mundi for Chorus, Orchestra, Speaking voice, Four tracks of tape (1972/76),
  • Contours & Densities at First Hill – Fifteen Landscapes for Orchestra (1976)
  • The Dancing Girls Four Mobiles for Orchestra (1991)
  • Sevens Concertino for Yamaha Disklavier and Strings (1991)
  • Inside Stories for chamber orchestra and prerecorded CD (1993)
  • The Ladykillers Suite for Orchestra (1955/96)

Chamber/Solo

  • Sonata for Guitar Alone (1959)
  • Three Threes and One Make Ten Mixed decet (1961)
  • Narcissus for Flute and two tape recorders (1968)
  • Trios for VCS3 Synthesiser and two turntables (1971)
  • Romantic Interiors for violin, cello and tape (1973)
  • Family Conference for four clarinets (1981)
  • Seeds Mixed Quintet (1982)
  • String Quartet No.2 (1985)
  • Rivers Four percussionists and two tape recorders (1986)
  • Black, White & Rose Marimba and tape (1991)
  • Strange Places Piano solo (1992)
  • Messages Cello solo (1993)
  • Through Glass Piano and electronics (1998)

Vocal

  • Divertimento (1973) – for Olivetti machines, 16 singers and jazz drummer (1973) (10') Commissioned by Olivetti for the opening of a new training centre at Haslemere, England (designed by the world-famous architect James Stirling) as (a) part of a 'Venetian' concert conducted by Cary himself, and (b) the sound track of a film. Described by Cary as "friendly, undemanding music" which nevertheless he was nervous about performing, since the audience was composed of VIPs and included Yehudi Menuhin. The text of the piece consists of cardinal numbers in four languages. The performance: Premiered 21 June 1973 at Haslemere HQ of Olivetti, though the film version had already been previously recorded. Performed again in Adelaide 1974. Cary also extracted a piece from it without vocals – "Tracks from Divertimento" – in 1978. It is published on a disc – "Full Spectrum" (MOVE Records MS3027). The original Haslemere personnel were the Ambrosian Singers and Chris Karan (drums).
  • Two Nativity Songs from the Piae Cantiones (arr.) (1979)
  • I Am Here Soprano and Tape (1980)
  • Earth Hold Songs Soprano and Piano (1993)
  • Songs for Maid Marian Soprano, Piano (1959/98)

Electroacoustic

For analogue tape

  • Suite – the Japanese Fishermen (1955)
  • 4 5 – A Study in Limited Resources (1967)
  • Birth is Life is Power is Death is God is....(1967)
  • Continuum (1969)
  • Suite – Leviathan '99 (1972)
  • Steam Music (1978)

For computer

  • Nonet (1979)
  • Soft Walls (1980)
  • Trellises (1984)
  • The Impossible Piano (1994)

Films

Radio

  • The Children of Lir (Craig) (1959)
  • La Machine Infernale (Cocteau) (1960)
  • The End of Fear (Saurat) (1960)
  • King Lear (Shakespeare) (1960)
  • The Flight of the Wild Geese (Dillon) (1961)
  • The Ballad of Peckham Rye (Spark) (1962) Italia Prize
  • The Ha-Ha (Dawson) (1963)
  • The Rhyme of the Flying Bomb (Peake) (1964)
  • Leviathan '99 (Bradbury) (1968)

Television

Theatre and miscellaneous

  • Macbeth Old Vic Theatre (1960)
  • Henry IV, Pt.I Old Vic Theatre (1961)
  • La Contessa (Druon, dir: Helpmann) (1965)
  • Die Ballade von Peckham Rye Salzburg Festival (1965)
  • Escalator Music and Centre Music EXPO 67, Montreal
  • Hamlet Theatre Roundabout, (1968)
  • Music for Light Olympia London (1968)
  • "H" (Wood) National Theatre (1969)
  • Echoes till Sunset – 3-hour open air entertainment, Adelaide Festival (1984)

Books

  • Dictionary of Musical Technology (1992) (also known as the Illustrated Compendium of Musical Technology)

References

  1. 1 2 "Tristram Cary". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Tristram Cary | Music". The Guardian. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Tristram Cary: Pioneer of electronic music". The Independent. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Fisher, Barbara (1988). Joyce Cary Remembered: In Letters and Interviews by His Family and Others. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 90. ISBN 9780389208129. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Jo Litson, "Maestro with a motherboard", Weekend Australian, 11–12 November 2000, Review, p. 20
  6. ↑ Chris Thomas, Music-maker for the Daleks, p. 41, The West Australian, 12 May 2008.
  7. ↑ "The Ladykillers (1956)". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Oliver (1975), p. 171
  9. 1 2 Tristram Cary, The Daily Telegraph, 28 April 2008.
  10. ↑ "Tristram Cary is no longer - news, torrent, wikipedia, free MP3, download, lyrics". www.side-line.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ↑ CARY, Tristram Ogilvie Archived 29 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, It's an Honour (Australian Government), 10 June 1991.

Published references

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