by Caiti Beth McKinney
Hello everyone,
This month I want to share with you a bit about the music and life of an outstanding Canadian composer, Barbara Pentland (1912-2000). Pentland was one of the three prominent women composers who changed the musical landscape of 20th-century Canadian classical music, the others being Violet Archer (1913-2000) and Jean Coulthard (1908-2000). In a strange twist of fate, all three composers passed away within five weeks of each other. If you are a long-time reader of Horn and More, you may remember Violet Archer from this column published exactly two years ago!
Pentland was raised in an upper-class family who expected her to conform to their lifestyle, meaning a life of soirees and a well-connected marriage rather than any kind of professional career. Young Barbara, however, had other plans. At the age of 9, she began studying piano, and it wasn’t long afterwards that Pentland started writing her own music, despite discouragement from both her parents and her teacher. However, as the years passed, her interest never waned. Despite all obstacles, Pentland entered the Juilliard School of Music in 1936 as a graduate student studying counterpoint and composition.
With an output of over 150 compositions, Pentland was highly prolific and wrote in a variety of styles. Her composition for horn and piano, Elegy (which at the time of this writing remains unrecorded), is a true chamber work, with the piano serving as a second but equally important voice rather than as accompaniment. Despite its shorter duration of only six minutes, Elegy is a challenging but rewarding piece filled with extended techniques including quartertone tuning, double trills (two fingers on one valve), and an aleatoric section which allows the performers to exercise their musical creativity. If you are into experimental music, Elegy will surely interest you.
