Maurice Blackburn (composer)
Joseph Albert Maurice Blackburn (22 May 1914 – 29 March 1988) was a Canadian composer, conductor, sound editor for film, and builder of string instruments. He is known for his soundtracks for animated film.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Blackburn was born in Quebec City, Quebec.[2] He was a graduate of the Université Laval and the New England Conservatory in Boston.[2] He won the George Allan Prize in 1940.
He was married to screenwriter Marthe Blackburn, and was the father of science fiction writer Esther Rochon.[3]
Career
[edit]From 1942 to 1978 Blackburn worked as a film composer for the National Film Board of Canada, where he was a frequent collaborator of Norman McLaren.[2] Together they developed techniques for etching sound and image directly on film.[4] Blackburn composed the music for McLaren's animation film Blinkity Blank (1954)[5] which won twelve prizes, including the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.[6] In 1969 he created an animated film of his own, Ciné-Crimé.[7]
He composed the opera Une mesure de silence, whose libretto was written by his wife Marthe.[8]
In 1983 he was awarded the Albert-Tessier Prize by the Quebec government.[3]
Discography
[edit]Compilations
[edit]- Filmusique-Filmopéra with Yves Daoust (Analekta, AN 7005/06, 1996) (2CD)
References
[edit]- ^ Studies in Music from the University of Western Ontario. Department of Music History, University of Western Ontario.; 1985. p. 43, 60.
- ^ a b c Nichola Dobson. Norman McLaren: Between the Frames. Bloomsbury Publishing; 25 January 2018. ISBN 978-1-5013-2878-7. p. 147–.
- ^ a b Denis Allaire. "Maurice Blackburn". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Making synthetic music". Focus on Animation. National Film Board of Canada. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ The Music and Sound of Experimental Film. Oxford University Press; 29 June 2017. ISBN 978-0-19-046992-4. p. 99–.
- ^ Gary Evans. In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989. University of Toronto Press; 1991. ISBN 978-0-8020-6833-0. p. 34–.
- ^ Giannalberto Bendazzi. Animation: A World History: Volume II: The Birth of a Style – The Three Markets. CRC Press; 23 October 2015. ISBN 978-1-317-51990-4. p. 350–.
- ^ "Canadian Opera Premieres". The Globe and Mail, 3 November 1956.
- 1914 births
- 1988 deaths
- Canadian film score composers
- Canadian male film score composers
- New England Conservatory alumni
- Université Laval alumni
- National Film Board of Canada people
- Musicians from Quebec City
- Graphical sound
- Canadian opera composers
- Canadian male opera composers
- Prix Albert-Tessier winners
- 20th-century Canadian composers
- 20th-century Canadian male musicians