Allanbrook, Douglas (Phillips)

Allanbrook, Douglas (Phillips), American composer and teacher; b. Melrose, Mass., April 1, 1921. He studied with Boulanger at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. (1941–42). Following military service in Italy during World War II, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star for valor, he studied with Piston at Harvard Coll. (B.A., 1948), with Boulanger on a Paine Traveling Fellowship in Paris (1948–50), and with Ruggero Gerlin (harpsichord) on a Fulbright fellowship at the Cons, di San Pietro a Majella in Naples (1950–52). From 1952 to 1986 he was on the faculty of St. John’s Coll. in Annapolis. In 1982 he received an award from the American Academy and Inst. of Arts and Letters. In his works, Allanbrook follows an eclectic course, eschewing only serial techniques and the use of electronic instruments.

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera: Ethan Frome, after Edith Wharton (1950–52); Nightmare Abbey, after Thomas Love Peacock (1960–62). ORCH.: Trionfo d’Amore, overture (1949–50); Harpsichord Concerto (1950); Concert Music for Cello and Strings (1951–53); Triumph of Reason, overture (1955); Violin Concerto (1958); 7 syms. (1960, 1962, 1967, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1980); Serenade for Piano and Orch. (1982). CHAMBER: Partita for Cello (1955); 4 string quartets (1955; 1956–57; 1958; 1972); Fantasy for Violin and Piano (1956); Set of Passions for Violin and Harpsichord (1959); Game for Two for Piano and Percussion (1973); Night and Morning Music for Brass Quintet (1977); Invitation to the Sideshow for Brass Quintet (1980); Marches for the Quick and the Dead for Brass Quintet (1982); Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1984); Commencement Exercises for Brass Quintet (1985); 25 Building Blocks for Horn and Piano (1985); Seven for Seven for Brass Quintet, Piano, and Percussion (1987); String Quintet (1989). KEYBOARD: Piano: 2 sonatas (1947, 1949); Songs Without Words (1951); Bagatelles (1964); Forty Changes (1965); Preludes for All Seasons (1970); Venice Music (1974); Naples Music (1975); Transcendental Studies (1978); Night Pieces (1983–85); New American Preludes (1990). Harpsichord: Little Sonatas (1949); Fantasy for 2 Harpsichords (1963); Studies in Black and White (1971). Organ: Ricercare (1963). VOCAL: Te Deum for Chorus, Flute, Brass, Harp, 2 Pianos, and Percussion (1942); Mass for Chorus (1946); Ash Wednesday for Soprano, Chorus, and Orch. (1947); Psalms 130 and 131 for Chorus and Organ (1955); Seven Last Words for Mezzo-soprano, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1970); American Miscellany for Chorus (1973); English Mass for Chorus and Organ (1975); Tennyson Settings for Chorus and Brass Quintet (1984); Moon Songs for Children’s Chorus and Orch. (1986); several songs.

Writings

See Naples (memoir; 1995).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire