Pentland, Barbara (Lally)

Pentland, Barbara (Lally), Canadian composer and teacher; b. Winnipeg, Jan. 2, 1912; d. Vancouver, Feb. 6, 2000. After taking piano lessons at a Montreal boarding school, she went to N.Y. and studied with Jacobi and Wagenaar at the Juilliard School of Music (1936–39). She also took summer courses with Copland at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summers, 1941–42). She was an instructor at the Toronto Cons. (1943–49) and the Univ. of British Columbia in Vancouver (1949–63). In her compositions, Pentland adopted a pragmatic method of cosmopolitan modernism, employing dissonant linear counterpoint and dodecaphonic melodic structures within the framework of Classical forms.

Works

dramatic:Beauty and the Beast, ballet-pantomine (1940); The Lake, chamber opera (1952; Vancouver, March 3, 1954). orch.:Concert Overture (1935); 2 Pieces for Strings (1938); Lament (1939); Holiday Suite for Chamber Orch. (1941); Arioso and Rondo (1941); Concerto for Violin and Small Orch. (1942); 4 syms.: No. 1 (1945–18), No. 2 (1950; Toronto, Feb. 9, 1953), No. 3, Symphony in 10 Parts for Chamber Ensemble (1957; Vancouver, Sept. 18, 1959), and No. 4 (1959); Colony Music for Piano and Strings (1947); Variations on a Boccherini Theme (1948); Concerto for Organ and Strings (1949); Ave atque vale (1951); Ricercar for Strings (1955); Concerto for Piano and Strings (1956); Strata for Strings (1964); Cine scene for Chamber Orch. (1968); Variations concertante for Piano and Small Orch. (1970); Res musica for Strings (1975). chamber: Piano Quartet (1939); Cello Sonata (1943); 5 string quartets (1945, 1953, 1969, 1980, 1985); Vista for Violin and Piano (1945); Violin Sonata (1946); Wind Octet (1948); Weekend Overture for Resort Combo of Clarinet, Trumpet, Piano, and Percussion (1949); Sonata for Solo Violin (1950); Sonatina for Solo Flute (1954); Piano Trio (1963); Variations for Viola (1965); Trio con Alea for String Trio (1966); Septet for Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Organ (1967); Reflections for Free Bass Accordion (1971); Interplay for Accordion and String Quartet (1972); Occasions for Brass Quintet (1974); Trance for Flute, Piano, and Harp (1978); Eventa for Flute, Clarinet, Trombone, 2 Percussion, Harp, Violin, and Cello (1978); Elegy for Horn and Piano (1980); Tellus for Flute, Cello, Piano, Percussion, and Celesta (1982); Piano Quintet (1983); Tides for Violin, Marimba, and Harp (1984); Elegy for Cello and Piano (1985). Piano: Studies in Line (1941); Variations (1942); Sonata (1945); Sonata Fantasy (1947); 2 sonatinas (1951); Mirror Study (1952); Sonata for 2 Pianos (1953); Toccata (1958); 3 Duets after Pictures by Paul Klee (1959);Fantasy (1962); Puppet Show (1964); Shadows (1964); Signs (1964); Suite borealis (1966); Space Studies (1967); Arctica for Young Pianists (1971–73); Vita brevis (1973); Ephemera (1974–78); Tenebrae (1976);Vincula (1983); Horizons (1985). vocal: News for Virtuoso Voice and Orch., after texts from the news media (1970); Disasters of the Sun for Mezzo-soprano, 9 Instruments, and Tape (1976); choruses; other songs.

Bibliography

S. Eastman and T. McGee, B. P. (Toronto, 1983).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kaun/Dennis McIntire