Schafer R(aymond) Murray, *18 July 1933 Sarnia (Ontario), †14 August 2021 near Peterborough (Ontario), Canadian composer and musicologist. Until 1953, he studied composition with J. Weinzweig, piano with A. Guerrero and harpsichord with G. Kraus at the University of Toronto. In 1956–61, he lived in England, where he worked as a journalist. In 1961, he returned to Canada and founded the Ten Centuries Concerts organisation in Toronto, of which he served as the first chairman; in 1963–65, he was artist-in-residence at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and in 1965–75 he taught at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. From 1969, he developed his research on the sound environment as chairman of the World Soundscape Project, which he founded; the group of composers and theoreticians associated with it made outdoor recordings, developed pedagogical materials and radio broadcasts. In 1975, he settled on a farm near Maynooth, Ontario, and since 1987 has lived in Indian River, near Peterborough, Ontario. In 1994, he was a guest professor at Brandon University, in 2001 a guest composer at the University of Toronto, and in 2005 an artist in residence at Concordia University in Montreal. He has received, among others, the Fromm Foundation Award in 1972, the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 1974, the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music in 1977, the Prix International Arthur Honegger in 1980, the G. Gould Award in 1987, the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts in 2005, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2009, and honorary doctorates from Carleton University in Ottawa and Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. In 2013, he was awarded the Order of Canada (Companion rank).
Schafer is the creator of a new scientific field: acoustic ecology, in which the concept of soundscape, meaning any acoustic environment surrounding us, is of fundamental importance. In his research, Schafer also distinguished the concept of hi-fi (a sound environment with a favourable signal-to-noise ratio) and its opposite – lo-fi, drawing attention to the unfavourable phenomenon of the increasing dominance of noise in the natural environment from the 19th century to the present. He developed this subject in his works, the most important of which are The New Soundscape and The Tuning of the World, and as a teacher, developing a music education program (ear cleaning), emphasising the recipient’s sensitivity to the acoustic environment, conducting workshops in countries around the world. In the 1990s, Schafer’s concepts gained international reach; in 1992, the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology was founded, associating former members of the World Soundscape Project, which organises scientific conferences and publishes journals. The concepts of audiosphere and soundscape have inspired many musicologists, including M. Kapelański and R. Losiak, the founder of the soundscape research laboratory at the University of Wrocław. The soundscape theory is also reflected in some of Schafer’s compositions, performed in natural settings (e.g. during the performance of Music for Wilderness Lake for 12 trombones, the musicians are on the shore of a small lake), as well as in the connection between the musical notation itself and the surrounding nature (in the String Quartet No. 2, the structure and rhythm of the piece are derived from the movement of sea waves). In his scores, Schafer combines traditional musical notation with graphic notation.
As the creator of the 12-part opera cycle Patria, the composer introduced a new type of multimedia spectacle, the originality of which lay in presenting the opera in a natural environment, along with its characteristic sounds, such as birdsong or the rustle of the forest (e.g. The Princess of the Stars, The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix), the participation of the audience in the musical performance (Ra, The Spirit Garden, And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon), and its unusual duration (the epilogue of the cycle, And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon, performed in a natural forest setting, lasts 8 days) and the themes of the works, combining legendary and mythological threads, drawn from the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt, the culture of ancient Greece, medieval China, or the traditions of North American Indians.
Literature: S. Adams R(aymond) Murray Schafer, Toronto 1983; L. Zielińska Rozmowa z Schaferem and O Schaferze: dwie noty, “Monochord” 1995 no. 8/9; M. Gradowski Murray R(aymond) Schafer: pan od przyrody?, “Glissando” no. 2, 2004; M. Kapelański Narodziny i rozwój ekologii akustycznej pod banderą szkoły pejzażu dźwiękowego, “Muzyka” 2005 no. 2; M. Kapelański R. M. Schafera historia w formie sonatowej, “Kultura i Historia” no. 9, 2005; M. Kapelański Śladami wyobraźni kosmologicznej: metafora i ezoteryka w R. M. Schafera pismach o ‘pejzażu dźwiękowym, “Sztuka i Filozofia”, no. 26, 2005; M. Kapelański Specyfika badań nad historycznym „pejzażem dźwiękowym” (soundscape) w „The Tuning of the World” i „Voices of Tyranny, Temples of Silence” R. M. Schafera, “Muzyka” 2008 no. 4; M. Kapelański Odnajdywanie kategorii głębokich w zachodniej kulturze akustycznej w ujęciu R. M. Schafera. Rys badań porównawczych, “Przegląd Muzykologiczny” no. 8, 2011; R.M. Schafer My Life on Earth and Elsewhere, Erin (Ontario) 2012 (autobiography); R. Losiak: Malowniczość pejzażu dźwiękowego. O pewnym aspekcie estetycznego doświadczenia audiosfery, “Teksty Drugie” 2015 no. 5; R. Losiak Wokół idei ekologii akustycznej: Koncepcje i praktyki, “Studia Etnologiczne i Antropologiczne XVIII, 2017; L. Brett Scott R. Murray Schafer. A Creative Life, Lanham 2019.
Compositions:
Instrumental:
Polytonality for piano, 1952
Concerto for harpsichord and 8 wind instruments, 1954
Sonatina for flute and harpsichord/piano, 1958
In memoriam: Alberto Guerrero for chamber orchestra, 1959
Partita for chamber orchestra, 1961
Canzoni for Prisoners for orchestra, 1962
2 Untitled Compositions for chamber orchestra, 1963
Son of Heldenleben for orchestra and tape, 1968, Polish performance at the Warsaw Autumn Festival 1979
No Longer Than 10 Minutes for orchestra, 1970
String Quartet No. 1, 1970
East for chamber orchestra, 1972
North/White for orchestra, 1973
String Quartet No. 2 “Waves”, 1976
Cortège for orchestra, 1977
The Crown of Ariadne for harp, 1979
String Quartet No. 3, 1981
Music for Brass Quintet, 1981
Theseus for harp and string quartet, 1983
Flute Concerto, 1984
Ko wo kiku for orchestra, 1985
Buskers (Rounds) for flute, violin and viola, 1985
Concerto for harp, orchestra and tape, 1987
Le cri de Merlin for guitar and tape, 1987
Dream Rainbow Dream Thunder for orchestra, 1986
Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra, 1989
String Quartet No. 4 with soprano solo, 1989
String Quartet No. 5 “Rosalind”, 1989
Scorpius for orchestra, 1990
The Darkly Splendid Earth: the Lonely Traveller for violin and orchestra, 1991
Accordion Concerto, 1993
String Quartet No. 6 “Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane”, 1993
The Falcon’s Trumpet for trumpet and orchestra, 1995
Manitou for orchestra, 1995
Musique pour la parque Fontaine for 4 orchestral ensembles, 1995
DeLuxe Suite for piano, 1996
Viola Concerto, 1997
String Quartet No. 7 with soprano solo and percussion, 1998
Four-Forty for string quartet and orchestra, 2000
String Quartet No. 8 with tape, 2001
String Quartet No. 9 with soprano solo and tape, 2005
String Quartet No. 10 “Winter Birds”, 2005
String Quartet No. 11, 2006
String Quartet No. 12, 2012
String Quartet No. 13, 2015
Vocal:
Four Songs for soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto and female choir, text by R. Tagore, 1962
Hear Me Out for 4 reciters, text by the composer, 1979
Felix’s Girls for choir a cappella, text by H. Felix, 1979
Gamelan for choir a cappella, text: Balinese solmization syllables, 1979
Snowforms for choir a cappella, text in the Eskimo language meaning different types of snow, 1981, revised 1983
Sun for choir a cappella, text meaning “sun” in 36 languages, 1982
A Garden of Bells for choir a cappella, text by the composer and others, 1983
Magic Songs for choir a cappella, text by the composer, 1988
Tristan and Iseult for 6 voices solo, 1992
Once on the Windy Night for choir a cappella, 1995
A Medieval Bestiary for choir a cappella, 1996
Vox naturae for tenor and choir, text from De rerum naturae by Lucretius, 1997
17 Haiku for choir a cappella, 1997
Imagining Incense for choir a cappella, 2002
The Fall Into Light for 6 choir and children’s choir, 2004
Vocal-instrumental:
3 Contemporaries for voice and piano, text by the composer, 1956
Minnelieder for mezzo-soprano and wind quintet, texts by minnesingers, 1956
Kinderlieder for voice and piano, text by B. Brecht, 1958
Protest and Incarceration for voice and orchestra, text by Eastern European poets, 1960
Brébeuf, cantata for voice and orchestra, text by J. de Brébeuf, transl. by the composer, 1961
5 Studies for soprano and 4 flutes, text by Prudentius, 1962
Gita for choir, 9 brass instruments and tape, text from Bhagavad Gita, 1967
From the Tibetan Book of the Dead for soprano, choir, alto flute, clarinet and tape, 1968
Lustro, 1969–72: part 1 Divan and Shams and Tabriz for percussion, harp, electric organ, strings, tape and 6 solo voices, text by Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, 1970, part 2 Music for the Morning of the World for voice and tape, 1970, part 3 Beyond the Great Gate of Light for 8 voices solo, orchestra and tape, text by R. Tagore, 1972
Sappho for mezzo-soprano, guitar, harp, percussion and piano, 1970
Enchantress for soprano, flute and 8 cellos, text by Safon, 1971
works for orchestra/youth ensembles, including Miniwanka (Moments of Water) for youth female/mixed choir, text in North American Indian dialects, 1971
Arcana for voice and ensemble/orchestra, text transl. into English from Egyptian hieroglyphs, 1972
Adieu, Robert Schumann for voice and orchestra, text by C. Schumann, 1976
Hymn to the Night for voice and orchestra, text by Novalis, 1976
La testa d’Adriane for soprano and accordion, text by the composer, 1977, Polish performance at the Warsaw Autumn Festival 1984
The Garden of the Heart (Arabian Nights) for voice and orchestra, text from One Thousand and One Nights, 1981
Wolf Music for soprano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, alpenhorn and instruments, 1984–97
Letters from Mignon for voice and orchestra, text by J.W. von Goethe, 1987
Gitanjali for voice and orchestra, text by R. Tagore, 1991
Thunder. Perfect Mind for voice and orchestra, to an ancient text written on papyrus, discovered in 1945 in Nag Hammadi (Egypt), 2003
Scenic:
Loving, music theatre, libretto by the composer, 1966, performed at CBC-TV Montreal 1966
Apocalypsis, music theatre: part 1: John’s Vision, text from the Apocalypse of St. John, part 2: Credo, text by Giordano Bruno arranged by Schafer, 1977, staged in London (Ontario) 1980, revised 2015, staged in Toronto 2015
Beauty and the Beast, opera for alto and string quartet, libretto by the composer after L. de Beaumont, 1980
Patria, music theatre, 12-part cycle, 1966–97, libretto by the composer, unless noted otherwise, most parts appear in Canada: Prologue. The Princess of the Stars, 1981, revised 1984, no. 1: Wolfman. The Characteristics Man, 1966–74, revised 1975, no. 2: Study. Dream Passage; Requiems for the Party Girl, 1969–72, no. 3: The Greatest Show, 1977–87, no. 4: The Black Theatre of Hermes Trismegistos, 1988, no. 5: The Crown of Ariadne, 1982, revised 1991, no. 6: Ra, texts from the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, 1979–82, no. 7: Asterion, 1976, no. 8: The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix, 2000, no. 9: The Enchanted Forest, 1994, no. 10: The Spirit Garden, 1997, Epilogue. And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon, 1984
Electronic:
electroacoustic music and environments:
Kaleidoscope, 1967
Okeanos for tape, with B. Davis and B. Fawcett, 1971
Music for Wilderness Lake for 12 trombones, 1979
Harbour Symphony for foghorns, 1983
Sun Father Sky Mother for soprano, 1985
Works:
The New Soundscape, Don Mills (Ontario) 1969, 3rd ed. 1972
The Book of Noise, Vancouver 1970, 2nd ed. 1973
When Words Sing, Scarborough (Ontario) 1970, 3rd ed. 1972
E.T.A. Hoffmann and Music, Toronto 1975
Creative Music Education, New York 1976
The Tuning of the World, Toronto 1977
Dicamus et Labyrinthos. A Philologist’s Notebook, Bancroft (Ontario) 1984
Patria and the Theatre of Confluence, Indian River (Ontario) 1991, extended ed. entitled Patria: The Complete Cycle, Toronto 2002
A Sound Education. 100 Exercises in Listening and Sound-Making, Indian River 1992, Polish transl. R. Augustyn entitled Poznaj dźwięk. 100 ćwiczeń w słuchaniu i tworzeniu muzyki, “Monochord” 1995 no. 6/7
Voices of Tyranny: Temples of Silence: Studies and Reflections on the Contemporary Soundscape, Indian River (Ontario) 1993
Wolf Tracks, Indian River (Ontario) 1997
Shadowgraphs and Legends, Indian River (Ontario) 2004
HearSing, Indian River (Ontario) 2005
A Little Sound Education, with T. Imada, Tokio 1996, 2nd ed. 2009
numerous articles, including:
The Music of the Environment, “Cultures” I, 1973, Polish transl. D. Gwizdalanka entitled Muzyka środowiska, “Res Facta” 9, 1982
Argentyński krajobraz dźwiękowy, Polish transl. L. Zielińska, “Monochord” 1995 no. 8/9
editing:
Ezra Pound and Music. The Complete Criticism, New York 1977, London 1978
