Short bio Henry Brant
Full biography Henry Brant
Henry Dreyfuss Brant (September 15 , 1913 – April 26, 2008) was an American composer known for his avant-garde and experimental music, as well as his expertise in orchestration. He was born in Montreal, Canada, and began his musical career at an early age, learning to play the piano and violin as a child.
Brant was known for his use of spatial music, which involved placing musicians throughout a performance space rather than having them all on a stage or in a traditional orchestra pit. He believed this technique allowed for a more immersive and dynamic listening experience for the audience.
Brant was a prolific composer, with over 100 works to his name, including numerous orchestral pieces, operas, choral works, and chamber music. His works were often experimental in nature, incorporating unusual instruments and techniques, as well as exploring complex musical structures and forms.
In addition to his work as a composer, Brant also worked as an orchestrator, working with composers such as Virgil Thomson and Aaron Copland. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and his numerous awards and honors include the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2002 for his work "Ice Field".
Brant passed away in 2008 at the age of 94. His legacy lives on, with his works still being performed and studied by musicians and music enthusiasts around the world.
Compositions featuring Henry Brant
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wind, Water, Clouds and Fire, oratorio for 3 women's choruses, children's chorus, ensemble & organ | 35:15 min | Choral | 2004 |
| 2 | Ghosts and Gargoyles, for flutes | 21:36 min | Chamber Music | 2001 |
| 3 | Rosewood for 100 guitars | 15:09 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | 1997 |
| 4 | Plowshares & swords, for orchestra | Orchestral | 1996 | |
| 5 | Dormant Craters, spatial events for 16 percussionists | 34:49 min | Chamber Music | 1995 |
| 6 | Homeless People, spatial event for prepared piano, accordion & string quartet | 25:44 min | Chamber Music | 1993 |
| 7 | Pathways to Security: Ambulant Spatial Cantata | 23:02 min | Vocal Music | 1990 |
| 8 | Ghost Nets, for double-bass & 2 instrumental groups | 24:43 min | Concerto | 1988 |
| 9 | An Era Any Time of Year: A Walking Ceremony | 19:26 min | Vocal Music | 1987 |
| 10 | Autumn Hurricanes, A Spatial Cantata for Widely Seperated Vocal & Instrumental Groups | 58:42 min | Choral | 1986 |
| 11 | Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors | 95:57 min | Choral | 1985 |
| 12 | Mass in Gregorian Chant for Multiple Flutes ("Mass for June 16") | 14:47 min | Chamber Music | 1984 |
| 13 | Litany of Tides, spatial antiphonies for solo violin, large orchestra, small orchestra & 4 soprano soloists | 26:54 min | Orchestral | 1983 |
| 14 | Revenge Before Breakfast, for piccolo, clarinet, violin, cello, 2 percussionists & accordion | 12:01 min | Chamber Music | 1982 |
| 15 | Inside Track, a spatial piano concerto | 17:02 min | Concerto | 1982 |
| 16 | Meteor Farm: A Spatial Concert of Ceremonies | 70:11 min | Avant-Garde Music | 1981 |
| 17 | Trinity of Spheres, for 3 orchestral groups & 3 conductors | 11:29 min | Orchestral | 1979 |
| 18 | Solar Moth, concerto for violin & ensemble | 23:16 min | Concerto | 1979 |
| 19 | Orbits, A Spatial Symphonic Ritual for 80 Trombones, organ and Sopranino voice | 20:49 min | Symphony | 1979 |
| 20 | A Plan of the Air, for mutliple wind ensembles & 2 conductors | 24:34 min | Band Music | 1975 |
| 21 | Nomads, concerto for voice, brass instrument, percussion & wind ensemble | 17:05 min | Concerto | 1974 |
| 22 | Dialog in the Jungle, for solo voice, brass quintet & woodwind quintet | 7:31 min | Vocal Music | 1964 |
| 23 | Quombex | 7:10 min | Chamber Music | 1960 |
| 24 | Hieroglyphics 3 for viola, mezzo-soprano, organ, vibraphone, piano, harpsichord, timpani & chimes | 11:08 min | Vocal Music | 1957 |
| 25 | Ceremony, spatial event for 4 voices, violin, oboe, cello & orchestra | 12:30 min | Chamber Music | 1954 |
| 26 | Antiphony One, for 5 orchestral groups | 10:54 min | Orchestral | 1953 |
| 27 | All Souls Carnival | 15:36 min | Orchestral | 1949 |
| 28 | The 3-Way Canon Blues | 2:32 min | Choral | 1946 |
| 29 | Music for an Imaginary Ballet | 8:10 min | Chamber Music | 1946 |
| 30 | Jazz Clarinet Concerto, for clarinet & big band | 10:25 min | Concerto | 1946 |
| 31 | Jazz Toccata on a Bach Theme (Toccata on "Wachet Auf"), for 2 pianos | 2:38 min | Keyboard | 1940 |
| 32 | Whoopee in D, for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, contrabasson & 2 horns | 4:25 min | Chamber Music | 1938 |
| 33 | Double-Crank Hand Organ Music, for 2 pianos | 2:52 min | Keyboard | 1933 |
| 34 | Music for a Five and Dime Store, for piano, violin & percussion | 2:51 min | Chamber Music | 1932 |
| 35 | Angels and Devils for flute & orchestra | 21:21 min | Concerto | 1931 |
| 36 | Altitude 8750, for solo voice & spatial ensemble | 15:29 min | Vocal Music | - |
| 37 | Rainforest, an environmental spatial oratorio for 4 singers, 19 instrumentalists & 2 conductors | 58:23 min | Vocal Music | - |
| 38 | Hommage aux Frères Marx, three faithful portraits | 9:23 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 39 | Concerto for trumpet & 9 instruments | 22:34 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 40 | Symphony No. 1 in B-flat | Symphony | - | |
| 41 | Kingdom Come (2 orchestras, organ, 1970) | 21:56 min | Orchestral | - |
| 42 | Verticals Ascending for wind ensemble | 9:39 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 43 | Western Springs for 2 orchestras, 2 choruses & jazz ensemble | 37:58 min | Choral | - |
| 44 | Machinations (timpani, chimes, xylophone, glockenspiel, organ, E-b flute, ceramic flute, double ocarina, double flageolet, harp) | 20:11 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 45 | A Concord Symphony, for orchestra (after Charles Ives' Concord Sonata) | 50:57 min | Orchestral | - |
Albums featuring Henry Brant
| # | Сover | Name album | Year | Music label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ives / Brant, Copland - San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, Paul Jacobs (7) – A Concord Symphony / Organ Symphony(SACD, Hybrid, Stereo, Album) | 2011 | SFS Media |
| 2 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol.3(CD, Stereo) | 2008 | Innova Recordings |
| 3 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection Volume 6: Rainforest(CD, Album) | 2007 | Innova Recordings |
| 4 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection Volume 8(CD, Album) | 2007 | Innova Recordings |
| 5 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection Volume 9(CD, Album) | 2007 | Innova Recordings |
| 6 |  |
Henry Brant - Charles Ives – A Concord Symphony(CD, Album) | 2007 | Innova Recordings |
| 7 |  |
Henry Brant, The New York Flute Club, Robert Aitken (2) – Music For Massed Flutes(CD, ) | 2006 | New World Records |
| 8 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection, Volume 4: Meteor Farm(CD, Album) | 2006 | Innova Recordings |
| 9 |  |
Autumn Hurricanes(CD, Album) | 2006 | Innova Recordings |
| 10 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 2(CD, ) | 2004 | Innova Recordings |
| 11 |  |
The Henry Brant Collection, Volume 1(2×CD, Album) | 2003 | Innova Recordings |
| 12 |  |
Orbits • Western Springs • Hieroglyphics 3(CD, Compilation, Remastered) | 1999 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 13 |  |
Robert Russell Bennett, Henry Brant, Ross Lee Finney, Vincent Persichetti, Hale Smith, The Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, John P. Paynter – Winds Of Change: American Music For Wind Ensemble From The 1950s To The 1970s(CD, Reissue) | 1997 | New World Records |
| 14 |  |
Works From A Lifetime: Music, 1938-1990 | 1994 | Newport Classic |
| 15 |  |
Henry Brant Plays Michael Ingham Sings / Charles Ives – 28 Songs(CD, Album) | 1991 | AmCam Recordings |
| 16 |  |
Brant, Morel, Stravinsky, Orchestre D'Harmonie, Ensemble De Flûtes Contemporain, Ensemble De Vents – Musique À L'Université Laval, Vol.1(LP) | 1985 | sne (Société Nouvelle d'Enregistrement) |
| 17 |  |
Western Springs(LP) | 1985 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 18 |  |
Litany Of Tides | 1984 | Sonic Arts |
| 19 |  |
Henry Brant & Amy Snyder – Vuur Onder Water(LP, Album) | 1984 | BV HAAST Records |
| 20 |  |
Henry Brant / Daniel Kobialka – Solar Moth / Autumn Beyond(LP, Album, Stereo) | 1982 | 1750 Arch Records |
| 21 |  |
Brant / Samuel – 80 Trombones And 30 Basses(LP, Album) | 1980 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 22 |  |
Roque Cordero / Leonardo Balada / Henry Brant - The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester – Symphony No. 2 / Hommage A Sarasate / On The Nature Of Things(LP, Stereo) | 1979 | First Edition Records |
| 23 |  |
Ulysses Kay / Henry Brant / Normand Lockwood – American Concertos (Concerto For Orchestra / Concerto For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra / Concerto For Organ & Brasses)(LP, Compilation, Mono) | 1978 | Varèse Sarabande |
| 24 |  |
Gerard Schwarz - Henry Brant / Elliott Carter / Richard Moryl / Charles Whittenberg / Stefan Wolpe – Gerard Schwarz Plays New Music For Trumpet | 1973 | Desto |
| 25 |  |
Henry Brant / Glen Glasow / Lou Harrison - Daniel Kobialka – Crossroads / Rakka / Concerto In Slendro(LP, Compilation) | 1972 | Desto |
| 26 |  |
Henry Brant, Vivian Fine, Lionel Nowak, Louis Calabro – Bennington Composers | 1971 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 27 |  |
Kingdom Come | 1970 | Desto |
| 28 |  |
Charles Ives, Alvin Brehm, Henry Brant, Peter Phillips - The American Brass Quintet With Jan DeGaetani – American Brass Music | 1969 | Nonesuch |
| 29 |  |
Henry Brant, Peter Mennin, Norman Dello Joio, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky – Symphony No. 1 - Concerto For Orchestra - Epigraph(LP, Stereo) | 1966 | Desto Records |
| 30 |  |
Henry Brant, Irving Fine – Angels And Devils / Music For Piano / Mutability | 1957 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 31 |  |
George Antheil / Henry Brant, Carlos Surinach Conducting The New York Percussion Group, Henry Brant Conducting Chamber Ensemble – Ballet Mecanique / Signs And Alarms / Galaxy 2 | 1955 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 32 |  |
Henry Brant, Dane Rhudyar, Peggy Glanville-Hicks – Concerto For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra / Sinfonietta; Gymnopedie | 1953 | Remington |
| 33 |  |
Henry Brant, Burrill Phillips, American Recording Society Orchestra – Symphony No. 1 / Selections From McGuffey's Readers(LP, Album) | 1953 | American Recording Society |
| 34 |  |
Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, Igor Stravinsky, Henry Brant – Volume 9: Contemporary American Chamber Music(LP) | - | Golden Crest Records, Inc. |
| 35 |  |
Peter Mennin, Norman Dello Joio, Hans Swarowsky, Henry Brant – Henry Brant Symphony No. 1 / Peter Mennin Concertato For Orchestra / Norman Dello Joio Epigraph(LP, Album, Mono) | - | Desto |
Videos featuring Henry Brant
A Concord Symphony (Orch. Brant) : I. Emerson
Provided to YouTube by SFS Media
A Concord Symphony (Orch. Brant) : I. Emerson · San Francisco Symphony
Ives/Brant: A Concord Symphony - Copland: Organ Symphony
℗ 2011 San Francisco Symphony
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Orchestra: San Francisco Sy
Solar Moth
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America
Solar Moth · Amy Snyder
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 2
℗ 2004 Innova
Released on: 2004-01-01
Artist: Amy Snyder
Artist: Henry Brant
Artist: Daniel Kobialka
Composer: Henry Brant
Auto-generated by YouTube.
Western Springs
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises
Western Springs · Various Artists · Henry Brant · La Jolla Symphony · La Jolla Chorus · Thomas Nee · Amy Snyder · David Chase
Henry Brant: Orbits, Hieroglyphics 3, Western Springs
℗ 1999 Anthology
Kingdom Come / For Two Orchestras And Organ (Produced)
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises
Kingdom Come / For Two Orchestras And Organ · Oakland Symphony Orchestra · Henry Brant · Gerhard Samuel · Robert Hughes · Oakland Youth Orchestra
HENRY BRANT, Kingdom Come , Machinations
℗ 1991 Phoe
Litany of Tides
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America
Litany of Tides · Daniel Kobialka
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 3
℗ 2005 Innova
Released on: 2005-01-01
Artist: Daniel Kobialka
Conductor: George Cleve
Conductor: Henry Brant
Orchestra: San Jose Symphony
Organ Symphony: III. Finale (Lento - Allegro moderato)
Provided to YouTube by SFS Media
Organ Symphony: III. Finale (Lento - Allegro moderato) · San Francisco Symphony
Ives/Brant: A Concord Symphony - Copland: Organ Symphony
℗ 2011 San Francisco Symphony
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Organ: Paul Jacobs
Trinity of Spheres
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America
Trinity of Spheres · Denver Symphony Orchestra
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 3
℗ 2005 Innova
Released on: 2005-01-01
Conductor: Bruce Hangen
Conductor: Carl Topilow
Conductor: Henry Brant
Orchestra: Denve
A Concord Symphony (Orch. Brant) : IV. Thoreau
Provided to YouTube by SFS Media
A Concord Symphony (Orch. Brant) : IV. Thoreau · San Francisco Symphony
Ives/Brant: A Concord Symphony - Copland: Organ Symphony
℗ 2011 San Francisco Symphony
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Orchestra: San Francisco S
Organ Symphony: I. Prelude (Andante)
Provided to YouTube by SFS Media
Organ Symphony: I. Prelude (Andante) · San Francisco Symphony
Ives/Brant: A Concord Symphony - Copland: Organ Symphony
℗ 2011 San Francisco Symphony
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Organ: Paul Jacobs
Orchestra: San Fr
Organ Symphony: II. Scherzo (Allegro molto)
Provided to YouTube by SFS Media
Organ Symphony: II. Scherzo (Allegro molto) · San Francisco Symphony
Ives/Brant: A Concord Symphony - Copland: Organ Symphony
℗ 2011 San Francisco Symphony
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Organ: Paul Jacobs
Orchestra:
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