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Contributor


Jack Body

Composer

Born: 1944 Died: 2015

Biography

Jack Body (1944–2015) studied at Auckland University, in Cologne and at the Institute of Sonology, Utrecht. During 1976–77 he was a guest lecturer at the Akademi Musik Indonesia, Yogyakarta, and from 1980 to 2010 he lectured at the School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington, now the New Zealand School of Music.

His music covers most genres, including solo and chamber music, orchestral music, music-theatre, music for dance and film as well as electroacoustic music. He also worked in experimental photography and computer-controlled sound-image installations, having received commissions from several public galleries. A fascination with the music and cultures of Asia, particularly Indonesia, was a strong influence on his music. As an ethnomusicologist his published recordings include music from Indonesia and China. One landmark publication he edited was South of the Clouds, field recordings of Prof Zhang Xingrong (Yunnan Art Institute), of instrumental music of the minorities of South West China (Ode Records, 2003).

His music has been played and broadcast widely, nationally and internationally and he was commissioned by the New Zealand String Quartet, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, NZTrio and many other groups, and wrote four works for the Kronos Quartet. Jack Body's opera Alley, based on the life of Rewi Alley, was acclaimed at the 1998 NZ International Festival of the Arts. In 2003 he was a featured composer at the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco, and in 2004 he was honoured by a Composer Portrait concert in the NZ International Festival of the Arts. He was a featured composer of the Atlas Ensemble (2004 Holland Festival), the Encuentros International Festival in Buenos Aires (2004), New Music Works, Santa Cruz, USA (2005), Neue Musik aus Neuseeland, Lübeck (2006), Art Summit Indonesia and the 4th International Music Festival, Phnom Penh (2007), and in 2008, the Beijing Modern Festival and the Cincinnati 08 Festival.

Recordings of his music include Suara (Ode), electroacoustic compositions using field recordings from Indonesia, Sacred and Profane (Ode), three large scale works for voices, Composer Portrait: Jack Body (Waiteata Music) with compositions ranging from 1968 to 2002, and Pulse (Rattle), a series of five works based on transcriptions from traditional non-Western musics. Pulse won the 2002 New Zealand Music Award for Best Classical CD.

As a musical entrepreneur he had wide experience including the organisation of a series of Sonic Circuses, 12-hour simultaneous multi-venue music marathons featuring New Zealand music. In 2002 he curated a five-concert festival of New Zealand music at the Ijsbreker in Amsterdam. For 33 years he was the editor of Waiteata Music Press, which publishes scores of New Zealand music, and he edited over twenty CDs of music by New Zealand composers.

In the promotion of the music and musicians of the Asia-Pacific region Jack Body was artistic director for the Asia-Pacific Festivals and Conferences in 1984, 1992 and 2007, ten-day events that juxtaposed traditional and contemporary music of New Zealand and its neighbours. He travelled widely in Asia, particularly Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, Japan and China, and since 1981 was actively involved in the Asian Composers League, serving on its executive committee. He was the guest of numerous music festivals in Asia and arranged numerous visits to New Zealand by leading Asian composers such as Yuji Takahashi, Tan Dun, Qu Xiao-Song and Chinary Ung.

Jack Body specialised in cross-cultural composition, both in his own music as well as in his teaching. At Victoria University of Wellington he established a residency for traditional musicians to work collaboratively with composition staff and students. These guests included, from Indonesia, Agus Supriawan, Dody Ekagustdiman (both from West Java), Rafiloza bin Rafii (Minangkabau), Wayan Yudane (Bali), and, from Kalinga, north Philippines, Benny Sokkong. These residencies generated new compositions, recorded for broadcast and CD publication. In his own composition he integrated other musical cultures as in Campur Sari for Javanese musician and string quartet, and Polish Dances, for clarinet and Javanese Gamelan.

As the manager of Victoria University's Gamelan Padhang Moncar, he stimulated the creation of new compositions, which were recorded and broadcast. These included works for gamelan and piano, gamelan and orchestra, gamelan and organ, gamelan and choral plainsong etc. In 2000, to celebrate 25 years of gamelan in New Zealand, he co-organised BEAT, an International Gamelan Festival with over 100 overseas participants.

Information about Jack Body and his music for film and television can also be found on the NZ On Screen website.

Since April 2021, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has engaged in a restorative process around the historical allegations of sexually harmful behaviours by former staff member, Jack Body. The outcome of the restorative process can be viewed here.


Composed (123)

14 Stations

for amplified pianist, 20m


23 Pages

for orchestra, 17m


3 Sentimental Songs

for 3 percussionists and 1 pianist


A House in Bali

for string quartet, gamelan, narrator and sheng (or oboe)


Aeolian Harp

for violin, 4m


Aeolian Harp

for viola, 4m


Aeolian Harp

for cello, 4m


African Strings

for two guitars, 13m


After Bach

for eight violins, eight violas, and four cellos


After Bach

for gamelan, 4 solo violas and massed violas


After Bach

for four solo violas and 8-part massed violas


Alley

opera in two acts based on the life of Rewi Alley, 1h 30m


Arum Manis

for string quartet and tape, 8m


Ave Maria Gratia Plena

for SATB choir, 2m


BAI sanxian

for string quartet


Bamboo Music for eight players

for 8 musicians playing bamboo instruments, 20m


BEAT (DA)

for string quartet, Chinese instrumental ensemble and tape


Campur Sari

for string quartet with Javanese musician, 14m


Caravan

for violin


Carmen Dances

for guitar and orchestra, 23m


Carol to St. Stephen

for soprano, alto and tenor soloists and SATB choir, 10m


Cries from the Border

for string quartet and six voices


Duets and Choruses

for tape, 12m


Eights On My Teaching

for orchestra and narrator


Encounters

for 4-track tape and group of participants, 1m


Epicycle

for string quartet, 13m


Epilogue: Sawangan

field recording, 1m


Fanfare for Bert

for orchestra


Fanfares

for tape, 12m


Fire in the Belly

for piano trio


Five Lullabies

for SATB choir or vocal ensemble, 14m


Five Melodies

for piano, 12m


Flurry

for three string quartets, 2m


Four Haiku

for prepared piano and 21 solo strings, 18m


Four Stabiles

for piano, 6m


Fours on my teaching

for piano and speaker


Fours on my teaching

for orchestra with speaker


Hector's Ghost

for orchestra


Hello Francois

for orchestra, 13m


In Memoriam Memorabiliam

for SATB choir, 3m


In the Curve of Song

for voice, tape, viola, flute/piccolo and four percussionists


Interior

for chamber septet and tape, 13m


Interlude: Ciblon

field recording, 1m


Interlude: Dremenan

field recording, 2m


Interlude: Gua Tabuhan

field recording, 1m


Interlude: Kotekan

field recording, 1m


Intimate History no. 1: Yono

electroacoustic music, 14m


Invocation

for SATB choirs, Cook Island choir, bells, shofar, organ, tape and orchestra, 30m


Jangkrik Genggong

for tape, 10m


Jibrail

for vocal octet and gongs


Kryptophones

for tape, 10m


Little Elegies

for orchestra, 14m


Love Sonnets of Michelangelo

for soprano, mezzo-soprano, spoken voice and a dancer, 13m


Make Us Merry, with Canons for Brass

for three male voices, three trumpets and three trombones, 9m


Marvel not Joseph

for tenor and alto solos with SATB choir, 7m


Meditations on Michelangelo

for violin and string orchestra, 17m


Meditations on Michelangelo

for violin and piano


Melodies for Orchestra

for orchestra, 13m


Music for the New Zealand Liturgy

for SATB choir and organ


My Name is Mok Bhon

for orchestra, 13m


Nocturne

for cello and piano


O Cambodia

for mixed chamber sextet


O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross

for ondes martenot, glass harp, woodwind and strings


Pain in the Arse

for piano trio, 7m


Palaran: Poems of Love and War

for orchestra with traditional Javanese singer, 18m


Pange Lingua

for choir and gamelan, 3m 39s


Pange Lingua Gloriosi

for choir, ondes martenot and glass harp


Paradise Regained

for vibraphone and piano


Paradise Regained

for piano and gangsa, 4m


Passio

for voices, brass, woodwinds and percussion


Pater Noster

for 4 vocal soloists, choir, percussion, drums and one melody instrument, 14m


People look East

for SATB choir, 3m


Poems of Solitary Delights

for orchestra and tenor (narrator), 13m


Poi

for tape, 10m


Polish Folk Dances

for two clarinets, baritone saxophone, timpani and Javanese gamelan, 6m


Prelude: Azan

field recording, 1m


Psalm 103

for SATB choir


Psalm 137

for SSAATTBB choir


Psalm 150

for SATB choir


Psalm 150

for SATB choir and percussion


Pulse

for orchestra, 21m


Rainforest

for flute and harp, 16m


Rainforest

for flute and piano, 16m


Resonance Music

for electric guitar and 6 percussionists, 12m


Saetas

for string quartet (and accordion), 15m


Sarajevo

for piano, 12m


Silence and Me

for tape, 9m


Song Cycle

sound/light/image installation for voices and the sounds of wood and metal, 18m


Songs and Dances of Desire: In Memoriam Carmen Rupe

for solo guitar, mezzo-soprano, counter-tenor and orchestra


Songs my Grandmother Sang

for voice and piano, 12m


Songs of Death and Desire

for two mezzo-sopranos, counter-tenor and orchestra


Sun and Steel (Homage to Mishama)

interactive sound and image installation


Superimpositions

computer music for piano, 11m


The Caves of Ellora

for piano and brass ensemble


The Emperor Speaks.....

for Chinese instrument ensemble


The Garden

for sixteen instruments, 13m


The New Liturgy

for SATB choir, 13m


The Street Where I Live

for piano and CD, 4m


Three Dreams & A Nightmare

for vocal ensemble


Three Elegies

for chamber ensemble


Three Love Songs

for tenor, viola and cello, 8m


Three Rhythmics

for piano duet, 12m


Three Transcriptions

for string quartet, 15m


Tribute to the Blues

for clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano


Tribute to the Blues

for thirteen-piece ensemble, 21m


Tui, korimako and kokako

for organ and birdsong (recorded), 5m


Turtle Time

for piano, harp, harpsichord, organ and speakers, 6m


Two Blues

for violin, cello and piano, 8m 30s


Vox Humana

for tape, 26m


Vox Populi

for choir and tape, 8m


Waiata Maori

for Maori singer and ensemble, 14m


Waiata Wahine

for mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra


Wananga i te rangi

for tape, 20m


Wedding Song for Saint Cecilia

for women's choir


Yunnan

for flute, guitar/lute, sixian, and string quartet



Recordings (30)

Jack Body | Pulse - CD

Audio/visual


Secret Sounds

Nz recordings other genres



Publications (1)


Resources (57)

Jack Body in Transit

Commentary or analysis


JACK! book launch - VIDEO

Media on demand


On Disk: Composers - DVD

Education resource



Performances (3)

NZTrio: The Americas

Ashley welcomes back Andrew Beer (violin) and Stephen De Pledge (piano) for a ripper of a program...


STROMA | Voices of the World

A rich collection of works inspired by non-Western musical traditions from around the world, incl...


NZTrio | The Americas

Ashley welcomes back __Andrew Beer (violin)__ and __Stephen De Pledge (piano)__ for one last 2019...