Martha Blackman

Martha Blackman
Born(1927-01-01)January 1, 1927
Dallas, Texas
DiedNovember 17, 2021(2021-11-17) (aged 94)
Palo Alto, California
Occupation(s)Musician, educator


Martha Elizabeth Blackman (January 1, 1927 – November 17, 2021) was an American viola da gamba player and lutenist.

Biography

Blackman was born in Dallas, Texas. She studied cello at the Juilliard School under Leonard Rose. Receiving a Fulbright Scholarship (1953–54), she studied the viola da gamba, first in Munich and then at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.[1] She returned to the USA in 1954 and appeared as a leading gamba soloist, and also joining the New York Pro Musica working under Noah Greenberg from 1954 to 1961, during which she did most of her recording. Together with Paul Maynard and Bernard Krainis, she formed the New York Pro Musica Baroque Trio, and was also a member of the Stanley Buetens Lute Ensemble.[2]

From 1970 Blackman was a long time lecturer at Stanford University.[3] She received an International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) Fellowship for research of Eastern European folk and Renaissance music at the Charles University in Prague. Blackman was an expert in French ornamentation in Baroque string music, the lyra viol, the composer Tobias Hume, and the clàrsach and its repertoire.

Blackman died on November 17, 2021, in Palo Alto, California, at the age of 94.[4]

Publications

Academic papers include: "A New Star", Albertus Magnus Alumnae, 3 (2) :4-7, 1966, an English translation of Hans Judenkünig's "Ain Schone Kunstliche Underweisung (1523)," Lute Society Journal, Vol XIV, 1972,[5] various editions of early music, and for the International Horn Society Journal (unpublished), "Hunting Horns in Viola da Gamba Music".

Recordings

The majority of her recordings are with the New York Pro Musica at Decca.[6] Other recordings include Experiences Anonymous,[7] Columbia,[8] and on other labels.

References

  1. ^ Wilton CT Bulletin May 15, 1957 2A "Squires, Maynard Miss Blackman To Present Concert Sunday Night"
  2. ^ James Gollin, Pied Piper: the many lives of Noah Greenberg Pendragon Press (2001)ISBN 1-57647-041-5
  3. ^ Stanford University Bulletin, Summer 1976, P79 274S "Workshop in Viola da Gamba"
  4. ^ "Martha Blackman Obituary". Legacy.com. November 19, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  5. ^ *^ Martha Blackman: A Translation of Hans Judenkünig's Ain Schone Kunstliche Underweisung... (1523) Lute Society Journal Vol.14 (1972)
  6. ^ *^ New York Pro Musica Discography: Decca "Gold Label" DL 9400 [LP, mono] Music of Medieval Court and Countryside Rec.: 1957; rel.: 1957; Decca "Gold Label" DL 9402 / DL 7 9402 [LP, mono / stereo] The Play of Daniel Rec.: 1958; rel.: 1958 ;Decca "Gold Label" DL 9404 / DL 7 9404 [LP, mono/stereo] Sacred Music of Thomas Tallis Rec.: 1958; rel.: 1959; Decca "Gold Label" DL 9406 / DL 7 9406 [LP, mono/stereo] Elizabethan and Jacobean Ayres, Madrigals & Dances Rec.: 1959; rel.: 1959 ;Decca "Gold Label" DL 9409 / DL 7 9409 [LP, mono/stereo] Spanish Music of the Renaissance Rec.: 1959 or 1960; rel.: 1960; Decca "Gold Label" DL 9412 / DL 7 9412 [LP, mono/stereo] Music of the Early German Baroque - Heinrich Schütz & Melchior Franck Rec.: 1960; rel.: 1961; Horizon DL 34 541 [LP] Music for a Medieval Day - Music of the cloister, cathedral, court, marketplace, and countryside Rec.: 1957-1968; rel.: 1968
  7. ^ *^English polyphony of the 13th & 14th centuries 1958 (catalog number EAS 24), The French ars antiqua 1960
  8. ^ *^Vocal Music of Claudio Monteverdi 1957 (ML5159)