The Memory (from Two Contemplations for Organ, op. 341a) (2006/07)

Robert Daigneault (b. 1940) — The Memory (from Two Contemplations for Organ, op. 341a) (2006/07) for organ

Canadian composer Robert Daigneault (b. 1940) was born in Ontario and studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Daigneault was composer in residence for the Toronto Dance Theatre (for whom he wrote more than 15 dance scores) and has composed works for numerous ensembles and musicians. His music has been hneard through North American and Europe. The Canadian Music Centre described Daigneault’s work as follows: “Daigneault is fascinated by reality and mystery. He defines reality as anything that already exists in the world. What interests him is to use a fragment of reality as the starting point for a composition, and to make reality fanciful. He draws on many sources—jazz, blues, hymn tunes, folk tunes, other composers, patterns from nature such as plant, rock, cloud, wood textures, organic forms, stories, poetry, photos, depression, and joy.” Daigneault has also been active as an educator. Through the Canadian Artist in Schools Programs, he ran workshops in which students wrote and performed their own musicals, and he has also taught piano and composition privately. In the late 2000s, after a large output of several hundred compositions in various forms, Daigneault stopped composing notated scores to focus instead on creating “musique concrete” electronic compositions.