Harry Somers

Canadian pianist Harry Somers was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto at age 16. He studied piano and composition there and in San Francisco, and worked as a pianist during the 1940s performing, for instance, works from Barbara Pentland. Except for a 2-year spell with the Canadian Air Force during World War II, he continued his composition studies with John Weinzweig, beginning in 1941-49. He then moved to Paris for further studies for one year with Darius Milhaud, sponsored by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, and subsequently gave up his piano career devoting himself to composing. In 1960 he returned to Paris to study Gregorian chant. Somers then wrote many commissioned works for Canadian broadcasting, orchestras, festivals etc.

Somers then worked as a consultant for school music in Toronto and became engaged with music for youth. From 1969-71 he lived in Roma, focusing on vocal music, and was named one of the most productive Canadian composers in 1972. He toured the Soviet Union in 1977 and composed A Children’s Hymn to the United Nations to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in 1995. He was the first Canadian composer to be appointed Companion of the Order of Canada. After his first wife died in 1963, he married the Canadian actress Barbara Chilcott. Somers was immensely successful as a composer. He had an eclectic, personal approach to 20th century styles and composed a large body of work for stage, concert hall, film, radio and television.

Testament of Youth, Somers’ 1948 entry in the category instrumental- and chamber music was the title of his Sonata for piano No. 1. The three movements of this sonata are I. Largo; II. Adagio molto; III. Largo. The premiere of this 11-minute long work took place in 1946 in Toronto. It is dedicated to the Canadian hockey player Dudley „Red“ Garrett jun. (1924–1944), who died in World War II, when the corvette HMCS Shawinigan was sunk off Newfoundland by a German submarine. His second entry was the song A Song of Joys for high voice and piano in the category vocal music. It was composed in 1947 based on a poem by Walt Whitman.