Musicatlas
News for Dello Joio
- Norman Dello Joio dies at 95
[posted 29 July 2008]American composer Norman Dello Joio, descendant of Italian church organists, died in his house in East Hampton, N.Y, last Thursday. He was 95 years old.
He achieved wide popularity in the mid-20th century, mainly composing tonal, lyrical works, in many different genres.
[Source: www.allaboutjazz.com]
Music
Operas
- The Triumph of St. Joan (1950; New York, League of Composers)
- The Ruby, opera in one act (13 May 1955; Bloomington, Indiana)
- The Trial at Rouen (1956; NBC-TV Opera Theater)
- The Triumph of St. Joan [rev. of The Trial of Rouen] (1959; NY City Opera)
- Blood Moon (1961; San Francisco)
Choir
- Passing Strangers, composed for Mrs. Tibbett’s Concert Choir of William Floyd High School
Life
Noramn Dello Joio (1913–2008), was an American composer, respected for his fine craftsmanship. Born in New York City, he studied under the German composer Paul Hindemith and taught (1944–1950) composition at Sarah Lawrence College. His music follows neoclassical tendencies in its use of classical forms, and his choral music is especially highly regarded. His works include Concertino for Harmonica and Chamber Orchestra (1942); Song of Affirmation (1952), a setting of the poem "Western Star" by the American poet Stephen Vincent Benét, for chorus and orchestra, soprano, and narrator; Meditations on Ecclesiastes (1956) for string orchestra, which won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize in music; and Evocations (1970) for chorus and orchestra. Dello Joio also wrote an opera, Blood Moon (1961), and several instrumental pieces, such as Diversions (1975) for piano.
Dello Joio’s first opera, The Triumph of St. Joan, (1950) was not a critical success, and he reworked it into a symphony, first titled The Triumph of St. Joan and later renamed Seraphic Ode. He composed a new opera on the same subject, originally titled The Trial at Rouen but later performed under the title The Triumph of St. Joan. (1959)