Robert Bruce (composer)
Encyclopedia
Robert James Bruce is a Canadian
composer
/pianist
. He published his first book of piano
music in 1991 under his own company, Celestial Music Publications, and his first CD in 1995.
Bruce's earliest compositions were exclusively for the piano, but he has since branched into writing for other instruments, including vocals
, as well as into other forms of media, including performances with dancers and visual art
.
, television
and animation
; music for healing
and meditation
; piano works; ensemble
works; orchestra
l works; music for various multimedia presentations and a collection of modern artsongs. His music, often displaying subtle blues
-impressionistic
elements in its basic language, is harmonically tonal but its true character has defied all existing genre
s and categories; he has termed his overall style and genre, as well as his performing ensemble, “Classical Nouveau”.
Self-directed and primarily self-taught, by his early-twenties Bruce had begun a dedicated lifelong study of how music
and spirituality
are inherently interrelated, a study that continues to hold great fascination for him. He advocates that true music and creative expression are inherently therapeutic
and that the key elements for creative/artistic fulfillment are aesthetics
and utilizing one's own natural desires and abilities. In 2007 he completed his first book "In Between the Lines - Book One", a 10-year project, which outlines the philosophy
on music he has discovered and developed over many years. His second book " In Between the Lines - Book Two " is in progress and details his highly intuitive approach to writing music.
, harmonic
and rhythm
ic elements. In what he considers his best work there is little or nothing in this regard that one couldn't find in much of the music from a hundred years ago. He hears and writes music in terms of musical ideas, or "musical icons", as he calls them, that seem to resonate on many planes of consciousness simultaneously, and he seeks to present those ideas in their purest form. Often sharply against the tide of the musical trends of recent decades, he continues to favour clean and simple elements in his music and uses colouring notes and embellishments very sparingly.
Where his music is truly ultra-modern and quite distinctive is in its overall tone, atmosphere and musical effect, in its highly "visual" nature, and in its multidimensional purpose. There is seldom, if ever, anything deliberately showy or flashy in his work but he rather strives for a depth, purity and honesty that resonates more beneath the surface. He claims to have discovered an inherent creative power in fundamental tones and their harmonic overtones that serves as the basis for his entire musical vocabulary and approach to composition. He feels that, with inspired ideas and musical elements that "sound well", "very little packaging is usually needed". His approach to writing music will be detailed in his second book "In Between the Lines - Book Two" which will be published in the near future.
The lyrics he writes for his artsongs often touch upon the themes of romance and spirituality and sometimes explore what they have in common. Audio samples of his music can be found on his personal website. The Classical Nouveau Ensemble is designed to express, complement and broaden his music and his approach to creative expression in general.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
/pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He published his first book of piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
music in 1991 under his own company, Celestial Music Publications, and his first CD in 1995.
Bruce's earliest compositions were exclusively for the piano, but he has since branched into writing for other instruments, including vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, as well as into other forms of media, including performances with dancers and visual art
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
.
The Composer
Since the late 1970s composer/pianist Robert Bruce has developed a diverse catalogue of original music that includes music for young children; piano repertoire for students (which is used by all the major music conservatories in Canada for formal piano examinations, is performed in many music festivals each year and is included in the 3rd edition of the well-known reference book Pianists' Guide to Piano Literature by Dr Maurice Hinson); music for filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
; music for healing
Healing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
; piano works; ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
works; orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l works; music for various multimedia presentations and a collection of modern artsongs. His music, often displaying subtle blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-impressionistic
Impressionist music
Impressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...
elements in its basic language, is harmonically tonal but its true character has defied all existing genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s and categories; he has termed his overall style and genre, as well as his performing ensemble, “Classical Nouveau”.
Self-directed and primarily self-taught, by his early-twenties Bruce had begun a dedicated lifelong study of how music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
are inherently interrelated, a study that continues to hold great fascination for him. He advocates that true music and creative expression are inherently therapeutic
Therapy
This is a list of types of therapy .* Adventure therapy* Animal-assisted therapy* Aquatic therapy* Aromatherapy* Art and dementia* Art therapy* Authentic Movement* Behavioral therapy* Bibliotherapy* Buteyko Method* Chemotherapy...
and that the key elements for creative/artistic fulfillment are aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
and utilizing one's own natural desires and abilities. In 2007 he completed his first book "In Between the Lines - Book One", a 10-year project, which outlines the philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
on music he has discovered and developed over many years. His second book " In Between the Lines - Book Two " is in progress and details his highly intuitive approach to writing music.
Music
By contemporary standards, the music of composer Robert Bruce would almost certainly be considered very conservative in terms of its melodicMelody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, harmonic
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic elements. In what he considers his best work there is little or nothing in this regard that one couldn't find in much of the music from a hundred years ago. He hears and writes music in terms of musical ideas, or "musical icons", as he calls them, that seem to resonate on many planes of consciousness simultaneously, and he seeks to present those ideas in their purest form. Often sharply against the tide of the musical trends of recent decades, he continues to favour clean and simple elements in his music and uses colouring notes and embellishments very sparingly.
Where his music is truly ultra-modern and quite distinctive is in its overall tone, atmosphere and musical effect, in its highly "visual" nature, and in its multidimensional purpose. There is seldom, if ever, anything deliberately showy or flashy in his work but he rather strives for a depth, purity and honesty that resonates more beneath the surface. He claims to have discovered an inherent creative power in fundamental tones and their harmonic overtones that serves as the basis for his entire musical vocabulary and approach to composition. He feels that, with inspired ideas and musical elements that "sound well", "very little packaging is usually needed". His approach to writing music will be detailed in his second book "In Between the Lines - Book Two" which will be published in the near future.
The lyrics he writes for his artsongs often touch upon the themes of romance and spirituality and sometimes explore what they have in common. Audio samples of his music can be found on his personal website. The Classical Nouveau Ensemble is designed to express, complement and broaden his music and his approach to creative expression in general.