Joseph Albert Maurice Blackburn (22 May 1914 – 29 March 1988) was a Canadian composer, conductor, sound editor for film, and builder of string instruments. He is known for his soundtracks for animated film.Studies in Music from the University of Western Ontario. Department of Music History, University of Western Ontario.; 1985. p. 43, 60.
Personal life Blackburn was born in Quebec City, Quebec.Nichola Dobson. Norman McLaren: Between the Frames. Bloomsbury Publishing; 25 January 2018. . p. 147–. He was a graduate of the Université Laval and the New England Conservatory in Boston. He won the George Allan Prize in 1940.
He was married to screenwriter Marthe Blackburn, and was the father of science fiction writer Esther Rochon.
Career From 1942 to 1978, Blackburn worked as a film composer for the National Film Board of Canada, where he was a frequent collaborator of Norman McLaren. Together they developed techniques for etching sound and image directly on film. Blackburn composed the music for McLaren's animation film Blinkity Blank (1954)The Music and Sound of Experimental Film. Oxford University Press; 29 June 2017. . p. 99–. which won twelve prizes, including the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.Gary Evans. In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989. University of Toronto Press; 1991. . p. 34–. In 1969 he created an animated film of his own, Ciné-Crimé.Giannalberto Bendazzi. Animation: A World History: Volume II: The Birth of a Style – The Three Markets. CRC Press; 23 October 2015. . p. 350–.
He composed the opera Une mesure de silence, whose libretto was written by his wife Marthe."Canadian Opera Premieres". The Globe and Mail, 3 November 1956.
In 1983 he was awarded the Albert-Tessier Prize by the Quebec government.
Discography
Compilations Filmusique-Filmopéra with Yves Daoust (Analekta, AN 7005/06, 1996) (2CD)
References