Alejandro Planchart facts for kids
Alejandro Enrique Planchart (born July 29, 1935 – died April 28, 2019) was a talented Venezuelan-American music expert, a conductor, and a composer. He was known as one of the top experts on the music of Guillaume Du Fay, a famous composer from long ago. Planchart also knew a lot about music from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance music.
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Early Life and Education
Alejandro Planchart was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He later moved to the United States to study music. He attended Yale University, where he earned his first music degrees in 1958 and 1960.
Advanced Studies
In 1971, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His main research was about an old English music book called the Winchester Troper. This research later became a big two-book study.
Teaching and Music Groups
Planchart taught at Yale for several years. While there, he started a music group called the Cappella Cordina. This group played early music (music from a long time ago). It included students and people from the local community.
University of California, Santa Barbara
In 1977, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He started the Cappella Cordina group there again. He became a Professor Emeritus (a retired professor who keeps their title) in 2006.
Important Works and Publications
Even after retiring, Planchart kept writing and publishing. One of his most important works was a two-book set called Guillaume Du Fay: The Life and Works, published in 2018.
Contributions to Music Knowledge
He wrote many articles for the famous New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. These articles covered topics like Cristóbal de Morales, Clemens non Papa, Guillaume Du Fay, and music from Venezuela.
Recordings and Performances
Besides writing, Planchart also led many live music performances and recording sessions. Most of these were of early music. Many of his recordings were released on labels like Lyrichord and Musical Heritage Society.
Sources
- Biography at Early Music America
- Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed August 30, 2006), (subscription access)
