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. [1]
Blackburn was born in Quebec City, Quebec. [2] He was a graduate of the Université Laval and the New England Conservatory in Boston. [2] 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. [3]
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. [2] Together they developed techniques for etching sound and image directly on film. [4] Blackburn composed the music for McLaren's animation film Blinkity Blank (1954) [5] which won twelve prizes, including the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. [6] In 1969 he created an animated film of his own, Ciné-Crimé. [7]
He composed the opera Une mesure de silence, whose libretto was written by his wife Marthe. [8]
In 1983 he was awarded the Albert-Tessier Prize by the Quebec government. [3]
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. [1]
Blackburn was born in Quebec City, Quebec. [2] He was a graduate of the Université Laval and the New England Conservatory in Boston. [2] 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. [3]
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. [2] Together they developed techniques for etching sound and image directly on film. [4] Blackburn composed the music for McLaren's animation film Blinkity Blank (1954) [5] which won twelve prizes, including the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. [6] In 1969 he created an animated film of his own, Ciné-Crimé. [7]
He composed the opera Une mesure de silence, whose libretto was written by his wife Marthe. [8]
In 1983 he was awarded the Albert-Tessier Prize by the Quebec government. [3]