Keith Barnard (b. 1950) was born in London, England, and studied composition with Arnold Cooke, a pupil of Paul Hindemith. Barnard’s music is often explicitly linked with healing and color rays, and many of his titles name the colors invoked by particular compositions and their instrumentation and designation.
Though Barnard has composed music for many instrumental and ensemble combinations, music for the piano forms the core of his output. His style draws together diverse influences, including the traditional Romantic pianistic tradition represented by Chopin and Liszt, the colorist French impressionist tradition of Debussy and Ravel, the 20th century mysticism of Alan Hovhaness and, above all, the music and philosophy of Alexander Scriabin.
As an active pianist himself, Barnard has frequently appeared in concert throughout Europe performing his own works for piano. His music for the instrument ranges from short pieces up to The Secret Tones of the Divine Spheres, a one-movement piano work of nearly three hours duration. Besides piano music, he has written a chamber opera, four symphonies, concerti for cello, piano, and organ, and numerous chamber works. In recent years, he has composed a series of organ works at the behest of American organist Carson Cooman, including 'The Purest Silence of the Divine', an evening-length organ cycle.
