John Ireland (composer)
John Ireland | |
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Born | Bowdon, Cheshire, UK | 13 August 1879
Died | 12 June 1962 Rock Mill, Washington, Sussex, UK | (aged 82)
Alma mater | Royal College of Music |
Occupation(s) | Composer, teacher |
Spouse |
Dorothy Phillips
(m. 1926; div. 1928) |
John Nicholson Ireland (13 August 1879 – 12 June 1962) and the choral motet "Greater Love Hath No Man".
Life
John Ireland was born in
Ireland entered the Royal College of Music in 1893, studying piano with Frederic Cliffe,[1] and organ, his second study, under Walter Parratt.[4] From 1897 he studied composition under Charles Villiers Stanford.[1] In 1896 Ireland was appointed sub-organist at Holy Trinity, Sloane Street, London SW1, and later, from 1904 until 1926, was organist and choirmaster at St Luke's Church, Chelsea.[5]
Ireland began to make his name in the early 1900s as a composer of songs and chamber music. His Violin Sonata No. 1 of 1909 won first prize in the
Ireland frequently visited the Channel Islands and was inspired by the landscape and the ambience. In 1912 he composed the piano piece The Island Spell (the first of the three pieces in his set Decorations) while staying in Jersey, and his set of three pieces for piano Sarnia: An Island Sequence was written while living in Guernsey in 1939 to 1940. He returned from Guernsey to Britain in 1940 just before the German invasion of the Channel Islands during World War II.
From 1923 he taught at the Royal College of Music.[7] His pupils there included Richard Arnell, Ernest John Moeran, Benjamin Britten (who later described Ireland as possessing "a strong personality but a weak character"),[8] composer Alan Bush,[7] Geoffrey Bush (no relation to Alan), who subsequently edited or arranged many of Ireland's works for publication, Anthony Bernard and Percy Turnbull (who became a lifelong friend).
John Ireland was a lifelong bachelor, except for a brief interlude when, in quick succession, he married, separated, and divorced. On 17 December 1926, aged 47, he married a 17-year pupil, Dorothy Phillips. This marriage was dissolved on 18 September 1928,[2] and it is believed not to have been consummated.[9] He took a similar interest in another young student, Helen Perkin, a pianist and composer, to whom he dedicated both the Piano Concerto in E-flat major and the Legend for piano and orchestra (which began life as a second concerto). She gave the premiere performance of both works,[2] but any thoughts he had for a deeper relationship with her came to nothing when she married George Mountford Adie, a disciple of George Gurdjieff, and she later moved with Adie to Australia.[10] Subsequently, Ireland withdrew the dedications. In 1947 Ireland acquired a personal assistant and companion, Mrs Norah Kirkby, who remained with him till his death.[2] Despite these associations with women, it is clear from his private papers that he was a closeted homosexual; several commentators support this view.[11][12]
On 10 September 1949, his 70th birthday was celebrated in a special
Ireland retired in 1953, settling in the hamlet of
He died of heart failure aged 82 at Rock Mill[15] and is buried at St. Mary the Virgin in Shipley, near his home.[16][17] His epitaph reads "Many waters cannot quench love" and "One of God's noblest works lies here."
Music
From
Like most other Impressionist composers, Ireland favoured small forms and wrote neither symphonies nor operas, although his Piano Concerto is considered among his best works.[citation needed] His output includes some chamber music and a substantial body of piano works, including his best-known piece The Holy Boy, known in numerous arrangements. He wrote songs to poems by A. E. Housman, Thomas Hardy, Christina Rossetti, John Masefield, Rupert Brooke and others. Due to his job at St Luke's Church, he also wrote hymns, carols, and other sacred choral music; among choirs he is probably best known for the anthem Greater love hath no man, often sung in services that commemorate the victims of war. The hymn tune Love Unknown is sung in churches throughout the English-speaking world, as is his Communion Service in C major.[18][19][20][failed verification]
His works have been recorded and performed by Choir of Westminster Abbey, The Choir of Wells Cathedral and many others.
He appears as pianist in a recording of his Fantasy-Sonata for Clarinet and Piano with Frederick Thurston,[21] his Cello Sonata (1923) with cellist Antoni Sala [a][22] and his Violin Sonata No. 1 (1909) with Frederick Grinke,[23] who performed and recorded several of his chamber works. His Piano Sonatina (1926–27) and a number from his cycle Songs Sacred and Profane (1929) were dedicated to his friend the conductor and BBC music producer Edward Clark.[24][25][26]
Ireland wrote his only film score for the 1946 Australian film The Overlanders, from which an orchestral suite was extracted posthumously by Charles Mackerras. Some of his pieces, such as the popular A Downland Suite and Themes from Julius Caesar, were completed or re-transcribed after his death by his student Geoffrey Bush.
Works
Chamber works
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Church music
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Film score
- The Overlanders (1946)
Orchestra
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Organ
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Piano
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Piano and orchestra
- Legend (1933)
- Piano Concerto in E-flat major (1930)
Songs
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Chorus and orchestra
- These Things Shall Be (1937)
Other (unclassified)
- Brooks Equinox
- Elegiac Meditation
- Scherzo & Cortege (1942)
References
- ^ Recorded by Columbia in 1928
- ^ a b c Hugh Ottaway. " Ireland, John (Nicholson)", Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 6 June 2014 (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d Stewart R. Craggs, John Ireland. Ashgate Publishing (2007).
- ^ John Ireland: Biography from. Answers.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Le Prevost, Stephen. "The Organ Music" in Foreman (2011): p. 4
- ^ Scott-Sutherland, Colin. "John Ireland: A Life in Music" in Foreman (2011): p. 4
- ^ Phillips, Bruce. "John Ireland's Chamber Music" in Foreman (2011): p. 227
- ^ a b Scott-Sutherland, Colin. "John Ireland: A Life in Music" in Foreman (2011): p. 5
- ^ Paul Kildea, Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century, p. 63
- ^ Hyperion: The Romantic Concerto 39 Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Hyperion-records.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Richards, Fiona. 'Helen Perkin: Pianist, Composer and Muse of John Ireland' (Chapter 11 of Foreman, Lewis (ed.), The John Ireland Companion (2011)
- ISBN 978-0-81531-880-4
- ^ Hyperion, The Songs of John Ireland. Hyperion-records.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Alan Bush Music Trust: The Correspondence of Alan Bush and John Ireland. Alanbushtrust.org.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-84383-686-5.
- ISBN 978-0-674-37299-3.
- ISBN 9781843836865. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ "Shipley Church Photos, West Sussex". Gravelroots.net. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ John Ireland, "Greater Love Hath No Man," YouTube
- ^ Ireland – Greater Love Hath No Man – The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge – Stephen Layton – YouTube
- ^ Parfitt, Peter. "John Ireland: Greater Love." Aberdeen Bach Choir. 2011
- ^ CD: Symposium 1259, "probably recorded in 1948", http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Name/John-Ireland/Performer/5769-2.
- ISBN 978-1-84383-686-5.
- ^ ASIN: B00002MXU8
- ^ Lewis Foreman, The John Ireland Companion
- ^ IMSLP
- ^ Stewart R Craggs, John Ireland: A Catalogue, Discography and Bibliography
- ^ Berceuse (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Phantasie (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Cello Sonata (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Violin Sonata No.1 in D minor (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Violin Sonata No.2 in A minor (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Benedictus in C major (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project [sic]
- ^ Greater Love Hath No Man (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Jubilate Deo in C major (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project [sic]
- ^ Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C major (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F major (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Te Deum Laudamus in F major (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Capriccio (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Elegiac Romance (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Miniature Suite (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Lisa Hardy, The British Piano Sonata 1870–1945
- ^ Piano Sonata (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ 3 Dances (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ "Alpine song". The LiederNet Archive. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ Earth's Call (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Full Fathom Five (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Hawthorne Time (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ The Heart's Desire (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Hope the Hornblower (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ I Have 12 Oxen (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ If There were Dreams to Sell (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Love is a Sickness Full of Woes (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ The Sacred Flame (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Sea Fever (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Spring Sorrow (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ There is a Garden in Her Face (Ireland, John): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Bibliography
- Foreman, Lewis (ed). The John Ireland Companion. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84383-686-5
- Longmire, John. John Ireland: Portrait of a Friend. Baker, 1969.
- Richards, Fiona. The Music of John Ireland. Ashgate, 2000 (reissued Routledge, 2018).
- Scott-Sutherland, Colin. John Ireland. Rickmansworth: Triad Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0-90207-025-7
- Muriel V. Searle. John Ireland: The Man and His Music. Midas Books, 1979.
External links
- "The John Ireland Charitable Trust". The John Ireland Trust. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- John Ireland, from an original broadcast by Ian Lace
- Free scores by John Ireland in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Free scores by John Ireland at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- John Ireland discography
- "John Ireland". Gramophone. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- John Ireland at IMDb