![Aloys Fleischmann 1958 photo by Rory Frewen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Aloys_Fleischmann_1958_photo_by_Rory_Frewen.jpg)
Aloys Fleischmann (13 April 1910 – 21 July 1992) was an Irish composer,
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
, professor and conductor.
Life
Fleischmann was born in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
to Ireland-based German parents. Both were musicians, both graduates of the Royal Academy of Music in Munich. His father,
Aloys Fleischmann senior of
Dachau, organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St Anne,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
and his mother,
Tilly Fleischmann
Maria Theresa Mathilda ''Tilly'' Fleischmann (2 April 1882 – 17 October 1967) was an Irish pianist, organist, pedagogue and writer of German descent.
Life
Fleischmann was born Maria Theresa Mathilda Swertz on 2 April 1882 in Cork (city), Cork ...
née Swertz (1882–1967), born in Cork to German parents, pianist and piano teacher.
Fleischmann was educated in Scoil Íte, the school founded by
Terence MacSwiney
Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...
's sisters in 1916, in
Christian Brothers College, Cork
Christian Brothers College, Cork (CBC Cork, colloquially known as Christians) is a fee-paying school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust in Cork, Ireland.
Their sister school in Dublin is CBC Monkstown.
History
In the mid ...
, and in
St Finbarr's College, Farranferris. He graduated from
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one ...
with a BA in 1930, was awarded the
BMus
Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of presc ...
in 1931, an MA in 1932, and a doctorate in music (DMus) from the
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...
in 1963.
In 1932, he went to study composition, conducting and musicology at the Academy of Music and
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...
under
Joseph Haas
Joseph Haas (19 March 1879 – 30 March 1960) was a German late romantic composer and music teacher.
Biography
He was born in Maihingen, near Nördlingen to teacher Alban Haas from his second marriage, being half-brother to the theologian a ...
. He returned to University College Cork in 1934 where he held the position of professor of music until 1980. In 1941, he and Anne Madden of Cork married; they had five children and six grandchildren.
When Fleischmann took up his post in 1934, the condition of music in Ireland was lamentable. Music was rarely taught in schools, there were hardly any music students, and no professional ensembles in the country except one radio orchestra in Dublin consisting of seven players. He set out on a series of campaigns which he pursued throughout his career to establish music as part of people's lives both in education and in the community.
A fluent speaker of Irish and a scholar of Irish folk music, Fleischmann sought in his compositions to create a specifically Irish form of art music as previous generations had done for literature and painting. In this he was influenced by his parents’ friends
Carl Hardebeck Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
,
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...
,
Herbert Hughes,
Daniel Corkery. As conductor of the Cork Symphony and Radio Éireann Orchestras he performed works by contemporary Irish composers as often as possible and introduced the commissioning of new works for the
Cork International Choral Festival by Irish and foreign composers. In his honour
The Fleischmann Choir was given its name, their first performance was a programme of his music at the 40th anniversary of the festival in 1993.
He spent over forty years doing research for his magnum opus ''Sources of Irish Traditional Music''. He was assisted by
Seán Ó Riada
Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...
and later by
Micheál Ó Súilleabháin
Micheal is a masculine given name. It is sometimes an anglicized form of the Irish names Micheál, Mícheál and Michéal; or the Scottish Gaelic name Mìcheal. It is also a spelling variant of the common masculine given name '' Michael'', and is ...
of the
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...
, who did the final editing. The work was published posthumously in 1998 by Garland in New York and launched in University College Cork on 8 January 1999 by President McAleese. An e-book version of the ''Sources'' was published by Routledge on 5 December 2016.
Honours received
Fleischmann received many honours for his service to his art, among them the Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
(1964), the Order of Merit of the German government (1966), the Silver Medal of the
Irish American Cultural Institute
The Irish American Cultural Institute (IACI) is an American cultural group founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota by Dr. Eoin McKiernan in 1962. The group's purpose is to promote an intelligent appreciation of Ireland and the role and contributions o ...
(1976), and the Freedom of the City of Cork (1978). He was made an Honorary Fellow of the
Royal Irish Academy of Music
The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...
in 1991, and in the same year was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the
Royal Dublin Society.
Centenary celebrations
In 2010 the centenary of Fleischmann's birth was commemorated. The celebrations took place under the auspices of
Cork City Council
Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, t ...
, a committee chaired by Dr Máirín Quill organising the celebrations. Patrons were
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...
, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr
Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to:
Artists and entertainers
* Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor
* Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago
* Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...
, President of University College Cork, and Joseph Gavin, City Manager. The year was opened by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. 145 organisations put on 225 events in the four provinces of Ireland and in five countries outside: Britain, France, Germany, China, and the United States.
Professional activities
*1931 Founding of the University Art Society
*1934 Founding of the Cork Symphony Orchestra
*1934–1992 Conductor of the Cork Symphony Orchestra
*1935 Founder Music Teachers' Association Cork
*1935–1988 Chairman Music Teachers' Association
*1936–1977 Guest conductor of Radio Éireann orchestra
*1938 Founding of the Cork Orchestral Society
*1938–1992 Chairman Cork Orchestral Society
*1938 and 1939 Summer courses in Music at University College Cork
*1943 Founder and conductor of the University Choral Society
*1943 and 1951 Lectures to the Cork Literary & Scientific Society
*1943–1947 Lectures to the Royal Dublin Society
*1944–1960 Extension lectures University College Cork
*1945–1953 Member of the Radio Éireann Broadcasting Advisory Committee
*1947 Summer course in Plainchant at University College Cork
*1947–1992 Member of the Board of the Cork Ballet Company
*1952–1954 Member of Music Panel of the Arts Council of Ireland
*1952–1954 Member of the Cork Tóstal Council
*1953–1966 Chairman of the Cork International Choral Festival
*1955–1963 On Advisory Committee for Cultural Relations to the Department of Foreign Affairs
*1959–1965 Member of the Board of the Irish Theatre Ballet Company
*1958–1975 advisory board member of the Lady Dorothy Mayer Fund
*1961–1985 Chairman Cork Sculpture Park Committee
*1961–1989 Member of the Irish National Commission to UNESCO
*1964–1992 Member of Musical Advisory Committee to the Irish Episcopal Commission of Liturgy
*1966–1992 Member of the Royal Irish Academy
*1967–1987 Director Cork International Choral Festival
*1967–1987 Adjudication at international choral festivals
*1973–1985 Vice-chairman Board Irish Ballet Company/ Irish National Ballet
*1981 American lecture tour with Seoirse Bodley and Gerard Victory
*1981–1992 Founding member of Aosdána, the affiliation of creative artists in Ireland
Compositions
Fleischmann composed 55 works. Cork City Music Library has digitised all the Fleischmann scores and has placed them on its website. Fleischman composed ballets, chamber music, orchestral works, works for choir.
Notable compositions include:
* ''Sreath do Phiano'' (Suite for Piano) (1933)
* ''Trí hAmhráin'' (Three Songs) for high voice and piano / orchestra (1937)
* ''Piano Quintet'' (1938)
* ''Prelude and Dance'' for orchestra (1940)
* ''The Humours of Carolan'' for string orchestra (1941?)
* ''The Four Masters'' for orchestra (1944)
* ''Song Cycle from 'The Fountain of Magic for high voice and piano / orchestra (1945)
* ''
Clare's Dragoons
The Clare's Regiment, later known as Clare's Dragoons, was initially named O'Brien's Regiment after its originator Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare raised a mounted dragoon regiment during the Jacobite war. When Clare's Dragoons left Limeri ...
'' for baritone, SATB choir, war pipes and orchestra (1944)
* ''The Golden Bell of Ko'', ballet in three scenes (1948)
* ''An Cóitín Dearg'' (The Red Petticoat), ballet in three acts (1951)
* ''Six Folk Song Arrangements'' for SSA (TTB) choir (1952)
* ''Four Fanfares for
An Tóstal'' (1952)
* ''Macha Ruadh'' (Red-haired Macha), ballet in two scenes (1955)
* ''Bata na bPlanndála'' (The Planting Stick) for SATB choir and chamber ensemble (1957)
* ''Amhrán na gCúigí'' (Song of the Provinces), for SATB choir, orchestra and audience participation (1963)
* ''Songs of Colmcille'' for speaker, SATB choir and orchestra (1964)
* ''Cornucopia'' for horn and piano / horn and orchestra (1969)
* ''Poet in the Suburbs'' for SATB choir (1973)
* ''Song Cycle from 'Tides for medium voice and piano / orchestra (1974)
* ''Mass for Peace'' for unison choir and orchestra (1976)
* ''Sinfonia Votiva'' (1977)
* ''Omós don Phiarsach'' (Homage to
Padraic Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...
), for mezzo-soprano, speaker and orchestra (1979)
* ''The Táin'', ballet in Three Acts (1981)
* ''Time's Offspring'' A Cantata for speaker, SATB choir and orchestra (1985)
* ''Clonmacnoise'', for chorus, orchestra and audience participation (1986)
* ''Games'', for chorus, harp and percussion (1990)
Published writings
Fleischmann wrote about 100 articles and edited the following books:
[See list in Séamas de Barra, ''Aloys Fleischmann'' (Dublin: Field Day Publications, 2006), pp 177–180.]
*''Music in Ireland: A Symposium'' (Cork: Cork University Press, and Oxford: B.H. Blackwell, 1952)
*''Sources of Irish Traditional Music c. 1600–1855'', 2 vols. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), ; (e-book; Routledge, 2016)
Discography
* ''Suite for Piano'': Charles Lynch, on: New Irish Recording Co. NIR 001 (LP, 1971).
* Piano Quintet: Hugh Tinney & Vanbrugh Quartet, on: Marco Polo 8.223888 (CD, 1996).
* ''Eilís Nic Dhiarmada Rua: Lament for Strings'', on: Black Box Music BBM 1003 (CD, 1998).
* ''Trí hAmhráin'', (i) ''Marbhna Eoghain Ruaidh Uí Néill'': Kathleen Tynan (soprano) & Dearbhla Collins (piano), on: Black Box BBM 1022 (CD, 1998).
* ''Trí hAmhráin'' (i) ''Marbhna Eoghain Ruaidh Uí Néill'' & (iii) ''An Píobaire'': Dermot Troy (tenor) & Rhoda Coghill (piano), RTÉ Lyric fm CD 114 (CD, 2007).
* ''Nochtraí for Carillon'': Luc Rombouts of Louvain 'The Bells of Cobh', St Colman's Cathedral Cobh (CD, 2007).
* ''The Four Masters Overture''; ''Sinfonia votiva''; ''An Cóitín Dearg'' (Ballet Suite); ''Clare's Dragoons'': Gavan Ring (baritone), Pat Fitzpatrick (warpipes), RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Robert Houlihan (conductor), on: RTÉ Lyric fm CD 127 (CD, 2010).
* ''Suite for Piano'': Duncan Honeybourne, on: EM Records EMR CD012-013 (2CD, 2013).
* ''Na trí captaeni loinge'' (''The Three Sea Captains''), performed by
Chamber Choir Ireland,
Paul Hillier
Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-foun ...
(cond.), on
RTÉ lyric fm CD 153(CD, 2016).
Bibliography
*
Frederick May: "The Music of Aloys Fleischmann", in: ''Father Mathew Record'' 24 (1949) 12, p. 6.
*
Ita Beausang: "Aloys Fleischmann", in: ''New Music News'', September 1992, p. 5–6.
* Séamas de Barra: "Fleischmann the Composer", in: ''New Music News'', September 1992, p. 6–7.
* Axel Klein: "Irish Composers and Foreign Education. A Study of Influences", in: P. Devine and H. White (eds.): ''The Maynooth International Musicological Conference 1995. Selected Proceedings, Part One'' (= ''Irish Musical Studies'', vol. 4) (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1996), .
* Axel Klein: ''Die Musik Irlands im 20. Jahrhundert'' (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1996), .
* Séamas de Barra: "Aloys Fleischmann's Ballet Music", in: Ruth Fleischmann (ed.): ''Joan Denise Moriarty. Founder of Irish National Ballet'' (Cork: Mercier Press, 1998), .
* Ruth Fleischmann (ed.): ''Aloys Fleischmann. A Life for Music in Ireland Remembered by Contemporaries'' (Cork: Mercier Press, 2000), .
* Gareth Cox, Axel Klein (eds.): ''Irish Music in the Twentieth Century'' (= ''Irish Musical Studies'', vol. 7) (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2003), .
* Patrick Zuk: "Music and Nationalism", in: ''Journal of Music in Ireland'', vol. 1 (2002) nos 2 and 3, and vol. 3 (2003) no. 5.
* Séamas de Barra: "Aloys Fleischmann and the Seminar on Contemporary Choral Music", and: Patrick Zuk, "The Composer and the Problem of Modern Choral Music", in: Ruth Fleischmann (ed.): ''Cork International Choral Festival 1954–2004. A Celebration'' (Herford: Glen House Press, 2004), .
* Séamas de Barra: "Arnold Bax, the Fleischmanns and Cork", in: ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' 5 (2005) 1.
* Séamas de Barra: "Aloys Fleischmann and the Idea of an Irish Composer", in: ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' vol. 5 (2005) no. 5.
*
Harry White: ''The Progress of Music in Ireland'' (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005), .
Séamas de Barra: ''Aloys Fleischmann'' (Dublin: Field Day Publications, 2006) .
*
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (; 10 December 1950 – 7 November 2018) was an Irish musician, composer, academic and educationalist.
Biography
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin was a pianist, composer, recording artist and academic; he held the Pro ...
: "Fleischmann", in: ''Journal of Music in Ireland'', vol. 7 (2007) no. 3.
* Michael Murphy: "Aloys Fleischmann", in: Joachim Fischer & Gisela Holfter (eds.): ''Creative Influences: Selected Irish-German Biographies'' (Trier: Wissenschaftsverlag Trier, 2009), .
* Joseph Cunningham, Ruth Fleischmann: ''Aloys Fleischmann (1880–1964). Immigrant Musician in Ireland'' (Cork: Cork University Press, 2010), .
* Patrick Zuk, Ruth Fleischmann, Séamas de Barra: ''The Fleischmanns. A Remarkable Cork Family'' (Cork: Cork City Libraries, 2010), .
* Séamas de Barra: ''Re-visioning Tradition: Aloys Fleischmann and the Making of Modern Irish Music'' (Ó Riada Memorial Lecture 22), University College Cork, 2011.
References
External links
Cork City Libraries, Music Library, Aloys Fleischmann HomepageCork City Music Library, Digitisation Project*
ttp://www.cmc.ie/composers/composer.cfm?composerID=44 Works list and biographical information at ''The Contemporary Music Centre Ireland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischmann, Aloys
1910 births
1992 deaths
20th-century classical composers
20th-century conductors (music)
20th-century male musicians
20th-century musicologists
Aosdána members
Classical composers of church music
Irish choral conductors
Irish classical composers
Irish conductors (music)
Irish male classical composers
Irish musicologists
Irish people of German descent
Members of the Royal Irish Academy
Musicians from Cork (city)
People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork
People from Munich