Arthur Knox Duff (13 March 1899 – 23 September 1956) was an Irish composer and conductor, best known for his short orchestral pieces such as the Handel-inspired ''Echoes of Georgian Dublin''. His career also encompassed senior positions in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

School of Music and in the music department of

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

Early years and education

Duff was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

to John William Duff, a native of King's County (now County Offaly), and his wife Annie Kathleen Hickey. Duff was a chorister in

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

and studied at 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 ...

under

Charles Herbert Kitson Charles Herbert Kitson (13 November 1874 – 13 May 1944) was an English organist, teacher, and music educator, author of several books on harmony and counterpoint. Biography Kitson was born in Leyburn, Yorkshire, and attended school in Ri ...

. He completed his education at Trinity College, Dublin where he obtained his primary degree in arts and music. In 1942, he was awarded a doctorate in music following an examination.Joseph J. Ryan, "Duff, Arthur Knox", ''Dictionary of Irish Biography''
retrieved 20 July 2011 Duff was initially drawn to the ministry of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

but abandoned his religious studies before the final examination.''The Irish Times'', "Dr. Arthur Duff dies in Dublin hospital", 24 September 1956

Career

Duff had a varied career in music as a solo performer, conductor, arranger, producer, and composer. He later became an author and playwright, although he remained most famous for his music. He first came to public prominence in his early twenties for his organ recitals in St. Matthias's Church in Dublin. In 1923 Duff joined the

and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1926. He served as bandmaster in the Army School of Music and conductor of Army no. 2 Band based in

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 ...

. Following his resignation from the army in 1931 Duff turned to the theatre, writing incidental music for a number of plays produced in the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

, including works by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and

Denis Johnston (William) Denis Johnston (18 June 1901 – 8 August 1984) was an Irish writer. Born in Dublin, he wrote mostly plays, but also works of literary criticism, a book-length biographical essay of Jonathan Swift, a memoir and an eccentric work on co ...

. His own play, ''Cadenza in Black'', was produced at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

in 1937. In 1937 Duff joined

as the station's first music producer and went on to become assistant director of music in 1945. Working for the national broadcaster gave him the opportunity to conduct the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra in music by his friends,

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 ...

and E.J. Moeran.

Personal life

While serving in the Irish army, Duff met Frances Ferris, daughter of the United States

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Ireland. They were married on 6 November 1929 and a daughter, Sylvia, was born to the couple in October 1930. However, Duff and his wife separated in December 1931 and Frances and Sylivia moved permanently to the United States. Arthur Duff died in Dublin at the age of 57 and is buried in

Mount Jerome cemetery Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Compositions

Arthur Duff was not interested in making grand statements in his music but preferred to explore what he termed "the laneways and the miniature". The lack of a strong classical music tradition in Ireland led him, like many of his Irish contemporaries, to seek guidance from the great names in English music. The influence of

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...

and

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

, for instance, can be heard in his small output of orchestral compositions.''The Irish Times'', "Music of Arthur Duff", 12 September 1941 Duff started off writing for the human voice. One of his earliest works was a song called ''Aftermath'' performed at a recital given in Dublin on 16 October 1924 by a baritone, Jean Bertin. Duff accompanied on the piano. Among his early choral compositions was ''My Beloved Spake'', a short piece performed in Dublin in 1935. Duff's five-movement ''Irish Suite for Strings'' won praise for its "haunting melodies" following its première given by the Dublin String Orchestra in November 1940. It proved to be a popular choice in subsequent orchestral concerts, appearing again less than a year later in a programme that included Duff's score for the 1933 ballet, ''The Drinking Horn''.

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

also conducted the suite when

The Hallé The Hallé is an English symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It supports a choir, youth choir, youth training choir, children's choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasiona ...

Orchestra performed in Dublin in September 1947. The string orchestra continued to be Duff's chosen medium for his next two works, ''Meath Pastoral'' and ''Twilight in Templeogue'', dedicated to Irish writers, Brinsley MacNamara and Austin Clarke respectively. Both pieces were premiered at the same concert in April 1945. Duff's final orchestral composition, ''Echoes of Georgian Dublin'', is made up of five short movements, each based on the work of a composer living in Dublin during the eighteenth century. It was first performed by the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra in January 1956, eight months before Duff's death. In his ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' obituary, Duff as a composer was described as one whose "reticence and independence, reinforced by an obstinate nostalgia, left him indifferent to, and aloof from, the demands and conventions of his age".''The Irish Times'', "Arthur Duff's music", 25 September 1956

Selected compositions

Ballet music *''The Drinking-Horn'' (1933) Incidental music to plays at the Abbey Theatre *''The King of the Great Clock Tower'' ( W.B. Yeats) (1934) *''Resurrection'' (W.B. Yeats) (1934) *''A Bride for the Unicorn'' (

) (1935) *''A Deuce O' Jacks'' ( Frederick Robert Higgins) (1935) *''The Duchess of Malfi'' (after

John Webster John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and '' The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and c ...

) (1937) *''The Death of Cuchulain'' (W.B. Yeats) (1938) *''The Golden Cuckoo'' (Denis Johnston) (1939) *''Where Stars Walk'' (

Micheál Mac Liammóir Micheál Mac Liammóir (born Alfred Willmore; 25 October 1899 – 6 March 1978) was an actor, designer, dramatist, writer and impresario in 20th-century Ireland. Though born in London to an English family with no Irish connections, he emigrated ...

) (1940) *''Assembly at Druim Ceat'' (Roibeárd Ó Faracháin)(1943) *''

The Only Jealousy of Emer ''Serglige Con Culainn'' ( en, The Sick-Bed of Cú Chulainn or The Wasting Sickness of Cúchulainn), also known as ''Oenét Emire'' ( en, The Only Jealousy of Emer) is a narrative from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It tells of a curse tha ...

'' (W.B. Yeats) (1948) *''A Full Moon in March'' (W.B. Yeats) (n.d.) *''The Plot Is Ready'' ( Austin Clarke) (1955) Orchestral *''Irish Suite for Strings'' (1940) *''Meath Pastoral'' (1940) *''Music for Strings'' (1941; rev. 1955) *''The Drinking-Horn Suite'' (1953) *''Echoes of Georgian Dublin'' (1955)

Recordings

*''Romantic Ireland'', RTÉ Sinfonietta/Proinnsias O Duinn (features ''Echoes of Georgian Dublin''), Marco Polo 8.223804 (1996) *''Silver Apples of the Moon'', Irish Chamber Orchestra/Fionnuala Hunt (features ''Meath Pastoral'' and ''Irish Suite for Strings''), Black Box Classics 1003 (1997)

Bibliography

* Katherine S. Walker: "The Festival and the Abbey: Ninette de Valois's Early Choreography, 1925–34, Part II", in: ''Dance Chronicle'' 8 (1985), pp. 51–100. * Axel Klein: ''Die Musik Irlands im 20. Jahrhundert'' (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1996). * Evin O'Meara: ''A Gentle Musician: Dr Arthur Duff (1899–1956)'' (BMusEd, Trinity College Dublin, 1999).

Sources

External links

Evin O'Meara's Arthur Duff site

Contemporary Music Centre profile of Arthur Duff, including list of major compositions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, Arthur 1899 births 1956 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Irish Anglicans Irish Army officers Irish classical composers Irish conductors (music) Irish male classical composers Musicians from Dublin (city)