David Ffrangcon-Davies (11 December 1855 – 13 April 1918) was a Welsh operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Early life and education

David Thomas Davies was born in

Bethesda, Gwynedd Bethesda (; ) is a town and community on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is the fifth-largest community in Gwynedd. History The settlement's ancient name was Cilfoden, formerly know ...

. He later adopted the name ''Ffrangcon'', an early variant spelling of the nearby valley ''

Nant Ffrancon The Nant Ffrancon Pass in Snowdonia, North Wales, is the long steady climb of the A5 road between Bethesda, Gwynedd, and Llyn Ogwen in Conwy. The summit at is at Pont Wern-gof, about one-third of a mile beyond the eastern end of Llyn Ogwen. Fr ...

'', as part of his new surname (Ffrangcon-Davies). He attended

Friars School, Bangor Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A fria ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

, matriculating in 1876 and graduating with a BA in 1881. His time at Oxford was not without its difficulties, however. During his first two years, his " battels" were "more than once" the highest in the college and he was warned in 1878 that if he was "idle or irregular" in the following term or if he failed to pass his examinations that term, he would lose his

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

. In June 1880, it was recorded that he had failed his

Schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

(final examinations) for the second time, a summons had been taken out against him for 'furious driving' and a judgment for debt had been entered against him in the Chancellor's Court. He was allowed one final chance to pass his exams, provided that he did not return to college until the time for the exam; he passed. He was ordained a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and was appointed curate at

Llanaelhaearn __NOTOC__ Llanaelhaearn is a village and community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the county of Gwynedd, Wales. The community includes the larger village of Trefor and has a population of 1,067, increasing to 1,117 at the 2011 Census. Name The to ...

in 1884 and then at

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

in 1885. While at Conwy he studied the organ with Roland Rogers. He was unable to secure the post of minor canon at Bangor cathedral, and so he decided to concentrate on a singing career. He became a curate at St. Mary's,

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he was permitted to pursue his music studies.

Musical career

Ffrangcon-Davies' musical interest had begun at an early age under his father's guidance. While at S. Mary's, he studied under the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

(not the bard)

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. In 1888, he began to sing professionally in concerts in Cardiff. He soon joined the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

and made his operatic debut in the part of the herald in

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

''. His greatest success was in the title role of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

's ''

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

'', which he sang for the first time in 1890 at the Horringham, Yorkshire, music festival. In the late 1890s, Davies toured the U.S. and Germany. He then moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to sing and teach singing. In 1901 he again visited the U.S. to sing and lecture. In June 1903 he sang in London's Richard Strauss festival under the composer's baton. In 1904 he was appointed professor of singing at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in Britain and published a book on vocal training, ''The Singing of the Future'', in 1905.Ffrangcon-Davies, David Thomas. ''The Singing of the Future'', (1905, J. Lane)
accessed 11 March 2008

Family

In 1889, he married Annie Francis Rayner. His daughter was actress Dame

Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies Dame Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies, (25 January 1891 – 27 January 1992) was a British actress and centenarian. Early life She was born in London of a Welsh family; the name "Ffrangcon" is said to originate from a valley in Snowdonia. Her pare ...

(1891–1992), whose career spanned more than seven decades.

References

External links

Welsh Biography Online

''The Singing of the Future'' by David Ffrangcon-Davies (excerpted)

Books

Books by David Ffrangcon-Davies
(at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ffrangcon-Davies, David 1855 births 1918 deaths Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People educated at Friars School, Bangor Welsh operatic baritones Place of death missing Welsh writers 19th-century Welsh male opera singers