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Henry Brinley Richards (13 November 1817 – 1 May 1885) was a 
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/23384 >
Brief biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Henry Brinley Welsh composers Welsh male composers 1817 births 1885 deaths Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Burials at Brompton Cemetery 19th-century British composers 19th-century British male musicians
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
composer, who also published some works under the pseudonym 'Carl Luini'.
Richards was born in Hall Street, Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
, his father being organist at St Peter's Church in the town and an organiser of local musical events. Richards won a prize at the Gwent-Morgannwg Eisteddfod of 1834, held at Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, for his arrangement of the popular folk song, "The Ash Grove
''The Ash Grove'' ( cy, Llwyn Onn) is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The best-known version was written in English by Thomas Oliphant in the 19th century.
History
The first published version ...
". As a result, he received the patronage of the Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...
; this enabled him to study at the Royal Academy of Music. After completing his studies, he went to Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
where he became a pupil of Frédéric Chopin. It was in Paris that his first major work, the ''Overture in F Minor'', was performed.
He taught piano at the Royal Academy of Music, becoming one of the Academy's directors and instigating its regional system of examinations.
Richards' most famous work is the song, "God Bless the Prince of Wales
"God Bless the Prince of Wales" ( cy, Ar Dywysog Gwlad y Bryniau) is a patriotic song written to mark the occasion of the marriage of the future King Edward VII to Alexandra of Denmark.
The song was first proposed at the Caernarfon Eisteddfod of ...
" (1862), written in honour of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Amongst his greatest works for the piano is the Fantasia On Favorite Airs From Meyerbeer's Opera "Les Huguenots", Op. 75.
Although not Welsh-speaking, he was a patron of the National Eisteddfod of Wales and gave encouragement to Welsh music students. He used the bardic name "Pencerdd Towy", and supported Lady Llanover
Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover (21 March 1802 – 17 January 1896), born Augusta Waddington, was a Welsh heiress, best known as a patron of the Welsh arts.
Early life
She was born on 21 March 1802, near Abergavenny, the youngest daughter of ...
in her efforts to popularise the triple harp
The triple harp is a type of multi-course harp employing three parallel rows of strings instead of the more common single row. One common version is the Welsh triple harp (Welsh: ''telyn deires''), used today mainly among players of traditional W ...
. Brinley Richards died at his home in Kensington, London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...
.
Bibliography
* A. J. Heward Rees: "Henry Brinley Richards (1817–1885): A Nineteenth-Century Propagandist for Welsh Music" (in ''Welsh Music History'', vol. 2 (1996) * Owain Edwards and A.F. Leighton Thomas: "Richards, Brinley." ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <References
External links
Brief biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Henry Brinley Welsh composers Welsh male composers 1817 births 1885 deaths Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Burials at Brompton Cemetery 19th-century British composers 19th-century British male musicians