John Parry (c.1710 – 7 October 1782), known as ''Parri Ddall, Rhiwabon'' (or, in English, ''Blind Parry of

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...

'') was born in the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

, now Gwynedd, in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and was blind from birth. His first

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

s were the Griffiths family, of the Cefn Amwlch estate at Bryn Cynan on Pen Llŷn, who provided the young Parry with a Welsh

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 We ...

. He later became

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

to Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn at Wynnstay,

and became a master of the High

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. He lived on the Wynnstay estate but spent much of his time at the Williams-Wynn's London home where he performed on the Welsh triple harp for London's cultural elite. Parry became a member of the

Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sign ...

in 1763. He inspired

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...

to write his 1757 poem, ''

The Bard A bard is a minstrel in medieval Scottish, Irish, and Welsh societies; and later re-used by romantic writers. Bard, BARD, The Bard or Bård may also refer to: People * Bard (surname) * Bård, Norwegian given name and surname *William Shakespea ...

''. It is also claimed that Parri first wrote down – or dictated to his fellow-compiler Evan Williams – in his manuscript ''Antient British Music'' (1741) a then unnamed 'aria' which is now world-famous as " Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly". It appears as "Nôs Calan" in ''British Harmony Being a Collection of Antient Welsh Airs The traditional Remains of those Originally Sung By the Bards of Wales'' "carefully compiled and now first published with some additional variations By John Parry Inscribed with all due Esteem and Gratitude to Sir Watkin Williams Wynn Bart." It was subsequently published and named "Nos Galan" (in English, "New Year's Eve") in ''Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards'' (1784) by Edward Jones. Parry remained with the Williams-Wynn family until his death on 7October 1782 at Ruabon. He was buried at Ruabon Parish Church on 10 October 1782. John Parry's son, William Parry (1742–1791), was an accomplished artist. Many of his works, including portraits of his father, are held by the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

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 ...

Bibliography

*''John Parry (c.1710–1782): Y Telynor Dall – The Blind Harper'' – by Huw Williams: Clwyd County Council (1982) *Frank Kidson's contribution ''Welsh Music'' p.p. 492–501 of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' Vol. V, T-Z, 1st edition 1910, ed. J.A. Fuller Maitland, London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, John Welsh harpists Blind musicians People from Gwynedd 1782 deaths Year of birth uncertain