Richard Woodward the younger (c.1743/44 – 22 November 1777) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, probably of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

birth.

Biography

Woodward was probably born in Salisbury and became a choirboy of Christ Church Cathedral,

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

, in 1751, following the appointment of his father (of the same name) from Salisbury to the Dublin cathedral choir as a lay vicar choral. In 1764 Woodward was awarded a gold medal by the

Hibernian Catch Club The Hibernian Catch Club is a dining club, dining and Catch (music), catch musical club founded c.1680 in Dublin, Ireland by the Lay clerk, vicars-choral of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church and St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, St. Patr ...

(which has been referred to as the oldest surviving musical society in Europe) for his canon ''Let the Words of My Mouth'', which is inscribed on his memorial at Christ Church Cathedral. In 1771,

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

conferred upon him the degree of MusD. He had several students, including British composer

Harriet Wainwright Harriet Wainwright Stewart (c. 1766–1843) was a British composer, singer, and writer. A musical entrepreneur, she developed a subscription list of several hundred people and sold at least two of her compositions (''Comala'' and ''Seringapatam'') ...

. At the age of 22, in 1765, Woodward was appointed organist at Christ Church Cathedral as successor to George Walsh and choral vicar at St Patrick's Cathedral. His memorial records that he was "Preceptor to the Children of the two Choirs, Dublin." He died in Dublin aged 33.

Music

Woodward was a composer of

Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing ''a cappella'' or accompanied b ...

. His folio of glees and

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

s formed the first collection of cathedral music published by an Irish composer. Woodward's compositions include Anglican chants, a service in B flat and seven anthems. Numerous works are contained in a folio of cathedral music, Opus 3, dedicated to Archbishop Smyth, which was printed by Peter Welcker of

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 ...

in 1771. "Although Woodward's output is modest, it establishes him as one of the foremost Irish cathedral composers of the eighteenth century."Boydell (2013), as cited above.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Richard 1743 births 1777 deaths 18th-century Irish classical composers 18th-century Irish male musicians 18th-century Irish organists Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Cathedral organists Classical composers of church music Glee composers Irish Anglicans Irish male classical composers Irish male organists Male classical organists Irish classical organists