''The Holy Boy'' is a short composition by the English composer

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

. Alongside his setting of the hymn " My Song Is Love Unknown", it is probably his best-known work. Originally for solo piano, Ireland arranged it for various other forces over nearly 30 years. A performance takes about 3 minutes. The original version is from Christmas 1913, and was published in 1915 as ''The Holy BoyA Carol'', the third item in his four '' Preludes for Piano''. It was composed while Ireland was the organist at

St Luke's Church, Chelsea The Parish Church of St Luke, Chelsea, is an Anglican church, on Sydney Street, Chelsea, London SW3, just off the King's Road. Ecclesiastically it is in the Deanery of Chelsea, part of the Diocese of London. It was designed by James Savage in 1 ...

, inspired by a chorister at the church called Bobby Glassby, who became one of the composer's protégés. Andrew Burn suggests that a text by Harold Munro may have provided the title. Musically, it features an ostensibly simple melody; but as with many of Ireland's works, the harmonic structure is more complex. His biographer Muriel Searle has said, "Simple to the point of austerity, ''The Holy Boy'' remains one of the public's favourite Ireland works." Burn writes, "With its wistful melody and subtle shifts of harmony it is quintessential Ireland".Andrew Burn, Notes to Naxos 8.557777 - Ireland: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 / The Holy Boy

Arrangements

The following arrangements are by the composer except where specified. * 1913: Piano. * 1919: Organ, by

Alec Rowley Alec Rowley (13 March 1892 – 12 January 1958) was an English composer, organist, pianist, lecturer and writer on music. He composed a large number of works, mainly on a small scale and often of an educational nature though with some larger-scale ...

, Ireland's friend and fellow organist; subtitled ''A Carol of the Nativity'', perhaps to encourage its inclusion in church services. * 1919: Violin and piano. * 1919: Cello and piano. * 1925: Viola, by the violist

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigra ...

. * 1938: Voice and piano, with words ("Lowly, laid in a manger/With oxen brooding nigh") by Herbert S. Brown, Ireland's family solicitor. * 1941: String orchestra. * 1941: String quartet. * 1941: Unaccompanied mixed chorus (

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

), using Brown's words, for the

BBC Singers The BBC Singers are a British chamber choir, and the professional chamber choir of the BBC. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time professional British c ...

. * 1950: Brass ensemble, by Robert E. Stepp. * 1970: Two recorders, by G. Russell-Smith. * 1987: Flute and piano, by the flute player

James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstan ...

. * 1991: Brass band, by Eric Wilson. * 1992?: Solo voice, choir and orchestra, by John Matarazzo (for the recording Christmas Classics with Julie Andrews) * 1993: Solo cello and strings, by

Christopher Palmer Christopher Francis Palmer (9 September 194622 January 1995) was an English composer, arranger and orchestrator; biographer of composers, champion of lesser-known composers and writer on film music and other musical subjects; record producer; and ...

. * 1993: Solo voice, choir and string orchestra, by Christopher Palmer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Boy, The Solo piano pieces by John Ireland 1913 compositions Christmas carols Preludes (music)