Éamonn Ó Gallchobhair (30 September 1906 – 27 December 1982) was an Irish composer, and a major representative of the conservative side in Irish art music.

Life

Ó Gallchobhair (anglicised "O'Gallagher") was born in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, County Louth, and studied music in Dublin at the Leinster School of Music and the

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...

(1927–1935). During 1948–1949 Ó Gallchobhair briefly conducted the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra (today the

RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestr ...

). In 1962, he succeeded

Seán Ó Riada Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...

as conductor of the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

ensemble until it was dissolved after a few years. During this time, he is said to have lived on Pembroke Road. Ó Gallchobhair was a composition teacher for students including John Kinsella. In old age he lived with his wife for parts of the year in Spain and Italy. He died in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

(Spain).

Music

Ó Gallchobhair was a prolific composer and arranger of Irish traditional music for a wide range of instrumentations. He played in a number of orchestras and chamber ensembles for which he frequently wrote or arranged music. Many of these were very popular during his lifetime and were frequently performed or broadcast. Between 1935 and 1942 he wrote eleven "Dance Dramas", ballets on folklore themes, with one of the latter commissioned by

Joan Denise Moriarty Joan Denise Moriarty (died 24 January 1992) was an Irish ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher of ballet and traditional Irish dancer and musician. She was a key figure in the development of both amateur and professional ballet in Ireland. Ea ...

. This included the 2,5 hour production ''Catháir Linn'' (1942). He also wrote five light operas, or operettas, on Irish (Gaelic) texts, between 1944 and 1963, including '' Nocturne sa chearnóg'' (1942), '' Trágadh na Taoide'' (1950), '' Íoc-shláinte an ghrá'' (1954) and '' An mhaighdean mhara'' (1960). Later he gained some fame through Hollywood film scores, including

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's '' The Rising of the Moon''. Ó Gallchobhair was a major representative of the conservative side in Irish twentieth-century art music. He consciously eschewed contemporary styles and techniques of composition and argued repeatedly that Irish art music should be based on traditional music.See, for example, É. Ó Gallchbhair: "Music – Atavism", in: ''Ireland To-day'' vol. 1 (1936), no. 1, p. 56–8. With this position he stood in stark contrast to contemporary Irish composers such as

Aloys Fleischmann Aloys Fleischmann (13 April 1910 – 21 July 1992) was an Irish composer, musicologist, professor and conductor. Life Fleischmann was born in Munich to Ireland-based German parents. Both were musicians, both graduates of the Royal Academy of Mu ...

, Frederick May, or Brian Boydell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogallchobhair, Eamonn 1906 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Irish people 20th-century classical composers Alumni of the Royal Irish Academy of Music Irish classical composers Irish film score composers Irish opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Dublin (city) People from Dundalk Male film score composers 20th-century male musicians