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Brinley Richards

Henry Brinley Richards (13 November 1817 – 1 May 1885) was a Welsh composer, who also published some works under the pseudonym 'Carl Luini'.

Richards was born in Hall Street, Carmarthen, 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, for his arrangement of the popular folk song, "The Ash Grove". As a result, he received the patronage of the Duke of Newcastle; this enabled him to study at the Royal Academy of Music. After completing his studies, he went to Paris 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" (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 in her efforts to popularise the triple harp. Brinley Richards died at his home in Kensington, London, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 13, 1819 (Carmarthen), Died May 1, 1885 (London)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1909 - 1929

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-32210 10-in. 6/30/1925 Warblings at eve Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra, with whistling composer  
Victor B-32210 10-in. 3/17/1925 Warblings at eve Nathaniel Shilkret ; Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra, with whistling composer  
Columbia 4257 10-in. approximately 1909 Los cocineros Felix La Sierra ; Emilia Vergeri Female-male vocal duet composer  
Columbia 30513 12-in. 6/14/1910 Marie Marshall P. Lufsky ; Charles Schuetze ; George Stehl Instrumental trio composer  
Brunswick [Br (U.K.) cat 20081-b] 12-in. approximately May 1929 God bless the Prince of Wales Master Frederick Firth Boy soprano, with male vocal chorus composer  
Edison 8716 10-in. 12/25/1922 Marie Franz Falkenburg Piano solo composer  
Gramophone Cc4885 12-in. 7/12/1924 God bless the Prince of Wales Band of H. M. Coldstream Guards Band, with male vocal chorus composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Richards, Brinley," accessed April 23, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106112.

Richards, Brinley. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 23, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106112.

"Richards, Brinley." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 23 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106112

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