RICHARDS
,
HENRY BRINLEY
(
1819
-
1885
),
musician
;
b.
13 Nov. 1819
in
Quay Street
,
Carmarthen
, the son of
Henry
and
Elizabeth Brinley
Richards
. The father was
organist
of
S. Peter's church
,
Carmarthen
; he also
kept a music shop
. Intended for the medical profession, the son showed that his inclination was towards music. In the
Gwent and Morgannwg eisteddfod
of
1834
he won a prize for variations on the Welsh air called ‘
Llwyn Onn
’ (‘
The Ash Grove
’). The
duke of Newcastle
became his patron, and he entered the
Royal Academy of Music
,
London
. In the following year (
1835
) he won the
king's scholarship
, repeating this success in
1837
. He went to
Paris
for a further course of study and there came to know
Chopin
. On his return to
London
he was appointed an
instructor
in the
Royal Academy
; later he became
director
. He was the
originator of the Academy's local examination system
and became
superintendent of the examinations
held in
Wales
and
Scotland
. Regarded as the finest
piano player
in the country, he also won repute as a
teacher of the piano
. He did not sever his connection with
Wales
— he served as
adjudicator in eisteddfodau
, took an
interest in the triple harp
(see
N.L.W. MS. 1904
), and
delivered a course of lectures on the music of Wales
. His compositions and arrangements were very numerous — there are over 250 items listed in the
British Museum
catalogue of printed music. Among them are several piano pieces, the three volumes entitled
The Classical Pianist
,
Student Practice
, and
The Pianist Library
; and ‘
Overture in F minor
’ (published at
Paris
in
1840
and performed at the
Chester eisteddfod
of
1860
), a concerto for piano and orchestra, choral pieces (‘
Cenwch udgorn yn Seion
,’ ‘
Let the hills resound
,’ etc.). His best-remembered piece, as far as
Welsh
people are concerned, is ‘
God bless the prince of Wales
’ (
1862
). His
Songs of Wales
, first published in
1873
, had a very wide circulation, in this respect proving a more popular work than his
Welsh Choir
. He was a prominent member of the
Hon. Society of Cymmrodorion
from
1873
until his death on
2 May 1885
; he was buried in the
Brompton cemetery
,
London
.
Bibliography:
-
Y Geninen
,
1886
, 56, 281;
-
The Musical Times
, 1848 ff
,
1885
;
-
M. O. Jones
,
Bywgraffiaeth Cerddorion Cymreig
,
National Eisteddfod Association publication, 1890
;
-
Y Cerddor
,
Jan. 1893
;
-
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
;
-
Groves
Groves’ Dictionary of Music and
Musicians
, 4th ed., 1940
;
-
National Library of Wales
Manuscripts
1904, 2302, 2340, 4704, 5551, 7379
;
-
Y Cymmrodor
,
1951, vi.
Author:
Robert David Griffith, M.A., (1877-1958), Old Colwyn
