Robert O'Dwyer (in Irish: Riobárd Ó Duibhir) (27 January 1862 – 6 January 1949) was an Irish composer mainly known for having written one of the first operas in the Irish language.
Robert O'Dwyer was born to Irish parents in Bristol, England, where he received private musical education and acted as a chorister and assistant organist during the years 1872 to 1891. O'Dwyer's interest in opera manifested itself initially by becoming the conductor of a local amateur opera company in 1889, before he became a conductor of the Carl Rosa Opera Society (1891–97) and the Arthur Rousby Opera Company (1892–96), with which he undertook tours throughout the British Isles. After one such tour he settled in Dublin in 1897, where he held various positions as organist in the counties of Dublin and Wicklow. From 1899 he taught music at the Royal University of Ireland and from 1901 conducted the choir of the Gaelic League, for which he wrote numerous arrangements of Irish traditional music and Sean nos songs. He also wrote articles and concert reviews for The Leader, which became an outlet for his increasingly nationalist views. O'Dwyer completed his major composition, the three-act opera Eithne, in 1909, on the strengths of which he was appointed Professor of Irish Music at University College Dublin (1914–1939). Although he wrote (and published) a number of other works, including a second opera, none of his later works came near the success and significance of Eithne. O'Dwyer died in Dublin.[1]
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O'Dwyer is chiefly notable for having written the opera Eithne (1909), one of the first full-scale operas written entirely in the Irish language. Although Muirgheis (1903) by Thomas O'Brien Butler (1861–1915) was earlier, that work had initially been performed in an English translation, whereas Eithne was performed in Irish. After a small-scale performance in 1909, the first full performance took place at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, on 16 May 1910. A concert performance of the work took place at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, in October 2017 featuring the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and singers Orla Boylan, Gavan Ring, Robin Tritschler and Eamonn Mulhall.[2] The background to both Muirgheis and Eithne – and other works including Connla of the Golden Hair (1903) by William Harvey Pélissier, The Tinker and the Fairy (1909) by Michele Esposito, and to some extent Diarmuid and Gráinne (1901) by Edward Elgar – is the increasing recourse to Irish mythology and the Celtic revival within Irish culture as a means for national identification in the (cultural) struggle for independence. Eithne is one of the best pieces of its kind and would certainly deserve a modern revival.
The composer's background in liturgical music led to a number of works in this area, too, including Benediction Music (c.1924) and some works in the Irish-language collection of religious songs, Dánta Dé (1928), of which O'Dwyer was one of the editors. His second opera was a one-act piece called Cleopatra (1929) and was not as successful. He also wrote a number of choral works, mostly arrangements of folksongs.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Robert O Dwyer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Robert O Dwyer in Irish Riobard o Duibhir 27 January 1862 6 January 1949 was an Irish composer mainly known for having written one of the first operas in the Irish language Contents 1 Biography 2 Music 3 Selected works 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksBiography editRobert O Dwyer was born to Irish parents in Bristol England where he received private musical education and acted as a chorister and assistant organist during the years 1872 to 1891 O Dwyer s interest in opera manifested itself initially by becoming the conductor of a local amateur opera company in 1889 before he became a conductor of the Carl Rosa Opera Society 1891 97 and the Arthur Rousby Opera Company 1892 96 with which he undertook tours throughout the British Isles After one such tour he settled in Dublin in 1897 where he held various positions as organist in the counties of Dublin and Wicklow From 1899 he taught music at the Royal University of Ireland and from 1901 conducted the choir of the Gaelic League for which he wrote numerous arrangements of Irish traditional music and Sean nos songs He also wrote articles and concert reviews for The Leader which became an outlet for his increasingly nationalist views O Dwyer completed his major composition the three act opera Eithne in 1909 on the strengths of which he was appointed Professor of Irish Music at University College Dublin 1914 1939 Although he wrote and published a number of other works including a second opera none of his later works came near the success and significance of Eithne O Dwyer died in Dublin 1 Music editO Dwyer is chiefly notable for having written the opera Eithne 1909 one of the first full scale operas written entirely in the Irish language Although Muirgheis 1903 by Thomas O Brien Butler 1861 1915 was earlier that work had initially been performed in an English translation whereas Eithne was performed in Irish After a small scale performance in 1909 the first full performance took place at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin on 16 May 1910 A concert performance of the work took place at the National Concert Hall Dublin in October 2017 featuring the RTE National Symphony Orchestra and singers Orla Boylan Gavan Ring Robin Tritschler and Eamonn Mulhall 2 The background to both Muirgheis and Eithne and other works including Connla of the Golden Hair 1903 by William Harvey Pelissier The Tinker and the Fairy 1909 by Michele Esposito and to some extent Diarmuid and Grainne 1901 by Edward Elgar is the increasing recourse to Irish mythology and the Celtic revival within Irish culture as a means for national identification in the cultural struggle for independence Eithne is one of the best pieces of its kind and would certainly deserve a modern revival The composer s background in liturgical music led to a number of works in this area too including Benediction Music c 1924 and some works in the Irish language collection of religious songs Danta De 1928 of which O Dwyer was one of the editors His second opera was a one act piece called Cleopatra 1929 and was not as successful He also wrote a number of choral works mostly arrangements of folksongs Selected works editOperas Eithne Thomas O Kelly romantic Irish opera 3 acts 1909 Dublin Gaiety Theatre 16 May 1910 Dublin Cramer Wood amp Co 1910 Cleopatra librettist unknown opera 1 act 1929 Instrumental Overture in D major 1900 for orchestra Three Old Irish Melodies for violin amp piano Dublin Cramer Wood amp Co 1917 Reverie a l orgue n d for organChoral Duan na Saoirse trad 1902 for satb Pearla an Bhrollaigh Bhain trad 1902 for satb Seaghan o Duibhir an Ghleanna trad 1902 for satb Siubhail a Gradh trad 1904 for 3 equal female voices Slan le Maigh trad 1904 for satb Irish Lullaby T MacDonnell 1913 for ssa amp piano London Vincent Music Co Benediction Music in A flat bibl c 1924 for satb and organ further ones in E flat and C Deus tu conversus bibl c 1924 for satb and organ three religious pieces for satb nos 49 83 84 in Danta De ed Una Ni ogain amp Riobard o Duibhir Dublin Oifig an tSolathair 1928 Songs An Arab Love Song F Wood Dublin Cramer Wood amp Co 1905 also London Bach amp Co 1913 Thoughts D O Carroll London Bach amp Co 1912 Se ubhla as Ubhla de n chraoibh Robert O Dwyer 1926 Bibliography editAnnie W Patterson Feis Prize Winners for 1900 Mr Robert Dwyer in Weekly Irish Times 16 June 1900 Joseph J Ryan Nationalism and Music in Ireland PhD thesis National University of Ireland Maynooth 1991 unpublished Axel Klein Die Musik Irlands im 20 Jahrhundert Hildesheim Georg Olms 1996 Axel Klein Stage Irish or The National in Irish Opera 1780 1925 in Opera Quarterly 21 2005 1 p 27 67 Axel Klein O Dwyer Robert in The Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland ed Harry White amp Barra Boydell Dublin UCD Press 2013 p 760 References edit The foregoing is based mainly on Klein 1996 and 2013 see Bibliography There was also an Obituary in The Irish Times 7 January 1949 The National Concert Hall Dublin Eithne nch ie Archived from the original on 6 October 2017 Retrieved 17 January 2022 External links editFree scores by Robert O Dwyer at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP O Dwyer Robert Thom s Irish Who s Who Dublin Alexander Thom and Son Ltd 1923 p 188 via Wikisource Portal nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert O 27Dwyer amp oldid 1179101620, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
