Brinley RICHARDS (1817-1885)
December 2017
RICHARDS, Henry Brinley (b.Carmarthen, 13 November 1817; d.London, 1 May 1885)
Brinley Richards, whose bicentenary is celebrated this year, was the son of the organist of St Peter’s Church, Carmarthen. Following a prize won at the Cardiff Eisteddfod of 1834, he attracted the patronage of the fourth Duke of Newcastle (1785-1851) and entered the Royal Academy of Music, gaining a King’s Scholarship in 1835 and 1837. On leaving the RAM he spent a year in Paris, befriending Chopin and having an orchestral Overture performed. On return he was appointed a teacher of piano at the RAM and later a director. A fine pianist, he gave fashionable annual concerts in London and established a wide teaching practice. However his name is mainly remembered as composer of the ‘national song’ God Bless the Prince of Wales (1862) and his extensive output of salon repertoire for the piano. Pieces such as Warblings at Eve remained in print well into the twentieth century and were reprinted in the USA and on the continent. Always active in promoting Welsh music and musicians, he is also important in having worked with Lady Llanover on the revival of the Welsh triple harp.
1. Grand Variations on the National Air Rule Britannia, Op.4. London, [1841]. Inscribed by the composer H.B.R. to his Friend A. Wheeler July 1st 1841. 2. Danish Air, Den tapre Landsoldat. London, [1841]. 3. The Reventlow Polka. London, [1849].
1. In Memoriam His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. Elegy for the Pianoforte. London, [1862]. 2. The Albert Edward March. London, [1862]. 3. Gold Bless the Prince of Wales. London, [1863]. The composer’s piano solo arrangement, published to celebrate the Prince’s marriage to Princess Alexandra of Denmark in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, 10 March 1863.
1. Recollections of Wales (Welsh Airs, arranged for the pianoforte). London, [1851]. 2. Welsh Fantasias for the Piano Forte. London, [1862]. 3. Let the Hills Resound, National Chorus, arranged for the Pianoforte. London, [1874].
The Songs of Wales, Caneuon Cymru. A Collection of the National Melodies … edited with new symphonies and arrangements by Brinley Richards. London & New York, [1873].
1. A Christmas Piece. London, [c.1860]. (A piano transcription of the song Christmas Chimes, first published in 1854.) 2. Christmas Chimes. New Edition. London, [c.1860]. 3. Dreaming of Angels (Ballad by Charles Blamphin) arranged for the pianoforte by Brinley Richards. London, [1876].
1. The Carmarthen March, Quick Step. London, [1871]. 2. Brinley Richards Album. Beliebte Clavierstücke. (2 Bde). Leipzig, [c.1880].
