Whenever
I think of March, I think of St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe it’s the Irish blood in
me but I thought it’d be fun to look at a few Irish composers this month, and
then explore the Irish influences in a few pieces by composers who were not
born in Ireland. Today, let’s look at a man who didn’t just compose, but was
also known as an organist, pianist, conductor, orchestrator, and arranger!
Hamilton
Harty (1879–1941) was introduced to music at a young age by his father. He
learned to play the viola, piano, and would often play organ at church. Later
on, he moved to London where he became better known as a conductor and
accompanist. Harty conducted for many prominent orchestras including the London
Symphony Orchestra’s 1912–1913 season. In 1920 he began his role as conductor
of the Hallé Orchestra where he remained until 1933. During this time, he
introduced the orchestra to many new works.
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| Hamilton Harty-Courtesy of wikimedia.org |
Harty’s
orchestral works can be divided into three categories. He has those works that
are strictly classical such as his Violin Concerto and his Piano Concerto. He
has works that are transcriptions of pieces by composers including Handel and
Field. He also has works that draw on Irish themes including the piece we will
listen to today, In Ireland.
In Ireland was written in
1918 as a piece for flute and piano. Harty later orchestrated it in the version
you can hear below. The headnote on the score reads “In a Dublin street at dusk
two wandering street musicians are playing.” Can you hear the Irish influences?
