Brian Boydell was born in Dublin in 1917 and was educated at Cambridge University (where he graduated in Natural Sciences), the University of Heidelberg, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He was awarded the MusD degree of Dublin University in 1959 and was Professor of Music at Trinity College from 1962 to 1982.
He was a man of wide ranging interests and abilities who painted, wrote plays and even formed a commercial company to fuel cars with charcoal. However he soon directed his energies to music as a singer, pianist and oboist. His compositions include four string quartets, a violin concerto, orchestral, chamber and choral works. However, Boydell was proudest of his string quartets, stating in 1992 that they were the works that he would save if everything else was lost. In the quartets he developed his personal musical language. He died in Dublin in 2000.
Orchestral Music:
In Memoriam Mahatma Gandhi:
Deeply moved by the death of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, Brian Boydell immediately began this composition which was completed in that year. Since its first performance, shortly after it was completed, it has become the most widely performed of his works.
Formally, the work consists of a Prelude and Funeral March, with a Coda based on the ideas contained in the former. The Prelude sounds a note of human tragedy, and after the Funeral March builds up to a big climax, the final section transforms the mood into one of unearthly peace.
[This is a really wonderful work and very accessible; it is well worth a listen for its rich scoring, melodies and wonderful harmonies].
Violin Concerto:
The Violin Concerto received its first performance on October 1st 1954 with Jaroslav Navecek, to whom the work is dedicated, as soloist. Boydell worked in close collaboration with Professor Vanecek, who offered many valuable suggestions, particularly regarding the solo part. As a result, Boydell subjected the work to a thorough revision before beginning the scoring. However, since the first performance Boydell undertook considerable further revision which was nearly all in the direction of compression and concision, and chiefly affects the last movement.
Masai Mara:
Boydell says of this work “At the beginning of Masai Mara, I would like the listener to imagine the feeling of being on a vast open plain, where the bird calls evoke a timeless and mysteriously peaceful world, as it was before human beings began to disturb its natural beauty.
Shortly after the beginning, disturbing elements begin to intrude, giving rise to alarm calls and cries of anguish. The disturbing music becomes increasingly dominant, and leads to a threatening middle section in much faster tempo with vigorous uneven rhythms. The final section, is a passionate prayer for a positive resolution of the struggle against destructive forces, culminates in a mood of unearthly peace, with birds calling once again in a peaceful, timeless landscape”. This work was commissioned by RTE.
Megalithic Ritual Dances:
At various places in Ireland, circles of immense stones remind us of the strange religious rituals which took place before the arrival of St. Patrick. The fascination of these rituals, with their dark hints of human sacrifice, suggested the title of these orchestral dances. The work, which received its first performance on February 12th 1956, was commissioned by RTE.
(Notes by Fred May and Brian Boydell).
The String Quartets:
String Quartet No.1:
The first String Quartet is dated Dublin June/July 1949 and Boydell recalled that it was with this work that he began to establish his individual compositional style (his influences included Berg, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Mahler and Bartok). The main idea for all three movements is derived from the opening notes in the cello and each movement ends in C. Boydell was awarded the Radio Eireann Chamber Music Prize in 1949 for this quartet and it was first performed in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin in February 1952 by the Cirulli String Quartet.
String Quartet No.2:
This two movement quartet was written in 1957 and first performed in 1959 by the Benthien String Quartet to whom it was dedicated. The first movement is very lyrical, the second movement places the emphasis firmly on rhythmic features (reflecting Boydell’s great admiration for the Bartok quartets).
String Quartet No.3:
Boydell described his third Quartet (written in 1969) as being an avowal of his musical beliefs. Although the Quartet is in one continuous movement, it can be divided into three sections. It was first performed in September 1970 in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin by the RTE String Quartet to whom the quartet is dedicated.
Adagio and Scherzo for String Quartet:
These two movements were written in 1991 at the request of Professor Hormoz Farhat for the Quartercentenary celebrations in 1992 of Trinity College Dublin. Boydell dedicated the piece to Alan Smale and the Degani String Quartet in recognition of their services to contemporary Irish music.
(Notes by Gareth Cox).
