Archibald James Potter (22 September 1918 – 5 July 1980) was an Irish composer and teacher, who wrote hundreds of works including operas, a mass, and four ballets, as well as orchestral and chamber music.

Early years

Potter was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

to a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

family who, oddly, lived on the Falls Road, a republican (

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

) stronghold. His father was a church organist and piano tuner who was blind since childhood. His mother was, in Potter's own words, "a raging alcoholic". The young Potter escaped a rather grim childhood when he went to live with an aunt in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

.''The Irish Times'', "Dr. A. J. Potter - An Appreciation", 17 July 1980. Possessed of a good voice and natural musical ability, Potter was accepted as a treble by the world-famous choir of All Saints, Margaret Street. In 1933, after four years as a chorister, he was sent to

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. From there he went to the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

on a scholarship and studied composition under

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. While at the Royal College he won the Cobbett prize for

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

.Bridget Hourican, "Potter, Archibald James (‘Archie’)", i
''Dictionary of Irish Biography''
retrieved 12 April 2012.

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

interrupted Potter's music education, and he left college to serve with the London Irish Rifles in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. After the war Potter settled in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, where he continued his studies at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, gaining a Doctorate in Music in 1953.

Life and career

Potter had already started composing chamber and vocal music before the war. Now, established in Dublin, he chose the orchestra as his principal means of expression. His early pieces, such as ''Rhapsody under a High Sky'' and ''Overture to a Kitchen Comedy'', showed that Potter had absorbed Vaughan Williams' pastoral style and his love of folk music. In 1952, both pieces were awarded Radio Éireann's "Carolan Prize" for orchestral composition by the adjudicator

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music ...

. A year later Potter repeated this success when his ''Concerto da Chiesa'', a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

for piano and orchestra, also won the Carolan Prize. In 1955 Potter was appointed Professor of Composition at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where he became an effective administrator and inspiring teacher. In the 1960s, Potter turned to ballet, writing four orchestral scores for the Cork Ballet company. The first of these, ''Careless Love'', became the composer's own favourite of all his compositions. Several years later, following a successful battle with alcoholism, he wrote what some regard as his

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, (1969). The première was given at the

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows. History In April 1871, the broth ...

on 23 March 1969 in a performance by the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Albert Rosen. ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' referred to the concert as a "major national event". In December 1969, Potter received a Jacob's Award for the composition. Potter's last substantial work, an opera entitled ''The Wedding'', received its first public performance in Dublin in 1981, almost a year after the composer's death.

Death

Potter died suddenly at his home in

Greystones Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 22,009, according to the 2022 census. The town is border ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

at the age of 61. His body is buried in the nearby Redford cemetery.

Selected works

Stage * ''Careless Love'', ballet, libretto:

Donagh MacDonagh Donagh MacDonagh (22 November 1912 – 1 January 1968) was an Irish writer, judge, presenter, broadcaster, and playwright. Early life and education MacDonagh was born in Dublin on St Cecilia's Day in 1912. He was still a young child when his f ...

(1959) * ''Gamble, No Gamble'', ballet, libretto:

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...

(1961) * ''Caitlin Bhocht'', ballet, libretto: Patricia Ryan (1963) * ''Full Moon for the Bride'', ballet, libretto:

Micheál Mac Liammóir Micheál Mac Liammóir (born Alfred Lee Willmore; 25 October 1899 – 6 March 1978) was an actor, designer, dramatist, writer, and impresario in 20th-century Ireland. Though born in London to an English family with no Irish connections, he emig ...

(1964; orch. 1974) * ''Patrick'', television opera, libretto: Donagh MacDonagh (1964) * ''The Wedding'', opera, libretto: A. J. Potter (1979) Orchestra * ''Overture to a Kitchen Comedy'' (1950) * ''Rhapsody Under a High Sky'' (1950) * ''Concerto da Chiesa'' for piano and orchestra (1952) * ''Fantasia Gaelach No. 1'' (1952) * ''Aiste O na Gleannta: Rhapsody on Corrymeela'' (1953) * ''Variations on a Popular Tune'' (1955) * ''Finnegan's Wake'' (1957, revised 1970) * ''Fantasia Eireannach'' (1957) * ''Irish Rhapsody'' for violin and orchestra (1963) * ''Hunters Holiday''. Concertino for horn and orchestra (1964) * ''Fantasy'' for clarinet and strings (1965) * ''Spanish Point''. Concertino for guitar and orchestra (1965) * ''Rhapsody for the End of the Day'' for violin and orchestra (1966) * ''Tuama an dragúinín''. Concerto for double bass and orchestra (1966) * Concerto for Orchestra (1967) * ''Concertino Benino'' for trumpet and orchestra (1967) * ''Binneadtin Beil''. Concertino for harmonica and orchestra (1967) * ''Ceithre fichid lá''. Concertino for cello and orchestra (1968) * ''Sinfonia de Profundis'' (Symphony No. 1) (1969) * ''A Hundred Thousand Welcomes'' for orchestra (1972-4) * Symphony No. 2 (1976) * ''The Grey Dog of the Sea''. Concertino for cor anglais and orchestra (1977) * ''An Trumpa Mor''. Trombone concertino (1978) Choral * ''The Voice of the Rising'' for chorus and orchestra (1966) * ''The Cornet of Horse'' for contralto, male chorus and orchestra (1975) * ''Four Petrarch Sonnets'' for mixed choir SATB (1979) Brass/military band * ''Finnegan's Wake'' (1970) * ''Irish March and Trio'' (1972) * ''Clare Rhapsody'' (1978) * ''Catstone Cassation'' (1979) * ''Trombones at Templemore'' (1979) * ''Phoenix Park'' (1979) * ''Salala's Castle'' (1980) Chamber music * Fantasie No. 1, for string quartet (c.1937) * Fantasie No. 2, for string quartet (c.1938) * Fugue, for string trio (1938) * String Quartet (1938) * ''A House Full of Harpers: Concerto Grosso'', for 2 concert harps and 12 Irish harps (1963) * ''Céad mile bienvenues'', for brass septet (1972) * ''Hail to the Glasshouse'', for brass quartet (1976) * ''Arklow Quartet'', for brass quartet (1977) * Quartet, for four trombones (1979) Solo instrument * Scherzo, for piano (1936) * Nocturne, for piano (1936) * Suite for Solo Piano (1965) * ''Étude bitonal'' (1968), for Irish harp Songs for voice and piano * ''The Violet'' (

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

) (1932) * ''Pippa's Song'' (

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

) (1932) * ''The Hag'' ( Robert Herrick) (1935) * ''Six Songs from The Glens of Antrim'' ( Moira O'Neill) (1949) * ''Ode to Dives'' (

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc ( ; ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a French-English writer, politician, and historian. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. His Catholic fait ...

) (1956) * ''Song Suite'' (Sidney Bell) (1958) * ''The End of the Day'' (

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

) (c.1973) * ''Nancy Brown'' (Lee McMaster = A. J. Potter) (1974) * ''Homage to Belloc'' (H. Belloc) (1976) * ''Corner of My Heart''(L. McMaster) (1977) * ''En passant par la Guyenne'' (Yvonne Bonnin-Hauterre) (1979)

Recordings

*''Dreaming'' (features ''Nocturne in A Minor'' for piano), Anew NEWD 406 (CD, 1994) *''Romantic Ireland'' (features ''Rhapsody under a High Sky''), Marco Polo 8.223804 (CD, 1996) *''Sinfonia de Profundis"'', ''Finnegan's Wake'', ''Fantasia Gaelach No. 1'', ''Variations on a Popular Tune'', ''Overture to a Kitchen Comedy'', Marco Polo 8.225158 (CD, 2001) *''Sinfonia de Profundis'' (with

Seóirse Bodley Seóirse Bodley (; 4 April 1933 – 17 November 2023) was an Irish composer and associate professor of music at University College Dublin (UCD). He was the first composer to become a Saoi of Aosdána, in 2008. Bodley is widely regarded as one o ...

's Symphony No. 3). RTE 61. (LP, 1981) *''Ceol Potter'' (features arrangements of traditional Irish tunes), Gael Linn CEFCD 034 (CD, 2006; re-issue of LP, 1973)

Sources

Further references

Contemporary Music Centre profile of A. J. Potter, including full list of compositions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, A. J. 1918 births 1980 deaths 20th-century classical composers from Northern Ireland 20th-century male musicians from Northern Ireland Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of Trinity College Dublin British Army personnel of World War II Male classical composers from Northern Ireland Jacob's Award winners London Irish Rifles soldiers Male composers from Northern Ireland Military personnel from Belfast Irish male opera composers Musicians from Belfast Opera composers from Northern Ireland People educated at Clifton College Pupils of Ralph Vaughan Williams