David John de Lloyd (30 April 1883 – 20 August 1948) was a Welsh musician and composer. Born in Skewen near

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

, de Lloyd was the son of an insurance agent and the family moved with the latter's employment until they settled in Penparcau a village near

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

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, while David was a small boy. As a child, he met John Spencer Curwen, son of the inventor of the

tonic sol-fa Tonic sol-fa (or tonic sol-fah) is a pedagogical technique for teaching sight-singing, invented by Sarah Anna Glover (1786–1867) of Norwich, England and popularised by John Curwen, who adapted it from a number of earlier musical systems. It u ...

, and assisted Curwen in several demonstrations. David attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. In 1905, he became the college's first B.Mus. graduate. He obtained a grant to study in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and obtained a doctorate in music from the

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 ...

. In 1926, he replaced Sir Walford Davies as Professor of Music at University of Wales, Aberystwyth. De Lloyd became closely involved with the Eisteddfod movement, and was a collector and arranger of Welsh

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. His arrangements were published as ''Forty Welsh Traditional Tunes'' in 1929. Many of his other works can be found archived at the British Library in Welsh and Englis
here
Most recently his work 'Er Cof' was performed Sunday, 30 June 2019, Bethel Chapel, Aberystwyth by Meirion Wynn Jones (organ) as part of th
Gregynog Festival
He died in 1948. Sidney Northcote wrote, "The death of Dr. David de Lloyd has robbed Wales of a musical impulse she cannot afford to lose and certainly must not be allowed to forget." A collection of his writings both personal and published can be found in the National Library of Wales.https://discover.library.wales/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,David%20de%20Lloyd&tab=tab4&search_scope=LSCOP_INLIBRARY&vid=44WHELF_NLW_NUI&lang=en_US&offset=0 D.J de Lloyd collections

Works

*''Gwlad fy Nhadau'' (Cantata) (1914) *Arglwydd, Gad i Ni, Rai Euog (Hymn) (1918) *Castell Bere (Hymn) (1918) *Richmond Hill (Hymn) (1918) *Williamsburg (Hymn) (1918) *''Er Cof'' (1924) *''Tu draw i’r llen'' / ''Beyond the Veil'' (Extended Anthem) (1924) *''Gwenllian'' (Opera) (1925) *Hywel of Gwent *Pwyll a Rhiannon *Y Requiem Gymraeg *''Dydd a Nos / Day and Night (''Cantata ''for children)'' (1927) *''Tir Na N'Og'' (Opera) (libretto by T. Gwynn Jones) (1932) *''Saith o Ganeuon enwog Brahms'' *Dos Wanwyn, Dos *Cyfellion Bach yr Haf *Ystyriwch y Lili / Consider the Lilies

References

External links

Short biography at Archives Network Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, David de 1883 births 1948 deaths People from Penparcau Musicians from Aberystwyth Welsh composers Welsh male composers Alumni of Aberystwyth University Academics of Aberystwyth University 20th-century British male musicians