Ina Boyle (; 8 March 1889 – 10 March 1967) was an Irish composer. Her compositions encompass a broad spectrum of genres and include choral, chamber and orchestral works as well as opera, ballet and vocal music. While a number of her works, including ''The Magic Harp'' (1919), ''Colin Clout'' (1921), ''Gaelic Hymns'' (1923–24), ''Glencree'' (1924-27) and ''Wildgeese'' (1942), received acknowledgement and first performances, the majority of her compositions remained unpublished and unperformed during her lifetime.

Biography

Boyle was born in Bushey Park near Enniskerry,

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 ...

, and grew up in a restricted circle of her mother, father and sister. Her first music lessons were with her father William Foster Boyle (1860–1951), who was curate at St. Patrick's Church, Powerscourt, and was given violin and cello lessons by her governess with her younger sister Phyllis. From the age of eleven, she studied theory and harmony with Samuel Myerscough, the English organist who founded the Leinster School of Music in 1904.Beausang, Ita: "An Irish composer and World War I"
''Enniskerry Local History Archives, enniskerryhistory.org''. From 1904 onwards, she also undertook lessons via correspondence with Charles Wood, who was married to Boyle's cousin Charlotte Georgina Wills-Sandford. From 1910 Boyle took lessons with Percy Buck who had just been appointed a non-resident professor of music 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 ...

. By 1913 she was studying counterpoint, harmony and composition with Charles Herbert Kitson and George Hewson 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 ...

. Kitson encouraged her to compose the two anthems published in 1915, but his promise of a performance at Christ Church did not happen in the end. From 1923, Boyle began to travel to London to take lessons with

Ralph 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 ...

. After exchanging correspondence, Boyle took her first composition lesson with Vaughan Williams at his home in February 1923. Boyle's music received a series of first performances during the 1920s and 1930s in England, but though well-received they were very infrequent. She gained some benefit from her involvement with a group of other young female composers including

Elisabeth Lutyens Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE (9 July 190614 April 1983) was an English composer. Early life and education Elisabeth Lutyens was born in London on 9 July 1906. She was one of the five children of Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874–1964), a me ...

, Elizabeth Maconchy and

Grace Williams Grace Mary Williams (19 February 1906 – 10 February 1977) was a Welsh composer, generally regarded as Wales's most notable female composer, and the first British woman to score a feature film. Early life Williams was born in Barry, Vale o ...

, who organised a concert series as performance opportunity. But the need to look after her family at home restricted her travelling, which mostly ceased altogether from the outset of war. Her mother died in 1931, her sister in 1938 and her father in 1951. Boyle continued to compose every day. Though isolated she nevertheless maintained contact with her peers and continually sent her scores to conductors and choir directors in the hope of further performances. In 1944 an orchestral concert devoted to her music was organised by Arthur Duff. However, with one exception (the brief orchestral overture ''Wildgeese'' of 1942), no new work of hers ever received a second performance. Ina Boyle died of cancer in Greystones, County Wicklow.

Composition

Because of her isolation, Boyle's music was seldom performed. However, she continued to compose until her death.

Orchestral

Early recognition came in 1913 when two of her works, the ''Elegy'' for cello and orchestra and a setting of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

's ''The Last Invocation'', were awarded first and second prizes in the composers' competition at the Sligo Feis Ceoil. In 1919, her orchestral rhapsody ''The Magic Harp'' received a Carnegie Award, through which it was published and was taken up by the conductor Dan Godfrey in Bournemouth. The first of her three symphonies was composed between 1924 and 1927, but had to wait until 1945 for its first complete performance, at a Raidió Éireann studio concert. Subtitled ''Glencree'' ("In the Wicklow Hills"), the three movements take the form of tone poems describing specific locations: "On Lacken Hill", "Nightwinds in the Valley", and "Above Lough Bray". The second symphony (''The Dream of the Rood''), composed in 1930, received its world premiere on 30 September 2022 in Dublin, performed by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, conductor David Brophy. The brief, three-movement Violin Concerto of the early 1930s has (according to Rob Barnett) "more in common with '' The Lark Ascending'' than with the big British Isles statements by Bax, Walton, Dyson, Creith and Moeran of that decade".Boyle: Orchestral Works
''MusicWeb International, www.musicweb-international.com''. The Concerto was dedicated to Boyle's mother who had died in 1932.

Chamber

Her String Quartet in E minor (1934) was dedicated to Anne Macnaghten. A private recording was made by the Macnaghten Quartet, but the score remained in manuscript until a new edition was made in 2011, used for the first modern performance by the Callino Quartet on 4 February 2011. The ConTempo Quartet also performed the quartet in 2022 and a recording was issued in 2023 by the Piatti Quartet. ''Lament for Bion'', a Greek-themed composition for tenor and strings she submitted to the Olympic Cultural Activities Committee, won an Olympic Honourable Mention in 1948 for Ireland.

Songs and choral

Boyle also wrote about 60 solo songs throughout her career, around half of which have now been recorded. In 2023 the Ina Boyle Society published ''Selected Songs'', containing 26 songs edited by Dr Orla Shannon and David Scott, and composed between 1906 and 1966. The songs were previously only available in manuscript. The early choral work ''Soldiers at Peace'' (1916) has been revived by Highgate Choral Society and the New London Orchestra, directed by Ronald Corp, who performed it in London on 2 November 2018. The world premiere of ''Cædmon's Hymn'' for six part choir, written in 1925, was given at the Ludlow Festival by the Carice Singers in April 2022.

Legacy

Boyle has been dubbed "the most prolific and significant female composer from Ireland before 1950". Her papers are archived in the Library of

.. Trinity College has digitised most of her music manuscripts, and they can be searched and studie
online
A feature-length documentary about the life and music of Ina Boyle titled ''From the Darkness'' was broadcast 12 June 2010 on Ireland's

RTÉ Lyric FM RTÉ Lyric FM (stylised as RTÉ lyric fm) is an Irish classical music, jazz and arts radio station, owned and operated by RTÉ. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on 96-99 FM throughout Ireland (in ...

. In April and May 2013, an exhibition at Trinity College highlighted "Ina Boyle’s Symphonic Journey". A CD of some of her major orchestral works, including the first full recording of her Symphony No. 1 and first ever performance of the ''Psalm'' for cello and orchestra, was issued by Dutton in 2018. The Bushey Park Estate passed to the Bisgood family. In 1996 it was bought by the singer Chris De Burgh. It was sold again in 2023.

Selected works

Choral music * ''Ireland'' (

), 1914 * ''Funeral Anthem'' (biblical); Stainer & Bell, 1915 * ''Wilt Not Thou, Oh God'' (biblical); Novello, 1915 * ''Soldiers at Peace'' ( Herbert Asquith) for chorus and orchestra (1916); London: Novello, 1917 * ''The Transfiguration'' (biblical) for tenor, mixed chorus and organ (1922); London: Novello, 1922 * ''Gaelic Hymns'' (from ''Carmina gadelica'', transl. by Alexander Carmichael) (1924); excerpts published London: J. & W. Chester, 1930 * ''Cædmon's Hymn'', for six part choir, transl. by L Magnus and C Headlam (1925) * ''Christ is a Path'' ( Giles and Phineas Fletcher), chamber cantata (1925) * ''A Spanish Pastoral'' (St. Teresa, transl. by Arthur Symons) for soprano and male choir (1931); London: Stainer & Bell, 1935 Orchestra * ''Elegy'' (1913), rhapsody for cello and orchestra * ''The Magic Harp'', orchestral rhapsody (1919); London: Stainer & Bell, 1922 * ''Colin Clout'', pastoral for orchestra (1921) * ''Phantasy'' for violin and chamber orchestra (1926) * ''Symphony No. 1: Glencree'' (1927) * ''Psalm'' for cello and orchestra (1927) * ''Symphony No. 2: The Dream of the Rood'' (1930) * ''Overture'' (1934) * Violin Concerto (1935) * ''Wildgeese'', sketch for small orchestra (1942) Solo voice with orchestra * ''Lament for Bion'' (attr. Moschus) for tenor solo and strings (1945) * ''Still Falls the Rain'' ( Edith Sitwell) for alto and string orchestra (1948) * ''Symphony No. 3: From the Darkness'' ( Edith Sitwell) for contralto and orchestra (1951) * ''No Coward Soul is Mine'' (

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English writer best known for her 1847 novel, ''Wuthering Heights''. She also co-authored a book of poetry with her sisters Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte and Anne Bront� ...

) for alto and string orchestra (1953) Songs (for voice and piano, if not otherwise mentioned) * ''The Joy of Earth'' (Æ = George Russell) (1914) * ''Have You News of My Boy Jack?'' (

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

) (1916) * ''A Song of Shadows, a Song of Enchantment'' (

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...

) (1922); London: Stainer & Bell, 1923, 1926 * ''If You Let Sorrow in on You'' ( Winifred M. Letts) (1922) * ''Sleep Song'' (''Déirín Dé'', tr. Pádraic Pearse) (1923) * ''A Mountain Woman'' (Padraic Pearse, tr.

Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh (; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, a signatory of the Proclama ...

) (1927) * ''Five Sacred Folksongs of Sicily'' ( Grace Warrack) (1930) * ''Thinke then my Soul'' (

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

) for tenor and string quartet (1938); Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1939 * ''Three Medieval Latin Lyrics'': "Sleep"; "Storm"; "Evening on the Moselle" (1955) * ''Three Songs by

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

'' for medium voice, violin, cello (1955) * ''Three Ancient Irish Poems'' (transl. by Kuno Meyer) for soprano, viola, harp (1958) * ''Three Songs by

'': "Song of the Mad Prince"; "The Pigs and the Charcoal-Burner"; "Moon, Reeds, Rushes"; "Looking Back" (1956) Opera * ''Maudlin of Paplewick'' (after ''The Sad Shepherd'' by

), pastoral opera (1966) Ballet scores * ''Virgilian Suite'' (1931), ballet suite for small orchestra * ''The Dance of Death'' (1936), a masque for dancing after Holbein * ''The Vision of Er'' (1939), a mimed drama or ballet Chamber music * String Quartet in E minor (1934)

Recordings

* ''The Magic Harp'', performed by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Corp (cond.), on
Dutton Epoch CDLX 7276 (CD, 2011).
* ''The Wild Geese'', performed by European Union Youth Orchestra, Laurent Pillot (cond.), on: Classical Recording Company CRC 2309 (CD, 2013). * ''Sleep Song'' and ''Three Songs by Walter de la Mare'', performed by Aylish Kerrigan (mezzo) and Dearbhla Collins (piano), on

(CD, 2016). * ''Elegy'', performed b
Nadège Rochat (cello)
Staatskapelle Weimar, Paul Meyer (cond.), on
Ars Produktion ARS 38 221
(CD, 2017). * Orchestral works: Overture; Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 1 ''Glencree''; ''Wildgeese''; ''Psalm''; ''A Sea Poem''; ''Colin Clout'', performed by BBC Concert Orchestra, Benjamin Baker (violin), Nadège Rochat (cello), Ronald Corp (cond.), on
Dutton Epoch CDLX 7352 (CD, 2018)
* Songs: ''Since thou, o fondest and truest''; ''The Joy of Earth''; ''Three Songs by Walter de la Mare''; ''A Mountain Woman Asks for Quiet that her Child May Sleep''; ''Looking Back''; ''Himself and his Fiddle''; ''Have you News of my Boy, Jack?''; ''Roses''; ''A Soft Day''; ''Eternity''; ''Sleep Song''; ''All Souls' Flower''; ''Five Sacred Folksongs of Sicily''; ''A Song of Shadows''; ''A Song of Enchantment''; ''The Bringer of Dreams''; ''Longing''; ''Dust''; ''The Stolen Child''; ''Blessing''; ''They Went Forth''; ''Two Christmas Songs''; ''The Last Invocation''; performed by Paula Murrihy (mezzo), Robin Tritschler, (tenor), Ben McAteer (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano), on
Delphian DCD324264
(CD, 2021). * String Quartet in E minor; Piatti Quartet
Rubicon RCD1098
(2023)

Bibliography

* Elizabeth Maconchy: ''Ina Boyle. An Appreciation with a Select List of Her Music'' (Dublin: Dolmen Press, 1974). * Sheila Powerscourt: "Powerscourt and Ina Boyle", in: S. Powerscourt: ''Sun too Fast'' (London: Bles, 1974), pp. 201–15. * Axel Klein: ''Die Musik Irlands im 20. Jahrhundert'' (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1996), pp. 174–6, 368–71. * Sonya Keogh: ''Ina Boyle. A Life and Work'' (MPhil,

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

, 2002). * David Scott: ''Examining the Irish Art Song: Original Song Settings of Irish Texts by Irish Composers, 1900–1930'' (MPhil, DIT, 2018). * Ita Beausang, Séamas de Barra: ''Ina Boyle (1889–1967). A Composer's Life'' (Cork: Cork University Press, 2018); . * Ina Boyle, ''Ina Boyle: Selected Songs'', ed. by Orla Shannon and David Scott (London: Ina Boyle Society Ltd., 2023), https://chimesmusic.com/sheet-music/vocal-choral/vocal-repertoire/selected-songs-/.

References

External links

*Profile a
Contemporary Music Centre, DublinIna Boyle SocietyConcerto for Violin and Orchestra (1935) by Ina Boyle from YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Ina 1889 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Irish classical composers 20th-century Irish women composers Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland Irish women classical composers Irish classical composers Irish opera composers Musicians from County Wicklow Art competitors at the 1948 Summer Olympics People from Greystones Pupils of Ralph Vaughan Williams People from Enniskerry 1910s in Irish music 1920s in Irish music 1930s in Irish music 1940s in Irish music 1950s in Irish music