''The Holy Boy'' is a short composition by the English composer

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles i ...

. Alongside his setting of the hymn " My Song Is Love Unknown", it is probably his best-known work. Originally for solo piano, Ireland arranged it for various other forces over nearly 30 years. A performance takes about 3 minutes. The original version is from Christmas 1913, and was published in 1915 as ''The Holy BoyA Carol'', the third item in his four '' Preludes for Piano''. It was composed while Ireland was the organist at

St Luke's Church, Chelsea The Parish Church of St Luke, Chelsea, is an Church of England, Anglican church (building), church, on Sydney Street, Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London SW3, just off the King's Road. Ecclesiastically it is in the Deanery of Chelsea, part of the D ...

, inspired by a chorister at the church called Bobby Glassby, who became one of the composer's protégés. Andrew Burn suggests that a text by Harold Munro may have provided the title. Musically, it features an ostensibly simple melody; but as with many of Ireland's works, the harmonic structure is more complex. His biographer Muriel Searle has said, "Simple to the point of austerity, ''The Holy Boy'' remains one of the public's favourite Ireland works." Burn writes, "With its wistful melody and subtle shifts of harmony it is quintessential Ireland".Andrew Burn, Notes to Naxos 8.557777 - Ireland: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 / The Holy Boy

Arrangements

The following arrangements are by the composer except where specified. * 1913: Piano. * 1919: Organ, by

Alec Rowley Alec Rowley (13 March 1892 – 12 January 1958) was an English composer, organist, pianist, lecturer and writer on music. He composed a large number of works, mainly on a small scale and often of an educational nature though with some larger-scale ...

, Ireland's friend and fellow organist; subtitled ''A Carol of the Nativity'', perhaps to encourage its inclusion in church services. * 1919: Violin and piano. * 1919: Cello and piano. * 1925: Viola, by the violist

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English viola, violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born ...

. * 1938: Voice and piano, with words ("Lowly, laid in a manger/With oxen brooding nigh") by Herbert S. Brown, Ireland's family solicitor. * 1941: String orchestra. * 1941: String quartet. * 1941: Unaccompanied mixed chorus (

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

), using Brown's words, for the

BBC Singers The BBC Singers is a professional British chamber choir, employed by the BBC. Its origins can be traced to 1924. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time profes ...

. * 1950: Brass ensemble, by Robert E. Stepp. * 1970: Two recorders, by G. Russell-Smith. * 1987: Flute and piano, by the flute player

James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". After several years working as an orchestral musician, he established an international career as a solo flute pl ...

. * 1991: Brass band, by Eric Wilson. * 1992?: Solo voice, choir and orchestra, by John Matarazzo (for the recording Christmas Classics with Julie Andrews) * 1993: Solo cello and strings, by

Christopher Palmer Christopher Francis Palmer (9 September 194622 January 1995) was an English arranger, orchestrator, record producer and film score composer. He was also an author and lecturer, the biographer of composers, champion of lesser-known composers and c ...

. * 1993: Solo voice, choir and string orchestra, by Christopher Palmer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Boy, The Solo piano pieces by John Ireland 1913 compositions Christmas carols Preludes (music)