Arthur Duff facts for kids

Arthur Knox Duff (born March 13, 1899, died September 23, 1956) was an Irish composer and conductor. He was famous for his shorter orchestral music. One of his well-known pieces is Echoes of Georgian Dublin, inspired by George Frideric Handel. Arthur Duff also held important jobs in the Irish Army School of Music and at Radio Éireann, a national radio station.

Early Life and Learning

Arthur Duff was born in Dublin. His father was John William Duff from King's County. His mother was Annie Kathleen Hickey. Young Arthur sang in the choir at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. He also studied music at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. His teacher there was Charles Herbert Kitson.

Later, he went to Trinity College, Dublin. He earned degrees in arts and music. In 1942, he received a special doctorate degree in music. Arthur first thought about becoming a minister in the Church of Ireland. However, he decided not to finish his religious studies.

His Career in Music

Arthur Duff had a very busy career in music. He was a solo performer, a conductor, and a composer. He also arranged music and produced shows. Later, he even became a writer and wrote plays. But he was always most famous for his music.

He first became well-known in his early twenties. This was because of his organ concerts in St. Matthias's Church in Dublin.

In 1923, Duff joined the Irish Army. He became a second lieutenant. By 1926, he was promoted to lieutenant. He worked as a bandmaster at the Army School of Music. He also conducted the Army no. 2 Band in Cork.

Arthur Duff left the army in 1931. After that, he started working in theatre. He wrote music for many plays at the Abbey Theatre. These included plays by famous writers like W. B. Yeats and Denis Johnston. His own play, Cadenza in Black, was performed in 1937 at the Gate Theatre.

In 1937, Duff joined Radio Éireann. This was Ireland's national radio station. He was their very first music producer. In 1945, he became the assistant director of music. Working at the radio station gave him a great chance. He could conduct the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra. He performed music by his friends, Arnold Bax and E.J. Moeran.

Personal Life

While he was in the Irish army, Arthur Duff met Frances Ferris. She was the daughter of the United States Consul General in Ireland. They got married on November 6, 1929. Their daughter, Sylvia, was born in October 1930. Arthur and Frances later separated in December 1931. Frances and Sylvia then moved to the United States.

Arthur Duff passed away in Dublin when he was 57 years old. He is buried in Mount Jerome cemetery.

His Music and Compositions

Arthur Duff wasn't interested in writing very long or grand pieces of music. He preferred to explore what he called "the laneways and the miniature." This means he liked shorter, more detailed pieces. Ireland didn't have a strong history of classical music back then. So, like many Irish composers, he looked to English composers for ideas. You can hear the influence of Peter Warlock and Frederick Delius in his orchestral works.

Duff started by writing music for singers. One of his first pieces was a song called Aftermath. It was performed in Dublin in 1924 by a baritone singer named Jean Bertin. Duff played the piano for this performance. He also wrote choral music, like My Beloved Spake, performed in 1935.

His five-part Irish Suite for Strings was highly praised. People loved its "haunting melodies." The Dublin String Orchestra first performed it in November 1940. It became very popular in concerts. Less than a year later, it was performed again. That concert also included music from his 1933 ballet, The Drinking Horn. The famous conductor John Barbirolli also conducted the suite. This was when The Hallé Orchestra played in Dublin in 1947.

Duff kept writing for string orchestras. His next two pieces were Meath Pastoral and Twilight in Templeogue. He dedicated these to Irish writers, Brinsley MacNamara and Austin Clarke. Both pieces were first played at the same concert in April 1945.

Duff's last orchestral piece was Echoes of Georgian Dublin. It has five short parts. Each part is based on the music of a composer who lived in Dublin in the 1700s. The Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra first performed it in January 1956. This was eight months before Duff passed away.

In his obituary in Irish Times, Arthur Duff was described as a composer who was "indifferent to, and aloof from, the demands and conventions of his age." This means he stuck to his own style and didn't always follow what was popular at the time.

Selected Compositions

Ballet music

• The Drinking-Horn (1933)

Incidental music (music written for plays at the Abbey Theatre)

• The King of the Great Clock Tower (W.B. Yeats) (1934)
• Resurrection (W.B. Yeats) (1934)
• A Bride for the Unicorn (Denis Johnston) (1935)
• A Deuce O' Jacks (Frederick Robert Higgins) (1935)
• The Duchess of Malfi (after John Webster) (1937)
• The Death of Cuchulain (W.B. Yeats) (1938)
• The Golden Cuckoo (Denis Johnston) (1939)
• Where Stars Walk (Micheál Mac Liammóir) (1940)
• Assembly at Druim Ceat (Roibeárd Ó Faracháin)(1943)
• The Only Jealousy of Emer (W.B. Yeats) (1948)
• A Full Moon in March (W.B. Yeats) (n.d.)
• The Plot Is Ready (Austin Clarke) (1955)

Orchestral

• Irish Suite for Strings (1940)
• Meath Pastoral (1940)
• Music for Strings (1941; rev. 1955)
• The Drinking-Horn Suite (1953)
• Echoes of Georgian Dublin (1955)

Recordings

• Romantic Ireland, RTÉ Sinfonietta/Proinnsias O Duinn (features Echoes of Georgian Dublin), Marco Polo 8.223804 (1996)
• Silver Apples of the Moon, Irish Chamber Orchestra/Fionnuala Hunt (features Meath Pastoral and Irish Suite for Strings), Black Box Classics 1003 (1997)