Paul Alday facts for kids

Jérôme Paul Bonaventure Alday (born around 1763, died 1835) was a talented French musician. He was a violinist, a composer, and even a music publisher. He spent most of his working life in Dublin, Ireland. He is special because he was the only composer in Ireland in the early 1800s known to have written symphonies.

Life Story

Jérôme Alday was born in Perpignan, France. He came from a family of musicians. His father and his older brother, François, were also musicians. François's sons, Francisque and Ferdinand, also became composers. They all lived in Lyon. Sometimes, it's hard to tell which "Alday" wrote which music. This is because their names often just appeared as "Alday."

Early Training and Travels

Paul Alday studied music with a famous teacher named Giovanni Battista Viotti in Paris. From 1783 to 1790, he played the violin in popular concerts called Concerts spirituels. During these years, he also published four of his own violin concertos in Paris.

Later, in 1793, he appeared in Oxford, England. There, he married Adélaïde Rosalie Delatouche, who was a French harpist. In Oxford, he published three of his string quartets. By 1804, he had moved to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Life in Ireland

In 1804, Alday performed in Cork and Dublin, Ireland. He then decided to live in Dublin for the rest of his life. He played as a solo violinist in concertos. He also led orchestras, like the Anacreontic Society (from 1819 to 1828). He was also the secretary for this society from 1824 to 1830. He also led another group called The Sons of Handel.

In 1810, Alday took over a music shop from Francis Rhames. In 1815, he moved the shop to 10 Dame Street. He ran this shop until he died in Dublin in 1835. At his shop, he sold sheet music and musical instruments. He also published music under his own name.

Musical Achievements

Alday became well-known in Ireland in the early 1800s. He was a great violinist, a talented composer, and a successful businessman. His two Grand Symphonies are very important. One is in C major, and the other is in D major. He wrote them around 1819. The Anacreontic Society performed them in February 1820.

Today, these symphonies are seen as the only ones written in Ireland in the first half of the 19th century. People especially loved the slow movement (Andante) of his Second Symphony. They called it "a production of the first-rate order." This means it was considered very high quality.

Selected Works

Orchestral Music

• Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 2 (Paris, around 1785)
• Violin Concerto in B flat major (Paris, around 1788)
• Symphony No. 1 in C major (Dublin, around 1819)
• Symphony No. 2 in D major (Dublin, around 1819)

Chamber Music

• Airs variés pour le violon avec accompagnement de basse, two volumes (Paris, 1786 and 1788)
• Trois Duos (E flat major, G major, G minor), for violin and viola (Paris, date unknown)
• Three string quartets (B flat major, A major, C minor) (London & Oxford, around 1795)

Piano Music

• The Blue Bells of Scotland, with Variations (Dublin, around 1805), for piano or harp
• A Collection of Favourite Airs etc. with Variations (Dublin, around 1810)
• His Excellency the Earl of Whitworth's Grand March and Welcome to Ireland (Dublin, around 1815)