Ina Boyle (1889 - 1967) Ireland

Irish composer whose works span genres such as orchestral, choral, chamber music, opera, ballet, and song. Although several of her compositions were premiered during her lifetime, most remained unpublished and unperformed publicly until decades later.

I begin by sharing her Symphony 1 "Glencree", composed in 1927 and premiered in 1945.

None of the Ina Boyle works I share have a link to download the sheet music, this is because her music is still protected by copyright.

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She was born in Wicklow and grew up in a closed family environment. She received her first music lessons from her father, a clergyman and amateur pianist, and later studied theory, harmony, and composition with teachers such as Charles Wood, Percy Buck, Charles Kitson, and, from 1923, with Ralph Vaughan Williams in London. In the video I share below, the description says that Vaughan Williams once told her, "I think it's very brave of you to go on with so little recognition. All I can say is that sometimes that recognition eventually comes."

Here then is her Violin Concerto.

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Although some of her works were well received in England during the 1920s and 1930s, her family responsibilities kept her mostly in Ireland and limited her international career. She continued to compose every day, even without any guarantee that her works would be performed. She died of cancer in 1967 in Greystones, Wicklow.

Finally, I'm sharing her piece, Magic Harp. I have to say that when I started listening to it, the first chord that appears after the harp enters (that is, the first 10 seconds of the piece) sounds like the Pas de Deux from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker!! Listen to it and tell me if it's not exactly the same, hahaha.