Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1878-1879, 1936 / (Creation)
Level of description
File
Extent and medium
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Joseph Parry (1841-1903), musician and composer, was born in Merthyr Tydfil within a musical and choral environment. In 1854 the family moved to Pennsylvania, where Parry worked in iron rolling-mills while studying music in his spare time. His successes in composition competitions at the National Eisteddfod of Wales during 1863-1864 led to the establishment of a fund which enabled Parry to study at the Royal Academy of Music from 1868 to 1871. Having gained his degree, Parry returned to the United States, where he established a private music school before, in 1874, being appointed professor and head of the new department of music at University College, Aberystwyth, a post he held for the following six years. In 1878 he gained a Mus. Doc. (Cantab.) degree. From 1881 to 1888 Parry served as organist of Ebenezer Chapel, Swansea, and as head of a musical college which he founded, and from 1888 until his death in 1903 he was lecturer in music at University College, Cardiff. Parry was a prolific composer of songs, choruses, anthems, hymns, and some instrumental works. He wrote several operas, of which 'Blodwen' (1880) enjoyed some five hundred performances by 1896. Among Parry's other major works are the oratorios 'Emmanuel' (1880) and 'Saul' (1892), and the cantata 'Nebuchadnezzar' (1884). His hymn-tune 'Aberystwyth' has become a classic.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Nine holograph letters from [Dr.] Joseph Parry, U[niversity] C[ollege] of Wales [Aberystwyth], to W[illiam] R[oderick] Williams [chemist] of Pentre, Pontypridd [previously of Maes-teg], 1878-1879 (performances of the writer's opera 'Blodwen' at Maes-teg and Bridgend); together with annotations, 1936, by the recipient's son Roderick G. Williams [Bridgend].
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions noted on the 'Modern papers - data protection' form issued with their readers' tickets.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
The description is also available in Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume IV (Aberystwyth, 1971
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents.
Note
Preferred citation: NLW MS 11720C.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Parry, Joseph, 1841-1903 -- Correspondence (Subject)
- Williams, William Roderick -- Correspondence (Subject)
- Williams, William Roderick (Subject)
- Williams, Roderick G. (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS. The following source was used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume IV (Aberystwyth, 1971).