Ina Boyle (1889-1967)

[albion]

Selina (usually shortened to Ina) Boyle studied with Vaughan Williams in 1928 and for the next ten years or so travelling periodically from Ireland to London for further tuition. Although she achieved some success in the early 1920s with The Magic Harp (published under the Carnegie Award scheme), little of her subsequent work was either published or performed and she ended her days as a eccentric recluse. On the basis of The Magic Harp and her splendid Violin Concerto, it appears that Boyle's music should be seriously investigated (the manuscripts are held in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin).

Two evocative appreciations of Ina Boyle (including one by Elizabeth Maconchy) are here - http://www.michaeljamiesonbristow.com/ina-boyle-1889-1967

1913 - Elegy for cello and orchestra
1914 - Ireland, for baritone, chorus and orchestra
1916 - Soldiers at Peace, for chorus and orchestra
1919 - A Sea Poem, variations for orchestra
           The Magic Harp, orchestral rhapsody
1921 - Colin Clout, Pastoral for orchestra
1924-27 - Symphony No.1, Glencree (In the Wicklow Hills)
1926 - Phantasy for violin and chamber orchestra
1927 - Psalm for cello and orchestra
1929-30 - Symphony No.2, The Dream of the Rood
1930-31 - Virgilian Suite, ballet suite for small orchestra
1933-34 - Overture
1935 - Violin Concerto
1935-36 - The Dance of Death, a masque [ballet]
1938-39 - The Vision of Er, mimed drama [ballet]
1941 - Hellas, for soprano, chorus and orchestra
1942 - Wild Geese, sketch for small orchestra
1945 - The Prophet, for baritone and orchestra
1946-51 - Symphony No.3, From the Darkness, for contralto and orchestra
1953 - No coward soul is mine, for soprano and string orchestra
1964-66 - Maudlin of Paplewick, pastoral opera for solo voices and chamber orchestra

also -

Hymnal of Heavenly Love, for chorus and orchestra
Peace, peace, he is not dead, Elegy for chorus and orchestra

Commercial recording -

The Magic Harp, orchestral rhapsody (Dutton CDLX 7276)

Downloads -

The Magic Harp, orchestral rhapsody
Violin Concerto

[Dundonnell]

I hadn't registered that Ina Boyle composed three symphonies

[Jimfin]

She was Charles Wood's cousin, I believe.

[FBerwald]

I just listened to the Amazing Violin Concerto on youtube. Can Hyperion be persuaded to include this in their Romantic Violin Concerto series?

[Gareth Vaughan]

May I fervently urge you to write to Hyperion suggesting they do. Ina Boyle was IMHO a very fine composer and the VC is a beautiful work. I will write too, if you will.

[FBerwald]

Sure. How do I go about it?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Write to Simon Perry at: Hyperion Records Limited
PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX

It might also be worth writing to Dutton: Michael J. Dutton, DUTTON VOCALION, PO Box 609, WATFORD, WD18 7YA, ENGLAND

[giles.enders]

I have been hoping that a performance of 'Soldiers at Peace' might be performed next year.

[FBerwald]

Does anyone know about the status of the Manuscript of the 3rd Symphony. It seems Sitwell had refused consent to the setting of her poems and it was "returned unopened!". Has it survived? 

[Gareth Vaughan]

Yes,it exists. I have seen it. It is in the Library of Trinity College Dublin: Symphony No.3, From the Darkness for contralto and orchestra, words by Edith Sitwell (1946-1951) - IE TCD MS 4106-4111.
Here are the details from the Digital Collection of MSS at TCD: https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/n296x887q?locale=en
However, you will need to contact the Ina Boyle Society to obtain formal permission to view the digitised score which is still in copyright: https://www.inaboyle.org/contact

It's a very good piece IMHO and deserves a recording. I am given to understand that the Sitwell estate has now lifted the prohibition on performing the symphony with Edith Sitwell's words, so there is no longer any impediment.

[semloh]

Thank you for that update, Gareth. It's a step in the right direction. Do we know if it has ever been performed?

[eschiss1]

also from that page, an image from the vocal score (manuscript page from the score or from her sketches.) Can't seem to find that information. Are we positive that there even is a full score?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Eric, there IS a full score. I have seen it. It is at Trinity College Dublin and clearly listed in their catalogue of MSS. Also a full set of ms. orchestral parts, which might indicate a performance at some time in the past - or that a performance was planned. We know that after Edith Sitwell refused permission for her words to be set, Ina Boyle substituted another text, and that copy is also at TCD. Also a piano score in ms.

[eschiss1]

ah, apologies and thanks.