T. C. Kelly


Thomas Christopher Kelly was an Irish composer, teacher and conductor.

Life

T. C. Kelly was born in Wexford and studied with John F. Larchet at University College Dublin. After having spent a period as organist and choirmaster in Newry, County Down, he was appointed music master at Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare, a position which involved teaching, playing organ in the boys' chapel and conducting the school choir and orchestra. He won several national competitions with this choir. He was a well-known composer in mid-20th-century Ireland, albeit in a conservative idiom. Kelly died in Dublin.

Music

Kelly's prolific output consists mainly of skilful arrangements of Irish traditional music for orchestra, mixed choir or small instrumental ensembles such as violin and piano. Although mainly known as a composer of miniatures, he also wrote a three-movement piano concerto and three full-scale congregational masses. Many of his orchestral arrangements and some original works were radio commissions for the then Radio Éireann Light Orchestra. In the 1960s and '70s some of his works were recorded on LP by EMI Ireland.
Kelly regarded himself as "bilingual" in a musical sense, having grown up both with traditional music and European art music at the same time. "Purely a lyric composer" in his own words, Kelly belonged to a group of conservative Irish composers who consciously eschewed more contemporary musical idioms. His music is tonal throughout and employs melodic traces of traditional music even in his original works.

Selected works

Orchestral
  • Three Pieces for Strings
  • Variations on a Traditional Air
  • Wexford Rhapsody for "symphonic wind orchestra"
  • Variations on the Bold Fenian Men for piano and orchestra
  • Fantasia on Two Irish Airs for harp and orchestra
  • Fantasia for harp and orchestra
  • Piano Concerto
  • Rhapsody on Children's Themes for piano and orchestra
  • Dance Rhapsody No. 1 for violin and orchestra
  • Dance Rhapsody No. 2 for violin and orchestra
  • Concertino for piano and orchestra
  • Capriccio for piano and orchestra
  • The Dream and the Reality
  • Interlude for cor anglais and orchestra
  • Gaelic Suite No. 1
  • O'Carolan Suite in Baroque Style for violin and orchestra
Chamber music
  • Suite for Military Band for brass band
  • Irish Tunes for violin and keyboard
  • many undated folksong arrangements for violin and piano, piano trio etc.
Piano music
  • Four Interludes
  • Suite of Irish Airs
  • Piano Sonata in D major
Choral music
  • The Sally Gardens
  • Everlasting Voices
  • Lament for O'Donovan Rossa for speaker, chorus and orchestra
  • The Croppy Boy
  • Go Now and Dream for soprano, mezzo, chorus and piano
  • Mass in Gregorian Style
  • Mise Raiftearai
  • Mass for Peace
  • Mass in Honour of Our Lady of Loreto
  • numerous folksong arrangements
Songs
  • The Sally Gardens
  • The Cloney Carol
  • Connaught Love Song
  • Crónán na mbeach
  • ''The Lake Isle of Innisfree''

Recordings