DE LLOYD, DAVID JOHN (1883 - 1948), musician

Born 30 April 1883, at Skewen, Glamorganshire, son of Morgan de Lloyd, an insurance agent. The family moved several times before eventually settling down at Penparcau, Aberystwyth. While they lived at Carmarthen David attended Pentrepoeth board school. From early childhood he showed remarkable musical ability. In 1894 J.S. Curwen attended the South Wales Tonic Sol-fa Conference held at Carmarthen and during the next two years took David with him on lecturing tours in England, Scotland and Ireland, to demonstrate the more advanced uses of the notation. From Aberystwyth county school (1896-99), he won the Ceredigion county exhibition to University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he remained until 1905, graduating B.A. (hons. Hist.), 1903. In 1905 he became the first to gain the degree of B.Mus. in the University of Wales. It was felt he should be further encouraged, and a committee chaired by T.F. Roberts promoted a public testimonial amounting to £100 which enabled de Lloyd to spend the session 1906-07 at Leipzig.

He taught at schools in Woolwich, 1908-11, Llanelli, 1911-19, and took the degrees of B.Mus., 1913, and Mus. Doc., 1915, at the University of Dublin. He married in 1911 Lilian Morgan of Aberystwyth. He often adjudicated at national eisteddfodau. In 1919 he returned to Aberystwyth as a lecturer in the music department when Sir H. Walford Davies came to occupy the vacant chair. The numerous extra-mural activities of the professor threw more work on to the shoulders of the lecturer and de Lloyd became responsible for the choral society, the college orchestra and the weekly concerts held by the department. He succeeded Sir Walford Davies in the chair in 1926. He died 20 August 1948, the day upon which his retirement from the college was to take effect.

He composed a large number of works and arranged other music. His principal works include Gwenllian (opera), 1924; Tir na n'Og a lyrical ode by T. Gwynn Jones; Gwlad fy Nhadau (cantata); Cân a Moliant (Hymns and tunes - general editor H. Haydn Jones), Saith o Ganeuon enwog Brahms (with Welsh words by T.H. Parry-Williams ); and Forty Welsh traditional tunes, issued by the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society

Author

• Selwyn Jones, (1906 - 1981)

Sources

• Information supplied by Ifor L. Evans
• personal knowledge

Further Reading

• David de Lloyd (1883-1948), Discover Welsh Music website, viewed 8 January 2019
• Trevor Herbert, 'De Lloyd, David (1883-1948)', Cydymaith i Gerddoriaeth Cymru (Talybont 2018), p.143
• Wikipedia Article: David John de Lloyd

Additional Links

• NLW Archives: Llawysgrifau David de Lloyd
• VIAF: 21911005
• Wikidata: Q5235685

Published date: 2001

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-RUU/1.0/