Haydn Corri

Haydn Joseph Lewis Corri (1785 – 19 February 1860) was a Scottish-born pianist, organist, composer, music teacher and choirmaster. A member of the prominent Corri family of musicians, he was the son of composer and music publisher Domenico Corri. After establishing himself as a piano teacher, Corri moved to Dublin in 1821 and became an important figure in the development of Catholic church music in the city. He served as organist and choirmaster of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral from the 1820s until 1848.

Early life

Haydn Corri was born in Edinburgh in 1785, the son of Italian-born composer, music teacher and publisher Domenico Corri. His father had established himself in Edinburgh as a musician and music publisher before subsequently moving to London. Haydn was one of several members of the Corri family who pursued careers in music. His siblings included the pianist and singer Sophia Corri Dussek, musician Montague Corri, and musician Philip Antony Corri

Corri received his early musical education from his father, particularly in piano. Contemporary and later biographical sources describe him as a pianist, organist, composer and teacher.

Career

Corri established himself as a piano teacher and musician in Britain before moving to Dublin in 1821. He subsequently became associated with the growing musical life of the city's Roman Catholic community.

The opening of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin in 1825 provided Corri with an important position in Irish Catholic musical life. He directed the choir for the cathedral's dedication on 14 November 1825. The choir performed Mozart's Mass in C minor, Ave verum corpus, and a Te Deum by Carl Heinrich Graun. The dedication was attended by numerous members of the Irish Catholic hierarchy.

Corri became the first organist and director of music at the Pro-Cathedral. A study of Catholic church music in Ireland describes him as one of the first professional church musicians appointed to serve the emerging Catholic musical establishment in Dublin.

He remained associated with the Pro-Cathedral for more than two decades. Sources differ slightly over the precise date of his departure: some state that he held the position until 1848, while other research gives 1852. The earlier date is supported by biographical and musical reference works, which state that he served as organist and choirmaster from 1821 or 1827 until 1848. (Treccani)

Corri was also active as a private music teacher and pianist. Advertisements and contemporary references identify him as a teacher of music and as organist and choir conducted at the Church of the Conception on Marlborough Street.

Church music

Corri played a significant role in establishing a professional standard of Catholic choral music in nineteenth-century Dublin. His musical programmes combined works by major European composers with the elaborate concerted style of church music that was common during the period.

In 1847, Corri proposed a programme for Mass and Benediction that included movements from works by Joseph Haydn, Mozart and Luigi Cherubini, as well as music by the Italian composer Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli.

His musical style reflected the strong continental influence on Catholic church music in Ireland during the period. The Pro-Cathedral became associated with elaborate choral performances, with Corri directing the choir during a period when Dublin's Catholic musical institutions were developing rapidly

Corri also directed choirs for the opening of other Dublin churches. In 1839, for example, a choir under his direction participated in the opening of a new church in the city, performing music by Haydn.

Compositions and arrangements

Corri composed and arranged vocal and instrumental music. His surviving works include arrangements for piano and voice, as well as sacred and secular vocal music.

Among his known publications is The Sunday Melodist. He also arranged the traditional English nursery song “Old King Cole” for piano and voices. A surviving edition was published in New York by James L. Hewitt around 1830 and describes the piece as an arrangement by Haydn Corri.

His surviving musical output is comparatively small in relation to his work as a performer, teacher and church musician. The International Music Score Library Project lists him under the alternative names Haydn Joseph Lewis Corri and Hayden Joseph Lewis Corri.

Family

Haydn Corri was a member of the extensive Corri musical family.

His father was Domenico Corri (1744–1825), an Italian-born composer, music teacher, publisher and impresario. His sister Sophia Giustina Corri became a prominent pianist, singer and harpist and married the composer Jan Ladislav Dussek. His brothers also pursued musical careers.

Corri's descendants continued to be involved in music and the performing arts in Ireland. His son Valentine Domenico Corri became a landscape painter and drawing teacher in Dublin. Valentine was the father of several performers, continuing the family's connection with the stage and music.

Death

Haydn Corri died in Dublin in February 1860. The Italian Biographical Dictionary gives his date of death as 19 February 1860, while some older musical reference works give 12 February. (Treccani)

He was succeeded at the Pro-Cathedral by the Irish musician John William Glover, who became organist there in the late 1840s. (Wikipedia)

Legacy

Although little of Corri's music is performed today, he occupies an important place in the history of nineteenth-century Irish Catholic music. As the first organist and director of music at Dublin's Pro-Cathedral, he helped establish a professional tradition of Catholic choral and organ music in Dublin during the period following Catholic Emancipation.

His career also formed part of the wider musical legacy of the Corri family, which produced composers, singers, instrumentalists, teachers and performers in Britain and Ireland over several generations.