John Thomas (1 March 1826 – 19 March 1913) was a Welsh composer and harpist, known by the bardic name Pencerdd Gwalia ("Chief Musician of Wales"), conferred upon him at the 1861 Aberdare Eisteddfod. He served as harpist to Queen Victoria and later to King Edward VII.
Life
Thomas was born in Bridgend, Glamorganshire, on Saint David's Day 1826, the eldest of seven children of John Thomas, a tailor and amateur clarinetist, and Catherine Jones. He began playing the piccolo in his father's town band at age six and later took up the Welsh triple harp. At age 12 (1838), he won a Bassett Jones triple harp at the Abergavenny Eisteddfod, which brought him to the attention of Ada, Lady Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron). She offered to fund three-quarters of his education at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he enrolled in 1840.
At the Royal Academy, he studied harp under John Balsir Chatterton, composition under Charles Lucas and Cipriani Potter, and piano under C. J. Read. He abandoned the triple harp for Erard's pedal harp and changed his playing technique accordingly. He became a sub-professor and Associate of the Royal Academy, and was later appointed Professor of Harp.
Career
In 1851, Thomas became harpist at Her Majesty's Theatre (Royal Italian Opera) under Michael Balfe. During winter months from 1851 onward, he toured extensively across Europe, performing in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Austria. In Vienna, he was hailed as the natural successor to Elias Parish Alvars. In 1852, he composed and performed a harp concerto for the Philharmonic Society. Hector Berlioz praised his playing in the Journal des débats in 1854.
At the Aberdare Eisteddfod of 1861, he was invested with the title Pencerdd Gwalia. That same year, he published his Welsh Melodies arranged for the harp, followed by Welsh Melodies for the Voice in 1862. On 4 July 1862, he inaugurated his series of Grand Concerts of Welsh Music at St James's Hall, Piccadilly, featuring a choir of 400 and a band of twenty harps; these annual concerts continued for 42 years.
In 1871, upon the death of his teacher Chatterton, Thomas was appointed Harpist to Queen Victoria. He also founded and conducted the Welsh Choral Union in London. He later became professor of harp at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music. After Queen Victoria's death, he became Harpist to King Edward VII. He was the last official Royal Harpist until the position was reinstated in 2000.
Compositions
Thomas wrote extensively for the harp, including two harp concertos (in E-flat and B-flat), a symphony, overtures, chamber music, and two cantatas — Llewellyn (1863) and The Bride of Neath Valley (1866). His best-known works for harp include Scenes of Childhood, Cambria, Souvenir du Nord, the Grand Duet in E-flat minor, and the Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). He also published four volumes of Welsh Melodies (1862–1874) and transcribed works by Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Bizet, and others for the harp. He was the first in modern times to edit and publish both Handel's Harp Concerto and Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp, and he helped rescue and republish the works of Parish Alvars.
Personal life
Thomas was briefly engaged to the Belgian soprano Désirée Artôt in 1860. He married twice, both times to former students: Alice Ann Keate in 1878 (died 1880, shortly after the birth of their son John Llewellyn Thomas), and Joan Francis Denny in 1885, with whom he had three children (Arthur, Ada Myfanwy, and Gwilym Ivor).
He gave his last public concert on 17 January 1905. He died at his home "Llanddulas" in New Barnet, London, on 19 March 1913, at age 87, and was buried in Hampstead Cemetery.
