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Robert MacHardy

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Robert Machardy with his dogs
Robert Machardy
Born
Robert McHardy

10 September 1848
Edinburgh
Died7 August 1921(1921-08-07) (aged 72)
Whitehill, Strathaven
Resting placeWarriston Cemetery Edinburgh
Other namesMachardy
Occupation(s)Composer, Conductor, Musician, Teacher/Examiner
SpouseBaroness Felice Wielobycki (married 1886)

Robert Machardy LL.D né McHardy (10 September 1848 – 8 July 1921) was a 19th-century Scottish composer, conductor, and music educator. A Fellow of the National College of Music,[1] he composed over a hundred works,[2] including operas, cantatas, and oratorios, many of which drew inspiration from Scottish folklore and melodies. Though successful in the 1880s and 1890s, his work being commissioned and performed by some of the most celebrated opera singers of the time, his music ultimately fell into obscurity. In later life, he focused on music examination, teaching, and conducting choral and operatic societies in East Lothian and Lanarkshire.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

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Robert McHardy, later adopting the spelling "Machardy," was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,[7] to Robert McHardy and Elizabeth McDonald. His brother, James Marius Patrick McHardy, also pursued a career as a composer and conductor.[8] During his youth, the McHardy family briefly emigrated to Australia, returning to Edinburgh around 1856.[9][10] Machardy attended Edinburgh High School and the University of Edinburgh, where he later became the organist at one of the city’s cathedrals.[11] He reportedly furthered his musical education in continental Europe.

Personal Life

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In 1885, Machardy dedicated his Sonata Sancta Felice to Baroness Felice Wielobycki (Lady Henrietta Felicia Kierblewska Kennedy),[12] the widow of controversial Polish Doctor and homeopath Dionysius Wielobycki whom he later married on 31 July 1886 in London.[13] Following their marriage, the couple traveled extensively across Europe, focusing on musical studies and performances before returning to Scotland.

Machardy and the Baroness lived in Edinburgh during the early 1890s[14] before relocating to Lesmahagow[15] and eventually Whitehill, near Strathaven, around 1910. In Whitehill, they lived reclusively in a self-constructed wooden house, described by some as a "primitive hut," surrounded by barbed wire and guard dogs. They practiced self-sufficiency, growing vegetables, keeping livestock, and cultivating flowers.

Machardy died of heart failure on 8 July 1921 after a period of illness, aged 72,[11] and was buried in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh. Following his death, Felice fell into financial and emotional despair. She was forceably removed to Lanark District Asylum at Hartwood, where she died just two weeks later, aged 74,[16] and was buried in a pauper’s grave. Their story of a dramatic decline from prosperity to poverty attracted local media coverage.[17][18]

Career

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Machardy’s career spanned composition, performance, conducting, and teaching. He is believed to have composed over a hundred works, ranging from operas and cantatas to orchestral symphonies and sacred music. His two instructional books, Progressive Pianoforte Playing[19] and Progressive Sight Singing,[20] were well-received and ran to multiple editions. Despite this, much of his output remains unpublished or lost, with only a few manuscripts known to be archived in institutions like the British Library and the Boston Public Library.

Works

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Machardy achieved his greatest success in the 1880s and 1890s. He was often his own librettist but also collaborated successfully with others, most notably the Wigtownshire poet Reverend David R Williamson[21] whose poems Song of the Sea, Song of the Morning and A Reverie from the book Poems of Nature and Life[22] he set to music for some of the best singers of the time. These included Therese Tietjens,[23] Pauline Donalda,[24] Adelina Patti and Marguerite Macintyre.[25] It was reported in 1895 that he had been requested to compose an orchestral symphony for the Crystal Palace by August Manns, and that he had "elicited attention and high appreciation of Madame Christine Nilson, Madame Alwina Valleria, Madame Pappenheim, Madame Trebelli, and other musical personages of the highest rank".[26]

Notable dedications include:

It is thought Machardy also composed up to twenty operas and cantatas, among them are known to be:

  • 1882 - The Moorland Witch[35] cantata
  • 1886 - The Woodland Witch[36] cantata
  • 1886 - Fairy Mother[37] cantata
  • 1897 - The Goblins - opera performed in Glasgow's St Andrews Halls,[38]
  • 1911 - The Laird of Heather Hall - opera featuring the bagpipes as an orchestral instrument[39]
  • 1912 - Royal Court Romance[40] opera
  • 1913 - The Jester[41] opera
  • 1914 - The Palace of Delight[42] opera
  • 1915 - Prince Charlie opera featuring the bagpipes as an orchestral instrument[43]
  • 1912 - Royal Court Romance[40] opera
  • 1916 - The Shades of Burns [44] opera

Verse

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Machardy also wrote poetry, with several of his poems published in contemporary newspapers. Many of these works were dedicated to individuals he admired, including King George V and Queen Mary,[45] Dame Nellie Melba,[46] Pauline Donalda,[24] and Sims Reeves.[47][48] Machardy shared a strong association with Reeves, who referenced his work eighteen times in his 1888 autobiography.[5] Some of Machardy's poems conveyed social messages, such as Intemperance (1895), which addressed the dangers of alcohol, and Beatitudes (1921).[49][50]

Scottish Patriotism

Machardy’s compositions often incorporated Scottish folklore, melodies and instruments, such as bagpipes. He was an outspoken advocate for the recognition and funding of native Scottish music and musicians over the more fashionable European influences of the time.[51][52][53][54][55]

Legacy and Rediscovery

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Although largely forgotten after his death, interest in Machardy’s work was revived in 2022 with the publication of Strathaven's Russian Princess by amateur historian Bob Currie.[56] This coincided with efforts to restore Hartwood Hospital's paupers' cemetery, where Felice was buried.[57] The couple's dramatic story has since been incorporated into a creative project entitled In the Hartwood, which began as part of the Scottish Storytelling Festival 2023.[58][59]

In 2024, three of Machardy’s compositions—Song of the Sea (1879), The Soldiers (1879), and What Is There In That Beaming Eye? (1876)—were rediscovered and performed for the first time in over a century by Scottish soprano Monica McGhee and pianist Geoffrey Tanti at the Henderson Theatre in Shotts.[60]

References

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  1. ^ "Music and the Drama". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 10 October 1899. p. 8.
  2. ^ "Mr R Machardy". Glasgow Observer and Catholic Herald. 2 March 1885. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Strathaven - A notable distiction for two Strathaven musicians". Hamilton Advertiser. 7 August 1915. p. 7.
  4. ^ "Haddington Musical Society". Haddingtonshire Advertiser and East Lothian Journal. 16 October 1885.
  5. ^ a b Reeves, Sims (1888). The Life of Sims Reeves written by Himself. p. 23.
  6. ^ "Lesmahagow". Hamilton Advertiser. 3 April 1897. p. 5.
  7. ^ Scotland's People, Catholic Registers Births and Baptisms MP 74 1 2 150, Edinburgh, St Mary's Cathedral
  8. ^ Baptie, David (1894). Musical Scotland Past and Present , being a dictionary of Scottish Musicians from about 1400 to the present time. J and R Parlane , Paisley. p. 122.
  9. ^ "Victoria, Australia, Outward Passenger Index, 1852-1915". Public Record Office Victoria. p. 2. Retrieved 11 Dec 2024.
  10. ^ "A Scottish Composer". The Hamilton Advertiser. 10 April 1920.
  11. ^ a b "Obituary - The Late Robert Machardy LL.D". Hamilton Advertiser. 16 July 1921.
  12. ^ "Education - Piano Singing and Violin Lessons". The Scotsman. 10 October 1885. p. 14.
  13. ^ Marriage Certificate, England and Wales, Marriage Certificate vol 27 no 518
  14. ^ Edinburgh Postal Directory (1890/91) & (1892/1893)
  15. ^ Scotland's People - 1901 Census
  16. ^ "From Riches To Poverty - Polish Lady and Clever Scot - A Sad Romance - Strathaven the last scene". Daily Record and Mail. 30 May 2022. p. 9.
  17. ^ "TITLED WOMAN LIVES ARMED IN LONELY HUT GUARDED BY FEROCIOUS DOG - Romance of Baroness Who Wedded Edinburgh Organist and Lost Huge Fortune". Glasgow Weekly News. 3 June 1922.
  18. ^ "SAD ROMANCE OF BARONESS AND SCOTS MUSICIAN- FROM RICHES TO POVERTY". Daily Record and Mail. 30 May 1922.
  19. ^ "New Music". North British Daily Mail. 12 April 1894. p. 2.
  20. ^ "Education - Piano, Singing, Violin Lessons". The Glasgow Herald. 19 September 1885.
  21. ^ Modern Scottish Poets - with Biographical and critical notices (Eighth Series ed.). BRECHIN: D. H. EDWARDS. 1885. p. 234.
  22. ^ Williamson, David R (1888). Poems of Nature and Life. William Blackwood and Sons.
  23. ^ "A New Song". Dumfries and Galloway Standard and Advertiser . 14 May 1890. p. 5.
  24. ^ a b "Musical Notes by Chorister". Falkirk Herald. 13 August 1913. p. 5.
  25. ^ "Encouragement of Scottish Talent". Dundee Evening Telegraph. 15 January 1891.
  26. ^ "Current Celebrities - Mr R Machardy". Glasgow Observer and Catholic Herald. 2 March 1895. p. 3.
  27. ^ "Our London Correspondence". The Glasgow Herald. 1 March 1892. p. 7.
  28. ^ "General News". Edinburgh Evening News. 17 May 1893.
  29. ^ "Extraordinary Proceedings of Dublin Town Council". Glasgow Evening Post. 6 June 1893. p. 2.
  30. ^ "Lesmahagow". Hamilton Advertiser. 20 April 1901. p. 6.
  31. ^ "The Hamilton Herald". Hamilton Herald and Lanarkshire Weekly News. 5 Feb 1904.
  32. ^ "National Music and Melodies". Hamilton Advertiser. 22 May 1915. p. 6.
  33. ^ "Production of a New Scottish opera - "The Shade of Burns"". Hamilton Advertiser. 5 February 1916.
  34. ^ "A Tribute to Scottish Music". Hamilton Advertiser. 25 May 1918.
  35. ^ "Back Matter". The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 23, No. 474. 1 August 1882. p. 462.
  36. ^ "London: Novello, Ever & Co". The Glasgow Herald. 15 March 1886.
  37. ^ "New Music". The Glasgow Herald. 17 June 1886. p. 9.
  38. ^ "Local and District Notices". Hamilton Herald and Lanarkshire Weekly News . 12 March 1887.
  39. ^ "Strathaven". Hamilton Advertiser. 16 December 1911. p. 6.
  40. ^ a b "The Laird of Heather Hall". Hamilton Advertiser. 17 February 1912.
  41. ^ "Strathaven". Hamilton Advertiser. 28 June 1913. p. 6.
  42. ^ "Strathaven". Hamilton Advertiser. 9 May 1914. p. 6.
  43. ^ "Stonehouse". Hamilton Advertiser. 22 May 1915.
  44. ^ "Strathaven". Hamilton Advertiser. 5 February 1916. p. 6.
  45. ^ "King George V and his Beautiful Queen". Hamilton Advertiser. 4 June 1921. p. 6.
  46. ^ "Poet's Corner: Madame Melba by Robert Machardy LL.D". Hamilton Advertiser. 8 July 1911.
  47. ^ "Mr. Robert Machardy, of Edinburgh, has com-posed some verses in honour of Mr. Sims Reeves". Musical Times. 1 July 1889.
  48. ^ "Sims Reeves Esq". The Musical Standard. 22 June 1899. p. 507.
  49. ^ "Intemperance". Glasgow Observer and Catholic Herald. 16 November 1895.
  50. ^ "Beatitudes". Hamilton Advertiser. 1 Jan 1921.
  51. ^ "Scottish Concert". Hamilton Advertiser. 21 June 1919.
  52. ^ "Scottish Partriotic Concert". Hamilton Advertiser. 17 April 1915.
  53. ^ "Stonehouse - "National Music and Melodies , their power to entertain"". Hamilton Advertiser. 22 May 1915.
  54. ^ "Scottish Opera". Hamilton Advertiser. 3 July 1915.
  55. ^ Keith, Thomas (28 December 2021). "Robert Burns's Life on the Stage: A Bibliography of Dramatic Works, 1842–2019 - Pace University". Studies in Scottish Literature. 47 (2): 84 – via Scholarcommons.
  56. ^ Lambrou, Andrea (6 March 2022). "History of Lanarkshire's 'Russian Princess' explored in historian's latest book". The Daily Record.
  57. ^ "Friends of Hartwood Paupers Cemetery". 30 November 2024.
  58. ^ Mather, Jane (31 January 2024). "TracScotland in-the-hartwood blog". Tracscotland.
  59. ^ "Online Programme - Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2023" (PDF). Scottish International Storytelling Festival. 1 December 2024.
  60. ^ Scougall, Murray (13 October 2024). "Riches to Rags - the Russian Princess". The Sunday Post.
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