Welcome

On this website I am giving insights into my musicological activities - almost exclusively devoted to the research of Irish musical history. I am active in this area since my academic year in Dublin, way back in 1987-8.

Have a look around - and if you have a question let me know.

Last 5 updates (scroll down for NEWS)

19 May 2013: Found out the date of death of the last musical member of the O'Kelly family of Irish musicians in France, Henri O'Kelly junior, and changed a few things on his web page accordingly.

2 May 2013: Finally managed to upload a paper I presented on 20 April in Dublin about the history of the symphony in Ireland.

12 February 2013: Added a table of plate numbers and dates for the publishing business of Franco-Irish music publisher Auguste O'Kelly. Also, I am preparing a new public presentation about the development of the symphony genre in Ireland.

9 January 2013: I uploaded a new work-list by Franco-Irish composer Joseph O'Kelly and changed a few things on his page after I noticed I made a few mistakes - my apologies.

1 December 2012: Found the date of death of Georges Frédéric O'Kelly, a relative of my family of musicians (no. 3.1 in my family tree).

NEWS

March 2013: I received seven (!) original scores of piano music by Joseph O'Kelly from the antiquarian music seller Philippe Cabarat. They are Reverie d'automne op. 12 (1857), Au bord de la mer op. 19 (1860), La bruyère op. 22 (1862), La noce de village op. 34 (1868), La retraite op. 35 (1868), Au bal op. 51 (1875), and À l'aventure op. 65 (1884). Earlier this month my collection was also enhanced by some pieces I received from England. Among them were a song by Michael Kelly: In the rough blast heaves the billow (c1802) and John Field's Rondeaux No. II (c1817).

January 2013: A 6-part broadcast series at Irish radio station RTÉ Lyric FM called "Women of Note" is downloadable from the station's website. It was broadcast between September and December 2012. You can hear me in each of the six parts, as I was interviewed for it last year in Frankfurt.

November 2012: Received a rare copy of the very first piano composition by George O'Kelly, the Nocturne from 'Deux Pensées Charactéristiques' published 1853 in Boulogne-sur-mer (from the antiquarian dealer Paul van Kuik).

September 2012: I was the first musicologist to have looked through the sheet music collection of the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. In this capacity I was asked to write a short assessment of the collection to be archived together with the music.

June 2012: I was commissioned to write the 'Ireland' article in Oxford Bibliographies in Music, part of Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO). It is to appear in autumn 2013.