William ApMadoc
{{Infobox person
| William ApMadoc | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 March 1844 Maesteg, Glamorganshire, Wales |
| 💀Died | 12 August 1916 (aged 72) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.12 August 1916 (aged 72) |
| Resting place | Mt. Hope Cemetery, Chicago |
| 💼 Occupation | Musician, lyricist, music educator |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Jones (m. c. 1870; d. 1923) |
William ApMadoc (19 March 1844 – 12 August 1916) was a Welsh-American musician, lyricist, music educator, and choral adjudicator. Born in Maesteg, Glamorganshire, Wales, he emigrated to the United States in 1864 and settled in Chicago, where he worked as a music educator and wrote texts for choral and sacred works. He is noted for writing the libretto and song texts for several works by composer William Rhys-Herbert, including the cantata Bethany (1909); for serving as an official judge at the choral competitions of the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, 1893) and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis, 1904); and for publishing what has been identified as the earliest known print version of the anecdote behind the phrase "The dog ate my homework."[1]
Early life
William ApMadoc was born on 19 March 1844 in Maesteg, Llangyniwd Parish, Glamorganshire, Wales, the son of John Maddock (b. 1814, Pembrokeshire) and Frances (b. 1843, Wales). He was baptised on 13 July 1848. His surname is a Welsh patronymic meaning "son of Madoc."
Immigration and early career
ApMadoc emigrated to the United States in 1864, settling first in Utica, New York, which had a substantial Welsh immigrant community. Passenger records also show him arriving aboard the SS City of Montreal on 12 October 1878, suggesting a return visit to Wales and subsequent re-emigration.
During his time in Utica, he co-founded a Welsh-language children's monthly periodical, Blodau Yr Oes A'r Ysgol ("Flowers of the Age and the School"), co-published with T. Solomon Griffiths and printed by T. J. Griffiths of Utica from 1872 to 1875, when it was sold to new editors. The publication is catalogued in the Welsh Imprints collection at Utica College.[2]
He subsequently moved to Chicago, Illinois.
Career
Music education
In Chicago, ApMadoc served as music director of the city's public high schools, holding the title of Professor. He is also listed as instructor of Public School Music on the faculty of the Conservatory of Chicago (located in the Auditorium Building) in an advertisement published in the Fine Arts Journal in December 1912, alongside other faculty members including Walton Perkins and Arthur Dunham.[3]
Music journalism
ApMadoc contributed a regular music column to The Cambrian, a magazine for Welsh Americans published between 1880 and 1919. Contributions are documented in at least Volume 21 (1901) and Volume 25 (1905).[4]
Adjudication
ApMadoc served as a choral adjudicator at Welsh-American eisteddfodau and Chautauqua circuit events across the United States from the 1880s through the 1910s. Contemporary newspaper reports document adjudication appearances in Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and other states.
He was one of five official music judges at the World's Columbian Exposition International Eisteddfod choral competition in Chicago in 1893, and again served as an official judge at the international choral contest of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904, alongside William Pommer, Charles E. Allum, Edward Broome, and John Towers.[5]
The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
At the 1893 World's Fair, ApMadoc was appointed Cofiadur (Bardic Scribe) of an American branch of the Welsh Gorsedd established in Chicago under the aegis of the Cymmrodorion Society of Chicago. The Galveston Daily News reported on 6 September 1893: "William Apmadoc of this city will be bardic scribe. Hereafter candidates will not find it necessary to go to Wales to be admitted."[6] This branch of the Gorsedd was subsequently abolished.
ApMadoc also wrote the libretto for a planned grand opera, The Maid of Cefn Ydfa, with music by Dr. D. J. J. Mason of Wilkes-Barre, based on the Welsh legend of Ann Thomas of Cefn Ydfa. The History of Luzerne County, Pa. (1893) records that "the libretto has been written by Prof. Apmadoc, of Chicago."[7] The opera does not appear to have been performed.
Lyrical work
ApMadoc wrote texts in both English and Welsh for choral works by other composers, most extensively for the Welsh-American composer William Rhys-Herbert (1868–1921). The Wikipedia article on Rhys-Herbert describes ApMadoc as his principal lyricist and notes that ApMadoc also co-founded a Welsh-language periodical in Utica, served as a music teacher in Chicago, and acted as Cofiadur at the 1893 World's Fair Gorsedd.[8]
His text for Rhys-Herbert's sacred cantata Bethany (1909) — part of a five-work cycle including Bethlehem, The Nazarene, Calvary, and Olivet — was performed across the United States into the 1950s. A vocal duet, Ffarwel i'r Gwynt a'r Eira ("Farewell to the Wind and Snow"), with text by ApMadoc and music by Rhys-Herbert, was included in the syllabus of the Urdd Eisteddfod in Llandudno, Wales, in 2008.
ApMadoc also adapted Welsh texts for works by Dr. D. J. J. Mason, including the cantata O Be Joyful in God, and wrote the libretto for Mason's opera The Maid of Cefn Ydfa.[9]
"The dog ate my homework"
In September 1905, ApMadoc's music column in The Cambrian (Vol. XXV, No. 9, p. 396) contained an anecdote about a Welsh minister whose dog had eaten part of his sermon before a service. When the minister told the parish clerk, the clerk replied (in Welsh dialect English): "Couldn't you give our wicar a pup o' that 'ere dawg, sir?" ApMadoc used the story as a comment on over-long musical compositions.[10]
The Slate investigation into the origins of the phrase "the dog ate my homework" identified this column as the earliest known print version of the concept.[1] The Wikipedia article on "The dog ate my homework" also cites the column on this basis. The Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for the phrase as a student excuse dates to 1929, twenty-four years later.
Family
ApMadoc married Elizabeth Jones (b. 12 January 1843, Llanddeiniolen Parish, Caernarvonshire, Wales; d. 19 November 1923, Chicago). They had three sons: Oliver ApMadoc, Maurice Peris ApMadoc, and William Tudor ApMadoc Sr. Both William and Elizabeth are buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Chicago.
William Tudor ApMadoc Sr. (b. 20 September 1873, Utica, NY) graduated from the University of Michigan in 1896 and became an Illinois lawyer and civic official. He chaired the public dedications of the Alexander Hamilton Monument in Grant Park (28 September 1918) and the Illinois Centennial Monument in Logan Square (13 October 1918), both funded by the B. F. Ferguson Fund, as reported in the Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago.[11]
Death
William ApMadoc died in Chicago on 12 August 1916, aged 72. His wife Elizabeth died on 19 November 1923. Both are buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Chicago.
Selected works
As lyricist / librettist
- Bethany (cantata, 1909) — music by William Rhys-Herbert
- The Maid of Cefn Ydfa (opera libretto, 1893) — music by D. J. J. Mason
- O Be Joyful in God (cantata, Welsh text) — music by D. J. J. Mason
- Ffarwel i'r Gwynt a'r Eira (vocal duet) — music by William Rhys-Herbert
- Texts for other works by William Rhys-Herbert
As songwriter
Sheet music for the following songs, with words and music attributed to ApMadoc, is held in the Library of Congress and other collections:
- Abide With Me (White, Smith & Company, Boston, 1877) — Albany Institute of History & Art collection
- I Thought You Loved Me
- Only a Face at the Window
- She Never Blamed Him, Never
- Soft Through the Night
- Sun of My Soul
- The Mother to Her Sleeping Child
- The Reformed Blacksmith
- Upon the Shore
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Forrest Wickman, "Why Do We Say 'The Dog Ate My Homework'?", Slate, 9 October 2012.
- ↑ Eugene Paul Nassar, Welsh Imprints of Central New York, Utica College Ethnic Heritage Studies Center, 1998.
- ↑ Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 27, No. 6 (December 1912), advertisement for The Conservatory of Chicago.
- ↑ The Cambrian, Vol. 21 (1901), p. 310; Vol. 25, No. 9 (September 1905), p. 396.
- ↑ World's Fair choral contest newspaper report (1904), ApMadoc family archive, www.apmadoc.net.
- ↑ Galveston Daily News, 6 September 1893.
- ↑ H. C. Bradsby, History of Luzerne County, Pa. (1893), entry on Dr. D. J. J. Mason.
- ↑ William Rhys-Herbert (Wikipedia article), citing ApMadoc as lyricist and Cofiadur.
- ↑ Bradsby, History of Luzerne County (1893).
- ↑ ApMadoc, William. "Music." The Cambrian, Vol. XXV, No. 9, September 1905, p. 396. Available at Google Books.
- ↑ Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 12, No. 8 (November 1918), pp. 131–132.
Further reading
- Bradsby, H. C. History of Luzerne County, Pa. (1893)
- Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 12, No. 8 (November 1918)
- Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 27, No. 6 (December 1912)
- Nassar, Eugene Paul. Welsh Imprints of Central New York. Utica College Ethnic Heritage Studies Center, 1998
- Wickman, Forrest. "Why Do We Say 'The Dog Ate My Homework'?" Slate, 9 October 2012
External links
- ApMadoc's Cambrian column, September 1905, p. 396 — Google Books
Category:1844 births Category:1916 deaths Category:People from Maesteg Category:Welsh emigrants to the United States Category:Welsh-American musicians Category:American choral conductors Category:American music educators Category:Welsh composers Category:Temperance advocates Category:People from Chicago Category:People from Utica, New York Category:Burials in Illinois
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