Edward Jones (harpist)

Edward Jones (March 1752 – April 18 1824), was a Welsh harpist, bard, performer, composer, arranger, and collector of music.Joan Rimmer, [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0072-0127(198609)39%3C77%3AEJMAPR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 "Edward Jones's Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards, 1784: A Re-Assessment"] , "The Galpin Society Journal", Vol. 39 (September 1986), pp. 77-96] He was commonly known by the bardic name of "Bardd y Brenin", which he took in 1820, when King George IV, his patron, came to the throne.

Jones was born in Llandderfel, near Bala, and is remembered for his three volume work, the "Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards". [Edward Jones, [http://ia340933.us.archive.org/0/items/MusocalAndPoeticalRelicksOfTheWelshBards/WelshBards26-2-07.pdf "Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards: preserved by tradition, and authentic manuscripts, from very remote antiquity; never before published."] London, 1784] :
#"The Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards" (1784)
#"The Bardic Museum" (1802)
#"Hen Ganiadau Cymru" (1820)

He first came to London in 1775, and was patronised by prominent Welshmen and by Charles Burney. He became harp tutor to several wealthy families, and in about 1790 was made official harpist to the Prince of Wales. In 1805 he moved into St James's Palace.

ources

* [http://wbo.llgc.org.uk/en/s-JONE-EDW-1752.html Welsh Biography Online]

References