Eleazar Roberts
Encyclopedia
Eleazar Roberts was a Welsh
musician, translator, writer and amateur astronomer. Roberts family moved to Liverpool
in England while he was an infant, but despite this he retained a strong link to his country of birth and was a fluent Welsh speaker
. He wrote for several Welsh journals and travelled Wales setting up music classes. He is most notable for pioneering the tonic sol-fa
method of sight-singing in Wales, which in turn led to the strengthening of the practice of congregational singing.
, Caernarfonshire in 1825 to John and Margaret Roberts, but only two months after his birth, the family moved to Liverpool. He grew up in Liverpool and was educated at several schools in the town including the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. At the age of 13 he found work in a solicitor's office. In 1853 he became a full member of staff in the office of the clerk to the Liverpool magistrates before reaching the position of chief assistant to the clerk to the stipendiary magistrate. He retained the role of chief assistant until his retirement in 1894, and the following year he was made a justice of the peace. He died in 1912 and was buried at Anfield Cemetery
.
, Y Geninen and Y Traethodydd
. He wrote two books in the English language, Owen Rees: a story of Welsh life and thought (1893) a novel about life in a Welsh community in Liverpool, and a biography on Welsh politician Henry Richard
.
. His most important publication on the topic was Llawlyfr y Tonic Solffa, a handbook which was designed to help in the teaching of the tonic sol-fa method. Other musical works in Welsh from Roberts include Llawlyfr Caniadaeth, Llawlyfr i ddarllen yr Hen Nodiant and Hymnau a Thonau.
He was also precentor at Netherfield Road Calvinist Methodist
chapel in Liverpool, and along with John Edwards he conducted the first Welsh singing festival held in Liverpool, in 1880.
, from English into the Welsh language. He wrote many essays in Welsh journals on astronomy, including several pieces in Y Traethodydd under the title 'The Telescope and its Discoveries'. He had an astronomy in Hoylake
and was friends with prominent astronomer Isaac Roberts
, who like Roberts was born in Wales, but grew up in Liverpool.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
musician, translator, writer and amateur astronomer. Roberts family moved to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in England while he was an infant, but despite this he retained a strong link to his country of birth and was a fluent Welsh speaker
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
. He wrote for several Welsh journals and travelled Wales setting up music classes. He is most notable for pioneering the tonic sol-fa
Tonic sol-fa
Tonic sol-fa is a pedagogical technique for teaching sight-singing, invented by Sarah Ann Glover of Norwich, England and popularised by John Curwen who adapted it from a number of earlier musical systems...
method of sight-singing in Wales, which in turn led to the strengthening of the practice of congregational singing.
Life history
Roberts was born in PwllheliPwllheli
Pwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
, Caernarfonshire in 1825 to John and Margaret Roberts, but only two months after his birth, the family moved to Liverpool. He grew up in Liverpool and was educated at several schools in the town including the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. At the age of 13 he found work in a solicitor's office. In 1853 he became a full member of staff in the office of the clerk to the Liverpool magistrates before reaching the position of chief assistant to the clerk to the stipendiary magistrate. He retained the role of chief assistant until his retirement in 1894, and the following year he was made a justice of the peace. He died in 1912 and was buried at Anfield Cemetery
Anfield Cemetery
Anfield Cemetery, also known as the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is on Priory Road, Anfield, Liverpool, England .It covers an area of some and includes axial and circular paths, two chapels and a Gothic style catacomb. The layout of the cemetery was designed by Edward Kemp.The cemetery is adjacent...
.
Literary work
Roberts wrote for several Welsh journals throughout his life, most notablly Yr Amserau, for which he wrote a weekly article under the pseudonym 'Meddyliwr'. As well as his weekly article he was also published in Y DrysorfaY Drysorfa
Y Drysorfa was a Calvinistic Methodist publication produced in Wales and written in the Welsh language. Although published intermittenly before 1930, it became a regular publication in 1931, when preacher John Parry became its editor....
, Y Geninen and Y Traethodydd
Y Traethodydd
Y Traethodydd is a quarterly cultural magazine published in the Welsh language covering historical, literary and theological topics. The journal was originally published in 1845 on behalf of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church...
. He wrote two books in the English language, Owen Rees: a story of Welsh life and thought (1893) a novel about life in a Welsh community in Liverpool, and a biography on Welsh politician Henry Richard
Henry Richard
Rev. Henry Richard MP , "the Apostle of Peace", was a Congregational minister and Welsh Member of Parliament, 1868-88. The son of the Rev...
.
Musical work
Roberts travelled throughout Wales establishing singing classes. He was also a pioneer of the tonic sol-fa method of sight-singing in Wales, having adapted and translated into Welsh, the works of John CurwenJohn Curwen
Reverend John Curwen was an English Congregationalist minister, and founder of the Tonic sol-fa system of music education. He was educated at Wymondley College and University College London.-Tonic sol-fa:...
. His most important publication on the topic was Llawlyfr y Tonic Solffa, a handbook which was designed to help in the teaching of the tonic sol-fa method. Other musical works in Welsh from Roberts include Llawlyfr Caniadaeth, Llawlyfr i ddarllen yr Hen Nodiant and Hymnau a Thonau.
He was also precentor at Netherfield Road Calvinist Methodist
Calvinistic Methodists
Calvinistic Methodists are a body of Christians forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales and claiming to be the only denomination of the Presbyterian order in Wales which is of purely Welsh origin.-Early history:...
chapel in Liverpool, and along with John Edwards he conducted the first Welsh singing festival held in Liverpool, in 1880.
Astronomical work
Roberts was an amateur astronomer, but is notable in Welsh astronomy for translating The Solar System by prominent Scottish astronomer, Dr Thomas DickThomas Dick
Reverend Thomas Dick , was a Scottish church minister, science teacher and writer, known for his works on astronomy and practical philosophy, combining science and Christianity, and defusing the tension between the two.-Early life:Thomas was brought up in the strict tenets of the presbyterian...
, from English into the Welsh language. He wrote many essays in Welsh journals on astronomy, including several pieces in Y Traethodydd under the title 'The Telescope and its Discoveries'. He had an astronomy in Hoylake
Hoylake
Hoylake is a seaside town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, on Merseyside, England. It is located at the north western corner of the Wirral Peninsula, near to the town of West Kirby and where the River Dee estuary meets the Irish Sea...
and was friends with prominent astronomer Isaac Roberts
Isaac Roberts
Isaac Roberts was a Welsh engineer and business man best known for his work as an amateur astronomer, pioneering the field of astrophotography of nebulae. He was a member of the Liverpool Astronomical Society in England and was a fellow of the Royal Geological Society...
, who like Roberts was born in Wales, but grew up in Liverpool.