Odoardo Barri is the pseudonym of Edward Slater. He was born in Dublin and became a composer, music teacher and an oratorio singer in Italy and Spain. After working in Italy and Spain, he opened a music school in London and ran it for 50 years. He claimed to have been born in Como

Como

Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....

 and that he had fought at Solferino

Solferino

Solferino is a small town and comune in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately 10 kilometres south of Lake Garda....

.

His most notable composition was "The Old Brigade

The Old Brigade

For the Irish Republican song see The Boys of the Old BrigadeThe Old Brigade is a slow march written in 1881 with music by an Irishman Odoardo Barri and words by Frederic Weatherly. It was popularised by a 1926 recording by Peter Dawson...

" with words by Frederick Weatherly

Frederick Weatherly

Frederic Edward Weatherly was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He is estimated to have written the lyrics to at least 3,000 popular songs, among the best-known of which are the sentimental ballad Danny Boy set to the tune Londonderry Air, the religious "The Holy City", and the...

. His other works include a Mass for the King of Spain and about 1500 songs, including "The Shadow of the Cross", "Saved From the Storm", "The Good Shepherd", "The Armourer’s Gift" and "Birdie’s Nest". He also wrote the operettas: "M.D." (1879), "Our Amateur Theatricals" (1894) and "That Terrible Turk" (1898). Barri also worked as a theatre manager.