June 2006
Fanny Robinson and St Monica	Show Menu

David McConnell describes how a link with 19th century Dublin musical life has been broken

Most organists will have some regrets about Church Hymnal 2000. One of my (very few) disappointments about this excellent resource is that the tune ‘St Monica’ set to the hymn ‘New every morning is the love’ was omitted. The tune was included in the 1873, 1919 and 1960 editions of Church Hymnal and, while it may not have been widely used in the Church of Ireland, it does seem to have been popular in the Dublin region — no doubt because its composer, Fanny Robinson, had been very active in Dublin musical life. It has a strong melodic line and, to my mind, is much preferable to the rather dull tune ‘Melcombe’. St Monica was written in 1866 and is from Fanny Robinson’s sacred cantata ‘God is Love’.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the number of women involved in music in Dublin began to increase. Their participation was welcomed by their male peers, as a growth in musical activity required more organisers. In comparison to their European counterparts, the treatment of women in music was progressive: they were respected as teachers, performers and composers. Frances (Fanny) Arthur Robinson illustrates the extent to which women were accepted into music in Dublin at this time.

She was a teacher, composer and pianist of English birth. On moving to Dublin in 1849 she married one of the most prominent musical figures in the city at that time, the singer, conductor and composer Joseph Robinson, who had been a chorister and later vicar choral in St Patrick’s cathedral. Fanny was an ardent performer and played an active role in Dublin’s musical culture, making an extensive contribution. In 1856 she joined the teaching staff of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She was also one of the few published female composers of that time.

Following her death in 1879, her friends subscribed a small sum of money in her memory, intended as the nucleus of a fund to provide support for ‘Female Professors of Music in Ireland’ who fell on hard times financially. The Fanny Robinson Memorial Fund never grew, but for over a hundred years it was administered by trustees who gave out small grants. The fund is now administered by the RIAM.

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