The Cradle of Music in Ireland, review of Barra Boydell, A History of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin

Although the late Brian Boydell and T. J. Walsh produced illuminating studies of opera and concert life in Georgian Dublin, for many of us knowledge of the city's role in the musical culture of the British Isles is limited to the circumstances of the first performance of Handel's Messiah. Yet because of its constitutional significance Dublin was arguably second only to London culturally and socially for much of the 18th and 19th centuries, and was an important training ground for young musicians, including Michael Balfe, William Vincent Wallace and Charles Villiers Stanford. Among the prominent musicians who established themselves there were Francesco Geminiani, Michael Arne and Matthew Dubourg; while Tenducci, Paganini and Joachim all found it worth their while to make extended visits to the Irish capital.