GMG Classical Music Forum

Making a thread on this chap would be futile, so this could be a good place for reviews and the like.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51933jhVepL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)

This is quite cool music of the type that can't decide whether to commit to tonality or atonality - a condition which was quite common amongst Brits who were jarringly yanked from Vaughan Williams to post-war serialism within the space of a decade or two. The organ concerto is in this idiom - bumps and crashes without really having a point to make, but it does create a wonderfully BIG sound, and the large meditative adagio (far longer than the opening and closing movements combined) is interesting. Overall the style is comparable to English composer Peter Dickinson, who conveniently also wrote an organ concerto in this idiom (Bate/EMI).

The symphony is better - quieter, with more emotions on display, but tempered away from standard Romanticism by those pungent and eerie atonal harmonies which none the less are employed in ways which imply tonal logic rather than extended-tonality claps and whistles. It's an impressive work, but structurally I haven't graped it let (it's in two large unlabeled movements which are much the same in length and mood). An example of its dichotomies would be halfway through the second movement where tonally ambiguous whispering (think RVW 6 but less minimal) are bridged by a trumpet into a tonal chorale-like section. It's very effective, but doesn't really go anywhere - immediately returning to that hushed state.

Threads already on GMG about other Irish composers:

Victor Herbert (1859–1924) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,9185.0.html)
Archibald James Potter (1918–80) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,15743.0.html)

Looks like an interesting CD, which I'll look out for - thanks for posting.  If you want to move A J Potter into this thread that's fine by me. Will post on John Kinsella later but have now been ordered out on 'healthy' country walk  ::)

ps added later. Found this CD for £4.50 (new) on Amazon UK - so have ordered it. The VW No 6 connection made me curious.

I hope that AJP will justify his own thread :) I'll link the other two Irish composer threads in the first post.

Quote from: Lethe on January 31, 2010, 05:39:25 AM
I hope that AJP will justify his own thread :) I'll link the other two Irish composer threads in the first post.

OK (see above) have now ordered the Buckley CD.

Coolie! I am always nervous when people follow my recommendations after one person had a terrible reaction to something I said was good :D

I actually seem to have the AJ Potter album you mentioned - I feel that I may have seeked it out after a previous recommendation on this forum. I'll give it a listen later.

Quote from: Lethe on January 31, 2010, 06:00:21 AM
Coolie! I am always nervous when people follow my recommendations after one person had a terrible reaction to something I said was good :D

Yes, and I shall be holding you personally responsible if it's a disaster  >:(

Not really, I'm sure that there are those here who have regretted buying CDs by obscure composers whom I've raved about - but I hope that it encouraged you to give A J Potter another listen and that Sarge does not regret the purchase either.

Well, the Irish composer that I have the most CDs is John Field (1782-1837), born in Dublin, but died in Moscow; founder of the piano nocturne (may have a thread on that subject?); like Chopin, his compositions are largely limited to the piano w/ nocturnes, sonatas, concertos, et al.  WIKI Article HERE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Field_%28composer%29), for those interested.

My current collection below (w/ the Complete Nocturnes by O'Rourke on the way!):

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ZHMHKE1WL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)  (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51c8j7s5ZGL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M1F7QY35L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)  (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZGEBFM8CL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)

This is a lovely CD. As well as the Potter work mentioned on his thread I'd strongly recommend 'Introspect' by Paidrig O'Connor (born 1942), a hauntingly beautiful work.

I've been listening again to 'Introspect' by Padraig Potter (see above) - it occurs to me that if you like Elgar's 'Sospiri' you should really like this hauntingly beautiful work.

I know two Irish composers pretty well, Frank Corcoran and Grainne Mulvey. That is, I know two Irish composers music pretty well. I only know one of them personally.

Anyhoo, both of these people are pretty good. They've both written for acoustic instruments and for fixed media electroacoustics. Frank has a disc out that has three of his symphonies on it, which are all short and very sweet. And by sweet I mean good, not "pretty." There's a lot of Varese in Corcoran's heart and ears, and occasionally that comes out in his music. Grainne is, well, just Grainne. Very tight--wild but controlled (which really accentuates the wildness).

One disc of hers that I have, with Akanos on it, which I heard in Vilnius in 2008, has a bunch of other Irish composers, too. Acoustic and electroacoustic. Amazon doesn't have that disc. I think you may have to get it directly from the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin.

Here are two great works IMHO - if you like Tubin or Lilburn you should like these.  Symphony No 3 is terrific, both powerful, dynamic and moving - Symphony No 4 has a great 'prevailing wind' motto theme (it is a symphonic portrait of the provinces of Ireland in the order they are hit by the prevailing wind).  The CD is now dirt cheap on Amazon UK (c £3.00). He sent me a delightful reply to my fan letter.

I just went to the Contemporary Music Centre site. It's a great resource for new Irish music.

I have only one of their CDs (so far!), the one with Grainne's Akanos on it. It also contains Greg Caffrey, Karen Power, Paul Wilson, Gordon Delap, Piers Hellawell, Benjamin Dyer, David Flynn, Scott McLaughlin, Kevin O'Connell, and the other Irish composer I know pretty well, Roger Doyle. (Sorry I forgot him when I was making my previous list of two!)

And that's just one CD, volume 7. There's a lot of music being made in Ireland these days. And each composer is quite different from the rest, always a healthy sign, I think.

I have expressed on previous occasions my admiration for the work of A.J. Potter and John Kinsella, at least the symphonies of Kinsella I know so far. I join with Jeffrey in commending the Kinsella Nos. 3 and 4 on Marco Polo and also the recent RTE Lyric release of Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7 :)

But the Irish symphony which has rocketed to the top of my list of favourites is Seorise Bodley's Symphony No.2 "I have loved the lands of Ireland"-on another RTE Lyric cd coupled with Symphony No.1 for Chamber Orchestra. This is quite the most magnificent symphony I have heard for a long time, a quite gorgeous combination of limpidly serene beauty and exciting energy. Bodley is now 78 years old. He obtained his doctorate from the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart and taught at University College, Dublin. His influences include Gaelic folk music, the Darmstadt avant-garde and post-serial modernism. I already knew Bodley's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5 from a Marco Polo cd but the Second has totally and completely captivated me. I simply cannot stop playing it :D :D

If you like Potter and Kinsella the Bodley will come as a revelation :)

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 28, 2012, 01:55:34 PM
I simply cannot stop playing it

Enough recommendation for me. I'll buy a copy if i can find it.  :-X

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 28, 2012, 01:55:34 PM
I have expressed on previous occasions my admiration for the work of A.J. Potter and John Kinsella, at least the symphonies of Kinsella I know so far. I join with Jeffrey in commending the Kinsella Nos. 3 and 4 on Marco Polo and also the recent RTE Lyric release of Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7 :)

But the Irish symphony which has rocketed to the top of my list of favourites is Seorise Bodley's Symphony No.2 "I have loved the lands of Ireland"-on another RTE Lyric cd coupled with Symphony No.1 for Chamber Orchestra. This is quite the most magnificent symphony I have heard for a long time, a quite gorgeous combination of limpidly serene beauty and exciting energy. Bodley is now 78 years old. He obtained his doctorate from the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart and taught at University College, Dublin. His influences include Gaelic folk music, the Darmstadt avant-garde and post-serial modernism. I already knew Bodley's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5 from a Marco Polo cd but the Second has totally and completely captivated me. I simply cannot stop playing it :D :D

If you like Potter and Kinsella the Bodley will come as a revelation :)

Another drain on my bank balance Colin - but thanks anyway!  :D

Here's the possible clincher for both of you ;D

I was playing the Bodley tonight when a friend dropped in for a coffee. He said "sounds like Braga Santos to me" ;D ;D

Now, I don't really think it does....more gorgeous folk-melody with Waltonian exuberance but it showed me that he (relatively unmusical) liked it at once :)

Ya know, I needed a wee giggle, and revisiting this thread has given it to me.

You know, the feeling you get when you enter a room where there's a conversation going on, on a topic you enjoy. Someone says this, someone else says that, another person says something else, all very nice, then you say something, then the people in the room continue their conversation as if you didn't exist, as if you'd never said anything. You say one more thing, but really, no one cares, no one wants to hear about Corcoran, damn it! The Buckleys and Bodleys only need apply, as it were!!

Anyway, fun times. :)

I Youtubed Mulvey at time of your mention and didn't like her music. I don't know what you expect: you have problems if we don't mention it, but if I said "I heard this and didn't particularly like it" your end-point won't change in the least; when you recommend things to people it feels as though it's not about getting people into music, it's about making fun of them.

Quote from: Lethevich Dmitriyevna Pettersonova on January 28, 2012, 05:01:46 PM[W]hen you recommend things to people it feels as though it's not about getting people into music, it's about making fun of them.

Yes, of course that's how it is. Must be. I don't really like music.*

Here's a thread on "Irish Composers."

But it's not really a thread on Irish composers, is it? It's a thread on certain kinds of Irish composers. The other Irish need not apply. In fact, the other Irish don't even exist!!

I can either mock that situation or I can weep. This time I went for mockery. This time.

Anyway, when you youtube something next time and don't like it, say so. Maybe a dialog will come out of that.

Or you can go back to your little clique where everyone likes the same (kinds of) things and does not make eye contact! Either way, someone will have some kind of fun, eh?

*In case anyone wants to use this later against me, I should point out that this is sarcasm. If you use it without acknowledging that, you will be fined 10,000 virtual units of cyber money. :-*

Sorry for doing the huge wall of quotes thing - I don't want this to turn into something acrimonious as similar-layout messages in threads about politics/religion, etc become, but the splitting is for clarity not nitpicking.

Quote from: some guy on January 28, 2012, 05:25:45 PM
Yes, of course that's how it is. Must be. I don't really like music.*

It's not that you "don't like" what you suggest - it is that you seem to have a habit of recommending things that you seem to know that the people you suggest them to will not like, seemingly both to prove a point to yourself about how terrible the taste of everybody else is, but also seemingly to punish them by wasting their time. Case in point, recommending harsh sounding electroacoustic music to people wanting something "uplifting" knowing that they very likely won't agree.

This example doesn't apply to the composers you mentioned in this thread, but the end result is the same - the feigned bemusement that a lot of the forum who do not listen to much of the style you like don't really want to talk about it. It takes two interested parties to have a conversation, and it can't be forced.

Quote from: some guy on January 28, 2012, 05:25:45 PM
Here's a thread on "Irish Composers."

But it's not really a thread on Irish composers, is it? It's a thread on certain kinds of Irish composers. The other Irish need not apply. In fact, the other Irish don't even exist!!

It's a thread on Irish composers that people want to talk about.  I won't tell people what to discuss,* and I will tend to talk about what I like. If people who like different things wish to discuss them in the same thread, who cares? I hope you find some. But to object that people aren't indulging you enough is what I have a problem with, and IMO isn't making it easier to take recs from your posts. The more easy-going a person is about music I find difficult, the more easy it seems to eventually give it a try, and the forum has had nice discussions about contemporary composers (from people like Edward, Bruce, UB, Petrarch, etc) which I have taken a lot from - but, then the concern that they are talking about the wrong kind of composers for you might raise its head. It is like tip-toeing through a minefield where what is the worthy music is only known by you.

*I admit that it might seem that my choice of composer to open the post may set the tone, but even if I was really into contemporary Irish music, the composers who would be mentioned after would not have changed - Potter has a disc that had already attracted the attention of several forum members, John Field is ever-popular, etc. I didn't respond to the Field post because I'm not so interested in the music, and I treated your post in the same way not expecting that to be a problem.

Quote from: some guy on January 28, 2012, 05:25:45 PM
Anyway, when you youtube something next time and don't like it, say so. Maybe a dialog will come out of that.

You don't make it easy, that is kind of my point. Although it's not just that - I've been happily making steps into the unknown for years because of recs from this forum, but what I perceive to be your core listening is a bit further away than where I am from atm. An example, I do kind of like one contemporary Irish composer, Donnacha Dennehy (the recent Nonesuch disc) - but once again, it comes back to him not fitting into your "acceptable" aesthetic (his music is somewhat new-age in inspiration).

Quote from: some guy on January 28, 2012, 05:25:45 PM
Or you can go back to your little clique where everyone likes the same (kinds of) things and does not make eye contact! Either way, someone will have some kind of fun, eh?

This is kinda rude, it is equally easy to characterise your own opinions as cliquey, but I would rather just consider them a strong POV.

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 28, 2012, 02:39:45 PM
(relatively unmusical) liked it at once :)

Enough, enough.  ;) We got the hint, don't we?  ;D

It's not really the surface that bothers me, I suppose, but the motivations underlaying it. I like messing around if it feels good natured, but yesterday felt that the issue in question was coming from somewhere else - I'm probably wrong, though.

Quote from: Dundonnell on January 28, 2012, 02:39:45 PM
Here's the possible clincher for both of you ;D

I was playing the Bodley tonight when a friend dropped in for a coffee. He said "sounds like Braga Santos to me" ;D ;D

Now, I don't really think it does....more gorgeous folk-melody with Waltonian exuberance but it showed me that he (relatively unmusical) liked it at once :)

Already ordered  ;D

I was also ridiculously tempted by that disc, but managed to add it to my wishlist rather than buy.

Well, it did start out fairly light-hearted, I thought, but someone took it personally.

Quote from: Lethevich on January 28, 2012, 06:06:30 PM...recommending harsh sounding electroacoustic music to people wanting something "uplifting" knowing that they very likely won't agree.

This is what it's all about, though, isn't it? Who gets to decide.

The great internet forum battle: who gets to decide, for instance, what kinds of things "uplifting" can cover. And what kinds of things "harsh." Which Irish composers we can or cannot discuss.

Only thing is, for you the battle is over, isn't it? It's over, and you've won. It's you who gets to decide. "Uplifting" covers only these things here, nothing else. I lost, and you won. And it's kinda embarrassing when I mention those other things over there. I'm supposed to know that. I'm supposed to know what's appropriate and what's not. I'm supposed to play by Lethe's rules. (Or whomever; it's of course not just you.)

And so it goes. A thread on Irish composers is really a thread on certain Irish composers only, as you confirmed.

Quote from: Lethevich on January 28, 2012, 06:06:30 PMIt's a thread on Irish composers that people want to talk about.

Whoosh. Just lost my personhood, there. Didja see that? Whoosh. Gone.

Well, have it yer way, Lethe. This is the way the world is. You win. I lose. You get to decide what's what, and I get to obey.

I'm not really the obeying type, though. :P

Quote from: some guy on January 29, 2012, 07:13:50 AM
This is the way the world is. You win. I lose.

A shame, because this is exactly how I read the sentiment in much of your posts - it seems that we just cannot find a middle ground. I hoped to better explain my POV but evidently it wasn't digestable, sorry. Good day!

Ahh, several tempting items there. Despite Vandermolen mentioning him a lot, I have yet to hear Kinsela.

Quote from: Lethevich on February 01, 2012, 03:55:54 PMDespite Vandermolen mentioning him a lot, I have yet to hear Kinsela.

I bought the Kinsella recording Vandermolen praises, but I have yet to make any kind of connection with the music. It's not distinctive enough for me. I like composers with big musical personalities.

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 01, 2012, 04:05:55 PM
I bought the Kinsella recording Vandermolen praises, but I have yet to make any kind of connection with the music. It's not distinctive enough for me. I like composers with big musical personalities.

Sorry to hear that. Was that the Marco Polo or RTE CD? The Marco Polo is the place to start I think. I did take a while to 'get into' these works but I greatly admire all the Kinsella symphonies that I have heard. No 3 is probably my favourite.

First let me thank everyone for getting me interested enough to spend part of a couple of days listening to Irish composers. None of those already discussed here will ever be high on my list of composers but some I found more interesting to me than others:

Kinsella - nice music but after listing to the two symphonies I did not want to dig deeper. I can certainly understand why people do enjoy his music, I am just not one of them.

Bodley - An interesting composer that I may investigate more. I listened to three symphonies and his music for strings. I was not impressed by his 2nd symphony, 4 was better and there were parts of 5 that I actually listened to twice. I would like to hear something that he has written in the last 5 years or so if there is anything.

Mulvey - Two early works and the YouTube was all I could find of her work. I thought the earlier works held some promise that I did not find in the YouTube work. I did not see how the tape did anything for the piece but did enjoy some of the cello playing. Too bad there is not more of her work to hear but none of my friends had heard of her so they had no music to share.

Corcoran - I bought his symphony CD many years ago and listened once but was not impressed. This time I listened to them, Ice, and five pieces written from 2003-04. I went back to the symphonies a second time and found parts that held my interest and wished that the ideas had been expanded.

I found that I enjoyed his music for single or a small group of instruments worked better for me than the ones where he used large ensembles or orchestras. Maybe my brain just could not process everything that was going on but since I do not a problem with some of Birtwistle's works that have four or five layers of interaction going on at once, I think it may be that I just do not get what Corcoran is trying to express.

I also found one of his CDs on Amazon for $1 and got Mad Sweeney, etc. The winner for me was his Music of Kells, the one I liked least was his Wind Quintet. Of those I have heard his 2004 Variations on 'A Mharin de Bharra' is my favorite. I am going to look for more of his recent works. Hopefully they will turn up on R3.

After this I explored a couple of other Irish composers...well one Irish composer and a South African that the Irish have claimed and visa versa.

Kevin Volans - South Africa/Ireland started as a minimalist and seems to have expanded much like Adams into having more to say and saying it well. There is quite a bit on YouTube so you can judge for yourself if he is for you or not. I suggest his first and second piano concerto, cello concerto and some of his string quartets for starters. If you like anything you hear there is lots of recordings of his music. He kind of bridges the gap between the music of Kinsella and Corcoran but may not work for the lovers of either group.

Ian Wilson - My favorite Irish composer - well at least living composer - Unfortunately there is not a lot his music available at a reasonable price but he does come up on R3 at regular intervals it seems. If you get a chance listen to his The Book of Ways, 5th String Quartet, and Winters Edge.

Thanks again for this discussion...

I didn't realise Volans had any associations here. I haven't heard much by him, but his writing for string quartet is super, not so sure about his second piano concerto - it frequently sounds beautiful but its continual tension makes me feel like I'm being shaken inside a washing machine or something :)

I was at the world premiere of the Volans second piano concerto. I think it is an amazing work that is a wonderful set of contrasts, and it has some amazing harmony, particularly in the slow sections. I felt like I was watching a high wire act in a circus when I saw it. A lot of the piano configurations are amazingly difficult (I've tried and failed a few while reading through the score). The sense of a journey across the Atlantic (which is the program of the work) is evident in the piece, especially with the amazing arrival at the end. Volans also has some other really good works for smaller ensembles, in particularly the string quartets and the original version of White Man Sleeps, a personal favorite of mine, which is for two harpsichords tuned to an African scale, percussion, and viola da gamba (!).

Quote from: lescamil on February 04, 2012, 07:10:31 PM
in particularly the string quartets and the original version of White Man Sleeps, a personal favorite of mine, which is for two harpsichords tuned to an African scale, percussion, and viola da gamba (!).

Ah, the Kronos Quartet. Thanks for reminding, I took it from the shelves~!  ;D

A future release that looks curious:

(http://i.imgur.com/0YNmr.jpg) (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67927&vw=dc)

The composer is only known for a handfull of orchestral works, which I don't like as much as I should, but it will be nice to hear another side of his music.

Quote from: UB on February 04, 2012, 10:10:14 AM
First let me thank everyone for getting me interested enough to spend part of a couple of days listening to Irish composers. None of those already discussed here will ever be high on my list of composers but some I found more interesting to me than others:

Kinsella - nice music but after listing to the two symphonies I did not want to dig deeper. I can certainly understand why people do enjoy his music, I am just not one of them.

Bodley - An interesting composer that I may investigate more. I listened to three symphonies and his music for strings. I was not impressed by his 2nd symphony, 4 was better and there were parts of 5 that I actually listened to twice. I would like to hear something that he has written in the last 5 years or so if there is anything.

Mulvey - Two early works and the YouTube was all I could find of her work. I thought the earlier works held some promise that I did not find in the YouTube work. I did not see how the tape did anything for the piece but did enjoy some of the cello playing. Too bad there is not more of her work to hear but none of my friends had heard of her so they had no music to share.

Corcoran - I bought his symphony CD many years ago and listened once but was not impressed. This time I listened to them, Ice, and five pieces written from 2003-04. I went back to the symphonies a second time and found parts that held my interest and wished that the ideas had been expanded.

I found that I enjoyed his music for single or a small group of instruments worked better for me than the ones where he used large ensembles or orchestras. Maybe my brain just could not process everything that was going on but since I do not a problem with some of Birtwistle's works that have four or five layers of interaction going on at once, I think it may be that I just do not get what Corcoran is trying to express.

I also found one of his CDs on Amazon for $1 and got Mad Sweeney, etc. The winner for me was his Music of Kells, the one I liked least was his Wind Quintet. Of those I have heard his 2004 Variations on 'A Mharin de Bharra' is my favorite. I am going to look for more of his recent works. Hopefully they will turn up on R3.

After this I explored a couple of other Irish composers...well one Irish composer and a South African that the Irish have claimed and visa versa.

Kevin Volans - South Africa/Ireland started as a minimalist and seems to have expanded much like Adams into having more to say and saying it well. There is quite a bit on YouTube so you can judge for yourself if he is for you or not. I suggest his first and second piano concerto, cello concerto and some of his string quartets for starters. If you like anything you hear there is lots of recordings of his music. He kind of bridges the gap between the music of Kinsella and Corcoran but may not work for the lovers of either group.

Ian Wilson - My favorite Irish composer - well at least living composer - Unfortunately there is not a lot his music available at a reasonable price but he does come up on R3 at regular intervals it seems. If you get a chance listen to his The Book of Ways, 5th String Quartet, and Winters Edge.

Thanks again for this discussion...

What about Archibald Potter (A.J. Potter 1918-80) whose Sinfonia De Profundis is a great work - a bit in the spirit of his teacher Vaughan Williams's Symphony No 6? My other big recommendation is Padraig O'Connor's 'Introspect' which is a hauntingly beautiful, dreamy work of 7 minutes. It is on 'Romantic Ireland' (Marco Polo). MDT has a big Marco Polo sale on and they are selling them dirt cheap but I'm not sure if these titles are included.

Never heard of either of those composers and I can not find any bio of Padraig O'Connor on the web. Even Naxos does not have one on their site. The only thing I could find was that he was born in 1942.  Does the CD booklet say anything about him and what else he has written besides the 7 minutes you enjoy? I find it very hard to make any judgement about any composer if I do not at least a half dozen works to listen to. However you can of course like a piece of music even if you have no knowledge about the composer.

Have you investigated A.J. Potter's Symphony No.2 yet, Jeffrey?

Available for download :)

You would like it ;D ;D

Quote from: Dundonnell on March 04, 2012, 05:29:03 AM
Have you investigated A.J. Potter's Symphony No.2 yet, Jeffrey?

Available for download :)

You would like it ;D ;D

Thanks Colin - I'm sure I would  :) However, my download attempts often go horribly wrong.  :o

Quote from: UB on March 04, 2012, 04:28:32 AM
Never heard of either of those composers and I can not find any bio of Padraig O'Connor on the web. Even Naxos does not have one on their site. The only thing I could find was that he was born in 1942.  Does the CD booklet say anything about him and what else he has written besides the 7 minutes you enjoy? I find it very hard to make any judgement about any composer if I do not at least a half dozen works to listen to. However you can of course like a piece of music even if you have no knowledge about the composer.

The booklet notes say that he is/was principal viola player in the RTE Sinfonietta.  'Introspect' was written in 1978 - a restrained meditation. It was originally a bridge passage in a piano sonata - it was devised to present a seamless reflection on things past and was first performed in 1992. Look out for Potter's Sinfonia 'De Profundis' - a fine, dramatic work, written in thankfulness 'for deliverance from despair and great trouble'.

Quote from: vandermolen on March 04, 2012, 06:16:42 AM
Thanks Colin - I'm sure I would  :) However, my download attempts often go horribly wrong.  :o

Let me know why and I shall try to help :)

Sean O'Riada is an interesting Irish voice. He was primarily involved in the resurgence of Irish traditional music; after his premature death his band became The Chieftains. If you want to hear what they sounded like before superstardom and commercial excess got their claws into them, try the album "O'Riada sa Gaiety" on the Claddagh label.

O'Riada also produced some film music (notably for the film Mise Eire, about the 1916 Easter Rising) and a little formal concert music, of which I have heard his work for string orchestra Hercules, Dux Ferrariae. It's quite astringent when compared with his music in a more populist vein, but definitely worth hearing at least once. It indicates that, although stuck at the end of the world (which Ireland, culturally speaking, certainly was in the 1960s), he was unusually cosmopolitan in his outlook for an Irishman of his time.

Quote from: Darwin on May 21, 2012, 01:11:49 AM
Sean O'Riada is an interesting Irish voice. He was primarily involved in the resurgence of Irish traditional music; after his premature death his band became The Chieftains. If you want to hear what they sounded like before superstardom and commercial excess got their claws into them, try the album "O'Riada sa Gaiety" on the Claddagh label.

O'Riada also produced some film music (notably for the film Mise Eire, about the 1916 Easter Rising) and a little formal concert music, of which I have heard his work for string orchestra Hercules, Dux Ferrariae. It's quite astringent when compared with his music in a more populist vein, but definitely worth hearing at least once. It indicates that, although stuck at the end of the world (which Ireland, culturally speaking, certainly was in the 1960s), he was unusually cosmopolitan in his outlook for an Irishman of his time.

Hello again!

You might like the 'Romantic Ireland' CD on Marco Polo too (especially 'Introspect' by Padraig O'Connor) + the Kinsella Symphony 3 and 4 (if you like Tubin or Lilburn).

I bought these the other night:

(http://shop.rte.ie/images/productImages//Zoom/rtelyriccd135.jpg)

(http://www.classical.ie/images/detailed/1/rsz_o_riada_cov500.jpg)

(http://shop.rte.ie/images/productImages//Zoom/rtelyriccd127.jpg)

I really look forward to hearing these recordings. They have flown under my radar for quite some time. In fact, I believe I saw Erato at one point listen to the Frederick May recording I bought.

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 30, 2012, 05:37:03 AM
I bought these the other night:

(http://shop.rte.ie/images/productImages//Zoom/rtelyriccd135.jpg)

(http://www.classical.ie/images/detailed/1/rsz_o_riada_cov500.jpg)

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I really look forward to hearing these recordings. They have flown under my radar for quite some time. In fact, I believe I saw Erato at one point listen to the Frederick May recording I bought.

Ah, Flieschmann, what a wonderful Irish name! ;)

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 30, 2012, 05:37:03 AM

I really look forward to hearing these recordings. They have flown under my radar for quite some time. In fact, I believe I saw Erato at one point listen to the Frederick May recording I bought.

Yes I dis. You should buy the Kinsella disc on the same label, it' very good.

Quote from: snyprrr on December 30, 2012, 09:04:44 AM
Ah, Flieschmann, what a wonderful Irish name! ;)

I know. :) The interesting thing about Fleischmann is the fact that he built his career in Ireland. He's as Irish as Guinness.

Quote from: The new erato on December 30, 2012, 01:27:03 PM
Yes I dis. You should buy the Kinsella disc on the same label, it' very good.

I'll definitely check it out, Erato. Thanks. Besides the May, do you own the other two I bought?

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 30, 2012, 05:51:37 PM
I'll definitely check it out, Erato. Thanks. Besides the May, do you own the other two I bought?

No. I bought a couple of discs last time the label was on offer, and will revisit when and if that happens again.

Quote from: The new erato on December 30, 2012, 09:10:06 PM
No. I bought a couple of discs last time the label was on offer, and will revisit when and if that happens again.

I bought these three recordings for $12 each. Is that a pretty good deal? I didn't do much comparison shopping. Since you own the May recording, what is your opinion of the music? Thanks.

That's pretty close to what I paid, from an mdt offer.

As I said on the purchases thread, I found the May pretty strong stuff (aside from a suite of pretty traditional irish music), I even played the disc thrice, no mean feat in the avalanche of discs arriving. On reflection I think (with lots of caveats, this is some time ago), that I found the Kinsella even better.

Quote from: The new erato on December 31, 2012, 12:05:46 AM
That's pretty close to what I paid, from an mdt offer.

As I said on the purchases thread, I found the May pretty strong stuff (aside from a suite of pretty traditional irish music), I even played the disc thrice, no mean feat in the avalanche of discs arriving. On reflection I think (with lots of caveats, this is some time ago), that I found the Kinsella even better.

Thanks for the feedback. It should be noted that I own the Kinsella Marco Polo recording but didn't think much of the music at the time, but I should definitely revisit it at some point. I'm looking forward to hearing these three recordings I have coming. Not to discount the other two recordings, but the Fleischmann sounded particularly good to me from listening to the audio samples. I read more on Fleischmann and the man wrote a lot of ballet of music. My mouth drools at the possibility of this music being recorded one day.

Quote from: Mirror Image on December 31, 2012, 08:20:14 AM
Thanks for the feedback. It should be noted that I own the Kinsella Marco Polo recording but didn't think much of the music at the time, but I should definitely revisit it at some point. I'm looking forward to hearing these three recordings I have coming. Not to discount the other two recordings, but the Fleischmann sounded particularly good to me from listening to the audio samples. I read more on Fleischmann and the man wrote a lot of ballet of music. My mouth drools at the possibility of this music being recorded one day.

Do you know the Archibald Potter CD on Marco Polo?  As a VW fan you would, I think, like the Symphony 'De Profundis' - rather in the spirit of VW Symphony No 6 (Potter was a VW student I think).
[asin]B00005AULA[/asin]

Quote from: vandermolen on January 01, 2013, 01:36:04 PM
Do you know the Archibald Potter CD on Marco Polo?  As a VW fan you would, I think, like the Symphony 'De Profundis' - rather in the spirit of VW Symphony No 6 (Potter was a VW student I think).
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Thanks, Jeffrey. I've heard of this composer when I was searching Irish composers a couple of years ago. Looks like this recording is quite expensive and I don't want a CD-R or download of it, so I'll just wait on it. By the way, have you heard those recordings I bought?

John,

The Potter CD is available for £10.84 on the www.Amazon.co.uk site.

I have the O Raida CD on the strength of the lovely 'The Banks of Sulan' which featured, in a different performance, on another very nice Marco Polo CD 'Romantic Ireland'. I would be interested to hear what you think of the Fleischmann CD. I was curious as I know he was a close friend of Bax (Bax died whilst visiting him in Ireland). However, I read a rather negative review of the CD which rather put me off. Do try the Kinsella No 3 and 4 again when you get the chance.

Quote from: vandermolen on January 01, 2013, 02:07:23 PM
John,

The Potter CD is available for £10.84 on the www.Amazon.co.uk site.

I have the O Raida CD on the strength of the lovely 'The Banks of Sulan' which featured, in a different performance, on another very nice Marco Polo CD 'Romantic Ireland'. I would be interested to hear what you think of the Fleischmann CD. I was curious as I know he was a close friend of Bax (Bax died whilst visiting him in Ireland). However, I read a rather negative review of the CD which rather put me off. Do try the Kinsella No 3 and 4 again when you get the chance.

Thanks, Jeffrey. I would be interested in reading this negative review of the Fleischmann recording, especially since the review on MusicWeb gave it incredibly high marks. Go listen to the sound samples of the Fleischmann recording. They sounded fantastic.

Here's a link to the MusicWeb review I read that was very positive about the music:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/Fleischmann_rtecd127.htm

Quote from: Mirror Image on January 01, 2013, 02:11:02 PM
Thanks, Jeffrey. I would be interested in reading this negative review of the Fleischmann recording, especially since the review on MusicWeb gave it incredibly high marks. Go listen to the sound samples of the Fleischmann recording. They sounded fantastic.

Here's a link to the MusicWeb review I read that was very positive about the music:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/Fleischmann_rtecd127.htm

Thank you John - I see what you mean. Probably snooty 'Gramophone' gave it a poor review.

Quote from: vandermolen on January 01, 2013, 02:27:40 PM
Thank you John - I see what you mean. Probably snooty 'Gramophone' gave it a poor review.

I never take what Gramophone say too seriously. If I'm going to read a review, I like to go to MusicWeb and read a thorough unbiased view of the music.

Finally got the recordings of O'Riada, Frederick May, and Fleischmann in the mail today (they came from an overseas UK seller). Listening to this one now:

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Listening to Sunlight and Shadow. Very nice so far.

Just discovered an interesting composer - Brian Boydell (1917-2000):
His 'In Memoriam Mahatma Gandhi' (1948) is a powerful, tonal, craggy, searching and eloquent work - it is on You Tube if you want to sample it. The Gandhi work reminded me in places of Braga Santos ('Elegy for Vianna da Motta').
The other works sound equally impressive. I liked the old Marco Polo label as I made so many interesting discoveries through it (Sauguet, Braga Santos, Kinsella, G. Devreese, etcetc) and it is nice to discover a new composer (with an inexpensive CD available) on this fine and long gone CD label.
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PS I couldn't find it on You Tube when I looked just now but I did hear it on there last week.

Quote from: vandermolen on September 20, 2015, 12:59:47 AMJust discovered an interesting composer - Brian Boydell (1917-2000): His 'In Memoriam Mahatma Gandhi' (1948) is a powerful, tonal, craggy, searching and eloquent work - it is on You Tube if you want to sample it. The Gandhi work reminded me in places of Braga Santos ('Elegy for Vianna da Motta'). The other works sound equally impressive. I liked the old Marco Polo label as I made so many interesting discoveries through it (Sauguet, Braga Santos, Kinsealla, G. Devreese, etcetc) and it is nice to discover a new composer (with an inexpensive CD available) on this fine and long gone CD label.
[asin]B00000465O[/asin]
PS I couldn't find it on You Tube when I looked just now but I did hear it on there last week.

In any case: it is on Spotify. Great tip! Overlooked it completely, thus far, but find him to be a composer of my lking too.  ;)

Quote from: Christo on September 20, 2015, 02:36:34 AM
In any case: it is on Spotify. Great tip! Overlooked it completely, thus far, but find him to be a composer of my lking too.  ;)

I would also recommend....


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Quote from: Christo on September 20, 2015, 02:36:34 AM
In any case: it is on Spotify. Great tip! Overlooked it completely, thus far, but find him to be a composer of my lking too.  ;)

Thank you Johan. I thought that the Braga Santos reference would hook you in  8).
I don't know how I missed him either. Apparently he studied with Vaughan Williams in London. I just did a search of Marco Polo CDs on Amazon and there it was. The CD can be picked up very cheaply on Amazon.

Quote from: aligreto on September 20, 2015, 03:02:01 AM
I would also recommend....


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Thanks very much for alerting us to this.

I've been listening to the Boydell disc with increasing enjoyment. I like all the music featured. Parts of the Violin Concerto show the influence of Vaughan Williams although it is not derivative. The moving and eloquent tribute to Gandhi is a highlight and the other work I really enjoy is the 'Megalithic Ritual Dances for Large Orchestra' (great title!)

Shades of Zappa here. 'Invocation & Ritual Dance of The Young Pumpkin', quoting from Jupiter by Holst.

Quote from: vandermolen on September 22, 2015, 12:19:02 AM
I've been listening to the Boydell disc with increasing enjoyment. I like all the music featured. Parts of the Violin Concerto show the influence of Vaughan Williams although it is not derivative. The moving and eloquent tribute to Gandhi is a highlight and the other work I really enjoy is the 'Megalithic Ritual Dances for Large Orchestra' (great title!)

That is indeed a great disc. My favourite on it would be the tribute to Gandhi.

Quote from: aligreto on September 22, 2015, 08:02:37 AM
That is indeed a great disc. My favourite on it would be the tribute to Gandhi.

Mine too.

This is a cross post from the Listening Thread but I felt that a formal record of this disc should be here for future reference....


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Menorah - This Viola Concerto is a contemplative rather than a bravura type concerto. The work was written following a visit to a memorial outside Jerusalem commemorating the children who died in the holocaust. The voice of the viola is an apt one I think to air such thoughts that one may have in such a situation. It is a dark toned work but not a despairing one. The final movement has particularly interesting orchestral colour and texture which includes the use of flute, harp and vibraphone.


Concertino - This is an interesting work written for large orchestra but in which a full orchestral tutti is rarely heard. This therefore leads to interesting orchestra colours and textures based on various different combinations of instruments. The musical content is varied and interesting.


Pearl and Unicorn - This is a violin concerto. Small forces are used which leads to great transparency and interesting orchestral colour and textures. The first movement is lyrical in nature and is followed by a rhythmically interesting scherzo. The slow movement is a brooding affair with wonderful combinations of instruments used. The final movement is another rhythmically interesting, dance like movement with more varied and interesting orchestral colour.

Quote from: aligreto on December 07, 2016, 02:08:59 PM
This is a cross post from the Listening Thread but I felt that a formal record of this disc should be here for future reference....


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Menorah - This Viola Concerto is a contemplative rather than a bravura type concerto. The work was written following a visit to a memorial outside Jerusalem commemorating the children who died in the holocaust. The voice of the viola is an apt one I think to air such thoughts that one may have in such a situation. It is a dark toned work but not a despairing one. The final movement has particularly interesting orchestral colour and texture which includes the use of flute, harp and vibraphone.


Concertino - This is an interesting work written for large orchestra but in which a full orchestral tutti is rarely heard. This therefore leads to interesting orchestra colours and textures based on various different combinations of instruments. The musical content is varied and interesting.


Pearl and Unicorn - This is a violin concerto. Small forces are used which leads to great transparency and interesting orchestral colour and textures. The first movement is lyrical in nature and is followed by a rhythmically interesting scherzo. The slow movement is a brooding affair with wonderful combinations of instruments used. The final movement is another rhythmically interesting, dance like movement with more varied and interesting orchestral colour.

Sounds worth investigating. Thanks for alerting us to it. Kinsella is my favourite Irish composer - especially for symphonies 3 (wonderful score!), 4 and 6.

Quote from: vandermolen on December 07, 2016, 11:49:12 PM
Sounds worth investigating. Thanks for alerting us to it. Kinsella is my favourite Irish composer - especially for symphonies 3 (wonderful score!), 4 and 6.

The Wilson CD above is definitely worth a listen. Yes, Kinsella also has some wonderful works for those who have not already explored him. I can also recommend Boydell above who has a body of very strong works which will also bear fruit for those who listen. There are of course others which I should also post here.

Michael William Balfe:



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Balfe was born in Dublin in 1808 and died in Hertfordshire in England in 1870. During his lifetime he was an immensely popular composer with an international reputation and decoration. Balfe was by far the most prolific of all the composers of English operas active between the 1830s and the 1860s. He was battling against the then very fashionable taste for, and interest in, Italian opera. However, no other British composer was commissioned to write for two of the most prestigious opera houses in the world, Her Majesty's in London (specialising in Italian opera) and the Opéra in Paris. Later in his career he collaborated with Piave, Verdi's librettist, in writing Pittore e Duca (1854) for the Teatro Comunale in Trieste. Balfe was an acquaintance of Rossini and Bellini and his earliest operas had been produced in Italy during the late 1820s and early 1830s when he was preparing to embark on a career as a baritone.


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The Bohemian Girl, first performed at Drury Lane Theatre on 27 November 1873, is among the most successful English operas of any century. The libretto is by Alfred Bunn and the work is in the style of the then popular opera and it contains many lyrical arias (and choruses) the most famous of which is undoubtedly "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls". Bunn derived the text for the opera from the French ballet by Saint–Georges and Mazillier's La Gypsy (1839).

[All notes based on those supplied by George Biddlecombe in the accompanying booklet to the above CD].

John Buckley:


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John Buckley was born in Co. Limerick, Ireland in 1951. He studied flute and composition at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and subsequent composition studies were in Cardiff. He was also a pupil of John Cage. Following a number of years as a teacher he became a full time composer in 1982 and has since written a diverse range of work, from music for solo instruments to compositions for full orchestra.
Buckley's music has been performed and broadcast in more than forty countries worldwide. His compositions have represented Ireland on five occasions at the International Rostrum of Composers and at three ISCM festivals.

I currently have two CDs in my collection uniquely dedicated to his work.



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The Concerto for Organ and Orchestra was commissioned jointly by the National Concert Hall Dublin, RTE and the Irish Arts Council for the new Concert Hall organ built by Kenneth Jones and inaugurated in September 1991. The work, which was dedicated to Hugh McGinley, was first performed on 26th June 1992, with Peter Sweeney as organist and the NSOI conducted by Robert Houlihan.
In composing the work one of my principal concerns was to maintain a balance between the orchestra and the organ, which, in a sense, is like a second orchestra. Frequently, the development of the musical argument takes the form of a dialogue, with organ and orchestra in counterbalance to each other. Throughout the work elaborate organ solos have analogous passages in the orchestra; elsewhere organ and orchestra blend and reinforce each other's material.
[Notes by John Buckley]


The first sketches for Symphony No. 1 date from 1983 but the main work on the piece was done during 1987 and the early part of 1988. The first performance was given in June 1988 in the National Concert Hall Dublin by the RTESO (now NSOI) conducted by Albert Rosen. The piece is in two movements, each of which falls into two large-scale sections, giving the impression of a four movement work.
While the Symphony is entirely concerned with musical materials and processes it draws much of its inspiration and character from the forces and patterns of natural phenomena and seasonal changes: Winter-Spring in the first movement and Summer-Autumn in the second. The Symphony is dedicated to James Wilson, who was my composition teacher from 1971 to 1976.

[Notes by John Buckley]



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The Three Preludes were first performed in March 1996. Opening with a lyrical and expressive piece developing from a flourish to a tranquil, reflective conclusion, this is based on Yeats' poem "He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven". The second Prelude is a perpetuum mobile, deriving from Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind". Finally comes a tribute to James Wilson for his seventieth birthday. Inspired by Emily Bronte, it is based on fragments from Wilson's song cycle for soprano and chamber orchestra, "Emily Singing".

And Wake the Purple Year began as a piece for solo harpsichord in 1985. The piano version was prepared in 1986. The theme is heard above a tremolo accompaniment and is inspired by Gray's poem "Ode to Spring".

Buckley's daughter's [Deirdre] eleventh birthday was the inspiration for the Three Lullabies for Deirdre. The music is straightforward and simple: a gentle arpeggio opening, chorale with spiky interjections and a nostalgic jazz-tinged melody.


The Silver Apples of the Moon is again inspired by Yeates.

Winter Music was completed in 1988. The piece is archlike in structure and derived almost entirely from the same basic material. It begins with a portrait of the American Wood Thrush, as portrayed by Messiaen in his ornithological soundscape "Oiseaux exotiques". The irregular pace quickens, builds to a climax and subsides to a quieter middle section, after which the opening fanfares return before the work ends with a reflective conclusion.

Oileáin [Islands] is based on an Irish saga "The Voyage of Maelduin", the tale of a hero who sails with seventeen companions to find his father's killer. The voyage visits thirty-one islands, of which Buckley portrays four. First an island of horse-like beasts tearing the flesh from each other's sides, giving rise to piano clusters and extremes in the instrument's range. Second comes an island of black mourners inspiring a sombre cortege where one of the comrades weeps until unrecognisable and is abandoned. Third an island with white and black sheep where occasionally the shepherd mixes the two which change colour, represented by shifting musical gestures. Finally, the island where inhabitants cry "it is they", music based on octaves for the development of the section.

[Notes by John Buckley]

Aloys Fleischmann:

I think that Aloys Fleischmann definitely deserves to be mentioned here.


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Despite being born in Munich in Germany in 1910 and having German parents [both musicians] who moved to and made their living in Ireland, Fleischmann was essentially an Irishman and contributed greatly to the cultural life in Ireland throughout his lifetime. He was a fluent Irish language speaker. He was also an expert on Irish folk music and he spent forty years researching and compiling his book "Sources of Irish Traditional Music" which was published posthumously. His career as professor of music at Cork University and his pursuit of the development of music in a fledgling nation precluded much time for composition. However, what he did compose was far from insular music. Rather, he looked outward in terms of style, but still wanting to develop his own distinctive, Irish style. He died in Cork in 1992.

Unfortunately, not many of his works seem to have been recorded. These are two CDs that I do own:


Orchestral Works:


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1.   The Four Masters Overture: This overture is a  wonderful, lyrical and descriptive work. The writing has clean lines and the orchestration is colourful and interesting.

2.   Sinfonia Votiva: Beautiful, intense, dark and almost despairing music born of the loss of a friend. The final movement is a boisterous affair reflecting the games that would have taken place in olden times in  celebration of the life of the deceased. Even this rowdy music has sinister and poignant elements to it. This is a wonderful work which deserves more attention.

3.    An Cóitín Dearg: A ballet suite with strong musical content which is interesting, entertaining and well orchestrated.

4.   Clare's Dragoons: A very well written choral piece. It is evocative of militaristic deeds and unashamedly celebratory in tone with the requisite triumphant finale. I would say one to savour in a live performance.





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Piano Quintet:

The first movement is filled with exciting, energetic music with lots of drive. The second, slow movement is very tuneful with wonderful harmonies. The third movement is an interesting, thoughtful and particularly conversational movement. The final movement looks back in tone and mood to the opening movement, both of which are then further developed while steering directly into the atonal world. This lends to an exciting sound world.

Two of the most fascinating figures in Irish classical music, for me, are Frederick May and Seán Ó Riada.

I should get some Gerald Barry since he seems like someone that has been doing something quite different in Irish music.

Quote from: Mirror Image on March 20, 2017, 12:27:49 PM
I should get some Gerald Barry since he seems like someone that has been doing something quite different in Irish music.

Gerald Barry definitely definitely does his own thing. However, he is a very polarizing composer as a result which, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing.

This recent purchase is the first and only exposure to the music of Ciarán Farrell that I have had. I cannot compliment or recommend the CD highly enough....


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I have been really very impressed with what I have heard on this disc. I have collected my thoughts from various posts on the Listening Thread and replicated and consolidated them here for convenience

Perfect State: A beautiful and wonderfully lyrical work that is emotionally engaging. The rhythmic diversity within the work is very appealing. The contrast between the first and second movements is stark, dramatic and wonderful and makes for interesting and engaging listening.

The Shannon Suite: This is a wonderful atmospheric and engaging work. The scoring and instrumentation, guitar and soprano saxophone, is interesting and helps in this regard. The playing is strong and vibrant.

Around and About: This is an innovative work scored for flute and vibraphone. I really like the sound world created by the timbres of this combination of instruments. The music is lyrical, interesting, exciting and well played.

The Pilgrim's Return: This is a wonderful work. It is in a distinctively Irish idiom but given very modern and free treatment. It is scored for string quartet and soprano saxophone. I like the combination of instruments and the harmonic content of the work.

Hopkins on Skellig Michael: This is a work for orchestra and speaker, [a form that I like] in this case narrating a poem about a specific place. The speaker has a deep toned, well rounded speaking voice. The voice has a very rural Irish accent which is fitting for this particular work. The musical accompaniment varies from large sounding, lush and very atmospheric and exciting to simple and quirky. There is also great tension and excitement in the music. The text is wonderful and also very evocative of the sparse, barren landscape that it is describing. There is a great synthesis between the content of the text and the musical accompaniment and therefore the work, for me, is thrilling and a great success and, on first listen, I did not want it to end.

There is some very fine music and performances on this CD which comes highly recommended.

I am indebted to our colleague Mirror Image for this link to Ciarán Farrell's web page....

http://www.ciaranfarrell.com/ (http://www.ciaranfarrell.com/)

Dancing in Daylight:


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This is a collection of four contemporary Piano Trios written by Irish composers.
I have collated my individual comments from the Listening Thread and reproduced them here for convenience:

John Buckley: Piano Trio - The musical language and sound world created in this work are wonderful, exhilarating and exciting. Given somewhat limited sonorities and textures Buckley creates a wonderful and exciting work filled with energy and drive. There is a very engaging and engrossing element of mystery in the final movement. It is a very fine recording with great presence.

Fergus Johnston: Piano Trio - Lyrical but somewhat stark in its musical language and scoring the first movement is continually asking musical questions and interestingly, not providing many answers. The free, jazz-like second movement which includes a tango based theme is an interesting interlude. The final movement is a lament and the somewhat harsh harmonies/dissonances lend a great sense of poignancy and pathos.

Rhona Clarke: Piano Trio No. 2 - This is a two movement work the first movement of which is filled with both poignancy and foreboding. This is quite an interesting emotional mix. The second movement is filled with anxiety and apprehension. Far from being a disquieting work this turns out to be an interesting and exciting, if somewhat introspective one.

Seóirse Bodley: Piano Trio "Dancing in Daylight" - This is a work with a big pallette. Although scored for a piano trio this is a big sound. Dynamics are obviously at play but the music also has a big voice and it is very well delivered in this performance and recording. The musical message is all positive and upbeat but is not overtly assertive. The final movement makes heavy use of various traditional Irish music motifs.


There is some very fine music and performances on this CD which comes highly recommended.

Roger Doyle:


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There are three works on this CD....

Cool Steel Army: This is a work for piano, electronics and percussion which, for me, is only mildly interesting but others who are interested in a Rock connection may find it appealing.

Paavo's Engagement: This is work for solo piano. Fundamentally I like this work, its musical content and ideas. However, it is too repetitious and ultimately too long for me.

Adolf Gébler, Clarinettist: This work is the gem on this CD and is absolutely worth the price of the CD on its own. The work is scored for symphony orchestra, piano, singer and CD played playing back the acted scenes. The whole concept and execution of this presentation is absolutely wonderful. The idea is "a soundtrack for an imaginary film with pre-recorded dialogue and sound effects coming through loudspeakers, with dimmed lighting as in the movies, together with live musicians lit only by their music stands. In this way listeners are given the impression they are present at the screening of a film, but one they cannot see, only hear" [from the CD liner notes]. The story is wonderful as is the music and it must be an amazing experience to witness live.

Ian Wilson:


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Comprising cross posts from The Listening Thread I collate my thoughts again here on the contents of this CD....


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Man-o-War: A dramatic, menacing and threatening piece that is filled with wonderful atmosphere and tension. A prominent part is played by the brass and percussion sections. It is a well crafted and engaging work.

an angel serves a small breakfast: This is a violin concerto and it was written for the soloist Rebecca Hirsch. It is both lyrical and abrasive in turn but always interesting and engaging.

Winter finding: A wonderfully engaging and evocative work with great orchestral textures and sonorities.

Licht/ung: This work is a meditation on Nagasaki through the photographs of Shomei Tomatsu. As one would expect this is a bleak though not necessarily constantly violent work. The musical language and scoring are atmospheric, dramatic and dynamic in a very appealing work.

Composing the Island:


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Cross posting from the "Listening Thread" I just wanted to list this set here for reference.

QuoteThis double CD is being issued as a legacy of Composing the Island: A century of music in Ireland 1916-2016. The set features live performances drawn from 28 live concerts. Owing to practical constraints, it is inevitable that the selection of recordings represents only a small proportion of the breadth of music showcased during the festival itself. The intention has been to create an audio sampler of Composing the Island.

The track listing for this 2 CD set is as follows:

Norman Hay: from The Wind Among The Reeds
Hamilton Harty: The Two Houses
Ina Boyle: from Symphony No. 1
Frederick May: from Quartet in C minor
John Larchet: Lament for Youth
Brian Boydell: from Oboe Quintet 
Joan Trimble: Phantasy Trio
Aloys Fleischmann: Na Trí Captaení Loinge
Seán Ó Riada: from Hercules Dux Ferrariae
Gerard Victory: Prelude & Toccata
T.C. Kelly: The Mother
Seóirse Bodley: from String Quartet No. 1
Raymond Deane: Embers

John Kinsella: Guitar Fantasy
Gerald Barry: Sur les Pointes [Organ]
Rhona Clarke: Purple Dust 
Jane O'Leary: Forgotten Worlds 
Stephen Gardner: from Trane 
John Buckley: from Guitar Sonata No. 2
Donnacha Dennehy: Mad, Avid, Sad.
John Gibson: Codhladh Sámh
Irene Buckley: Only such ice could be so fair.
Deirdre Gribbin: from Invitation to a journey 
Benedict Schiepper-Connolly: The Old Ways.
Andrew Hamilton: c 



As a sampler it is very good, giving a wide range of different types of music for consideration.

Quote from: vandermolen on September 20, 2015, 12:59:47 AM
Just discovered an interesting composer - Brian Boydell (1917-2000):
His 'In Memoriam Mahatma Gandhi' (1948) is a powerful, tonal, craggy, searching and eloquent work - it is on You Tube if you want to sample it. The Gandhi work reminded me in places of Braga Santos ('Elegy for Vianna da Motta').
The other works sound equally impressive. I liked the old Marco Polo label as I made so many interesting discoveries through it (Sauguet, Braga Santos, Kinsella, G. Devreese, etcetc) and it is nice to discover a new composer (with an inexpensive CD available) on this fine and long gone CD label.
[asin]B00000465O[/asin]
PS I couldn't find it on You Tube when I looked just now but I did hear it on there last week.

100th Anniversary of Boydell's birth in 2017. Am commemorating it by listening to the fine Marco Polo CD.

Quote from: vandermolen on August 03, 2017, 05:21:34 AM
100th Anniversary of Boydell's birth in 2017. Am commemorating it by listening to the fine Marco Polo CD.

That is a fine CD and I am delighted that you enjoy it.
He was a remarkable man; a real Renaissance man.

Quote from: aligreto on August 03, 2017, 06:05:36 AM
That is a fine CD and I am delighted that you enjoy it.
He was a remarkable man; a real Renaissance man.

I like every work on that CD. He studied with Vaughan Williams. He does seem like a remarkable man - I was looking at some of the newspaper obituary notices. Here is one from The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/nov/17/guardianobituaries1

And from the Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1374191/Brian-Boydell.html

Quote from: vandermolen on August 03, 2017, 10:48:33 PM
I like every work on that CD. He studied with Vaughan Williams. He does seem like a remarkable man - I was looking at some of the newspaper obituary notices. Here is one from The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/nov/17/guardianobituaries1

And from the Daily Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1374191/Brian-Boydell.html

Yes, he is well worth investigating as a person. Although I never knew him Boydell was a relative of a neighbour of mine. After he died I attended an event in Trinity College here in Dublin [where he was Professor of Music]. They were selling off a lot of Boydell's stuff, papers etc. I bought some very small things, nothing of major importance. He was a towering figure in Irish musical circles at one time.

If you ever saw a close up of him and wondered why one of his ears is disfigured this was caused by one of his scientific experiments which went wrong. That was the kind of person he was.


(https://img.rasset.ie/000b57a0-1500.jpg)

Quote from: aligreto on August 04, 2017, 08:48:36 AM
Yes, he is well worth investigating as a person. Although I never knew him Boydell was a relative of a neighbour of mine. After he died I attended an event in Trinity College here in Dublin [where he was Professor of Music]. They were selling off a lot of Boydell's stuff, papers etc. I bought some very small things, nothing of major importance. He was a towering figure in Irish musical circles at one time.

If you ever saw a close up of him and wondered why one of his ears is disfigured this was caused by one of his scientific experiments which went wrong. That was the kind of person he was.


(https://img.rasset.ie/000b57a0-1500.jpg)

How extraordinary!

Quote from: vandermolen on August 04, 2017, 03:13:24 PM
How extraordinary!

Not for Brian Boydell   ;D

Kevin Volans:


Cross posts from the Listening Thread and amalgamating here for reference.


(http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.musicsalesclassical.com/images/composer/img-1651.jpg)


Not a native born but another adopted son, Kevin Volans was born in South Africa in 1949 but became an Irish citizen in 1994.




(http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/821/MI0003821005.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)


Trio Concerto: An exciting and, for me, challenging work that sounded unique which is a good thing. The musical language is somewhat stark and bleak but always engaging.
Symphony: Daar kom die Alibama: This work has a very interesting soundscape comprising interesting and intriguing orchestral sonorities and textures. There are some very good [and, for me, challenging] musical ideas in there. I also like the understated tone of the work.
Concerto for Piano and Winds: This is an intriguing work. There is no ostentatious piano bravura and the piano blends very well with the wind ensemble. This delivers a very interesting, atmospheric and cohesive sonic world. The understated tone is very attractive and appealing to me. This was a first listen and the experience was a very engaging and positive one.


This is a very fine CD which contains very interesting modern works that are definitely worth investigating. Volans has a voice of his own and this comes with a warm recommendation.



Other than Wiki here is another link that may be of interest.....


http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bio/Kevin-Volans (http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bio/Kevin-Volans)

Dutton have just released a CD of Ina Boyle's music, which otherwise is pretty unrepresented.

Overture for orchestra (1933-34)
Concerto for violin and orchestra (1932-33 rev. 1935)
Symphony No. 1 "Glencree" (In the Wicklow Hills) (1924-27)
Wildgeese: Sketch for small orchestra (1942)
Psalm for cello and orchestra (1927 rev. 1928)
A Sea Poem: Theme, variations and finale for orchestra (1919)

Apparently Boyle has been compared to Moeran, so I am intrigued by this.

https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7352

Dutton describes the CD as follows:

"This programme of music by Irish composer Ina Boyle (1889-1967), a one-time student of Vaughan Williams, collates several of her major orchestral works. The rhapsodic Violin Concerto of 1935 is in three continuous movements, and both conductor Ronald Corp and soloist Benjamin Baker interpret the music with sympathetic attention to detail, maintaining its natural ebb and flow. Boyle wrote three symphonies, and this disc presents the long overdue recording of the First Symphony, subtitled Glencree (In the Wicklow Hills), which dates from 1924-27. The young cellist Nadège Rochat gives a powerful reading of the Psalm for cello and orchestra, written in 1927, while four short but captivating orchestral pieces complete the programme – which reveals Ina Boyle as a composer of originality and invention."

Quote from: Oates on April 17, 2018, 04:57:07 AM
Dutton have just released a CD of Ina Boyle's music, which otherwise is pretty unrepresented.

Overture for orchestra (1933-34)
Concerto for violin and orchestra (1932-33 rev. 1935)
Symphony No. 1 "Glencree" (In the Wicklow Hills) (1924-27)
Wildgeese: Sketch for small orchestra (1942)
Psalm for cello and orchestra (1927 rev. 1928)
A Sea Poem: Theme, variations and finale for orchestra (1919)

Apparently Boyle has been compared to Moeran, so I am intrigued by this.

https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7352

Dutton describes the CD as follows:

"This programme of music by Irish composer Ina Boyle (1889-1967), a one-time student of Vaughan Williams, collates several of her major orchestral works. The rhapsodic Violin Concerto of 1935 is in three continuous movements, and both conductor Ronald Corp and soloist Benjamin Baker interpret the music with sympathetic attention to detail, maintaining its natural ebb and flow. Boyle wrote three symphonies, and this disc presents the long overdue recording of the First Symphony, subtitled Glencree (In the Wicklow Hills), which dates from 1924-27. The young cellist Nadège Rochat gives a powerful reading of the Psalm for cello and orchestra, written in 1927, while four short but captivating orchestral pieces complete the programme – which reveals Ina Boyle as a composer of originality and invention."

Thank you for posting that.

Quote from: vandermolen on August 03, 2017, 10:48:33 PM
I like every work on that CD. He studied with Vaughan Williams.

And he was a friend of my favorite American poet, John Berryman, who mentioned him in his poem "Friendless" (the first I ever heard of Boydell):

Friendless in Clare, except Brian Boydell
a Dubliner with no hair
an expressive tenor speaking voice
who introduced me to the music of Peter Warlock

who had just knocked himself off, fearing the return of
his other personality, Philip Heseltine.
Brian used to play The Curlew with the lights out,
voice of a lost soul moving.


Sarge

The Ina Boyle CD is a fine discovery - definitely in the more pastoral VW (her teacher) / Moeran mould. I've enjoyed every work on the CD.

Quote from: vandermolen on April 17, 2018, 10:45:19 AM
The Ina Boyle CD is a fine discovery - definitely in the more pastoral VW (her teacher) / Moeran mould. I've enjoyed every work on the CD.

Thank you for the endorsement. It is on my List.

Quote from: aligreto on April 17, 2018, 12:19:46 PM
Thank you for the endorsement. It is on my List.

The Violin Concerto, in memory of her mother, is really quite beautiful and definitely in the VW mould.

Symphony 1 'Glencree' (In the Wicklow Hills) from 1924-27 would appeal to admirers of Moeran.

There is an underlying sadness to much of the music, which I find rather endearing.

Quote from: vandermolen on April 18, 2018, 01:26:50 AM
The Violin Concerto, in memory of her mother, is really quite beautiful and definitely in the VW mould.

Symphony 1 'Glencree' (In the Wicklow Hills) from 1924-27 would appeal to admirers of Moeran.

There is an underlying sadness to much of the music, which I find rather endearing.

Not too far from where I live actually and have spent a lot of happy times there so that will definitely be something of interest.

Quote from: aligreto on April 19, 2018, 08:01:02 AM
Not too far from where I live actually and have spent a lot of happy times there so that will definitely be something of interest.

How nice - I suspect that it is a very beautiful location. The CD is thoroughly enjoyable in all respects.

Posting for no other reason than having this thread up in « show new replies to your posts ».

I wasn't aware there was an Irish Composers thread - although I guess I should have known  ::).

Thank Aligreto for the hint !

My pleasure André. There is no reason really why you should have known about this thread.

I really should contribute more to this thread myself. I have rather neglected it. Perhaps I should make it one of my upcoming New Year's Resolutions to do so.

On the Nature of Electricity & Acoustics:


(https://heresyrecords.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/on-the-nature-of-electricit-600x600.jpg)   (https://heresyrecords.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/otn-rev-800.jpg)



This is a sampler, if you like, of electro-acoustic and electronic music making in Ireland at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty first centuries. One may not like all of the music but one certainly has to admire the innovation and musical ideas as well as the various types of musical language portrayed. It is a very interesting compendium.



Roger Doyle: Baby Grand - This is a wonderfully energetic and vibrant work [essentially for keyboard] with a variety of tones and which is an interesting and engaging work.
Educution [aka Tóirse Ó Riordáin]: Again With The Hose - This is a short but a very engaging electronic work which, at its centre, has a very steady underlying rhythmic pulse.
Deep Burial [duo Brennan/Howard]: GlueBagLung - An electronic work which would not be out of place in a hip-hop or psychedelia rave!
Ian Wilson: Devotional 3 - This is a really wonderful, haunting work which features a solo viola ? over an electronic backdrop.
Brian Ó hUiginn: Left Handed March, 3rd movement - This is an amazing work which takes the old Irish uilleann piping traditional music on to a different level and dimension.
Sunken Foal [Dunk Murphy]: Colloidal Glass - A most interesting work which features distorted voice over a wonderful background of electronic strings.
Richard Evans: Grindelwald's Wedding - I like this one. It has something of a haunting element to it.
Spectac [Paul Morrin]: Centurion - This is another fine electronic composition.
Linda Buckley: Error Message - The best way that I can describe this fine work is by a combination of both the adjectives astral and ethereal. It is quite appealing.
Donnacha Dennehy: Misterman - This is a really very fine work with many layers to it. It is very atmospheric, inventive and appealing.
Pat Daly: Com-plex - This is an interesting work in that it juxtaposes two seemingly interrelated themes and rhythms.
Vincent Doherty: Snow din - This is a very engaging and appealing work for me both rhythmically and melodically.
Operating Theatre: Miss Mauger - This is a really interesting piece based essentially on a piano theme and which is also rhythmically dynamic.
Enda Bates: Liminality [excerpt] - Heavily distorted electric guitar based this work is incoherent to me due to the possible facts that it is so heavily distorted that it is disguising the essential music and also that it is only an excerpt and may be out of context of the piece as a whole.
a=apple [Karl Burke]: middlepoint - I honestly find it difficult to describe this work. It is essential electronic in nature with added guitar and other sound effects.
Trevor Knight: The Ancient Community of Dreams and Fatigues - I like this. It is what I would call old school synthesizer music that is quite atmospheric.
Alex Dowling: Recommended by Dentists [excerpt] - This is a very interesting work that is as strident as any bad experience at a dentist! There is a very disconcerting tapping throughout which heightens the tension that is inherent in the music and its rhythm.
Cathal Coughlan: Second City Bicycle Bounce - This is a series of very basic electronic motifs layered over a simple electronic melody with various sonic embellishments.
Amoebazoid [Keith O'Brien]: Prey - Unfortunately for me this is just a cacophony.
Princess Tinymeat: Devilcock - This is for me a somewhat recognisable track which features a basic Rock lineup of guitar, bass and drums. It has an added feature of additional tape enhancements.
Melodica Deathship: Maghera - A work based in traditional Irish music which is effectively give a very modern treatment.
Schroeder's Cat: Goodbye - I like this work with its layered compositional structure. It is inventive.
Daniel Figgis: Lucky's Bad Day - I particularly like this one. It has a very basic melody at its core but it is given some interesting and inventive treatments and enhancements along the way.

Just bumping up this CD - one of my favourites of music by Irish composers.
The symphony 'De Profundis' in particular:
[asin]B00005AULA[/asin]
Potter studied with Vaughan Williams and admirers of the latter's Symphony No.6 or the fine Arthur Benjamin Symphony might enjoy it. The whole CD is immensely enjoyable.

Good project:
https://www.inaboyle.org/ibsl-blog-posts/quartet-cd-fundraiser

Someone mentioned somewhere here (not on this thread, obviously) that Ina Boyle's Symphony No.2 was being premiered in Dublin on 30 Sept. Does anyone know if it is being broadcast/streamed or will be available for listening later?

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on September 26, 2022, 01:34:49 PM
Someone mentioned somewhere here (not on this thread, obviously) that Ina Boyle's Symphony No.2 was being premiered in Dublin on 30 Sept. Does anyone know if it is being broadcast/streamed or will be available for listening later?

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40965419.html

Ok, so I got on to this site after reading Roy's link

https://www.rte.ie/radio/lyricfm/lyric-live/ (https://www.rte.ie/radio/lyricfm/lyric-live/)

It looks as if you will be able to listen later.

I drew a blank of hearing the Ina Boyle Second Symphony. I found the programme on the RTE website, didn't listen to it when broadcast (would have been the middle of the night for me) and then waited for them to put it up as an episode for later listening... today they have put up yesterday's programme (7 Oct) meaning they're missing out on the 30 Sept concert.

However I interpret this as a hopeful sign, I assume the orchestra and performers don't want it to be available for streaming in case people record it and this lessens the demand for a future recording.

Quote from: calyptorhynchus on October 07, 2022, 05:30:00 PM
I drew a blank of hearing the Ina Boyle Second Symphony. I found the programme on the RTE website, didn't listen to it when broadcast (would have been the middle of the night for me) and then waited for them to put it up as an episode for later listening... today they have put up yesterday's programme (7 Oct) meaning they're missing out on the 30 Sept concert.

However I interpret this as a hopeful sign, I assume the orchestra and performers don't want it to be available for streaming in case people record it and this lessens the demand for a future recording.

That is interesting and I would draw the same conclusion as you. Hopefully they did record it.

At first I read that as meaning you heard the symphony but it did nothing for you.

No, I really like the Ina Boyle disc we have with the first symphony and have also heard the String Quartet. Obviously not a European modernist barnstormer, but a real talent who wrote beautiful music. Surprising that it has taken so long for her music to be rediscovered especially as it is so Irish and the Republic been in existence with Irish nationalist cultural policies since she was a young woman! Might be the fact she was a woman.

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~arthurduff/Homepage.htm