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Thursday, June 12, 2008
World premiere enthrals
WEXFORD COUNTY Council’s world premiere of Harbouring on Thursday at White’s Hotel provided a fascinating night’s entertainment, courtesy of one hundred Wexford singers.
The newly-commissioned choral and orchestral work by one of Ireland’s foremost composers, Ian Wilson, Harbouring is a nine movement, 50-minute choral and orchestral montage.
Those performing on Thursday and Friday night from Wexford Festival Singers, Gorey Choral Group and Enniscorthy Musical Society and local sean nós singers from the Co. Wexford’s Whisht Traditional Irish singing group, had worked on Harbouring since September.
The Irish Chamber Orchestra, renowned accordion player Dermot Dunne also performed, with Fergus Sheil conducting. Sheil said it was an exciting night for all involved.
“The different choral groups were an incredible joy to work with,” Sheil said.
He praised Rosaleen Molloy, County Arts Officer, for initiating such an ambitious project.
“Nobody else would have worked on commissioning this. You have the best local authority in Ireland when it comes to music and for the arts in general.”
Wilson also praised Wexford County Council’s vision for the arts.
“As a composer in Ireland, commissions like this are rare, but these commissions give us a chance to work on a larger scale than we are used to,” Wilson said, adding that all the choirs worked long and hard on Harbouring since September.
Harbouring is based on nine poems from both Irish and international writers.
Wilson said the poems are not all about harbours, but that everything associated with them is represented in the pieces.
“It was a great experience to write for people who are singing all the time.” Cllr. Jimmy Curtis launched the concert, praising Ms. Molloy for her hard work. Performance The swell of music from the Irish Chamber Orchestra started the performance off nicely. Dunne’s accordion playing provided dramatic tension between the spoken-word pieces, sustaining the notes, creating a dense, warm vibration. Seabird’s Blessing provided a cacophonous bird part with the music later reminiscent of something from a Sunday matinee motive. Whisht! traditional singing group provided excellent tremulous vocals on Macquarie Harbour which is spooky and atmospheric. All the choirs combined on The Stone House: Dromod Harbour in a perfectly modulated pitch. Currach features some excellent female vocals reminiscent of Kate Bush, with the male vocals equally strong. It is an intimate, genuinely moving performance, with hushed playing, during which you could see a sudden tremor of life in the conductor’s hand as he went about his work. The Harbour was written by an Irish poet, Winifred Letts, and speaks of the Wexford coastline. It was the ideal finish to the musical event, including all of the choirs, with a paroxysm of emotion provided by a male singer from Whisht! The entire concert was recorded and is being mastered and 1,500 copies of it will be distributed by Wexford County Council free within the next two months. There are no current plans for further performances of Harbouring.
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