American soprano Liz Pearse and renowned Swiss performers Lindsay Buffington (harp) and Chelsea Czuchra (flute) present a new song cycle by award-winning poet Martin Dyar and composer Ryan Molloy.
Tickets: €16/€14. To book, contact The Linenhall or click here: https://thelinenhall.ticketsolve.com/shows/873595813
Location: Linenhall Arts Centre, Linenhall Street
Time: 8pm
Contact: 094 902 3733
Buaine na Gaoithe is a landmark collaboration between an Irish composer and an Irish poet, a thrilling repertoire development, with powerful performances by Liz Pearse (soprano) Lindsay Buffington (harp) and Chelsea Czuchra (flute)
Poet Martin Dyar and composer Ryan Molloy have achieved a powerful fusion of the best in contemporary classical sounds with the best of contemporary Irish poetry. Buaine Na Gaoithe contains five specially commissioned new poems which explore themes of landscape (Dyar’s native Mayo in particular), wildlife, maternity, light, music itself, and the human voice. An atmospheric, lyrical and vocally adventurous journey, this rectial, which will include seldom-heard works by Mamlok, Crumb and Gerdane, will appeal both to lovers of music and the written word.
Ryan Molloy speaking about Buaine Na Gaoithe
Martin Dyar has praised your sensitivity to language, and your care with the rhythms and nuances of poetry. Was this undertaking, for you, a meeting of minds? And were you conscious of taking on the role of wordsmith as well as musician and composer in this work?
Ryan Molloy: Making music out of the mighty ‘Death and the Post Office’, a poem which is now on the leaving cert prescribed poetry syllabus, had been a satisfying project, and I believe myself and Martin had come to trust each other. But Buaine Na Gaoithe has certainly felt like a meeting of minds. It was undoubtedly a departure for both of us and the element of trust had to be core to what we were creating. I sensed that Martin understood precisely where I was coming from musically and in turn somehow I felt that my music naturally amplified aspects of his writing. I wasn’t overly conscious of any role as wordsmith however, although perhaps this was an obvious if indirect consequence of being involved in the creation of the work from its outset. The work was begun as part of an Arts Council commission award, and happily, we found a rapport very quickly, once it was to time start writing in earnest.
Can you tell us about the title of the work? Buaine na Gaoithe translates as ‘the constancy of the wind’, or maybe ‘perpetual wind’, is that right?
‘The constancy of the wind’ seems about right, although it still doesn’t quite capture the aura of the Irish phrase that also encompasses hints of eternity, durability, solidity, even warmth and light. The title emerged from myself and Martin’s thematic discussions – revolving around heritage, family, nature, landscape, and light – and, relatively early, it seemed to fit the creative prospects that were emerging, even before some of the poems or music were written. Perhaps you could say that the title, and what it stood for, became the muse.
The writers and performers of Buaine Na Gaoithe
Composer Ryan Molloy’s work has been performed to international audiences on four continents for over fifteen years, including major concert venues in Switzerland, Germany, England and Ireland. In great demand as an accompanist, he has recorded over a dozen albums and his repertoire spans numerous genres from traditional Irish music to contemporary classical music. His compositional work has won numerous prizes and has been broadcast both nationally and internationally on BBC Radio 3 and Radio Ulster, RTÉ Lyric FM, Radio 1, BBC 2, UTV and BBC World. Several of Ryan’s works have been chosen to represent Ireland by the International Society for Contemporary Music, at the ISCM Musicarama in Hong Kong in 2015 and at the ISCM World New Music Day in Vancouver in 2017. His setting Seamus Heaney’s Clearances III (‘while all the others were away at mass’) was performed in 2015. He is Currently a lecturer in composition at Maynooth University, Ryan’s
Poet Martin Dyar grew up in Swinford in County Mayo. His poetry collection Maiden Names (Arlen House) was shortlisted for the 2014 Pigott Poetry Prize and was a books of the year selection in both the Guardian and the Irish Times. His poem ‘Death and the Post Office’ has been added to the Leaving Cert prescribed poetry syllabus. He won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 2009, and the Strokestown International Poetry Award in 2001. He has also written a play, ‘Tom Loves a Lord’, about the life and work of the Irish poet Thomas Moore. His work is included in the anthology Windharp: Poems of Ireland Since 1916. He is a graduate of NUI Galway, and Trinity College Dublin, where he taught for ten years in TCD’s School of Medicine. A former fellow of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, he is currently the Arts Council Writer in Residence fellow at the University of Limerick.
Lindsay Buffington hails from Maryland, USA, and she has been based in Switzerland since 2005. Lindsay is a multi-faceted performer who thrives on playing in diverse musical styles and in different kinds of groups. She enjoys an active freelance career in Switzerland and abroad, and plays regularly as a soloist and with groups including orchestras, chamber groups, choirs and big bands. She has performed with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, Christoph Walter Orchestra, Sinfonietta Basel, and the Sinfonietta Lausanne among others. Lindsay is proud to have co-founded two chamber music duos: Deux en Harpe in 2008, and Cochlea Duo, with the American flutist Chelsea Czuchra, in 2013. She teaches harp at the Musikschule Horw and Musikschule Hochdorf in Kanton Luzern, in addition to being a private harp teacher at the International School of Basel.
After a childhood spent playing every instrument she could lay hands upon, Ohio-based Liz Pearse began exploring the endless possibilities of the voice. Hers is an instrument possessing an unusual range, colour, and versatility, leading to performances of medieval to modern music on stages around the world. She won both the Dr. Marjorie Conrad Art Song Competition and the Bowling Green State University Competitions in Music Concerto Competition.
Passionately dedicated to the flute and new music in particular, Chelsea Czuchra is an active performer in Europe and North America. In addition to working as a freelance orchestral player, Chelsea has diverse experience as a collaborative musician in the realms of new music, various world music and improvisation. Chelsea has performed at the Zeiträume Festival Basel, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, soundSCAPE Festival and more. Radio appearances include KXLU in LA, Radio X in Basel, Switzerland and‚ Relevant Tones’ at WFMT Chicago. Based in Basel, Switzerland since 2000, Chelsea also maintains an active teaching schedule, working with flutists from 5 to 85 years old in both the Swiss and international community.