'Stunning international line up' for next Derravaragh Music Association concert
What they describe as “a stunning international line up” will provide the entertainment at the next Derravaragh Music Association concert, at Tullynally Castle on November 25.
The renowned trio of Anna Dennis (soprano), Jonas Nordberg (lute) and Liam Byrne (viola da gamba) perform together for the first time in Ireland to present an intimate and captivating musical experience, said Jane Massy, chair of the association.
The trip will take their audience from the musical landscapes of the Jacobean English drawing room to the salons of Venice, where music, poetry and song intertwine and the warm tones of lute and viola da gamba blend with the enchanting sound of the soprano voice.
Most of the songs are about love: longing for the object of love, the anguish of unrequired love and the tragedy of love lost.
The evening includes works by Dowland, Monteverdi, Purcell and Telemann.
Known as ‘early music’ the songs, a pleasure in themselves, demonstrate the beauty of a single voice and pure accompaniment.
In many ways, that approach is typical of the best loved music of contemporary times, more typically today featuring a single voice accompanied by guitar or keyboard, but in the 16th century the instrumental accompaniment was likely to be a viol or lute.
Irish connections to the music of the evening include Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queen, who spent several years in Ireland as an English state servant, where he acquired land in the Munster plantation and served under Lord Grey and Walter Raleigh in the Second Desmond Rebellion.
Although there is no evidence of him visiting Westmeath, it seems he did visit Croghan Hill.
Other connections to Ireland include the renowned composer Henry Purcell, who was related to the Purcell family of Loughmoe. He was the son of Henry Purcell, born in Ireland, and was the grandson of Thomas Purcell of Gortanny and Ballyross, County Tipperary.
There is a suggestion (disputed) that John Dowland (composer of several of the evening’s songs) was of Irish descent, a claim by American tenor Michael Slattery.
His evidence is from an article by William Flood, who put forward the idea that John Dowland was born of an Irish family, the O’Dolans, who settled in Dublin. Flood points to the dedication of the song in his ‘Pilgrim’s Solace’ in 1612, which Dowland dedicated ‘to my loving countryman, Mr John Forster the younger, merchant of Dublin and Ireland’.
John Forster was the younger son of Richard Forster, and the nephew of John Forster, mayor of Dublin. Is it too much of a stretch to suggest a link to Mullingar’s famous son, Joe Dolan?
Derravaragh Music Association offered thanks to Music Network, Ireland’s national music touring and development organisation, founded by the Arts Council in 1986. The support from Music Network ensures they can make high quality live music accessible to communities throughout Ireland and help musicians to develop fulfilling careers.
The concert is on November 25 at Tullynally Castle at 7pm; doors open at 6.30. Tickets are €28 (half price U18s) and available through the Derravaragh Music website at derravaraghmusic.ie.