Ancient inspiration to Anail Dé
THE Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick will present the Limerick performance of a major new work by composer Gavin Bryars by singer Iarla O’Lionáird. St Mary’s Cathedral is the fitting venue for this “unique and special meeting of traditional Irish music and modern European composition,” reveals Ellen Byrne, PRO for the academy.
Anáil Dé – The Breath Of God is based on pre-1600 texts from ancient Irish spiritual manuscripts selected by the artists. The premiere concerts will be performed by Gavin Bryars, Iarla Ó’Lionáird and The Crash Ensemble.
“Gavin Bryars is best known for his iconoclastic works such as Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet and The Sinking of the Titanic. Iarla Ó’Lionáird’s acclaimed work fuses the traditions of sean-nós with modern electronic music and soundscapes…The Crash Ensemble is Ireland’s leading contemporary ensemble”.
Wednesday April 1 at St Mary’s Cathedral, 8pm.
Winning work in The Dark Age
Limerick County Council has awarded the Michael Hartnett Annual Poetry Award 2009 to James Harpur
This year’s judges Moya Cannon, Peter Denman and Richard Tillinghast selected his collection, The Dark Age, for the annual award worth 6,500euro.
They described his book as one in which “the poems are serious and well wrought. They build into a collection in which the imaginative shifts carry the reader into areas that are too often left unexplored. These poems demonstrate a mastery both of the short form and the more sustained poetic narrative, and the handling of poetry technique is impressive throughout”.
The Hartnett Poetry Award will be presented this year on Thursday April 23 at the opening night of Éigse Michael Hartnett in Newcastle West. Alice Taylor, Paul Durcan, Carol Ann Duffy are among those taking part in the four day festival, as are Anuna with baritone Nyle Wolfe.
Line drawing and painting
LIMERICK Art Society will host a Paint-in at Greenhills Hotel, Ennis Road, this Friday March 20 at 7.30pm. Anyone attending is asked to bring their own materials, using any medium and line drawings will be available to work from.
5euro admission and refer to website www.limerickartsociety.com.
