In advance of our official launch of our updated website, we have a little information about our festival commissions. We were delighted to receive funding from the Arts Council of Ireland to put on our festival – this included money to commission three new works for a vocal ensemble of eight voices. These will be performed in our festival finale on Friday 9th November at 8 pm.
Our three pieces are:
Tom Johnson: TickTock Rhythms
Billy Mills: Loop Walks
Ailís ní Ríain: Eyeless
Johnson’s work is for speaking chorus , using only the spoken words tick and tock to elucidate a specific combination of patterns of twos and threes.
Mills’ commission will conclude the festival. Here we have a newly-invented genre of work, polyphonic poetry, also scored for speaking chorus.
Ní Ríain, a putblished playwright in addition to a composer, has written the text of her new work – in addition to this she has worked with Iarla Ó Lionáird to translate it into Irish (using funds provide by the Arts Council of England). The outcome is a somewhat subversive reflection on the dual traditions of classical and sean nós singing, and through this, a meditation on lost identity.
Béal Festival 
This looks great Billy – I hope it goes off well – I’m organising something similar in Alloa around the same time – maybe twin if they become annual events?
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Hi John – your festival looks fab too – I’m really looking forward to Billy’s piece at Béal this year – he was with us two years ago at our first festival. This new piece for singers looks amazing. Elizabeth
Should have replied here, John. Your link looks really interesting; good luck with it.
Hi John: I can claim no credit for the event; Elizabeth and David are doing all the work. I’m looking forward to the festival; the last one was great.