Coming Soon: Songs and Poems from Ireland

Divine Art’s Métier Records label will soon be releasing an album comprising a unique collaboration of leading voices in poetry, drama, and contemporary music from Ireland. Choral works performed by Laetare Vocal Ensemble are interspersed with evocative and intense readings from the poetry of Paula Meehan, the plays of Marina Carr, and the bilingual collections of Dairena Ní Chinnéide, exploring the otherworldly, the liminal, the mysterious, the haunted, and the interaction of the real and the imagined. The poetry of radical Irish-American poet Lola Ridge (1873­–1941) is revived through sensitive readings by well-known Irish radio voice Carl Corcoran, while the ethereal vocals and harp improvisations of Síle Denvir add depth and dimension in this innovative and immersive listening experience. This new recording emphasises Divine Art’s strong connection to the musicians of Dublin following several recent releases of choral, vocal and chamber music, to be followed by a full album of choral works by Rhona Clarke next year.

Artists

Laetare Vocal Ensemble (pictured at top photo by Lorcan Doherty) is an award-winning chamber choir from Dublin, Ireland, directed by Róisín Blunnie. Previous releases include In Circling Flight: Contemporary Choral Music by John Buckley, Rhona Clarke, and Seán Doherty.

Playwright Marina Carr won the Windham-Campbell Prize in 2017. Her plays have been translated into many languages and are produced around the world. 

Paula Meehan is a former Ireland Professor of Poetry. Her work includes collaborations with dancers, visual artists, film-makers, and musicians. 

Dairena Ní Chinnéide is a bilingual poet living and writing in the Irish-speaking area of Corca Dhuibhne in south-west Ireland.

Síle Denvir is a harpist and Irish traditional singer from the Irish-speaking area of Connemara in the west of Ireland. She lectures and researches at Dublin City University.

Carl Corcoran is a musician and arts professional. He was formerly presenter and curator of the critically acclaimed Blue of the Nighton RTÉ Lyric FM, Ireland’s national classical music and arts radio station.

GHOST SONGS: Contemporary Music and Words from Ireland (MSV 28599)

Release date  – to be confirmed by early 2021

Recorded  in April-December 2019 and January 2020

Tracks include the following choral works:

• The Destroyer (Seán Doherty)
• The Old Woman (Rhona Clarke)
• It’s Strange About Stars (Seán Doherty)
• The Threat of the Dead (Michael Holohan)
• The Ghost Song (Seán Doherty)
• Under-Song (Seán Doherty)
• The Graves of Arbour Hill (Seán Doherty)
• Do Not Stand at my Grave (Rhona Clarke)
• The Salley Gardens (trad., arr. Seán Doherty)

And poems (including some of the texts of the above settings)  read by Carl Corcoran and the authors: Paula Meehan, Marina Carr, Dairena Ní Chinnéide.

Album Cover features “All These Others” by Marie Hanlon