Standard Theatre Seated
Twice Grammy-nominated sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird reunites with fellow member of The Gloaming, hardanger d’amore fiddle visionary Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, alongside pianist-composer Cormac McCarthy. This new trio traces luminous paths between Irish song and folk instrumental tradition, contemporary classical music and jazz.
Iarla Ó Lionáird’s voice has long occupied a place between worlds: rooted in the unaccompanied sean-nós tradition of his native West Cork, yet equally at home within contemporary classical, electronic and orchestral settings. Here, it becomes the focal point for a newly formed trio of exceptional subtlety and range.
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh’s ten-string Hardanger d’amore surrounds the voice with bowed lines, drones and shimmering sympathetic resonance. Cormac McCarthy’s piano brings a different dimension: spacious and lyrical, but informed by his deep experience of jazz, traditional music and large-scale orchestral arrangement. Together, the three musicians create a sound that can move from near silence to startling intensity.
The programme draws on Irish-language songs and poetry, Iarla’s solo repertoire and music associated with The Gloaming. Iarla and Caoimhín were central to that group’s transformation of Irish traditional music into a new form of chamber music, heard at the Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House and across an extended series of residencies at Dublin’s National Concert Hall.
Together, the trio continue that spirit of exploration. Voice fiddle and grand piano meet without excess or ornament, allowing ancient melodies, poetic texts and the spaces between notes to carry their full emotional weight.
Performers and instruments
Iarla Ó Lionáird – voice, drone
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh – hardanger fiddles
Cormac McCarthy – piano, keyboards
‘One of the most dramatic voices in contemporary music.’ The Guardian
‘A merited, almost reverential air drew over the crowd as we were transported to that inexplicable liminal space that only truly great art can carry you to.’ The Goo, reviewing Iarla with Cormac McCarthy and Matthew Berrill
‘A 10-string instrument which resonates richly at frequencies unreachable by a traditional fiddle or a viola d’amore.’- The Irish Times, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett review
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