September/October 2008

Live Reviews: The Frost is All Over

Live Reviews: The Frost is All Over

Live Reviews: The Frost is All Over

Tony MacMahon (accordion); David Power (uilleann pipes, whistle, fiddle, vocals); Dermot Bolger (poetry); Directed by John Comiskey; Produced by David Teevan/Ten42 Productions / Tradition:DL Festival, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co.

Published on 1 September 2008

Barra Ó Séaghdha is a writer on cultural politics, literature and music.

The Small Back Room

The Small Back Room

The Small Back Room

Ciaran Carson on the ideal space for playing traditional music.

Published on 1 September 2008

Ciaran Carson (1948–2019) was a poet, prose writer, translator and flute-player. He was the author of Last Night’s Fun – A Book about Irish Traditional Music, The Pocket Guide to Traditional Irish Music, The Star Factory, and the poetry collections The Irish for No, Belfast Confetti and First Language: Poems. He was Professor of Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast. Between 2008 and 2010 Ciaran wrote a series of linked columns for the Journal of Music, beginning with 'The Bag of Spuds' and ending with 'The Raw Bar'.

All Collisions End in Static: the Music of Linda Buckley

All Collisions End in Static: the Music of Linda Buckley

All Collisions End in Static: the Music of Linda Buckley

Bob Gilmore interviews leading young composer Linda Buckley who divides her time between Berlin and Dublin.

Published on 1 September 2008

Bob Gilmore (1961–2015) was a musicologist, educator and keyboard player. Born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, he studied at York University, Queen's University Belfast, and at the University of California. His books include Harry Partch: a biography (Yale University Press, 1998) and Ben Johnston: Maximum Clarity and other writings on music (University of Illinois Press, 2006), both of which were recipients of the Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP. He wrote extensively on the American experimental tradition, microtonal music and spectral music, including the work of such figures as James Tenney, Horațiu Rădulescu, Claude Vivier, and Frank Denyer. Bob Gilmore taught at Queens University, Belfast, Dartington College of Arts, Brunel University in London, and was a Research Fellow at the Orpheus Institute in Ghent. He was the founder, director and keyboard player of Trio Scordatura, an Amsterdam-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of microtonal music, and for the year 2014 was the Editor of Tempo, a quarterly journal of new music. His biography of French-Canadian composer Claude Vivier was published by University of Rochester Press in June 2014. Between 2005 and 2012, Bob Gilmore published several articles in The Journal of Music.

CD Review: Frank Cassidy

CD Review: Frank Cassidy

CD Review: Frank Cassidy

Nil gar ann! – Traditional Fiddle Music from Donegal – Played by Frank Cassidy (and in duet with John Doherty) / Cairdeas na bhFídléirí / CNF005

Published on 1 September 2008

Niall Keegan is a traditional flute player and Associate Director at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.

Northword: Here Be Monsters

Northword: Here Be Monsters

Northword: Here Be Monsters

Peter Rosser looks at a new model for music production hatching in Northern Ireland.

Published on 1 September 2008

Peter Rosser (1970–2014) was a composer, writer and music lecturer.

He was born in London and moved to Belfast in 1990, where he studied composition at the University of Ulster and was awarded a DPhil in 1997. His music has been performed at the Spitalfields Festival in London, the Belfast Festival at Queen’s and by the Crash Ensemble in Dublin.

In 2011 the Arts Council acknowledged his contribution to the arts in Northern Ireland through a Major Individual Artist Award. He used this award to write his Second String Quartet, which was premiered in 2012 by the JACK Quartet at the opening concert at Belfast's new Metropolitan Arts Centre (The MAC).

Peter Rosser also wrote extensively on a wide range of music genres, with essays published in The Journal of Music, The Wire, Perspectives of New Music and the Crescent Journal. 

He died following an illness on 24 November 2014, aged 44.

Short-circuiting the Soloist?

Short-circuiting the Soloist?

Short-circuiting the Soloist?

In a new series of columns, Toner Quinn looks at contemporary issues in traditional music.

Published on 1 September 2008

Toner Quinn is Editor of the Journal of Music. His new book, What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music, is available here. Toner will be giving a lecture exploring some of the ideas in the book on Saturday 11 May 2024 at 3pm at Farmleigh House in Dublin. For booking, visit https://bit.ly/3x2yCL8.

Notes

Notes

Notes

Islands Tour; The Reel Deal; The West Awake; Free State IV; Globalising Irish Music – Podcast by Bill Whelan; DEAF; Creative Spaces; Béal Tuinne and Conal Ó Gráda at the Cork Folk Festival; Eliza Carthy in Enniskillen; Seán Ó Riada Memorial

Published on 1 September 2008

Editorial: 800,000 Children

Editorial: 800,000 Children

Improvements in music education are down to political will

Published on 1 September 2008

Toner Quinn is Editor of the Journal of Music. His new book, What Ireland Can Teach the World About Music, is available here. Toner will be giving a lecture exploring some of the ideas in the book on Saturday 11 May 2024 at 3pm at Farmleigh House in Dublin. For booking, visit https://bit.ly/3x2yCL8.

Live Reviews: National Chamber Choir

Live Reviews: National Chamber Choir

National Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier (conductor)Harty Room, Queen’s University, Belfast11 June 2008Faced routinely with the deepest sentiments, sacred and profane, where do singers position themselves emotionally?

Published on 1 September 2008

Peter Rosser (1970–2014) was a composer, writer and music lecturer.

He was born in London and moved to Belfast in 1990, where he studied composition at the University of Ulster and was awarded a DPhil in 1997. His music has been performed at the Spitalfields Festival in London, the Belfast Festival at Queen’s and by the Crash Ensemble in Dublin.

In 2011 the Arts Council acknowledged his contribution to the arts in Northern Ireland through a Major Individual Artist Award. He used this award to write his Second String Quartet, which was premiered in 2012 by the JACK Quartet at the opening concert at Belfast's new Metropolitan Arts Centre (The MAC).

Peter Rosser also wrote extensively on a wide range of music genres, with essays published in The Journal of Music, The Wire, Perspectives of New Music and the Crescent Journal. 

He died following an illness on 24 November 2014, aged 44.