Archive
1 July 2011
The idea of a common language in composition is a thing of the past: the world of contemporary music is now entirely chaotic, the result of individualism, tradition and cosmopolitanism pulling, irreconcilably, against each other. John McLachlan found this world in action at the ISCM World Music Days in Zagreb earlier this year.
28 June 2011
An unlikely combination of sound-detritus and the craft of composition, the music of Ed Bennett makes strong statements about taking on, and overcoming, our contemporary challenges.
27 June 2011
A concert in Donegal found unity in the vitality of contemporary Irish composition's diverse strands.
24 June 2011
The music of Tarab brings together Mediterranean and Irish music traditions – reminiscent of medieval Irish travel stories, but also more than an imaginary tale.
21 June 2011
The best moments in the music of Dublin guitarist Cian Nugent are left unresolved and ambiguous.
17 June 2011
Adebisi Shank's sound is dangerous, ill-mannered – and irrepressibly exciting. They take apart our expectations of what a three-piece rock band can do.
13 June 2011
Irish jazz musicians could be contributing a distinct Irish sound to the international scene, writes Patrick Groenland after a hearing a festival of European jazz.
10 June 2011
Recent concert and competition jury experiences suggest to John McLachlan that only the best music sparks disagreement, and that mediocre work enjoys consensus.
3 June 2011
In bringing together the sean-nós singing tradition, the poetry of W.B. Yeats and the contrasting voices of Iarla Ó Lionáird and Dawn Upshaw, the Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy has built a complex world of voices and ideas – to be within it is a profoundly moving experience.
30 May 2011
Enda Bates' music for hexaphonic guitar brings together his formal training and rock influences.