Surround Sounds: Irish forests, rivers and peatlands

Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble:

Aisling Agnew, flute
William Curran, clarinet
Darragh Morgan, violin
David McCann, cello
Daniel Browell, piano

Robert Coleman These hills used to be forests
Lara Weaver Soft Ground
Pedro Rebelo Crana

The three composers featured on this programme are field recording practitioners who explore sites sensitive to environmental change. These sites have been the focus of continuous listening and recording practices over a number of years, each revealing its distinct sonic character. In works that encapsulate a particular ecosystem—forests, rivers and peatlands—these composers guide us through unique habitats that share sonic qualities alongside their special characteristics, including varying levels of human interaction and intervention.

These are works that cultivate active listening in both performers and audiences—a kind of listening in the field—explored through an array of compositional approaches, including graphic and audio scores, field recordings from each of the sites, and live electronic elements. Presented in an immersive spatial audio format known as ambisonics, this programme invites audiences into a transformative shared listening experience.    

“Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble occupy a unique position at the top of Northern Ireland’s contemporary classical music scene. They offer audiences something very special indeed: the chance to experience music that they would not otherwise have the opportunity to appreciate live, performed at the highest possible level by an exceptional group of musicians.”
Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music and Opera
Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Presented by New Music Dublin
Sponsored by RTE/NCH/Arts Council Ireland