NSO: The Brendan Voyage & ‘From the New World’ Symphony

David Brophy, conductor 
Mark Redmond, uilleann pipes

Shaun Davey The Brendan Voyage
Dvořák Symphony No. 9, ‘From the New World

Two classic works celebrate the spirit of adventure and discovery in Shaun Davey’s epic The Brendan Voyage and Dvořák’s monumental Ninth Symphony. National Symphony Orchestra and audience favourite, conductor David Brophy, and the extraordinary uilleann piper Mark Redmond lead these stirring musical journeys.

Hailed as a ‘ground-breaking crossover work of great significance’ (Living Tradition), The Brendan Voyage is a powerful, moving musical drama setting historian Tim Severin’s recreation in 1976 of St. Brendan’s heroic Sixth-century crossing of the Atlantic in a primitive leather-skinned boat.

The evocative voice of the uilleann pipes lights up the dramatic journey into the unknown as the medieval traveler encounters seabirds and whales en route from Ireland to the Faroe Islands, Iceland and through battles with Labrador gales and ice, before his triumphant arrival at what later explorers would christen Newfoundland.

Originally composed for legendary piper Liam O’Flynn, the soloist’s mantle now belongs to Mark Redmond, whose fresh interpretation has thrilled audiences both old and new.

Best known for its haunting ‘Largo’, soundtrack to countless film soundtracks and television adverts, Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony boasts a parade of memorable melodies.

A celebration of the folk music and Negro spirituals he discovered in America, its sirenic echoes of the traditions Dvořák left behind in his native Bohemia combine in one of the great symphonic showpieces: a nostalgic love letter to far-distant home sent From the New World.

Presented by NCH