This concert brings together three works inspired by aspects of Ireland and its heritage.
The Music
Mendelssohn
The Hebrides
Ailbhe McDonagh
Irish Isles Suite:
– Achill Island
– The Blasket Islands
– Tory Island
Amy Marcy Beach
Symphony in E minor ‘Gaelic’
About The Music
Mendelssohn’s overture The Hebrides is part of the Romantic tradition, imbued with strong feelings. Mendelssohn wrote the work in 1830 during a visit to Ireland. It suggests the sound of the sea and the power of the natural world. Ailbhe McDonagh’s Irish Isles Suite was composed in 2023. It is a response to the beauty of the Irish coastline and each of its three movements is based on an island.
Amy Beach’s ‘Gaelic’ symphony was written in 1896 and premiered in Boston. Its composition draws on Celtic melodies (as well as an Irish jig). Beach wrote that it was about the Celtic people, ‘their sturdy daily life, their passions and battles.’