Celebro Laudibus : Limerick Ensembles at UCH

  Celebro , laudibus, Ring the bells, Time to celebrate
                         
Two Limerick community ensembles presented their seasonal  musical offerings at UCH this weekend .  On Saturday night the University of Limerick Orchestra welcomed  trombone player Karl Ronan who shone  in an  an attractive concerto by Rimsky Korsakov.  There was a sense of camaraderie between the soloist and conductor, both former members of the Artane Boys  Band. Conductor  Liam Daly was a  authoritative presence on the podium and drew a disciplined performance from the orchestra. There were no ragged edges as a sense of unity prevailed across all sections. Neither was there any paring down in any section with symphony proportions of wind and brass and a full complement of percussion added sparkle to the programme. After the interval, Limerick Youth Choir performed a short set of  Carol of the Bells , a Russian Hymn and a brace of Julie Feeney numbers before the concert concluded with popular Christmas repertoire.

David Howes in rehearsal with Malcolm Greene

On Sunday night, Limerick Choral Union presented a blend of Baroque and contempory in a programme of  two of their bread and butter composers. LCU provides a great platform for young rising stars and the soloist in Handel's Dettingen Te Deum was bass, David Howes, one of three  generations of Howes singing with this community choir on this occasion  Soprano,  Roisin Walshe was soloist in Jenkins seasonal cantata Stella Natalis, a very attractive work with Jenkin's trademark mix of ethnic percussion, odd metres and glorious melodies. Lee Butler's jazz infused solo trumpet was thrilling. The composer himself describes the distinctive elements in the video below. A splendid pair of trumpets  (Rick Cowen and Niall O'Sullivan) struck the key celebratory note in the Handel, Te Deum composed in a spirit of  rejoicing and jubilation in a British victory over a French Army at the Battle of Dettingen. Bravo to both LCU and ULO for a suitably festive and joyous weekend of music making  in Limerick.  I enjoyed both events, the first from a seat in the stalls and the second as a player. Plans have been announced for a joint Prom Concert  between both these community ensembles. Mark 11th May in your diary. It promises to be 'only heavenly music'

Related posts
A Handel for the President LCU review
LCU Christmas 2010
German Requiem auf Deutsche ! LCU

'Listen to This' author and more at Galway Arts Festival

Familiar look to headliners

Alex Ross 'Pale Vampire' Aula Max NUIG
Galway Sinfonietta at Bailey Allen Hall
Tara Connaghan and Derek McGinley at Monroe's
An Aural Visual Affair by the T'ang Quartet St Nicholas Church 

On swift sail flaming From storm and south He comes, pale vampire Mouth to my mouth.

from Ulysses Joyce 

Wedged in between the departure of the yachting  crews and the arrival of the horsey set, Galwegians  play host to an annual arts festival and I paid my first visit  on Saturday.

Alex Ross of The New Yorker

It was quite a coup for GAF to secure prestigious writer and trail blazing  music blogger, Alex Ross on his first visit to Ireland. At NUIG, I wondered whether I had the right venue for a celebrity lecture as the largest group in evidence was a wedding party taking advantage of the photogenic  quadrangle and the festival signs were unassuming to say the least . I pressed on in hope of finding a buzzing literary hive and plumping for one of a selection of doors to the Aula Max, I entered to find myself in a lobby space with not so much a feel of a lively mix zone as a vaguely disconcerting sense of a staff common room before I was directed back outside  to the 'students entrance' of the upstairs lecture hall.

Tiernan Henry, lecturer in Geology at NUIG, gave a warm introduction to, Alex Ross,  author of Listen to This and The Rest is Noise  and music critic of the New Yorker, brandishing   a  copy of the 1999 magazine containing his essay ,  The  Wanderer on Bob Dylan. Anticipating his next book, Ross delivered a  paper, outlining some resonances in James Joyces' work with Wagnerian operas with particular reference to Ulysses and the |Flying Dutchman.   Ross's  passion  for the language  of literature shone through particularly in this live experience as he effortlessly peppered his talk with quotations  from a diverse range of sources including poetry by Douglas Hyde,  and the English translations of Wagnerian operas from the Carla Rosa Opera Co archives, regular visitors to the Gaiety in Dublin.  A fellow attendee remarked to me that the scale and diversity of cross  references in Ross's work are reminiscent of  the Wagnerian tome, Ulysses itself.  Despite Ross's efforts, the event felt a bit flat, with an air of a specialist post grad seminar rather than a buzzy mainstream literary event.  The venue with its huge elegant windows at each end  was rather large for the assembly and we could have done with  firmer anchoring to steer the event to a fitting close. Where is David Norris when you need him.

Nearby in the Bailey Allen Hall, the community orchestra, The Galway Sinfonietta,   performed a free concert under the umbrella of the Galway Fringe Festival. Opening  with a saxophone concerto by Glazunov  featuring Bertrand Fougeres and including works by Finzi, Romberg and Dvorak, there was a good attendance to support  the group conducted by John Roe. Anxious not to miss the first part of the  T'ang Quartet's presentation, I arrived just in time at  the packed St. Nicholas's  church and found a seat near the front all the better to appreciate the cinematic effects of the entertainment. However, maybe suspecting that less resilient  audience members might  slope off to the pub after the Buster Keaton segment, the order of the programme had been reversed to that advertised  and we had an hour of 20th century string quartet repertoire before the heralded cinematic element.

T'ang Quartet

 The cellist, Leslie Tan of the Singapore based ensemble gave cheerful introductions to  the items setting the context of the works drawing on less than cheerful  themes of funerals and  the Chinese Cultural Revolution. While quartets by Sallinen and Bright Sheng were well received as you might expect in  a city that boasts its own resident quartet and there was some thrilling string playing and a sense of joyful  communion within the ensemble,  it was rather too rich   for my palate . The score accompaniment by French composer, Baudine -Jam to the 1921silent classic, Haunted House was delightful and indeed there were peals of laughter in the aisles of St Nicholas. However for an event titled An Aural Visual Affair, the item  was all too brief with a running time of 15 minutes or so and one would have thought with the projector in place, we might enjoyed  another in the same vein. It was a bit like advertising a three course meal by leading with the promise of pudding.



I caught some of Tara Connaghan's and Derek McGinley's lunchtime session in Monroe's. Tara is well known in Clare as a former county Arts Officer. The duo, exponents of a Donegal style of fiddle playing, mixed jigs and reels, slow airs mazurkas and waltzes adding some personal anecdotes  for an appreciative audience. Both of them speak here  of their route in to fiddle playing and the role of family members in developing their skills.


Related posts


Movies at the Christchurch Cathedral Morgan Cooke and Faust


Wagner/ Joyce from Alex Ross' blog The Rest is Noise

48 hours at leOFF 2012 at Avignon - Cinq Spectacles

 Avignon  Cinq Spectacles at  le OFF 

Best Show                     Operetta Cor de Teatre Barcelona Theatre de Beliers *****

Highly Recommended En Chantier Le Poubelles Boys Palais Royale ****

                                    Mon Violon s'apelle Raymond  Place Theatre   ***

                                    Les 2 G                                      Theatre de Balcon ***

Only if you must        Tango Mon Amour                     Theatre de Balcon *

Best show Operetta video clip here

So many shows- where shall we go tonight dear?

We arrived in Avignon on the eve of the annual garguantan theatre festival  . The Provencale city, famous for its Palais des Papes  and a bizarre bridge becomes a powerful magnet for every theatrical  and musical troupe in France and beyond it seems as the city is transformed into ‘le plus grand theatre du monde’ for three weeks in July. Like Edinburgh, the city is host to an official festival with large scale entertainments and a sprawling fringe festival.  My focus was on the fringe festival  known as  le OFF. During le OFF, the city host to 1,200 separate acts with something in the region of 12,000 performers  crammed within its walls during the three week festival , most of whom seemed to be promenading about in their costumes at all hours of the day or night in an effort to attract any undecided punters to ‘aller a leur spectacle’.  There appears to be a theatrical space  on every street and any venue satisfying basic minimum requirements can be transformed into a performing space.

First stop was the tourist office, to grab the programme of telephone directory proportions and then began the arduous  process of sifting through the offerings to devise a plan of attack, thirsty work requiring some glasses of rosé while  weeding out the Moliere from the Music Hall.  As it was officially the eve of the festival, most of the shows were listed to open the next day but most were offering free admission to the dress rehearsals.  So having disregarded any purely theatrical offerings as my French is not up to it or one man shows, here is my selection of the spectacles I saw at OFF 2012

1 On Friday at Palais Royal I was enchanted by the Poubelles Boys who have fashioned a highly entertaining song and dance show, En Chantier’  using items readily available at any builders providers outlet. Pure music hall in style, featuring slapstick comedy with the usual straight man format augmented with a duo of funny men who sang , danced and produced such amazing sounds from scrap heap materials that I found it hard at first to believe there were no backing tracks involved .  We were entertained in the fil d’attente by a German jazz quartet , who in a  reversal of theatrical order  had an impressive selection of real instruments including  upright piano on wheels and acoustic double bass.

210.30 on Saturday morning might seem a little early to hear opera singers at their best but I was mesmerised by Operetta from Catalan Company , Cor de Teatre at Beliers Theatre .  A large cast by OFF standards featuring 25 singers, the show was a jukebox melange of opera arias and hilarious theatrical humour.   In a novel  opening, a cast member enters bearing a piano on her back, from which the rest of the company gradually emerge and eventually retreat back into at the finale . In between, we hear popular arias interpreted in a series of hilarious theatrical sketches. Bellini's Casta Diva is delivered as mini biopic of Callas unfolds, Traviata’s Drinking Song becomes  a shambolic dress  rehearsal and the Habanera from Carmen is accompanied by a coughing and sneezing ‘audience’.  I loved the simplicity of the company mimicking an orchestra in the William Tell overture and the transformation of the company into a cycle  race pack and entourage was perhaps the funniest  of all. Not everything worked for me .   An aria from Samson and Delila was just too lovely to  fit the heavy ballerina sketch and the bobbing chorus in the number from Tannhauser made me feel a little seasick. The  company appeared to be hugely enjoying themselves on stage . This was by far the most entertaining show I have seen in two years at OFF and ironically although a piano is a featured prop the singing is entirely acappella . Sometimes simple things are best.

3 A Marriage of Figaro at Petit Louvre was a little too Beaumarchais and too little Mozart for my poor grasp of declaimed French. The  theatre company Comédiens & Compagnie was, I assume very much in traditional Commedia dell'Arte syle and featured very fort voce delivery,  white faces, masks and seemed a little long at over an hour an a half without a break. 

4 A nostalgic show that openly declared its allegiance to Music Hall was Les 2 G featuring  Denis D’Arcangelo and Jean Luc Revol as Georges and Gaétan  , two music hall  artists presenting their farewell concert and while I couldn’t follow all the dialogue, there was sense of great charm and excellent showmanship  and they evoked memories of Morecambe and Wise. The was a  familiar number How Much is that Doggie in the Window en francais of course in a series of songs on a  canine theme. They were wonderfully well supported by two musicians on piano and accordion . Even for an anglophone there was plenty to enjoy.

5Tango Mon Amour later at the same theatre de Balcon, was the disappointment of the day .  Although billed as a tango a trois, two performers, Octavio de la Rosa and the wonderfully alliterative Camilla Colella both 'far too sexy for their shirts'  danced at rather than with each other  in their undies  for a tedious hour  long presentation and it was far too’ imaginative ‘ to feature too much of anything as clichéd as classic couple dancing and a decent frock.  They seemed to have borrowed a few buckets  from the Poubelles boys which in lime green plastic  took the look off their monochrome theme somewhat. Interesting to note  that the backing track featured Kirsty McColl’s version of Libertango.

5 Finally before leaving on Sunday, I caught a charming and funny show ‘Mon Violon s’appelle Raymond’  in one of the spaces of the Palace Theatre . I had some misgiving about this one as it was billed as a one man show  which I usually avoid so I was delighted to see two performers on stage   with straight  man Jean Claude, pianist  as foil to funny man Kordion Heretynski on violon. Like the 'Operetta' we got lots of well  known numbers from a number of genres together with mad cap humour with parodies of Richard Clayderman and Andre Rieu wrapped up in virtuoso musicianship .

There were some familiar shows from last year's programme with Road Movie, Cello Sur Canape and Beethoven ce Manouche all featured again this year

Off parade 

Reading the local press reports, there seems some concern at the continued expansion year on year and the extent of the  festival is somewhat overwhelming. The sheer logistics of programming and marketing must be challenging.  I can report that two Irish acts featured on then programme although not due in town til later in the festival. They were chanteur Peadar King from Inish Boffin  and John Scott, Irish Modern Dance Theatre.    There were some shows in English but only one company from the UK was listed in the fringe , no doubt the draw of  the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the opposite pole  of the Monde Theatricale proving an equally magnetic draw for those North of the Channel.  

See my guest blogger's review of Master and Margerita at the official Festival d'Avignon

Review of the year 2011: A Magificent Seven

My Personal Selection of the best arts events  of 2011

With 2011 and the new year begun it is time to have a look back at the highlights of 2011 before time dims the memories. There was much to enjoy here at home  and I enjoyed travelling to  events in France and the UK. Here are some of the stand out events I experienced. Click on the enhanced text for my review.

Best Opera Performance:  Maria  Wexford Opera Festival
 2011 was a year when I saw all sorts of opera, visiting festivals in Wexford and Aix en Provence. The  thrill of a night at the New York Met production of Anna Bolena  came via satellite to a Limerick cinema   The most fun performance was the  Opera in the Open production of Cosi Fan Tutti in Wood Quay Gardens, Dublin.  but the most surprising was delivered by the young voices of Dublin Youth Opera Theatre right here in my home town of Ennis in their Jukebox opera, Thicker than Water.  I loved  the quirky production of Dido and Aeneas at Cork Opera House but if I have to choose one of the shorter works  I enjoyed the  opera production of Gianni Schicchi directed by Roberto Recchia at Whites Hotel,Wexford.  Despite all that has been written about the state of opera in the country, it is worth noting that Ireland does have opera houses, even if they are outside the Pale, and it is good to see opera being produced in them. My pick for 2011 is the Wexford Opera Production of

Peggy Seeger - Best Solo Gig

Maria  at the Wexford Opera House


Best  solo gig.  Peggy Seeger at Sixmilebridge Folk Club 


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 I particularly enjoyed a couple of solo gigs this year. I was very impressed with Albert Niland way back in January when he played at Dolan's Limerick. Jimmy Crowley showed what a pro he is at the Sixmilebridge Winter Music Wekend .   Cecile Giraud used her cello to tell her musical biography at the OFF festival at Avignon.   Sid Bowfin aka Adrian Garrett was my favoutite solo act at Spraoi . My pick of solo artists this year though was the veteran folk singer Peggy Seeger also heard at Sixmilebridge. She was truly extraordinary.



Best Band Gig .  Gilbert O Sullivan at the Olympia

Gilbert - Best Band Gig

 Vladimir Jablokov brought his second Classical Twist tour to Glor and Jack L was pretty impressive at the same venue. Declan O Rourke remains a favourite  and we enjoyed some great music at  the triumvurate of independent music clubs , Clare ,Sean Malone's Market Tavern and Frank Hayes Island Music Club and Brendan Walsh of the the Sixmilebridge Folk Club.  Ger Wolfe and De Dannan spring to mind but there were too many to mention. Penguin Cafe and Michael Nyman Band brought their genre bending big bands to Waterford. I heard  rock guitarist, Johnny Fean in two line ups this year and  both great  gigs. The Nervous Breakdowns were great fun at the Tramore Rockabilly Weekend and Francie White did not disappoint at the Imagine Festival Waterford. I am awarding my pick of the band gigs to Gilbert O Sullivan for his gig at the Olympia. An 11 piece band , great visual elements and the songs are holding up well.

Malcolm and Roisin

Best Classical Recital. 
Roisin O Grady Malcolm Proud Harpsichord Coffee Concert Christchurch Cathedral , Waterford 
Difficult to choose between Roisin O Grady beautiful recital of Baroque repertoire and cellist Peter Sebestyen's  performance in Gort but my best recital prize goes to Roisin O'Grady accompanied by Malcolm Proud for their Sunday morning coffee concert at Christchurch, Waterford.




Best Choral Performance: Come The Sails Choral Event to mark 
the opening of the Tall Ships Festival in Waterford

Best Choral Piece - Opening of the Tall Ships Festival

Colaiste Muire marked their 150th anniversary with a gala choral event. Exeter Cathedral Choir were in Ireland for a short tour and were vocally and visually splendid  in bright red cassocks. Limerick Choral Union delivered their best Messiah yet and the Lismorahaun Singers  delighted their packed house at St Columbas. Further afield the performance of the choral movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony was interesting if only for the rain manoeuvres at the Roman amphitheatre in Orange was  but  my choice choral event for 2011was the performance of a specially commissioned piece to mark the opening of the Tall Ships Festival in Waterford performed by huge choir and orchestra on the Quay.

Avignon France - Best Festival

Best Festival :OFF at Avignon
I loved the simplicity of the Ukuhooley by the Sea in Dun Laoghaire, a one day festival dedicated to that humble instrument, the ukulele. Waterford proved itself a festival town specialist with three terrific festivals, The Tall Ships Festival, Spraoi  and the Imagine Arts Festival .  My home town, Ennis hosted two trad festivals and the excellent  niche Ennis Book Club Festival. My festival pick for 2011 however was the OFF Festival at Avignon, a Gallic version of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.


Best Musical:  ALLSTARSWARS 

Best Musical - The All Stars Wars

Crazy for You at the Novello Theatre, London.  Great singing and dancing and the best looking guys and gals in a feel good nostalgic piece, a reworking of Girl Crazy. I was exhausted just looking at them. The South Eastern Youth Drama production of Les Miserables at the Theatre Royal was also pretty amazing. Hard to believe they were all young amateurs. Watch out for young Glen Murphy who played Jean Valjean but the prize for the best musical for this year goes to another production with strong Waterford involved from director Bryan Flynn, the hurling musical, AllStarsWars and as I write the show is just about to open in Dublin.




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Denouement of 'Drama at Ennis' - The All Ireland One Act Plays

Winners All

All Ireland One Act Play Winners 
MACE Best Actor Award: Irene Kelleher from Kilmeen Drama Group
Best Overall Performance: Irene Kelleher from Kilmeen Drama Group
Winners of the Confined Section : Corofin Dramatic Society (2nd place to Compantas Lir of Claregalway; 3rd to Breffni Players of Carrick on Shannon)
Winners of the Open Section: Kilmeen Drama Group (2nd place to Prosperous Drama Society; 3rd place to Athlone Little Theatre)
Adjudicator's awards go to: actor Robert Massey from Prosperous Drama Society and Director TJ Duggan from Prosperous Dramatic  Society
DLI Scholarship goes to: John Dennehy from Bradán Óg, Leixlip

   Reviews here


Following fast on the heels of Druid's Big Maggie, I attended another festive evening of theatre at Glór, Ennis the culmination of a weekend packed with drama when the winners of the One Act Drama Finals were announced.

 Patrons were greeted by masked giant doormen a la Macnas setting the party atmosphere at the door and the foyer bar was buzzing when we arrived as thespians discussed the events of the weekend.  The first play was a rather dark tale of a victim meeting her attacker after ten  years suffering the consequences of their last encounter.  It was followed by a slice of life as observed by Alan Bennett, in a trademark exposition of the tragedy of ordinary middle class lives.  In this offering by Bray Arts,  the sense of achievement of  lifetime by  amiable retiree Dodsworth is decimated in the space of afternoon tea by a visit from  Mrs. Protheroe.
 
It was a pleasure to hear voices projected clearly without any amplification. MC John Finn was greeted warmly by the audiences and his drole introductions  with impeccable comic timing drew lots of laughter.  Anna Walker as adjudicator  was excellent in delivering constructive criticism with a  sense warm empathy


Tumble Circus were  bit of a slow burner and took a little time to win their audience around but maybe it was the gold spraypainted hula hoops that eventually earned them their standing ovation. This group are used to audiences standing as they are streeet entertainers after all and were a good choice to complement  the more wordy theatrical offerings.

Directors take a bow!

Eventually, we came to the final act, the awards ceremony.  This was a one act play in itself, delivered with suitable aplomb to a hushed auditorium.  The vibrant painted backdrop cast a glow,  'actors' were accompanied on stage by the giant masked  figures band  to a blast of suitable music, 'Oscars'  style.  Everybody hammed it up a bit and it was all the better for it. There were speeches from stakeholders, Chairman Allen Flynn, Chairman of Drama League of Ireland and adjudicators Paul Cusack and Anna Walker. 

My guest blogger who saw all the performances felt that the adjudicators had got it right, althought Two by Jim Cartwright was his personal favourite.  Overall the consensus from the experts I spoke to were in agreement with the choices and readily agreed that Disco Pigs was a memorable piece. Anna Walker made the interesting point that there is a blurring of lines between amateur and professional scenes in Ireland and some of the most relevant theatre she has seen is on the amateur circuit. Perhaps being free of the commercial restraints gives the amateur societies  more freedom to present cutting edge work.

There was a sense of glee and collegiality as whole sections of the audience hooped and hollered and jumped up and down as the results were announced and this was particularly so from the local winners Corofin Dramatic Society  With many of the participants staying in town, patrons lingered in the foyer and the place  was buzzing with post performance adrenaline as the results were mulled over.  It was great to see Glór full for every performance. It was a very suitable venue for this endeavour.  Bravo! to the  Ennis Players and chairman Allen Flynn, who were excellent hosts and worked hard to make their guests feel at home.  Next year to Ballyduff in West Waterford  renowned for a long and proud tradition of amateur drama.  We'll be there!