Sat 12th May 2018
Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast
7.30pm
Duos, trios and quartets are unusually absent from this event, which instead focuses on pieces for the full ensemble
contrasted with solo works. However, the cello work Strum, Strum and be Hang’d from Belfast composer David Byers and
Save the whale from the late Dutch composer Ton Bruynel both have additional “tape” elements; the latter is all the
more unique using as it uses the rare contrabass clarinet. John Buckley’shighly virtuosic 2 Fantasias for Alto flute
and the Irish premiere of Piers Hellawell’s Let’s Dance, for solo percussion, complete the solo works.
For larger forces, two of the HRSE commissions for this season appear here. Greg Caffrey’s work, ..for peace comes
dropping slow, takes inspiration from one of Yeats’ most famous poems.
The other newly commissioned work, A Battuta, is the latest creation coaxed from the pen of Derry born Kevin O’Connell.
It is fitting that a “Pierrot format” ensemble such as HRSE should give the world premiere performance of Frank Corcoran’s own Nine looks at Pierrot
and we continue to celebrate our 2017/18 Featured Composer, Ian Wilson’s output with a performance of Involute, a
piece that sees the format expand to include percussion.
Music by: Greg Caffrey, John Buckley, Ian Wilson, David Byers, Kevin O’Connell, Ton Bruynel, Frank Corcoran,
Piers Hellawell and Hans Werner Henze.