The National Library of Ireland presents

Musical ReflectionsSeptember – November 2007

Autumn Series devoted to Irish composers andhistoric musical figures

Exploring our heritage,celebrating Irish music

To find out more about the music collectionsof the National Library of Ireland see our

website at: www.nli.ie or contact the Librarianon duty at 01 6030 200/ email: info@nli.ie

Have you ever wondered about

Irish composers and what their

music sounds like?

Or would you like to find out

more about the life of an historic

musical personality?

Musical Reflections

Musical Reflections provides a rare opportunity to exploreour heritage in a uniquely informative and entertaining way.The series also gives a new focus to the music collectionsof the National Library of Ireland.

The collections at the Library are not widely known.Many virtually unknown composers are represented inearly printed sheet music collections, formed through anumber of personal bequests including the Banks, Omeath,Hamilton and Plunkett gifts and the substantial library ofDr Jasper Robert Joly. The Joly collection, spanning thelatter years of the eighteenth century and the early yearsof the nineteenth, contains songs and instrumental music,written mostly for the drawing room. A significantproportion of this seminal sheet music collection waspublished in Ireland.

Each concert aims to feature rarely performed Irishworks along with better-known repertoire. In order toilluminate the background of the featured composers,programmes will be presented, making the music veryaccessible to all audience members.

This series of five free concert performances will takeplace on Wednesday evenings from mid-September to earlyNovember 2007, starting at 6.30 pm and finishing around8.30 pm, in the Seminar Room of the National Library.

Admission to all concerts is free.

As seats are limited booking is essential. To reserve yourplace please telephone: 01 603 0229.

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McCormack Remembered

12 September 20076.30 pm

Karl Scully, tenorKen Rice, violinUna Hunt, pianoPresented by Paul Brock

A programme devoted to the legendary art of JohnCount McCormack, Ireland’s greatest tenor with acareer that took him to the great opera houses of theworld. Despite his operatic success it was on theconcert platform and in the recording studio that hisextraordinary popularity was forged, making him thehighest paid tenor of his generation. The eveningincludes video footage and live performances from KarlScully, one of Ireland’s international tenors and from theversatile violinist, Ken Rice. McCormack’s meteoriccareer alongside his close friendship with the great FritzKreisler will be traced by Paul Brock and the mostpopular music associated with both these legendaryartists will be heard in live performances. Thisattractive programme is sure to be extremely popularwith the National Library’s audience.

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Fallen Leaves from an Irish P ianoAlbum

26 September 20076.30 pm

Presented and performed by Una Hunt

This programme gathers together the strands of pianowriting by Irish composers from the nineteenth andearly twentieth century when the piano occupied adominant place in domestic life as well as producing agolden age of virtuoso pianist-composers. With therapidly developing instrument came an explosion insheet music production, much of it unknown today. UnaHunt reflects on the achievements of some of Ireland’sgreatest pianistic exports, John Field, George Osborneand William Vincent Wallace and offers a chance tohear rarely played works by composers from later in thenineteenth century: Charles V. Stanford, Arthur O’Learyand Michele Esposito. Also on the programme is amusical group drawn exclusively from the NationalLibrary’s collections. The music for this concertfeatures on Fallen Leaves from an Irish Album, the CDfrom RTÉ lyric fm issued last year in association withthe National Library.

Featuring music by Cogan, Field, Osborne, O’Leary,Stanford, Esposito, Geary, Wallace and Moscheles.

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Art Music for the Drawing-RoomHarp

10 October 20076.30 pm

Presented and performed by Andreja MalirGuest artist Fionnuala Hunt, violin

The harp presents a form of singular beauty with itsgraceful curving neck and elegant appearance. It wasoften characteristically adorned when it stood in thedrawing rooms of the nineteenth-century as a popularinstrument for women to play. Particularly abundantwere variations and fantasies composed around popularairs of the day, ranging from opera themes to nationalmelodies. Concert harpist Andreja Malir presents anunusual programme exploring drawing-room music fromthe National Library’s collections alongside moremainstream repertoires of the period. Andreja will bejoined by Violinist Fionnuala Hunt as a special guestartist for music by Louis Spohr and recent discoveriesfrom the National Library’s own collection.

Featuring music by Krumpholz, Mme Krumpholz,Geminiani, Weippert, Sophie Dussek and Spohr.

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Musical Connections, from Osborne toChopin

24 October 2007

6.30 pm

Ferenc Szücs, celloUna Hunt, piano

The Hungarian cellist Ferenc Szücs is Director of theClassical String Performance Programme at the IrishWorld Academy of Music and Dance, University ofLimerick. After studies at the Béla BartókConservatoire and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music inBudapest, he won the prestigious Hungarian StateAward for musical excellence and has performed in over50 countries around the world and forged associationswith numerous world-class orchestras, ensembles andinstitutes. Ferenc brings the music of his countrymanBéla Bartók to the National Library with that of anotherfolksong collector, E.J. Moeran. A further musicalconnection explored in this programme is the friendshipbetween Irish pianist George Osborne and FrédéricChopin.

Featuring music by Bartók, Moeran, Osborne andChopin.

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A Sheaf of Songs

7 November 20076.30 pm

Edel O’Brien, mezzo sopranoUna Hunt, piano

The National Library’s Joly and Additional MusicCollections provide a treasure of vocal music originatingin the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.Among the collections are witty songs by ThomasSimpson Cooke and curiosities from the versatilenovelist, dramatist and composer Samuel Lover. Thereis an abundance of other songs, canzonets and balladsfrom operas and popular entertainments, the names toonumerous to mention. Edel O’Brien performs afascinating programme of finds from the Library’scollections of Irish composers to which are added artsongs of a later generation. The programme will alsofeature a selection of songs by twentieth-centurywomen composers.

Featuring music by Samuel Lover, Thomas S. Cooke,Timothy Geary, Dorothy Parke, Ina Boyle, Joan Trimble,Charles V. Stanford, Havelock Nelson and E.J. Moeran.

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Generously supported by-

Pianos sponsored and supplied byPIANOS PLUS

Programme devised and researched by Una Hunt.

RTÉ lyric fm are recording a number of performances duringthe Musical Reflections series for future broadcast.