Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

This little suite was composed from a musical sketchbook I made in Ireland in May 2015. I composed on street corners in Irish towns, in woodlands at Annamaghkerrig, on the porch of a Kilkenny BnB, and on a bumpy horse and cart ride, and other unlikely compositional sites. I jotted down the songs of the birds, and other tunes inspired by the Irish and the Irish landscape. Upon my return I composed this suite based on my musical notes, especially for my mother Mary Knights-Rutten (piano) and Sabina Watkins (recorder). The journey would not have been possible without a grant from the Performance Company of Australia towards a residency at The Tyrone Guthrie Centre, County Monaghan, Ireland. Ths was to compose a work called Memorial for soprano and small orchestra or ensemble. I then travelled a little around Ireland, with some financial assistance from my parents. I visited Clogh Na Kylte (Clonakilty) which means Castle of the Woods, and was the home of my great, great Grandmother, Kate Mahony, and happened along a little street called Recorder Alley, named after the recorder who was like a magistrate. I suddenly remembered my mother's request for a composition for recorder and piano, hence Annamaghkerrig to Recorder Alley. The work was premiered at a musical evening at the home of pianist, Veronica Kirsch.

Work Details

Year: 2015

Instrumentation: Recorder, piano.

Duration: 10 min.

Difficulty: Advanced — Time signature changes, ornamentation.

Contents note: 1. Annamaghkerrig -- 2. Clogh na Kylte (Clonakilty) -- 3. Killarney -- 4. Clonakilty and Skibereen -- 6. Innisfallen Monastery.

Written for: Sabina Watkins, Mary Knights-Rutten