Head, Heart

An evening of choral music exploring love and freedom, choice and inevitability, the romantic and the philosophical

Led by Paul Hillier, Chamber Choir Ireland performs songs about love, humanity, and free will, this February at the Pepper Canister Church.

Sibelius’ Six Songs create several vignettes on life and love, telling of a fair voice silenced by sadness; a man striking out on his own as he heads to sea; and a groom building a blazing fire to tar his sled, ready to carry his new bride.

David Lang’s love fail is a meditation on the timelessness of love, weaving the story of Tristan and Isolde—”the greatest love story ever”—together with more modern sources. This collection of six pieces from the original work will be the first ever performance of this particular suite, handpicked collaboratively by Paul Hillier and David Lang.

Gavin Bryars’ Glorious Hill, originally composed for the Tennessee Wiliams play Summer and Smoke, juxtaposes vocal techniques of early music with those of modern composition. It takes its text from the Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man, in which God addresses Adam before the fall from grace.

Programme

Jean Sibelius (Finland, 1865-1957)—Six Songs for male voices Op. 18

David Lang (USA, b.1957)—selections from love fail

Gavin Bryars (UK, b.1943)—Glorious Hill