The 22nd annual The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards took place in Dublin’s National Concert Hall on March 30 with Heresy recording artist Mel Mercier receiving the award for Best Sound in How It Is.
Read Mel Mercier’s recent talk to Siobhan Long from The Irish Times explaining the creative processes behind his new album Testament.
High Tides – the latest release on Isotopia Records from Constance Hauman is currently garnering rave reviews from the German music press.
“INSPIRED MUSIC THAT FLOODS THE LISTENERS CONSCIOUSNESS”
“MAGNIFICENTLY DESIGNED and REMARKABLE SOUNDING SPECTACLE”
“HIGH TIDES is another album by Constance Hauman for which the British Guardian should already have reserved a place as ONE OF THE TEN BEST POP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR.”
“…arranged in an electro-pop framework –her EXQUISITE rendition of the aria Les Chemins de l’Amour INSPIRES DEVOUT ADMIRATION.”
“ANOTHER ALL-ROUND HIT: FRAGILE YET INTENSE, TOUCHING, ROUSING, FULL OF DEPTH AND BLESSED WITH CLEAR HIT POTENTIAL.”
“Constance Hauman proves her BRILLIANT MASTERY of different genres in HIGH TIDES’ 10 tracks, once again revealing her EXTRAORDINARY CRAFTSMANSHIP AS A SONGWRITER … UNDENIABLE TALENT AND ASTOUNDING VERSATILITY AS A SINGER.“
“HAUMAN’S OWN HAUNTING LYRICS AND VOCALS POIGNANTLY COMMUNICATE INTENSE FEELINGS WHICH MOST OF US LACK THE WORDS TO EXPRESS.”
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The Irish Echo, the Irish American weekly newspaper featured the launch of Mel Mercier‘s new album Testament.
The event took place at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin on January 25th. Those in attendance included David McDermott, Caitríona O’Leary, Liam Ó Maonlaí who performed Man of Aran, Kate Ellis, Julie Feeney and director of theatre and opera Deborah Warner.
Caitríona O’Leary talks to Ken Phelan of The Irish Independent about the musical collaboration that is Anakronos as they gear up for a major concert.
Anakronos (Photo: Tara Slye)
“Now performing with her new ensemble, Anakronos, Malahide vocalist and virtuoso Catríona O’Leary has taken her music in yet another new direction, blending medieval music with jazz, global rhythms and the contemporary to form her own inimitable style.
Catríona this month takes newly-formed Anakronos to their debut performance of The Red Book of Ossory at the National Concert Hall, and with it a unique and distinctive sound.
Inspiration for The Book of Ossory came from a 14th century medieval manuscript which was compiled in Kilkenny and is housed there in St Canice’s Cathedral. Within the manuscript’s texts are sixty Latin verses by Richard de Ledrede, Bishop of Ossory, which Caitríona has set to music.
Following the performance, the group plans to put together their first ever recording before embarking on a tour of Ireland and Europe.
Anakronos will make its debut in the world premiere of The Red Book of Ossory on February 20 at the National Concert Hall, Dublin.
Mel Mercier talks to Siobhan Long from The Irish Times and explains the creative processes behind his new album Testament.
“I have wanted for a number of years to document some of the soundscapes that I’ve made,” he offers, clearly animated by the undertaking, “because music in the theatre is so ephemeral and the music itself invariably only lives in the context of the production, so if you don’t get to see the production, then you never get to hear the music.”
Constance Hauman‘s new album High Tides features on KMNO 91.7 FM Maui. Hosts Matthew Gurewitsch and Paul Janes-Brown play the opening and closing tracks on their CATCH OF THE DAY show.
The Irish Times has given Mel Mercier‘s album Testament a 4 star review.
In her review, Siobhan Long says:
“Coherent and endlessly intriguing works”
“There’s a deeply alluring austerity about this collection of music written from theatre by Mel Mercier.
Somehow, he manages to transmute the three dimensional experience of theatre into this soundscape, capturing and releasing into the ether sometimes fleeting excerpts of his work, where they find fresh flight in the company of one another.”
Mel Mercier’s Testament and Constance Hauman’s High Tides are scheduled as Heresy Records’ and Isotopia Records’ first releases of 2019.
Testament is a new recording by Mercier, one of Ireland’s leading theatre composers, educators and percussionists. The compositions on Testament were drawn from original scores created by Mercier for nine Irish and international theatre productions; the music has been distilled, recomposed and remixed for CD.
The album features works from the Broadway production of The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín, directed by Deborah Warner, starring, Fiona Shaw, Powerbook from the National Theatre of Great Britain, directed by Warner and starring Fiona Shaw, Wayne Jordan’s production of Seán O’Casey’s The Shadow Of A Gunman, from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, James Macdonald’s production of Fewer Emergencies y Martin Crimp for the Royal Court Theatre amongst others.
Melding contemporary composition, electronics and elements of Irish traditional music Testament offers listeners a compelling and original listening experience.
High Tides is the second album by former opera star and singer/songwriter, Constance Hauman. Her critically acclaimed recording, Falling Into Now, made The Guardian’s list of the 10 Best Albums of 2015. High Tides features eight new songs written by Hauman and two covers, Everlong by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Les Chemins de l’Amour by French composer, Francis Poulenc.
From pulsing pop anthems (Run Sister, Mystic Vision), to doleful and uplifting love ballads (Lonely Xmas, Painful Strangers, Waiting For You, Everlong), High Tides presents two dynamically-charged worlds; the turbulent internal world of human emotions and the majestic awe-inspiring natural world and cosmos both of which uncannily and magically respond to the romantic situations and passionate feelings of the singer.
On 22nd February Heresy Records will release Roger Doyle’s THE HERESY OSTRACA, an imaginative reworking of material from Doyle’s critically acclaimed electronic opera, HERESY, released by Heresy Records in March 2018. The Sunday Times said of THE HERESY OSTACA, “the mix of disembodied voices and new electronic elements is haunting”.
Other 2019 releases from Heresy and Isotopia include new albums by celebrated American composer, John Moran, The Richter Scalea piano work by Berlin-based composer, Boris Bergmann with pianist Ji Liu, Volume 2 of The Wexford Carols produced by Ethan Johns, The Red Book of Ossory, the debut album by the new early music/jazz fusion ensemble Anakronos, Feed The Wolf by Miss Velvet and The Blue Wolf (featuring a track by the legendary master of funk, George Clinton), a new live album by George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic, and other albums and singles from renowned and up and coming artists.
On Friday 25th January 2019 Heresy Records will release Testament, an album of eleven compositions by Mel Mercier, composer/percussionist/Professor and Chair of Performing Arts at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.
It features works from the Broadway production of The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín, directed by Deborah Warner which starred Fiona Shaw, The PowerBook from the National Theatre of Great Britain, also directed by Warner and starring Fiona Shaw, Wayne Jordan’s production of Seán O’Casey’s The Shadow Of A Gunman, from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, James Macdonald’s production of Fewer Emergencies by Martin Crimp for the Royal Court Theatre and others.
The compositions have been drawn from original scores created by Mercier for nine Irish and international theatre productions and the collection features music that has been distilled, recomposed and remixed for CD.
“Mercier earned a Tony nomination in 2013 for his sound design for the solo show. His additional credits include the Old Vic’s Glenda Jackson-led King Lear, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and The Shadow of a Gunman at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre.”
Read full article on playbill.com
Warriors Of The Weekend is a superbly crafted and performed pop song by the Brooklyn-based band, Baby Raptors.
With reminiscences of 1980s synth-pop, Warriors Of The Weekend’s catchy melody and lyrics detail the joy and release of escaping the drudgery and oppression of the workplace – or classroom – for the freedom and pleasures of a weekend of fun, abandonment and gratification.
Graham Rickson reviews A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland in The Arts Desk.
“Ireland tends to conjure up images of folk fiddles and penny whistles, which is why this beguiling collection is a useful corrective.”
“There’s a consistent readiness to communicate, each piece making its point without too much preamble.”
A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland is currently bundled with Heresy Records’ first compilation of Irish electro-acoustic music On The Nature Of Electricity & Acoustics which was released in 2013 and curated by composer Daniel Figgis.
Specially priced 2 CD bundle available from the Heresy store
Hans-Dieter Grünefeld of HiFi & Records magazine has reviewed Rogers Doyle’s HERESY.
TRANSLATION:
“A fortuitous meeting in Dublin between Director/Producer Eric Fraad, and Irish composer Roger Doyle generated an idea for an opera that would fit into Fraad’s vision for his record label, Heresy Records. The subject agreed upon was a work based on the life, death and works of the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno. Bruno was regarded as a notorious heretic by the Inquisition and burned at the stake. As of this date, the church has not relinquished its position.
Fascinated by James Joyce’s novel “Finnegan’s Wake,” particularly the correlation with Bruno’s theory of the coincidence of opposites – a theme which repeats itself throughout Joyce’s masterpiece – prompted the noted electronic music specialist Doyle to create a scenario on two sonic aesthetic levels: while the computer-generated music gives Bruno’s life a solemn aura, punctuating critical situations with threatening sounds; the contrasting bright high tessitura performed by the male and female singers generates a striking relationship with the electronic orchestration. In the vocal sense, “Heresy” depicts the real and idealized worlds using dialogue-like recitatives or melodic arias in scenes of conflict with earth and heaven. (The verdict is issued only at the trial). The psychedelic overture to Act I, a vivace dance to Act 2, and rock grooves structure the plot, whereby Bruno’s incarceration in the Cell-Hallucinations scene, composed in multi-stylistic musical genres, both references and introduces Doyle’s spiritual heir, James Joyce. A gripping operatic kaleidoscope.”
The HERESY double CD with 24 page booklet is available to buy from the Heresy Records store – BUY NOW
Abi Bliss reviews A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland in the latest edition of The Wire.
“Tóirse Ó Ríordáin’s work is typical: the carefree harmonia and lolloping pace of 2014’s ‘Atop D’Seefin’ evokes Plaid’s knack for appealing whimsy…”
“Paul Morrin’s aptly titled ‘Compass’ and ‘Wandering Compass’ bookend the album with Fripp-tinged guitar harmonics that crackle like gravel gently crunched under rolling, unhurried piano.”
“‘Timothy Cream’s Crown Of Wines’, with Vincent Doherty, an 11 minute dream-waltz that brushes listeners’ face with feathery mellotron, flute and owl hoots…”
“…worthwhile archive-trawling comes from the prolific composer Roger Doyle, whose 1981 ‘Eighties Rampwalk’ for organ and celeste is akin to glimpsing a languid Cluster & Eno outtake…”
A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland is currently bundled with Heresy Records’ first compilation of Irish electro-acoustic music On The Nature Of Electricity & Acoustics which was released in 2013 and curated by composer Daniel Figgis.
Specially priced 2 CD bundle available from the Heresy store
Ben Wilmott interviews Daniel Figgis in Issue 41 of Electronic Sound magazine. Daniel discusses his career to date and his involvement in Heresy Record’s latest release A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland.
“…sometimes complex but always sublime compilation…”
BUY PRINT EDITION | BUY PDF EDITION
A Map of the Kingdom of Ireland is currently bundled with Heresy Records’ first compilation of Irish electro-acoustic music On The Nature Of Electricity & Acoustics which was released in 2013 and curated by composer Daniel Figgis.
Specially priced 2 CD bundle available from the Heresy store
