Slouching towards Bethlehem

Chamber Choir Ireland returns to Cork for their annual residency at Cork International Choral Festival. During the residency, Chamber Choir Ireland will present the 47th Seminar on New Choral Music (Friday 1st May, 2-4pm) in the CIT Stack Theatre, followed by the Gala concert in St Fin Barre's Cathedral at 7.30pm. The programme is an eclectic mix of American shaker songs and fuging songs, a beautiful setting from Song of Songs by Howard Skempton, concluding with an Emily Dickinson text set by American composer, Elliott Carter Musicians wrestle everywhere. The highlight of the programme is the performance of two new works; the first by Eoghan Desmond, Mother Gooses’ Melodies, the winning entry of the 2015 Seán Ó Riada Composition Competition, and the centrepiece of the programme, Ian Wilson’s Slouching towards Bethlehem, a work marking the 150 anniversary of WB Yeats’ birth featuring two of Yeats’ so-called ‘apocalyptic texts’. Both works will be subject for discussion at the Seminar on New Choral Music. On Saturday 2nd May at 10am, Chamber Choir Ireland, led by Paul Hillier will offer performance readings of the finalists' works in the Seán Ó Riada Composition competition in the CIT Stack Theatre. Slouching towards Bethlehem was commissioned by the Cork International Choral Festival and Chamber Choir Ireland with funds from the Arts Council of Ireland. To get a little more insight into Ian Wilson's piece and the creative process involved in writing for Chamber Choir, read an interview with Ian: Slouching towards Bethlehem To read more about Eoghan Desmond and the things that inspire him when writing choral music, read Mother Goose's Melodies