With the support of Culture Ireland / Cultúr Éireann, Chamber Choir Ireland will bring a selection of captivating contemporary choral music to the Arvo Pärt Centre (Estonia) and Norfolk & Norwich Festival (UK) this May.
The programme features the subtle unfolding of Arvo Pärt’s O Holy Father Nicholas—originally composed for the re-opening of St Nicholas’ church at Ground Zero. Destroyed in the September 11th terrorist attacks, the church has now been reborn as a shrine for pilgrims of all religions from all over the world.
Cassandra Miller’s The City, Full of People allows audiences to eavesdrop on a a ‘cacophony of private secrets’, Eoghan Desmond’s I Am opens up a musical dialogue across the centuries with St. Hildegard, David Fennessy’s chOirland celebrates eccentric Irish-ness, and Caroline Shaw’s How to fold the wind uses speech, inhaled notes, wordless melodies and innovative vocal effects to fold individual voices together into a complex whole.
The Norfolk & Norwich Festival performance will take place in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Norwich on Wednesday 22 May at 7:30pm. The Arvo Pärt Centre performance will take place on Saturday 25 May at 5:00pm.
Due to illness, Paul Hillier will be unable to conduct Chamber Choir Ireland in these performances. The programme remains unchanged, and we are delighted to welcome Eamonn Dougan (The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia Voices) to conduct.
In addition to support from Culture Ireland / Cultúr Éireann, the Arvo Pärt Centre performance was made possible by support from the Embassy of Ireland, Estonia.